by Emmy Grace
“You and Lucy-fur belong together. Do you know that? Evil. Both of you.”
She tosses back her head and gives me a maniacal laugh.
When she stops, I glare at her. “You finished?”
She throws her head back and does it again. Which, of course, causes us both to laugh.
“We’re insane, you know that, right?” I ask.
She shrugs. “Eh, it’s part of our charm.” She clears her throat. “So, all joking aside, you’re meeting with Mayor Dunning today, right?”
I groan. “Yes.”
“Lucky, it’s a huge compliment that he wants to thank you for your help on the Vickerman case. How many people are called to Town Hall to meet with the mayor?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. This is a small town. Everybody?”
“I doubt that. You’re making a name for yourself. I’m proud of you.”
Her words send a burst of warm pleasure flooding through my heart. That’s why I respond with levity. I’ve never really known how to take compliments well, so I usually play them off with something humorous.
“Oooo, a name? Which one should I choose? How about Helga? That sounds kind of fierce, don’t you think? I could braid my hair and start wearing lederhosen.”
Regina sends me a withering look. “You can’t even spell lederhosen.”
“I can’t spell bustier, but I still wear one of those occasionally.”
“When? When do you wear a bustier?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I would. When have you ever in your life worn a bustier?”
“I enjoy a little cosplay on the weekends. Must you ruin everything?”
I watch Regina’s face crumple up as she doubles over in laughter. “My God, you’re a mess.”
“But an adorable one, right?”
“Without a doubt.” When she straightens, her lips curve into a different kind of smile. I know this expression, too. “Speaking of bustiers and cosplay, have you spoken to Tasty Cakes since all the stuff at the airfield?”
“Yes, I saw him at the bulldog run. So did you, O Ye Who Needs Gingko Biloba.”
“Besides that. You know what I mean. Don’t play coy with me, young lady.”
Young lady, she says, like we aren’t exactly same age. Twenty-nine, with seven months between us.
“I’m not. That was the last time I saw him. Why would I have seen him since?”
She twitches one shoulder. “I don’t know. I thought there were sparks.”
“There were no sparks.”
“There were sparks, Lucky. Trust me. Even LouAnn said he was flirting with you at the diner.”
“Liam Dunning was not flirting with me. And even if he was, I’m not interested.”
“Lies. All lies.”
“No lie. I’m not interested.”
“You can’t tell me you don’t think he’s the most beautiful man you’ve ever seen.”
“He’s good looking, yes, but he’s a complete jerk.”
“A jerk who has had your back numerous times. Admit it, you like him.”
“I like him in the way I’m supposed to like people. That’s it. You know how these things turn out for me, Regina. I can’t afford to start up with a man that lives here. That’s the whole reason I had to leave Gator Cove. I don’t want to have to move away from here, too.”
“Have you stopped to consider that maybe Liam is different?”
“I can’t afford to.”
“Maybe you should. He’s the only guy you’ve met in years who wasn’t immediately smitten. Maybe that’s because he’s the one. Like the one.”
I sigh. “Honestly, I’d just rather not think about it. I’m happy here, Regina. We can have a good life. Let’s not ruin it.”
“I’m not trying to ruin it. I’m trying to find us both Mr. Rights so we can have babies before our lady parts dry up like a bag of last year’s prunes.”
I wrinkle my nose. “That’s a nice visual.”
She giggles. “Sorry. It just popped out.”
I glance at the clock over the stove. “Well, as stimulating as this conversation has been…” I snort. “See what I did there?”
As if to punctuate my play on words, my arm spikes up over my head.
“Oh, I see what you did there. And so will everyone else in town.”
“Do I really have to do this? Now? Today?”
“You’re the one who put off this product for a couple of days. Not my fault that now you’re on a short deadline.”
She’s holding in laughter. “Yeah, I can see you’re all broken up about it.” I sigh. “Fine. Let’s go. Get this over with.”
We head to the door and Regina moves around to my right side. I give her a questioning look. “What? You think I’m going to walk on your left side with your arm doing Heil Hitler every few minutes?”
Even as I lock my front door behind me, I can hear her sniggering all the way to the car.
Regina parks along Main Street, a couple of blocks from Town Hall. “It’s a pretty morning. It won’t hurt us to walk a little way. Get some exercise. Maybe we’ll even get to see the handsome Liam Dunning.”
My eyes widen and I feel the look of horror slide down over my face. “Why would you even say that before I have to go in and see the mayor?”
