This is just work, Sloane. Just a client.
Just a client who makes you want to break every ethical rule you personally wrote.
Damn it.
17
The Hooded Man of Elm Hollow
Sloane
Dad:Sweetheart, want to grab a coffee together?
Me:Sorry, Dad… I just finished working.
Dad:You work too much! How about some tea? It’s too late for coffee.
Me:I’ll wait for you at Pumpkin Spice, Ivy’s butter cookies are perfect with tea!
It’s been half an hour since the debrief with Cohen, and my heart rate still hasn’t returned to anything resembling human.
Thankfully, the upside of today is that I get to spend some time with my dad.
So instead of torturing myself in my office, I escape to the most therapeutic place in Elm Hollow: Pumpkin Spice Café.
I push the door open and I’m immediately wrapped in the smell of coffee, vanilla, and cookies. Inside it’s all twinkle lights, smutty paperbacks, and mismatched mugs.
“Sloane Heart in the flesh!” Ivy calls from behind the counter.
She’s in an orange sweater, her red hair pulled into a messy braid, and her smile feels like coming home.
Cam, perched on a stool beside her, lifts a hand in greeting. I smile back.
I shrug off my coat and set it, along with my bag, on the small table by the window—the one with the perfect view of the pumpkin-decorated square and orange garlands.
Outside, a few leaves drift lazily down. Inside, autumn chaos hums in a cozy way.
“Dad’s on his way,” I announce, checking my phone.
Ivy looks at me with that soft, knowing smile. She knows how much I love spending time with him. “Want me to make something special for you two?”
I smile, already feeling better. “Earl Grey and your magical butter cookies.”
My mouth is already watering.
Since I’m early, I step closer to the counter to chat with Ivy and Cam.
I notice they were reading theElm Hollow Gazette. I just hope there aren’t any new inquisitorial articles about Cam, although… judging by Ivy’s little smirk, probably not.
I arch a brow at the paper and smile, already bracing for whatever fresh nonsense this town has cooked up now.
“Okay, what happened this time? Another horse escaped from the Sunrise Ranch paddock?”
Cam, now leaning against the counter, lifts the newspaper and shows me the center spread.
A bold headline jumps out at me:
FEAR AND LOATHING IN ELM HOLLOW: HOODED MAN ROAMS THE STREETS
