“Pretty brunette?” Liam asked, his interest clearly piqued. The guy might have just recently become a part of their group, but he could razz with the best of them.
“I think her name was Brie.” A smirk started to appear on Bennett’s face. “She was there picking up Bethelda’s cat.”
“Brie from the bar?” Brendan’s focus moved from Finn to Shep and then back to Finn. “The one who was staying at the inn? Bethelda left her a cat?” he finished, clearly baffled.
Neither Finn nor Shep—not that he was going to do anything more than stand there and grin—was given the chance to say anything.
“I’m pretty sure Bethelda left her everything,” Liam said as he lifted his coffee cup to his lips.
Finn’s eyes landed on the man who’d just spoken. “How do you know that?” It was the first thing he’d said since the inquisition had gotten started.
“Harper met her yesterday afternoon. She was going around town tying up Bethelda’s accounts, getting access to her finances, and everything else. One of those accounts was at the spa. I guess everyone she’d dealt with before Harper was a jerk.”
“That’s really unfortunate.” Brendan shook his head.
“Yeah, well, apparently Harper was the only one who treated Brie like an actual person. Once everyone else found out what she was trying to deal with in regards to Bethelda, they turned on her. Like a bunch of bloodthirsty piranhas.”
That uncomfortable twist—that he was beginning to connect to Brie—tightened Finn’s gut. Why did he get the feeling that he’d been the worst piranha of them all?
“So she’s guilty by association?” Shep was now frowning, his grin from earlier good and gone.
“That’s exactly what Brie said.” Liam nodded. “Right after she started crying.”
Just that quickly the twist went from uncomfortable to painful. “She was crying?” Finn asked.
“Yeah, I guess she’s just had a rough time of it.”
“No kidding.” Shep’s less than pleased focus was now on Finn.
“So wait.” Brendan’s brow furrowed quizzically. “What about that night at the bar, the night before Bethelda’s funeral, she was talking to us like she didn’t know the woman.”
“She didn’t know her.” The words were out of Finn’s mouth before he could stop them.
“And how are you tied into all of this?” Tripp focused on Finn, too.
Actually, everyone now had their eyes on him…well, except Grant who was concentrating hard on the fishing rod in his hands.
“I don’t tie into any of this.” Finn shook his head, his tone final as he looked back to the water.
And for the next few hours on the boat, he said very little and thought way too much. But now his thoughts were on the present instead of the past, and the woman who hadn’t been far from his thoughts since the moment she’d walked into the Sleepy Sheep.
* * *
Saturday morning started a little bit later and a lot bit better for Brie. Yesterday’s afternoon massage (which had been downright glorious) combined with the new sleeping arrangement (and all of that memory foam stacked on top of the air mattress had been freaking amazing compared to the sofa) had done wonders on her body and her mood.
She’d still had her furry bed buddy that night, too.
Delores hadn’t been there when Brie had gone to sleep. But somewhere in the middle of the night the cat had slunk in, burrowed under the covers, and curled up next to Brie’s hip. Neither of them moved until well past nine.
Clearly Brie had been exhausted…on many, many levels. Not all that surprisingly as she’d stayed up until close to one in the morning.
After pouring herself a glass of wine the night before, she’d headed into the spare bedroom/office, synced her phone to the Bluetooth speaker (where she proceeded to put all three Adele albums on shuffle), and then started in on some of the boxes in the closet.
She put the ones labeled “Mom’s” and “Dad’s” to the side, figuring those wouldn’t be safe territory for her in her current mental state. Instead she went through the three labeled “Delores,” where she no joke found cat costumes for every holiday.
There was one that promised to make the cat look like a giant velvet heart, another of a leprechaun, an Easter bunny, Uncle Sam, a pumpkin, a witch, a turkey, a pilgrim, and Mrs. Claus. There were also non-holiday ones like a bumblebee, a spring flower, a ladybug, a dragon, and a narwhal.
Brie couldn’t imagine getting the cat into a single one of those outfits. Though, if there was one she’d pick above any other, it would totally be the narwhal. The unicorn of the sea for the win.
After the costumes, Brie moved on to the cat toys. There were probably over a hundred stuffed, silicone, fuzzy, furry, stringy, or squeaky toys in the box. When Brie had stepped out of the room to refill her wine, she’d come back to find that Delores had gotten into the box. When she’d jumped out there was a little mouse in her mouth.
Once she had gone through the cat boxes, Brie moved on to the things Bethelda had bought in bulk. The lightbulb box promised to keep every appliance and socket in that house illuminated for a decade. There was a three-year supply of air filters, enough toilet paper and paper towels to get a family of five through the next three months, a stock of Bethelda’s preferred shampoo and conditioner that would probably last a good two years, and a box of fancy—unused and unopened—lotions and oils that Brie had seen for sale at the spa the day before. Those she set to the side, the first thing she’d actually contemplated keeping for herself.
That was how she’d spent her night, going through a good dozen boxes. The thing was, she’d barely made a dent. Something that was confirmed as she looked to the ceiling to discover that there was indeed an attic.
She grabbed a flashlight—that she’d found in a box with twelve others—and the step stool to take a peek. The attic was filled with boxes, too.
