Watching her walk away as the sunlight caught in her hair, the curve of her shoulders disappearing through the doorway gave me a good view of her ass. “Damn.” Geez, Iwas such a perv. Fish gave a quiet grunt. “Yeah, I know. She’s trouble. The very best kind.”
By the time she came back out with a paper bag and sunglasses down over her eyes, I was leaning against my Jeep, pretending not to wait and not doing a very good job. She slowed when she saw me.
“Didn’t take you for the loitering type,” she said.
“Didn’t take you for the kind who buys canned peaches and beef jerky,” I shot back, nodding at her bag.
Her brows lifted. “What makes you think that’s what I bought? Maybe I bought tampons and chocolate.”
“Small town. We know things. Although I’ve got room to be wrong.” She wouldn’t be scaring me away with period talk that was for sure. I’d been raised with sisters.
“That sounds promising. You always this cryptic, Kipp Holt?” She smiled then, and I started thinking I wasn’t the only one who was cryptic.
“Only on weekdays. I take Saturdays and Sundays off. Got to make sure Monday through Friday I’m ready to go.”
“Lucky me.” She slid the bag into her passenger seat. “So... Is this coffee shop walkable?”
CHAPTER 3
Hattie
Present
The drive from Arizona was incredibly long, but a new case always energized me, and summer here seemed amazing. Arizona’s heat was completely different from Oregon’s. Granted, neither place was what I’d call cool, but here, at least, I felt like I could breathe. Arizona had been over a hundred and ten degrees every day, and it felt like I was baking from the inside out. Here, it wasn’t even ninety-five, and there were towering trees everywhere — real shade. However, in the evening, I loved the reprieve that night brought to the desert in Arizona. My guess was that the temperatures here didn’t drop quite like they did there. I had learned in my travels over the years that each place was different. You had to appreciate them all as unique experiences or you’d drive yourself crazy.
I’d first driven through the town of Briar Falls to get a quick look at the landmarks that had been mentioned inthe case files before taking a trip out to the area where Allison Finch’s car had been found.
The case was eerily similar to my sister’s, which is why I chose it. Every week, I’d get comments or posts on my podcast suggesting new cases, and I usually had moderators who sorted through them. When the podcast would close out a case and we’d move on, we typically looked for ones that fit a certain criterion, but this time, I couldn’t help but notice the echoes of Jane’s car left behind and the unanswered questions I still had.
After a quick look at the spot where her car was found and the town of Briar Falls, I picked a nearby town that had a real grocery store and a possible place to stay. My rule was never to stay in a motel or any place I was investigating if it could be avoided, especially in a small town. It just wasn’t a good idea for a variety of reasons. There was always a risk of conflict when interviewing people, and things could go wrong. It had only happened once that someone followed me back to a motel, but that was enough to make me cautious.
Wildwood Meadows was adorable and close enough to travel back and forth to both my locations for investigative purposes, and now I might even get a chance at some company.
I cast a sideways glance at the man-candy walking beside me. During my detour through the grocery store, I took the opportunity to look up not only the cabins through aproperty search but also to send his name to my hacker squad for some background info.
While I waited, I figured I might as well make the most of the chance he gave. He was gorgeous to look at, all muscles with his t-shirt stretched tight over his shoulders, and forearms so veiny that my panties practically melted right off. Rugged, outdoorsy, and brawny were definitely words I’d use for him, and you could cut yourself on that jaw. Damn, he was just a little too good-looking. I bet women around this town were tripping over themselves trying to get into his pants.
“Here we are.” He laid a warm palm on the center of my back, right where the edge of my tank rode up, sending a shiver down my spine.
God, I was a sucker for that in the movies, and it was even better in person.
He pulled out one of the sidewalk cafe tables for me. There were cute striped umbrellas that provided plenty of shade, and even though I’d been sitting for a long time, I still wasn’t too upset to find myself at a table with Kipp as Fish flounced over to a water bowl near the front of the shop and gulped from it greedily, making droplets fly as he slurped before returning to collapse under the table.
Chapter & Crumb looked like it was a combo coffee shop and bookstore. I was getting my bearings when a woman in an oversized t-shirt that said “I’m Friends With A Monstera” fairly skipped out of the shop’s opendoor, a giant smile on her face and her eyes honed on Kipp.
Pinching my mouth shut, I hoped she wasn’t a current girlfriend or anything. Talk about awkward. Not that we’d gone into specifics, but I thought he was flirting earlier. Maybe I’d been wrong.
“Kippers!” she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around him and rising on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “How nice to see you.”
To his credit, he didn’t seem perturbed at all by her overt display, squeezing her tight and lifting her so her pink Crocs left the ground. “Poison Ivy, did you need a little caffeine break, or were you in there talking to Lila?”
“I got an iced tea, but Lila isn’t here.” She pushed a piece of her auburn hair back under her headband. “So, who’s this then?” Fish panted against her hand, and she patted him absently while he gave her a lick. She cocked her head at me in question, her eyes bouncing between the two of us. “Are you on a date?”
“Kippers?” I snorted. “I’m not sure what to do with that. Hi, I’m Hattie.” I shook the hand she offered, feeling somehow charmed by her.
“This is one of my sisters, Sage.” He slung an arm over her shoulder. “She’s impossible sometimes, but I love her anyway.” He kissed the top of her head, squishing her against his bigger body, so she struggled a little as she tried to push himoff.
I’d been wondering whether the woman was an old flame or a current one. Sister was much better. They looked nothing alike next to each other. Kipp had almost blonde hair and a face that could almost be Viking-esque, while Sage was petite and curvy with auburn hair that curled every which way and freckles. She was beautiful, but I wouldn’t have paired them as siblings in my wildest dreams.
