Heat. So much freaking heat.
And it had absolutely nothing to do with the sun.
“You okay?” he asked quietly.
His nostrils flared, and I swore he was sniffing the air… or sniffing me? His eyes flashed. Was that a sign of the wolf he said lived inside him? That was kind of sexy. If I stared into his eyes long enough, would they do that again?
I swallowed and nodded. “Uh… yeah… I, uh, tripped.”
He nodded. Then he stepped back.Right. He probably didn’t appreciate me being all up in his space.
“Watch out! Coming through,” someone shouted from behind us.
This time, it was me tugging Gideon by the arm as I stepped to the side. A man with rainbow-colored hair moved by us in a cloud of perfumed air that reminded me of a hair salon. He was pushing a chartreuse-colored wheelbarrow full of boxes and plastic bottles. He must be one of the vendors.
“Sorry, Mason,” Gideon called after the man.
Mason just waved over his shoulder. I scooped up my sadly empty coffee cup and dropped it in a trash can.
Now that I was no longer daydreaming about a naked Gideon, I took a moment to admire the festival preparations. Everything was coming together. The tents were being filled with tables and banners. Lily had claimed a spot right by the park gate. Most vendors wore light summer clothing like sundresses, shorts, or t-shirts, but not Lily. She was wearing another boxy polyester pantsuit, this time in a dreary rusty brown color. Not exactly the picture of summer fun.
Closer to the fountain in the center of the park, Leon was making his stall resemble a medieval room with dusty tapestries hanging along the back, tables full of chunky jewelry, a collection of fancy swords and daggers, and bulky-looking furniture. He even had a suit of armor.
If I was a kid, that’s the booth that’d interest me. Heck, it interested me now, too. If he decorated his store like that, he’d make a lot of money. But I wondered if Leon realized his display would attract kids. He didn’t seem like a kid-friendly kind of guy. But I could see how he might think the LARP and SCA people would be drawn to a magical festival.
Among the many people scurrying around, I saw a few other familiar faces, too. Avery was stringing up garlands of flowers around her space. Wouldn’t they be droopy and wilted by the time the festival started? I hoped not. What she was doing looked amazing.
Another woman, who I remembered as running the quilt shop, was arranging gorgeous quilts at the next table. She was wearing an outlandish hat. And Mei was arranging colorful balls of wool at her spot. I doubted she’d sell much this weekend, not if the weather kept up like it was. Who would want to think about wool and sweaters in this heat?
But I didn’t see Jim.
“Do you see him?”
Gideon was taller. He might have more luck.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Was that someone hammering something? We both turned toward the sound.
Jim was building a platform in front of the statue commemorating Ravenstone’s founding mothers and fathers. He had several people helping him. Was this his full crew? If the rumors were true, none of these people had been paid for their work because Winston’s bills were overdue. Could any of these people be mad enough to kill over that?
I frowned. We were trying to eliminate suspects, not add more.
Gideon and I approached them. Jim scowled when he saw us.
“What do you want?” Jim wiped his sweaty brow with the back of his hand.
“We wanted to ask a couple of questions…” Gideon started.
Somehow Jim’s face twisted into an even deeper scowl. “Take a break, guys. Get some water. We need to stay hydrated today.”
“And gals,” one of his female employees muttered. She had an athletic build and moved with a purposeful gait. Her dirty blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail.
“Not now, Paula,” Jim said without looking at her. In fact, he hadn’t taken his eyes off Gideon and me. It was almost as if he didn’t trust us.
“Whatever.” Paula winked at me. Then she grabbed several water bottles from a cooler. She tossed one to Jim before she and the others wandered a few feet away to gather under the shade of a tree.
“Ask your damned questions,” Jim said as he cracked open the bottle. “You have until I finish this water, then I’m going back to work.”
