“Maybe not one of your finer moments.”
“It was downright embarrassing.” Kinley let out a pitiful laugh. “How’d you feel if the police chief showed up seconds after Ed vanished into the woods?”
“So, Ryder was the first person who got to see you. Besides Fiona, of course. I see how it is.”
Leaving the gift bag on the counter, Kinley turned her attention to a round jewelry tower. She held an aquamarine necklace against her fingers, admiring its handcrafted details. “Not by choice, believe me.”
“You heard what happened to him?” Ava asked.
Gently letting the necklace go, Kinley returned to the counter. She disliked how empty the store was, though surely it’d be filled with more customers in a couple of weeks when the tourists flooded town. Right now though, she was thankful for the lack of eavesdroppers. Whatever Ava was about to say sounded important, but not necessarily good.
“What’s that?” Kinley asked.
“He was left at the altar.”
From all the scenarios that ran through her head moments ago, this wasn’t one of them. “Who did that to him?”
“Mercedes.”
“He was going tomarryMercedes?” Kinley couldn’t decide which was more shocking. Ryder and Mercedes had been that on-again, off-again couple all through high school, but she never once thought he’d be serious enough to marry her. “What happened?”
“I guess she left him a note, her engagement ring, and an empty bank account.” Ava retrieved a notebook from the office and settled on a stool. “Took off to Hollywood to pursue her dream of being an actress with some tourist who rolled through town. Rumor is he was an agent, but you know how rumors go.”
Kinley fidgeted with a display of hand-carved pocket knives. Each one had a different design etched into the handle. She gravitated toward the one with the moose.Go figure. “How’d that work out for her?”
Hunched over a paper ledger, Ava gave an indifferent shrug. “It’s been two years. I don’t know if that’s enough time for her to be in anything we’d see on TV.”
“Probably not.”Two years?The grumpiness and frown practically chiseled into Ryder’s face made more sense now. But two years seemed like a long time to stay mad.He must’ve loved her a lot.
“I did hear she was on a hand soap commercial, but I never saw it.”
The bells above the door chimed, turning both their heads. Several more questions swarmed about this whole situation, but asking them would have to wait.
A man their age with a reddish-brown beard stepped inside, seemingly out of place in a boutique more heavily catered to women. Kinley couldn’t place his name and suspected he was a new to town since she called Sunset Ridge home. “Who is—” Kinley’s whispered words trailed off when she noticed how fidgety her friend became, straightening displays that didn’t need the adjustment.
“Need something, Brayden?”
He admired the rack of silk scarves, holding a lavender one in his hand. “Mom might like this,” he said.
“Thought your mom didn’t like Alaska.”
“She doesn’t.”
“Don’t tell her you bought it here, then,” she teased. “She might burn it.” The light flushing of Ava’s cheeks hinted at something more than annoyance.A crush?Kinley watched the exchange with fascination.
“Guess we’ll have to gamble, won’t we?” Brayden lifted the scarf from the rack and carried it to the counter. “Came to get some of those homemade dog biscuits. Elsie can’t get enough.”
“Why didn’t you say so?” Ava removed a few individually wrapped treats from a display case, all in the shape of a bone, and placed them in a gift bag. “I could just make her some, you know.”
Brayden dropped a few twenties on the counter and strutted toward the door, despite the register asking for thirty-nine and a half dollars. “This gets me out of the house. Have a nice day, ladies.”
“Yousureyou aren’t seeing anyone?” Kinley repeated her question.
Ava rolled her eyes with all the dramatics of a tantrum-throwing three-year-old. “He’s my neighbor. If it weren’t for his dog, I’d probably just move.”
“What does he—”
Bells chimed again. Kinley expected Brayden to make a second appearance, but it was an elderly woman instead.