“What? Liam Dunning?”
“No. Exercise.” I shudder. It’s never high on my list of things to do on any given day. I know one day I’ll need to do more, but right now I’m content to work my brain instead.
She laughs as we exit her car and start up the street. I don’t tell her this, but Regina was right. It’s a beautiful morning for a walk, especially along Main Street. Each storefront on both sides of the road is painted a different color. Starting at the bottom, near the intersection of Main and Broad, they go from pink and yellow and work their way up through the pastels. Then at the intersection of Main and West, they start with darker shades of those same colors. Dark goldenrod, deep crimson, navy blue. As far as downtown beautification, Salty Springs could probably win a national prize for its efforts. They even poured new sidewalks when they got decorative street lamps so that there was a square of soil at the base of each, perfect for seasonal flowerbeds. Yes, if nothing else, this small town is as gorgeous as it is quaint.
“Did I tell you Salty Springs is now a famous town?”
“Famous?”
“Yep. I was watching Wanted on television last night and we’re on the map because of a criminal.”
“Which one?”
She waves me off. “Oh, not one that you helped catch, if that’s what you’re asking. No, this was about a possible hiding place for the cartel. Right here in our little town.”
“Hiding place?”
“Yeah. For evidence or people or something.” She pauses, her brow furrowing. “I probably should’ve paid more attention.”
“Well, lucky for us, I’m going to meet with the mayor. Maybe he’ll fill me in.”
She snorts. “Not likely.”
“It could happen.”
I hear a clattering sound as we pass under the shingle for Andrew Ames, the one and only accountant in all of Salty Springs. The door to his office is slightly ajar and I see a flash of movement as I look inside.
“Did you hear that?”
Regina turns a frown on me. “Hear what?”
“Never mind.” We walk on, but something niggles at me to go back. I’ve learned that I should never just write off a gut feeling. Yes, they have gotten me in heaps of trouble before, but they’ve also saved lives. Like everything else in life, it’s a mixture of good and bad. I just choose to focus on the good and do my best to ignore the bad.
I stop, mid-step, and pivot. “Let me stick my head in and introduce myself to Mr. Ames. Might as well since we’re right here.”
Before Regina can argue, I’m already back at his door, pushing my way inside. Like every other business in town, there’s a little bell over the door
that rings when someone enters. It’s a light, delicate, cheerful sound.
That’s extremely incongruous with the dead body slumped over the desk inside. The one with an axe sticking out of his back.
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Acknowledgments
First, I’d like to thank my Heavenly Father, Who brought me here when I was near the point of giving up. He knew “here” would be home. You are my everything. My cup runneth over:)
Secondly, I would like to thank YOU, the brave and curious and awesome souls who picked up this book and gave it a whirl. There will never be adequate words that could express how deeply grateful I am for your willingness to go on this adventure with me. I hope you loved it as much as I did, and that you’ll join Lucky and the gang for more…well, more everything!
I’d also like to thank the following:
Melissa Storm for your incredible patience and generosity and guidance and marketing genius. All of that, for sure, but most of all for convincing me that this book, that these characters, could have a home. I am forever and eternally grateful to you.
Angelika for her amazing insight on this book. Your brain is a beautiful thing.
Paige for making time to polish this into a gem. I adore your wonderful heart.
Teresa Mary Rose for beta reading this bad boy and being willing to go on whatever wacky tangent my writing takes. We’ve been in this for so long you feel like family. Love you, ma sista!
Kat for beta reading and for being such a wonderful friend to me. I adore the very bones of you.
I’d also like to give a huge shout out to Mallory Rock of Rock Solid Book Design for bringing my vision to gorgeous life, and on such short notice, too! You are the very definition of awesome:)
About the Author
I should say something deep and profound about myself or my life philosophy, but I'd much rather fling facts like cool ninja throwing stars.
FACT: I'm a devoted if slightly neurotic wife, an indefatigable lover of animals, and an absolute fanatic of all things funny.
FACT: I'm probably alarmingly similar to Lucky, minus the daredevil streak and the unbreakable parts.
FACT: I'm such a homebody that seeing me out in the wild is something like spotting Sasquatch, only with less hair and less fanfare.
FACT: I'm a nerd and a Southerner, and my preferred wardrobe consists of pants that stretch and a t-shirt with writing on it.
FACT: I love my job and I hope I get to do this forEVER.
FACT: I’m so grateful to you for reading my work:)