Getting into the truck and driving home, the road stretched out ahead of me, and it didn’t feel as ominous as it had an hour ago. There was the matter of the family checking in today, so I should focus on that, but I’d still make a call to Rhodes. I wanted that background check—just to be safe.
CHAPTER 15
Hattie
Losing myself in books was easy. I had already found three must-reads and was grabbing a third one, which had an illustrated cover showing three cowboys hanging on a fence and gazing longingly at a plus-sized woman who glanced over her shoulder at them—an instant addition to my pile. Omegaverse romance had become my latest guilty pleasure over the past month.
Usually, I wouldn’t buy physical paperback books because of all my traveling and would rely on my e-reader, but now that I planned to stay here for a while, the temptation was irresistible. Paperbacks could be fun sometimes, and Chapter & Crumb did have a nice used section, so I could always drop books off that I’d read (that was today’s excuse).
“Looks like you did really well,” the brunette at the counter laughed as I piled my stack onto the counter, trying to pull my notebook out from under them whilebalancing, as I pushed them forward. “You’ve got a few of my new favorites here. Let me help.” She steadied the stack as I rescued my spiral.
“They look really good. I couldn’t help myself; they were just crying on the shelf.‘Buy me, Hattie. Buy me.’”
“Absolutely. Got to rescue all the books,” she said solemnly. “It’s our duty as readers, and I do try to find good titles. I’m not lying when I say that these are good ones. I especially enjoyed this one.” She tapped the Omegaverse, and her lips curved into a smile. “Even my fiancé enjoyed it.”
“Oh?” I loved hearing about partners who read. “Well, then I’m glad I picked it.”
“Can I get you some coffee or snacks before I ring you up?”
I had already moved over to the bakery case, so she wasn’t off base with the question. Rattling off my coffee order, I pointed out a ham-and-cheese croissant that looked amazing, then longingly eyed the confetti-sprinkle cupcake but chose instead what appeared to be the special of the day. I couldn’t be weak and have Kipp’s favorite. “Can I have a croissant, and one of those? They look delicious.”
“Highly recommend if I do say so myself. The date and phyllo cups?” When I nodded, she maneuvered one of the sticky treats in its paper cup onto the plate she wasassembling. They looked to-die-for. “Fresh this morning.”
“Did you make them?” I had to ask. If there was one thing I wasn’t good at, it was baking, which was a total shame because I had a sweet tooth. It was tough when you worked from home and constantly craved snacks, so it was probably for the best that I couldn’t bake, or I would be doing it all the time.
“I did bake these. They’re part of our book club’s kickoff, so we only have them this month. The croissants, however, are made by my pastry chef. I can’t take credit for those. Phiny is amazing — she makes them way better than I do.”
“What’s the book you’re reading for the club?” The question was more idle curiosity than anything else since I wasn’t planning to be here longer than a month, but I’d never been somewhere with an honest-to-God book club. Could be fun. I shrugged and added, “Just curious.”
“You can’t find out until next week. Each lead-in is a bit of mystery until the big unveiling.” She made jazz hands. “I make it into a whole thing with costumes, but I’ll put clues up so people can try to guess the next month’s pick a few weeks ahead of time.” Her eyes twinkled. “I put drinks and specials out there with hints and maybe even postcards in the stacks that point people in the right direction. You’re welcome to join.”
Squinting at the menu, I examined the items and immediately recognized what must be their usual offerings: brownies, lemon bars, and specialty scones. The phyllo cups were called Votive Honeyed Knots, and a tea was listed as The Oracle. On one corner of the board was a small scepter that had my mind already working. It was a clever idea to get people excited for the next book and keep them coming back to your storefront—truly genius.
“Maybe I will.” I realized that I meant it. The idea was intriguing, and the prospect of the company made me want to come.
“I hope so. Are you staying nearby, or did you move here?” she asked while ringing up my total. “It’s a small town,” she added sheepishly. “We’re always curious.”
Swiping my credit card, I signed on the tablet. Small towns were definitely their own thing. “I just got here, but I’m staying out at some cabins pretty close.” Her eyes narrowed a little.
“Kipp’s? You said Hattie, right?”
“Um … yes and yes?” Edging my plate off the counter, I looked at my coffee and my books, wondering if I could ask for a bag. Now I had too much stuff to carry. Kipp had known the girl at the counter when we came in, and his sister had been in here when we met for coffee. Didn’t he say something about a brother’s fiancée?
The woman, Lila, laughed, according to her nametag. “Yeah, I know him. He’s my fiancée’s brother. The cabins arenice, right? I’m a little jealous that you get to stay up there. Let me help you to your table, and I’ll get you a bag for your books.”
Once she helped me over to a nice table next to a cushy-looking armchair and brought my books over, she finally hit me with it. “So,” she eye-balled me. “You’re into true-crime?”
“I wouldn’t say I’mintoit.” I disliked it when people phrased it that way. “I’m here investigating a disappearance.”
Lila’s face crumpled. “Oh, I didn’t mean it like that. I sounded like a total bitch, didn’t I?”
Usually, I didn’t let it bother me, but the whole thing with Kipp had thrown me off my game.“Don’t worry about it. Sometimes people are judgy, that’s all. You weren’t out of line or anything. Generally, I’m way better about it, and I try not to be too sensitive, but I’ve had a hard few days.”
“I get that for sure. I’m sorry that you haven’t had the best welcome. Let me guess, is Kipp being a dick about your podcasting? I love that guy, but he has a very black and white view of the world sometimes.”
“Yeah, he’s probably not going to be starting any fan clubs for me.” The disapproval on his face was pretty clear, but I was planning to let it go. Lila squeezed my shoulder. “It’s fine. The whole reason I do this isn’t for approval from random guys.”
“I think what you do is amazing, by the way. You give these cases a voice, and people who maybe didn’t get the attention they deserved— that’s really important.”
