Not great.
“So you’ve mentioned,” Carter mutters as he passes, heading for the office next to the living room while Eliza keeps playing with my hair, giggling.
“Don’t mind him,” Quinn says with a sly grin, hiding it behind the coffee cup she brought from her shop. Her leg swings lazily off the armrest of the lounge chair. “He’s just irritated you stole his spot.”
My brother and his fiancée are too cute; it makes me question if I actually knew him at all. Living here gives me a front-row seat to their relationship. And Carter’s just… smitten.
Never thought I’d use that word to describe him, but here we are.
My immediate reality is unraveling, so naturally, I do what anyone would in my shoes: fill the growing void with pastries.
I stretch out my arm to grab one of Quinn’s famous crullers off the coffee table, flexing my fingers like a drowning woman reaching for a life float, until she takes pity and slides the plate closer.
“I’d marry you in a heartbeat if you baked me these every morning,” I sigh around a mouthful of doughnut.
The sparky blonde arches a brow, tilting her head as if she’s genuinely considering it. But all my hopes for a lifetime supply of sugary treats crumble when she lets out a throaty laugh.
“Nah. You sound too high maintenance.”
Eliza’s friend has quickly become one of my favorite people. She came as a two-for-one package deal, with zero filter, a wicked sense of humor, and the best desserts on the East Coast.
But there’s something different about her these days. Eliza sees it too, stealing glances when Quinn isn’t looking. It’s in the hard lines on her face, the deep under-eye circles she covers with makeup.
She works hard to act like her usual self, but it’s so obvious it’s a mask. No wonder, after finding out who her boyfriendwas. I wish I could do more than keep her under the Rawlings’ protective detail.
Carter’s footsteps return, punctuated by a long, exaggerated sigh. “Are you planning to merge with my couch?”
“It’s not that easy to be entirely cut off,” I say between bites of doughnut.
“Is that so?” he drawls, hovering behind the couch, clearly amused.
“I get it now. You don’t have to rub it in,” I grumble. “Though, to be fair, we forced you to take a break for your own sake.”
Poor Eliza. Taking in two Rawlings strays within the span of a year. Her touch is everywhere in this house, warm and welcoming, and she does her best to make me feel at home. It’s so lovely and cozy, and the view toward the lake and the mountains is breathtaking.
Some days, I actually consider moving here too. Then I remember my love-hate relationship with the outdoors and that I’m a New York girl, through and through.
Carter mimics my voice in a ridiculous impression of what I told him when we sent him to Silver Lake Falls over a year ago. “It will do you good. Just try to relax.”
Eliza does her best to hide her laugh behind a fake cough, but Quinn can’t hold it in and lets out a blatant snort.
I grab a balled-up napkin and hurl it at my brother’s chest. “Oh, shut up. You can’t complain about the outcome.”
He flashes a grin at Eliza. “Sure can’t.”
They’re insufferably in love.
The front door rattles with a knock so loud it startles Eliza and Quinn.
“It’s like the man never heard of a doorbell, I swear to God,” Carter grumbles on his way to open it.
The broad frame of Silver Lake Falls’ sheriff fills the doorway, and Quinn’s stare turns pointed.
“What’s he doing here?” she asks Eliza.
“He’s probably got some news for Carter. I told him I didn’t want to know anything until Hall’s caught.” Eliza chews on her lip, her usual giddiness fading. “Talking about it brings me back to that day. And I can’t…”
I squeeze her hand, still eyeing the sheriff. The guy’s not my type, but even I can appreciate how massive he is. I bet he doesn’t even have to do much on the job. His sheer dark aura and those tatted, muscled arms would probably make the criminals cuff themselves.
