Bad News Bad Boy (Evergreen Cove #4)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

Evergreen Cove was a winter wonderland. Snow blanketed the rooftops, covered the lawns in white, and clung to the evergreens that gave the town her name. It was as if Santa himself had called and made a reservation for ambiance.

Beautiful. Awe-inspiring. And completely inconvenient.

Hazel Anderson knew she shouldn’t go out after two solid days of snowfall, but she had to make sure Stanley was okay. Since the snow emergency had lifted this morning, or downgraded anyway, she’d decided to venture out.

The library was only a few miles from her house. If she stuck to main roads, she should be able to drive there and home again—no problem.

Stanley had been in the library alone for three days, and that was far too long for anyone to go without human interaction.

She tapped the brakes and threw out an arm to protect the produce she’d foraged from her refrigerator.

Apples, some leaf lettuce that was past its prime, and a handful of grapes would be a great addition to the pellets Stanley typically enjoyed for his meals.

Yes, she knew a tortoise could go without eating for months—she’d done her research last year when the library adopted him.

But she couldn’t help thinking about her shelled friend alone in the building while she luxuriated in her new home just two days before Christmas.

If she could figure out how to haul his massive terrarium to her car, she was going to bring him home for the holidays.

But chances of her being able to do that were as slim as her waistline.

At least she could ensure that he had plenty of food and water and companionship.

A particularly rude gust of wind jostled her compact car.

She gasped as she gripped the wheel with both hands.

Perhaps stopping by Cup of Jo’s for a coffee first was a bad idea.

But when she’d noticed the lights on inside, she couldn’t help turning onto Endless Avenue to pay Elliott a visit.

Plus, Hazel was out of coffee at home. The green tea she’d sipped this morning had been a poor substitute for Jo’s whole-bean Christmas Blend.

She parked in a spot—a term she used loosely since it was no more than a shoveled opening barely big enough for her car—and left the engine running.

The truck in front also had its engine running, but its “parking spot” was a bit more creative.

The two right-side tires were ramped on a snowbank.

The driver must have had a coffee emergency.

She shuffled through the snow covering the walk. It was coming down again, even faster than when she’d left her house three minutes ago. That wasn’t good. She was going to make a speedy but safe exit once she’d checked on Stanley.

A cheery bell rang over the door when Hazel entered Cup of Jo’s. She kept her knitted hat on, but tugged off the thick mittens.

Elliott greeted her from behind the counter. “Hey! What are you doing here?”

“I came out to check on Stanley and decided to make a pit stop. I’m out of…”

Words failed her as a guy stood to his full height opposite Elliott on the other side of the counter. He handed over a bag of coffee he must’ve dropped before she’d walked in.

“Thanks.” Elliott took the beans. “Ground, you said?”

He answered but his eyes were locked on Hazel when he said, “Finely ground.”

She was fairly sure her body was floating as she advanced toward the counter. She didn’t feel the earth beneath her, her eyes transfixed on the beautiful stranger.

His light hair was longer on top, shorter at the sides—a stylish mess. His full mouth curved into what might be a devious smirk, surrounded by bad-boy scruff.

She knew everyone in town—or so she’d thought. No way would she have forgotten a guy this hot. He must have been from out of town.

Not her type. Like, at all. But he was attractive.

She blinked and looked away as the coffee grinder whirred to life. The deafening sound in the quiet space made conversation impossible, so she just stood there, six feet away, and pretended to mull over the menu she knew by heart.

Elliott finished grinding and handed the bag to him. “There ya go. Eighteen-fifty.”

He paid in cash. “Keep it. Thanks.”

His gaze skittered over Hazel. She met his eyes. They were capped by thick eyebrows and long lashes. And when he licked his bottom lip, her attention zoomed in on his mouth. He offered a grin that made her throat feel thick, so she looked away again and made a promise to herself to stop staring.

Elliott cleared her throat and then raised her eyebrows expectantly. And that’s when Hazel realized she’d been hovering like a weirdo who’d never been out in public before.

“Hi! Hi. Hello,” Hazel blurted.

“Hi, hi, hello, to you,” he replied, in a rough voice with a hint of humor.

Elliott interjected. “This is Lynx Dane. Xavier’s brother. Harmless, mostly.”

“Oh, hi. Nice to meet you.” She’d met Xavier and his girlfriend, May, at the Harvest Festival a few months ago.

May had said nice things about Hazel’s late grandmother, which instantly made her one of Hazel’s new favorite people.

“I know Xavier and May. Sort of. Kind of. I met her a few months ago.”

Lynx emitted what might be a chuckle. A decadent sound that reminded her of hot coffee and warm scones and Hallmark movies. She jerked her eyes to his broad shoulders hidden beneath an aged leather jacket.

Or maybe not Hallmark movies.

“You have a name?” he asked.

“Hazel,” Elliott supplied. “She’s the town librarian.”

“No shit? You don’t look like a librarian.”

