Josh’s jaw tightened. “Right. Too busy.” He spun and left, the door banging behind him.
Kate caught my eye across the room, her look sharp and clear,Don’t ask.
Ian and I wandered the rooms after that, giving Beau space. I picked up two old ceramic planters with faded painted leaves. I could already see them as homes for a couple of houseplants that needed replanting. Ian unearthed a battered old book on Scottish history, the kind of thing that made his eyes gleam with interest, and he found a set of gold cuff links that would come in use for period shoots.
We checked out and stepped back into the bright August sun. Our SUV sat down the street, heat shimmering off its hood.
But someone was leaning against the driver’s side door, arms crossed, expression stormy… Josh.
Josh pushed off the SUV as we approached, his arms folded across his chest. His expression was dark enough to cast a shadow in broad daylight.
“You were supposed to find out what was going on with Kate, Pep,” he accused as if I had committed a major sin.
I hugged the old Scottish history book to my chest while Ian carried the two planters, his cuff links box inside one, toward the back of the SUV.
“And I was supposed to do that by the next day?” I asked.
His jaw flexed. “I told you she hasn’t been answering my texts as quickly as she used to. Sometimes not at all. Even my calls. Something’s off.”
I jerked my chin toward Yesterday’s Treasures, where customers still crowded the windows, waving items at Kate like she was running an auction instead of a shop.
“Are you blind? Did you not see how mobbed her store was? And you’ve been working every hour the sheriff’s department can squeeze out of you with the summer crowd in town. No wonder the two of you haven’t had time for each other.”
Josh scowled, scuffing his boot on the pavement. “That’s not all. I saw her the other day—with Burke.”
The name made me stiffen. Burke. Josh’s nemesis and a man who’d never stopped trying his luck with Kate.
“You saw her with Burke?” I asked, that making a difference.
“Yeah.” His mouth tightened briefly. “She was talking to him in front of the shop. I don’t know what it was about. I was in the squad car driving past. But I know Burke. He’s always working an angle.”
“Did you ask her about it?” I pressed.
“No,” Josh admitted, looking away.
I sighed. “So instead of talking to her, like I suggested, you’re letting it eat at you.”
He turned to Ian suddenly. “You get it, don’t you?”
Ian had just closed the trunk after setting the planters gently inside. He walked toward us. “I know what you mean, mate.”
I shook my head, exasperated. “Men. Always making things more complicated than they need to be.”
Josh gave me a dry look. “Women take the prize for complicated.”
“Excuse me?” I shot back, hands on my hips.
Ian wisely stayed quiet.
Josh blew out a breath, dragging a hand through his hair, a trait familiar to our dad. “Talk to her, Pepper, like I asked. See what you can find out. And do it fast, don’t keep me waiting.” With that, he stalked off down the sidewalk, his frustration practically bouncing off the pavement.
I slid into the passenger seat with the book while Ian got behind the wheel. As he started the engine, I shot him a sidelong look. “What did you mean back there by ‘I know what you mean, mate’?”
He fastened his seat belt, his expression maddeningly calm. “Some women are just too difficult to talk to.”
My eyes narrowed.
He glanced at me then, quick and sure. “Not you. Never you.”
