“Oh, Chuck Oliver stopped by, so I asked him to help.”
My stomach clenched, and I squeezed Thorne’s hand. “I haven’t seen him at the festival yet. Was he here today?”
“No.” Taffy waved her hand in the air. “He was here last night. Felt absolutely awful about that stunt the concert organizer pulled. Trying to lure folks over to a free concert with your festival going on… his dementia must be getting worse. He said he didn’t even remember signing the contract to let those folks lease his land, but when they pulled it out and showed it to him, there it was in black and white.”
I glanced over at Thorne, who appeared to be deep in thought. Then he turned to Taffy, his hand still wrapped around mine. “Does Mr. Oliver live alone?”
“Yes.” She nodded. “Well, his son has been staying with him for the past couple of weeks. I never thought that boy would be back. Of course, he’s not really a boy anymore, though you wouldn’t know it by listening to him. He came into the café the other day and pitched a hissy fit because our espresso machine was broken.”
“Charles Oliver, Junior,” I said to Thorne. “He and my brother were friends in high school until they had a massive falling out over…”
“A girl,” Thorne finished for me.
“How do you know that?”
His eyes went wide, then he laughed. “It’s always about a girl, isn’t it, Destiny?”
“Are you going to introduce me to your,”—Taffy cast an obvious glance at our joined hands—“special friend?”
Thorne let my hand slide out of his and held it out to her. She didn’t waste any time before grabbing onto it with both of hers. “I’m Thorne. I came to help my brother with the petting zoo, and I guess you could say Destiny and I hit it off.”
Her smile widened. “Are you planning on sticking around after the festival ends? Hartsville is a great place to live. Maybe even raise a family.”
Thorne didn’t falter at all. “I’ve heard that.”
“We’d better finish making the rounds.” I needed to get him away from her before she offered to make us one of her three-tiered wedding cakes. Plus, Thorne and I had to talk about the info she’d inadvertently divulged. If Mr. Oliver’s son had been in town for a while, he might be the one pulling Dartman’s strings.
“I’ll find you later when it’s time to start taste testing.” Then she turned her toothy smile on Thorne. “I really hope we get to see more of you in town.”
He responded appropriately without giving anything away, then took my hand again. Looking out over the tents and tables and all the people filtering onto the festival grounds, I really hoped this wouldn’t be the last bluebonnet festival. And even more importantly, I hoped with all my heart I’d have Gonzo back before the night came to an end.
9
THORNE
Iasked Destiny to go over the plan again. She rattled off the exact sequence of events we’d talked about.
“That’s my good girl.” My cheeks heated. “Sorry, I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. I meant good job. You’re obviously not my girl. Not even a girl at all. You’re a woman.”
She smirked. “Thanks for the anatomy lesson. I actually kind of like hearing you call me your good girl.”
The heat shifted from my cheeks to tease my cock. “I’ll keep that in mind for later.”
“You really think this is going to work?” Destiny’s flirty tone gave way to a nervous energy. Worry filled her beautiful eyes and formed a tiny crease between her eyebrows.
“Yes. There’s no doubt in my mind we’re going to get Gonzo back and prove Oliver’s son is the one who’s been threatening you.” I finished stashing the gear I needed to execute my plan into a small black bag. I’d changed into the threads I’d worn on my stakeout last night. “As soon as I find Gonzo and text you, I want you to run—don’t walk—out the back door where Henry will be waiting.” My brother didn’t have a military background, but he was the only one I trusted to get Destiny to safety once Dartman and Junior knew we were onto them.
“I know. We’ve been over this a million times.” She put her hand to her head.
“You’re going to do great.” She’d been handling the situation like a pro. Probably could have made a hell of a Navy SEAL, but her brother never would have stood by and let her follow in his footsteps.
My phone rang on the bed behind her.
“Do you need to take that?” She reached over to pick it up, but stopped suddenly. The way her entire body stiffened let me know something was wrong before she even said a word.
“What is it?” I looked past her and saw Mike’s picture flash on the screen. Fuuuuuuuuuck.
“That’s my brother.” Destiny grabbed the phone and held it up to show me. “Why is my brother calling your phone?”