Upon first glance most of the boxes up there were from Bethelda’s past: baby clothes, first grade, middle school, high school, and so on. It was at that point that Brie called it quits. She took a shower to wash the day from her skin and passed out on the air mattress.
Now, eight hours later, she stared up at the slowly spinning fan above her trying to gather the momentum to get up and start another day. But she was warm and comfortable under those covers, snuggled up with a cat.
She found one of her hands making its way to Delores’s back, her fingers delving into the soft fur. A steady, deep purring began to rumble out of the animal, who was also clearly content with the current moment.
Brie pulled the covers up with her free hand, looking down at Delores. The cat lifted its head at the sudden draft of air, her jade eyes slowly opening. She really was a beautiful animal. There was no doubt about that.
“Am I beginning to meet with your approval?” Brie asked.
Delores closed her eyes and rubbed her head against Brie’s arm. Well, at least something liked her. Though, there was the fact that Brie was the one feeding the cat and providing warmth and a soft place to sleep at night.
It was another couple of minutes before Brie dragged herself out of the bed, Delores giving a protesting meow when she was no longer being petted. Stopping by the kitchen, she turned the Keurig machine on before heading for the bathroom.
Once her face was washed and teeth brushed she changed into jeans and a clean T-shirt—one of the last she had, which reminded her she needed to do laundry at some point. She should be getting her boxes from North Carolina that day, Lyndsey had FedExed them overnight so she could get them that Saturday. Brie was already starting to feel twitchy that she hadn’t worked on her thesis in a week.
The need for a space to work was why she’d decided to tackle the office first. Cleaning it out was going to take some time, though.
Brie headed back for the kitchen, making herself a cup of coffee and getting breakfast ready. She mixed Delores’s food together before she poured herself a bowl of cereal. The cat was circli
ng her feet as she made her way to the dining room table, setting both bowls down in their respective places.
Grabbing the list of things she needed to do, Brie crossed out a number of lines while adding just as many. First thing was first; she needed to get rid of the few things she’d already gone through. She wasn’t sure if there was a Goodwill in town, but there was most likely a church charity of some sort or another.
She was probably going to need to make a few phone calls to find a place to bring it all. Once Delores had finished with her breakfast—because heaven forbid she disturb the cat’s eating habits—Brie got up and went to grab her laptop.
There were four churches in Mirabelle: Baptist, Methodist, Episcopal, and Catholic.
All four of them had links on their homepages to the CCC—Center for Charity & Compassion. It was the local shelter/food bank/donation station and all of the churches were involved in the running of it.
They were also open on Saturday and taking donations.
She looked over and eyed the stuff she’d dragged to the living room the night before. There were at least three carloads already…well, three of her carloads. Only so much could fit into the back of the MINI.
Brie pushed the chair back from the table and stood. “Might as well get started.” She grabbed her coffee and headed for the spare bedroom/office. It was go big or go home, and she was going to have that closet cleaned out as much as possible.
* * *
The CCC was yet another place that was located in downtown Mirabelle. However, it was one of the few establishments Brie had been to in the area that was not in an old house. The three-story warehouse was made of brick and was probably over a hundred years old.
Brie pulled her overstuffed car to the side of the building where a large red and white sign read “Drop Offs.” Once the car was in Park and shut off, she got out and looked around. There was a little placard by the metal double doors that read “Ring for Assistance.” She walked over to it and pressed the little black button, a droning buzz echoing inside the building.
It wasn’t even a minute later when the doors were pushed open and none other than Hannah Shepherd appeared. Brie’s mouth rounded in a surprised “O.” And she wasn’t the only one in shock, either. Hannah’s eyes had widened behind her glasses.
Shit. Just what she needed, another Shepherd. Not only that, but the woman had to know that Brie had slept with Finn. She’d just had to leave those damn glasses in the drop box. She should’ve tossed them in the trash.
Not that she was bitter about the whole thing or anything…except she really, really was.
But what else did Hannah know? Would Finn have said something to his sister-in-law about it? Or maybe he’d kept his mouth shut because he hadn’t wanted anyone to know that he’d spent the night with Bethelda Grimshaw’s daughter.
Hannah was the first to get over her shock, pulling what seemed to be a genuine smile onto her face. “Hi, Brie.”
“I…hi. What are you doing here?” Brie asked before she could stop herself.
Hannah’s smile grew. “I volunteer every once in a while. Today, I’m on receiving duty.”
“Oh.” Brie nodded, that smile on Hannah’s face throwing her off even more.
“What are you doing here?” Hannah asked.
“Well, I…um…I have some stuff to donate,” she said, and pointed lamely over her shoulder and to her car.
Hannah’s gaze followed Brie’s gesture and her eyes got huge again. “Holy crap.” She looked back to Brie. “How was there enough room for you in there?”
“I made it work.”
“I see that. I’m guessing this is stuff from Bethelda’s house?”
Well, Hannah apparently knew something. That was for sure. But was it the truth that Finn knew? Or the partial truth that a number of people around town knew?
That was the question.
