Chapter One
Noah Harris walked out of the elevator and into the foyer of the apartment building. He was tired but happy, and his day had worked out pretty spectacularly all round.
“Going out for a meal?”
“I am, Roy. Any suggestions?”
He was staying in his friend Ethan Gelderman’s place for two days while he visited suppliers and his bank manager. The business he and his sister ran was doing well, and they were both determined to keep it that way, so they were about to upgrade things.
“Fort is a bar about a ten-minute walk from here, Noah. Good food, good music, and usually a nice crowd.”
“Thanks, man.”
Heading down the sidewalk, he let the cool air settle around him. Twilight looked good on the town of Brook. He saw glimpses of the lake that reached all the way to his home town of Lake Howling. The buildings were a mix of old and new, with plenty of greenery planted about the place for effect. People were roaming the streets, enjoying the weather before fall really took hold.
Noah would have a beer and some food, then he’d be ready to head back and catch an early night so he could leave in the morning. Like most Howlers, as the locals in his town called themselves, he enjoyed a break away now and again but was usually ready to head home after a few days.
He found the sign for the place Roy recommended and entered the building.
“You want a table?”
“I’ll just head to the bar first, thanks,” Noah told the waitress.
As the owner of a bar, restaurant, and hotel, he always liked to check out what others were doing with their businesses. More modern than he usually liked, Fort was busy and the music loud. It was a flaw in him that he judged every establishment he walked into against his own.
Reaching the bar, he took a stool beside a woman and offered her a smile as she turned his way. “Hi.”
She was surprised by his greeting, the look she threw him wide-eyed. “Hello.”
She wore a faded navy cap over short black curls. Her jeans were worn and baggy, and over the top was a loose white button-up shirt.
“Beer, thanks,” Noah said as the barman arrived. He pointed to his favorite kind. “You want something?”
She shook her head, and he could imagine what she was thinking.Why does he want to buy me a drink? What’s he after?
Noah mentally sighed. He really was just being polite. People were suspicious these days.
“How’s your day been so far?” Social chat was natural in his occupation; he could do it in his sleep, so he worked on getting her to relax.
She picked up her wine and took a large sip, draining the last of the liquid. Fortifying, he thought for some reason, and yet his question hadn’t been overly taxing, surely?
“Okay, thank you for asking.” She spoke in a soft, polite voice.
“Just okay?”
She shot him a look, then another nod. He knew when someone wasn’t into conversing; however, that rarely stopped Noah.
“I hate those days. You can’t put a finger on what went wrong, but something did.”
Because he was watching her, he saw the side of her mouth kick up as her fingers played with the stem of her wineglass. “Yes, that sums it up.”
“Hate to say this, but I had a great day.”
She turned from contemplating her wine, and the smile was in her eyes even if her lips only moved slightly. It suited her. Lit her face. He thought her eyes were a dark blue, but it was hard to tell in this light and under the brim of her cap. Dark gray, maybe? “I’m glad your day was good.”
“I own and run a hotel, bar, and restaurant with my twin sister.”
“That must be nice.”
