I made a quick detour to shower before throwing on the last pair of clean clothes I’d packed for the weekend, and then I was out the door and sliding into my truck with one destination in mind.
When I pulled up to town hall, hers was the only car in the lot, the streetlamps only just turning off as the sun rose, illuminating the tall, imposing brick building. I’d called her on the way and gotten her voice mail, so I strode to the back door we’d gone in and out of last night and tried the handle. Locked.
I figured it was a lost cause to attempt the front door at this early hour, but I did anyway, finding it locked as well.
“Goddammit,” I muttered, trying her cell one more time.
After another unanswered call, I left my car in the parking lot and walked across the street to The Sweet Spot. If anyone wouldknow how the hell to approach this whole thing with Kenna, it’d be my momma.
I used my key to get in since we weren’t yet open for the day, except I didn’t find who I was looking for. Just Nash and several other workers buzzed around the space, neither my momma nor sister in sight.
“Hey.” I lifted my chin in greeting.
“Hey, Hud, what’s goin’ on?” Nash asked.
Standing on opposite ends of one of the side walls, he and another guy I didn’t know stood perched on ladders, both holding a board of shiplap against the wall. Nash whipped out his level to ensure proper placement before giving the other guy a nod of approval.
Through blasts of a nail gun, I answered, “Came to find my momma, actually. She in back?”
“Nah.” Nash pressed the gun against the board, nailing in his section. “She and Lilah decided yesterday afternoon to close down for a few days until we were done. Got too loud in here—for them and the customers, I think. That’s why we’re here so early. Tryin’ to get this done as soon as possible, so y’all don’t miss out on too much business. I know it’s a busy time of year with holiday orders.”
The bells on the front door chimed as someone tried to open the door, and I turned to find a woman around my age with long red hair peering in through the glass.
I unlocked and opened the door. “Hey, sorry, but we’re closed.”
“What!” she barked. “Nooooo. I need my fix. Surely you don’t expect me to go over there—” she gestured behind her toward town hall “—and deal with his highness’s bullshit without heaven in the form of a glazed croissant, do you?Do you? Are you really that cruel?”
“I—” I furrowed my brow, having no idea who this woman was. And then it hit me—I’d seen her once before on my first day home. She was one of Kenna’s friends.
“Hey, Avery,” Nash called, filling in the blank for me. “Sorry ’bout that, but we’re tryin’ to finish up as quick as possible.”
“Lilah didn’t leave anything for me, did she?” she asked, a hopeful note in her tone, her hands clasped under her chin.
I chuckled and shook my head. “’Fraid not, sorry.”
“Dammit,” she whined, then spun in a circle before facing me again. “Hey, did you get Mac home all right from the hospital?”
“Um…yeah.”
“Oh! Sorry to bombard you with questions before even introducing myself,” she said, her accent lacking the familiar drawl I was used to hearing in these parts. She definitely wasn’t from the South. She thrust out her hand toward me. “I’m Avery. Bestie to Will. Not-quite-bestie-but-still-excellent-friend to Mac. Nice to finally meet you, Hudson.”
“Hey. Good to meet you.” I gripped her hand, giving it a quick shake.
“Did she leave town hall when she got my note last night?”
I pressed my lips together and raised my eyebrows. If Avery was as good of a friend to Kenna as she said, then she’d know exactly what Kenna did when she came across the note. Namely, ignore it.
“What do you think?”
“Goddammit!” She stomped her high-heeled foot, balling her hands into fists. “Did she at least get some rest?”
“Not a whole lot, despite my efforts.”
Avery’s eyebrows shot up, and I worried too late I was supposed to keep that little tidbit to myself. “That so?”
“Yeah, well, she was gone this mornin’ when I got up.”
Avery’s spine snapped straight. “Is she at town hall right now?”