“Well, you don’t look like a…” She was at a loss since she didn’t know what he did for a living, so she went with, “a guy who drinks finely-ground coffee.”

He kept on smiling, which peeved her. Maybe because it made him so damn attractive she couldn’t think.

And yeah, maybe he’d struck a nerve. He could get into the long line of people who assumed they knew what a librarian should look, act, and be like.

She’d been presumed to be shy, introverted, and bookish on too many occasions to count.

And okay, fine, she was bookish, but that didn’t automatically mean she was also shy and introverted.

“I don’t mean to rush you,” Elliott said, “but I am about to close. When I came in this morning, I expected the weather to hold off until afternoon. Looks like it’s going from bad to worse within the hour.”

“It’s slick out there.” Hazel checked the windows, concerned.

She’d checked the weather on her phone and thought a quick jaunt to the library would be fine if she waited to leave.

But her car’s tires had slipped on a few icy patches on the way here.

Now, at nearly eleven o’clock, the sky was already dark.

“I thought I’d pop by and check on Stanley. I hate the thought of him being alone.”

“Well, I suggest you go straight home,” Elliott told Hazel.

Then she turned her attention to Lynx. “And you to your brother’s house.

I’d hate for you to be stranded out here.

Brady told me if he has to dig people out, he’s going to put them in jail afterwards,” she said of her police officer husband.

Lynx laughed. Then Elliott laughed. Which was a relief to Hazel, because going to jail sounded not that fun to her.

“I’m kidding. He wouldn’t do that.” Elliott winked at Hazel.

“I will be heading back to Ant and Lou’s house, actually. I ended up crashing there after a late night. Ant is teaching me how to use a miter saw.”

“Very cool,” Elliott said approvingly. “You’re going to be a carpenter now?”

Lynx shrugged one shoulder. Hazel had the sense that he was trying to play cool about something he was actually excited about.

“I borrowed his truck.” Lynx gestured to the window at the idling vehicle sitting cattywampus on the curb. “You know them?”

Since the question was directed to Hazel, she felt obligated to answer. “Yes, Lou is a writer. I am a librarian. We’ve crossed paths.”

More than that. Lou had learned that Hazel wanted to write a book, so Lou had taken her under her wing. Hazel had been meeting up with her for coffee a few times a week to brainstorm. Usually they ended up laughing and gossiping, but that was just as fun.

“So…?” Elliott prompted as a gust of wind rattled the windows. “Did you need something?”

“Oh, a bag of Christmas Blend. Whole bean. And do you happen to have anything brewed?”

“Colombian.” Elliott held up a half-full pot. “Just brewed it for me, so I was going to pour the rest down the drain. You can have it on the house. Lynx? Coffee for the road? My treat.”

“Can’t pass that up.”

Elliott poured two coffees and snapped on the lids. She charged Hazel for her bag of beans, and then began shutting off lights. “Okay, you two, be safe out there. Hazel, won’t Stanley be okay on his own for another day?”

Lynx’s brows scrunched in confusion at the mention of “Stanley,” which Hazel found amusing, so she played it up.

“You know how he is.” She waved a hand. “He’s okay without me until he’s not. He needs me. After a year together, we know each other really well.”

“Oh-kay.” Elliott’s expression now matched Lynx’s. “Well, be careful out there. Both of you. And thank you for risking life and limb to come in and buy coffee.”

“Coffee is always worth the risk,” Lynx said, and Hazel silently agreed.

They exited Cup of Jo’s side by side, the bell ringing its farewell. On the snowy sidewalk, he paused in front of the truck. “Which direction are you going? I’ll make sure you get there okay.”

“I’m good, thanks.” She didn’t need a babysitter.

His gaze cut to her car. “Your vehicle is about three inches off the ground and there are roughly six-and-a-half inches of snow out here.”

“Four inches, maybe,” she challenged. Then, because she felt sassy, added, “Just like a man to exaggerate.”

A slow grin popped a dimple on his cheek, and despite the cold, Hazel felt her cheeks warm from embarrassment. She had never considered herself shy, but neither was she a flirt. And that comment had been a touch flirty, by her own estimations.

“If I was exaggerating, I would’ve said eight.” He looked away first, which allowed her to catch her breath. “You heard what Elliott said. I’m harmless.”

“Mostly harmless.”

“Exactly. So, which way to Stanley?”

“He’s at the library. Waiting for me. Do you know how to get there?”

“Are you assuming I haven’t been to this library or any library?”

A bit of both, but she denied it. “Neither.”

“I’ve never been there. So don’t try to shake me. I just don’t want you to end up in jail or frozen to death on Endless Avenue.”

“That is highly unlikely.”

“But possible.” His grin was slow like honey and twinged parts of her she would rather not have twinging. Like her nipples.

She would like to blame an attraction to bad boys, but Hazel didn’t suffer from that plight. There was something more to Lynx Dane that she sensed ran deeper. He was sharp and observant.

And harmless.

Mostly.

Since he appeared to be waiting for her answer, she gave him one. “See you at the library.”