“I know what it’s like.” Hannah put a hand to her chest. “I know what it’s like to come down here after the death of someone in your life and be left a house…and a ton of questions.”
Compassion vibrated out of every word she spoke, and understanding was there on every facet of her face. How was that possible? It went against almost everything she’d experienced in the last couple of days.
Instead there was no ill will in the woman’s eyes. No indication of spite or malice. Instead, she looked sympathetic.
Brie felt like she knew the answer to how much Hannah knew, based off everything the woman had just said, but she had to hear it. So she asked the questions. “Finn told you, didn’t he? Told you who I was in relation to Bethelda?”
“He did.” Hannah nodded. “He told Shep and me. I know he isn’t your favorite person—”
Understatement. Huge understatement.
“And sometimes he isn’t mine, either.” Hannah gave Brie a commiserating smile before she continued. “But I can promise you he hasn’t told anyone else about it.”
Which brought Brie back to her theory of him wanting to keep his mouth shut about being so intimately connected to Bethelda’s daughter.
“I don’t know that it matters. I get the feeling it’s a secret that won’t stay secret long.”
“It’s true in Mirabelle secrets rarely do. Small towns. People like to talk.”
Brie took a deep breath and let it out in a huff of laughter. “And they already have something to talk about. I had to go around yesterday to get access to some of Bethelda’s accounts while closing out others. So it won’t be long before I become the town pariah.”
“I mean, it probably will be a little longer than it was before considering…” Hannah trailed off now looking slightly uncomfortable.
Brie finished the thought for her. “Considering the person who liked to tell all of those secrets is now dead?”
“Well…yeah.” Hannah paused for a second, not breaking eye contact in the beat of silence. “It isn’t an easy thing, dealing with the aftermath of a death, no matter who it was.”
“No, easy hasn’t been a word I would use to describe any part of any of this.” Brie shook her head.
It wasn’t just dealing with Bethelda’s death, though. It was everything. The will, being in that house, the negative reactions, not having someone to lean on, not having anyone to talk to. Her parents were still in the dark as to what was happening; Brie couldn’t bring herself to have that conversation with them. She didn’t want to add their worry on to everything else.
“You said you lost someone who left you a house?” Brie asked, veering the conversation from herself.
“The inn actually.” Hannah nodded. “It was my grandmother. She and I spent a summer here before I went to college…the inn was a bed-and-breakfast then. I met Shep, we fell in love, the summer ended, and I left. She died about three years ago, but before she did she bought the inn, unbeknown to me. And then she left it to me in her will. She said I had unfinished business and she wanted me to come down here to deal with it.”
“Shep?”
“Among other things.” A bittersweet smile turned up Hannah’s mouth. “Brie, I also know what it’s like to be in this town alone. I know how isolating it is. If you ever want somebody to talk to, about anything, you know how to reach me.”
That she did. Hannah’s cell phone was the number people called to make a reservation at the inn.
“Thank you.” It was all Brie could say. Hannah had shown her more kindness than she’d been prepared for…and she knew the truth of the whole situation, too.
“Anytime.” There was so much sincerity in that one word. “Well, let’s get you unloaded.” Hannah nodded to the car.
“Let’s,” Brie agreed as they both moved to the back of the MINI.
They made quick and quiet work of unloading the car, pushing through the doors, and setting the boxes and bags in piles along the wall of the hallway. Brie appreciated the time to process as her mind was racing from the conversation she’d just had.
That was now two people tha
t hadn’t looked at her like she was Satan’s spawn. Hannah seemed to understand Brie, more than anyone else had. Not only that, but she’d offered a friendly ear to talk to.
“Do you want a tax write-off form for all of this?”
Hannah’s question pulled Brie from her thoughts as they finished with the last load.
“Well, I actually have more at the house. I just couldn’t fit it all in my car.”
Hannah raised her eyebrows. “How many more loads?”
“Today? Probably two or three.” Actually, it was more like four or five. Turned out some of the boxes were awkward fits that took up more of the small space than she’d previously thought.
“OK, well, it doesn’t make any sense for you to go back and forth that many times. Let me see if there is a spare truck around.” Hannah turned and headed down the hallway.
“You really don’t need to do that,” Brie objected as she automatically started to follow. “I can get it.”
Hannah looked over her shoulder, giving Brie an oh please look. “Would you rather spend the next two hours hauling this stuff over? Or just get it done in one trip?”
Well, the one trip was preferable; it was just that she wasn’t too sure about people coming to the house. And she was equally unsure of accepting help from people.
Before Brie had a chance to respond, Hannah was asking another question. “You want something to drink? There’s some freshly squeezed lemonade and sweet tea.” She pushed through a swinging door and into a rather large kitchen.
Industrial, stainless-steel appliances were lined up next to each other. Two massive refrigerators stood side by side on one wall, while two double ovens took up some of another. A blond woman was standing at the center island, chopping fruits and vegetables of all varieties. A woman with black hair was manning a ten-burner stove that had multiple pots of soup bubbling.
The delicious aroma made Brie’s stomach rumble. It was after one and she hadn’t had lunch yet, not to mention she’d worked up an appetite with everything she’d been doing all morning and afternoon.
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