“You’ll what?” Meredith shrieked.
“You took the words right out of my mouth,” Bronwyn added.
“I have concerns. This guy could be who he claims, or he could have nefarious motives. Either way, I don’t think it would be prudent for Bronwyn to be alone with him. And since I’m sitting right here, there’s no reason for her to take that risk. I’ll go with her and help judge the situation.”
“Good plan. I like it. Bronwyn, what do you think?” Meredith asked.
“I think it’s overkill, but I won’t argue about it.” Bronwyn stared straight at Mo as she spoke.
“Good.” His eyes held hers.
“I wish I could be there. Sometimes being an adult is so annoying. Responsibilities and all that stuff. Why did we grow up again?” Meredith’s plaintive voice almost made Bronwyn smile.
“No choice in the matter, Mer Bear.” Mo held up three fingers. Then two. Then one.
“Mo! No! We removed that nickname from usage years ago.”
Mo shook with silent laughter. “Did we? Sorry about that.”
“Payback, brother dearest. Prepare thyself.”
Mo’s laughter was no longer silent. He continued to look at Bronwyn. She was laughing now too.
Meredith sounded like she was trying not to laugh as she said, “I have to go. One of you text me when you’re done and give me an update.”
“I’llcall,” Mo said, not dropping his gaze. “Bronwyn has a massage.”
Bronwyn couldn’t look away.
“Oh, right. Okay. Talk soon. Love you both.”
“Love you,” Bronwyn replied the same way she always did. And Mo also replied with the same words.
And for the split second before he returned his focus to his computer, Bronwyn wasn’t sure if he’d been talking to Meredith.
Or to her.
Twenty-Three
Mo kept his hands on the keyboard and his face pointed at the monitor. But he wasn’t seeing anything except Bronwyn’s face. She was so expressive. Or was she? Maybe it was that, even after all these years, he could read her emotions. At least, he could when she wasn’t trying to keep them from him.
When June had brought in the lunch, Bronwyn’s expression had morphed from confusion to delight and then consternation, landing on what he decided was confused delight when she realized what was happening.
She was softening up. Hopefully she appreciated his efforts on her behalf.
He would have liked to spend the afternoon thinking of more ways to remind her he could be a good guy. Unfortunately, the look on her face when she talked about the interview this afternoon didn’t give him warm and fuzzy feelings. He could focus on being charming later. For now, his priority was to keep her safe.
There was something ... off about the whole thing. Had she ever granted a reporter an interview before?
A quick web search gave him the answer. Surprisingly enough, yes. There were quite a few interviews about The Haven. But theywere presented in a way that protected the resort and the town from scrutiny. He read through an interview she had done last year and tried to read it as if he’d never heard of The Haven before. Based on the information provided, he drew two conclusions. One, the place was far out of his price range. And two, it was somewhere in the mountains of either North Carolina or Tennessee, maybe even Georgia, but he wasn’t sure exactly where.
In this day and age, keeping The Haven off the map would prove difficult, if not futile. Maybe Bronwyn’s goal wasn’t to keep it hidden but to minimize the impact on the community. That would make sense.
Mo shot June a text.
What is the name of the reporter B has an interview with?
Seconds later, she replied.
