“Thank you,” Teddy replied, trying not to feel self-conscious as she felt more and more people looking in her direction. “And call me Teddy.”
“Baxter’s a writer too,” Declan said, unaware that he was setting off tiny little alarm bells in Teddy’s head, “but more importantly, he’s the creator and brewmaster of B-Cubed Beer.”
“B-Cubed?” Teddy replied politely.
“Baxter’s Beatnik Brews,” replied Baxter. “And don’t worry, I’m a freelance journalist and have absolutely no desire to write a novel. So I’m not going to ask you to read my work or pitch it to your agent—nor am I going to offer to give you an idea to write.” His smile was fast and wicked, and Teddy immediately liked him.
“Then in that case, why don’t you join us for dinner? I’d love to hear all about your beer. You never know when I’m going to write a craft brewer.” She loved getting to talk to someone with an interesting profession. Plus, then she could justify her dinner as “research”—therefore she was actually working.
Baxter’s eyes lit up, and he said, “I’d like that. I’m just dying to know what’s going to happen to Sargent Blue in the next book. Maybe if I ply you with a few samples of my beer, you’ll give me a hint. Mirabella, darling, how about a round on me? I’m moving to their table.”
Teddy thoroughly enjoyed herself, chatting with Baxter (who had several ideas for deliciousandmalicious ways to kill someone in a brewery) and sampling a flight of B-Cubed beer.
“So you’re staying up at Stony Cape Lighthouse?” asked Baxter as Bella put their food in front of them. “That’s kind of far away from civilization.”
“Yes,” Teddy replied. “It’s a cozy little place, but with no Wi-Fi. Which is important. I’ve got it for a month.”
“Wasn’t there something about someone dying out there a while back?” Declan asked, looking at his friend. He’d moved back to town only a year ago, but Baxter had been living there for much longer. “Is that why it’s been vacant for so long?”
“Someone fell from the lighthouse,” Baxter replied.
“Fell or jumped?” Teddy forked up a piece of rainbow trout that had probably been caught that day. “Or waspushed?”
“Well…the official word is that he fell.” Baxter rubbed his trim goatee. “But who knows?”
“How long has the lighthouse been non-operational?” Teddy said. “Did it close down because of the death?”
Baxter shook his head. “No, though I do think that kept people from wanting to stay there for a while. The lighthouse hasn’t been used since the nineties, and Stuart Millore—that’s the guy who fell—died only about three years ago. Maybe four. I don’t really remember…” His attention strayed from the table. It seemed to settle somewhere across the room. And stay.
Teddy glanced at Declan, who was fighting a grin. He elbowed Leslie, then jerked his head toward the other side of the room. She grinned too, and by then, Teddy had to turn around in her chair to see what was going on.
But there was nothing obvious, and she couldn’t tell if Baxter was looking at the cute thirty-year-old mother and her teenage daughter who sat at a booth along the wall, or a group of three couples about the same age, toasting some exciting accomplishment. Or something else.
“You were saying…?” Declan teased as Baxter dragged his attention back to their table. “Maybe it’s time for a haircut, hmm, Bax?” He looked at Teddy, still grinning. “Baxter likes to go to the expensive salon on the north side of town to get his ’fro trimmed because the owner is hot, single, and has a great ra—”
“That’s enough.” Baxter quickly held up a hand. It was difficult to tell with his dark skin, but Teddy was certain he was blushing. “I was just…uh…” He lifted his beer to drink.
Leslie leaned toward Teddy. “Bax’s got a thing for Emily Delton—that perky blond over there, with the teenage daughter.Sheused to have a thing for Declan, but, well…fortunately for both Baxter and Declan, the feeling wasn’t reciprocated.” Her eyes danced with laughter. “Steph and Emily’s daughter are friends.”
Stephanie was Declan’s sixteen-year-old daughter. He’d moved back to Wicks Hollow so he could do some single parenting when Steph’s mother and stepfather moved out of state.
“Don’t worry—Emily doesn’t have a date. And I haven’t heard anything about her seeing anyone, Bax. I’m sure I’d know if she was. Why don’t you just bite the bullet and ask her out?” Leslie said gently.
“Maybe.” Bax turned his attention to the golden-brown beer he was sampling. “So, anyway, Teddy—or should I say T.J.?—can you give meanythingabout what’s going to happen in the next Sargent Blue book?”
With that, Teddy’s easy mood deflated just a little. Because she didn’t bloody wellknowwhat was going to happen. “Well…” she said, drawing out the word and trying to look mysterious, “if I tell you, I’ll have to kill you.”
“It’d be worth it.” Baxter seemed more at ease now that he wasn’t the subject of their teasing.
“Tell you what, Bax,” Declan said, hooking his finger in the air to call Bella over, “I’ll get Leslie to whisk Teddy up to Grand Rapids someday soon, and while they’re gone, we can break in—er, I mean, we can go check out Stony Cape Keeper’s Cottage and see if we happen to stumble on any manuscript pages lying around.” He lifted an eyebrow at Teddy.
“Nice try,” she said, folding her arms over her chest. “But I write on my laptop, and it goes everywhere with me.”
Baxter made a show of looking at her very large leather tote. “You mean, the next Sargent Blue book isin that bag?”
Teddy laughed and shook her head as Declan ordered another round of beer from Mirabella. “Well, not tonight. But you know, Baxter, I might just try your idea of having someone drown in a huge barrel of hops.”
“Speaking of which, have you ever smelled the smoke that comes from the wort?” Declan asked. “It’srank. That alone could kill a guy.”
