Dead of Winter_Aspen Falls Novel

by Melissa Pearl

  “Who put it back in the fridge empty?” Tony shouted from the small break room at the back of the station.

  Blaine grinned and wove around a desk, scanning the open space for Ollie.

  Kellan Marks, the police chief, sat in his glass office, talking on the phone while running a hand over his buzz-cut hair. He did that a lot, especially when he was irritated or stressed. He was kind of young for the role, but his dedication to the police force made him a perfect fit and he’d landed the job the same year Blaine signed on with the force. He respected his boss more than anyone else in the department.

  Blaine caught his eye and raised his chin in greeting before continuing his search for Ollie. He hoped the guy hadn’t had to change his shift again. The mother-in-law was definitely in town. Blaine and Lucas had sat through the rant of relief and frustration as Ollie tried to get his head around the fact that he’d be living with the woman for much longer than he anticipated.

  “She offered to stay a month. A month!”

  Lucas and Blaine had only been able to laugh and offer to buy him another beer.

  A flash of movement caught his eye and he turned right in time to see his half-brother charging toward his office. Detective Nathan Hartford was hard at it.

  The guy didn’t know how to stop.

  Blaine rolled his eyes and sauntered across to Nate’s office, leaning against the doorjamb. “Hey, man.”

  Nate didn’t look up from his files, just mumbled a greeting in reply.

  “We missed you at lunch yesterday,” Blaine said.

  “Sally said she’d go,” Nate clipped, referring to the most patient girlfriend in the world.

  Blaine nodded. “Yeah, she stopped by on her way to the hospital.”

  His brother glanced up and nodded. “Good.”

  “Dad’s fine, by the way,” Blaine continued. “And Sally’s doing great too, although she looked kind of tired.”

  “ER in the winter is always hard,” Nate muttered, not looking up from his work.

  Blaine stood there for a moment, staring at the man behind the desk. “Dad would love to see you,” he said finally.

  Nate’s nostrils flared.

  “I’m pretty sure Sally would too.” Blaine couldn’t help the dig. Poor Sally was a freaking saint and Nate was going to lose her if he didn’t watch it.

  Slapping his file closed, Nate leveled a fierce look of warning at Blaine. “Do you need something, little brother? Because I’m kind of busy right now.”

  Blaine worked his jaw to the side and figured there was no point riling the guy up. He was obviously stressed. “What are you working on?”

  “Got another drug case. Shit just won’t end.” Nate pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut. “Another kid OD’d last night. She’s in the hospital.”

  “Dammit,” Blaine murmured, stepping into the room.

  “I have got to figure out what the hell is going on. Things are bad, man, and it feels like they’re only getting worse.”

  “Was it a high school or college student this time?”

  “College.” He held out the file. “Riley Pearson. Freshman.”

  Blaine scanned the contents of the file and winced. The pale-skinned brunette looked so angelic in the photograph. “Have you questioned her friends? Tracked her movements from last night?”

  “Yeah, we’re working on it. I’ve just spent the last two hours trying to calm Riley’s parents down. They drove in early this morning. Camila’s still with them.”

  Blaine nodded.

  Camila was Nate’s partner for the bigger, ongoing cases. They were often assigned to the same task force because they worked so well together.

  “What about this girl’s friends?”

  “Her best friend was freaking out, so he was pretty impossible to get anything from. It was hard to tell if he was worried for Riley or scared that he might get in trouble. I haven’t followed up with the other friends yet.”

  “He may have calmed down this morning. Is Riley going to make it?”

  “Yeah, she’ll be fine. Camila will question her this morning, but I doubt she’ll be willing to tell us much.”

  “The near-death experience might get her talking. And maybe once her friend knows she’s going to make it, he might be willing to talk to us as well.”

  Nate tapped his pen on his desk while staring at Blaine. “You been given your assignment yet today?”

  “No, roll call’s in five.”

  “I’ll go talk to Kellan, see if I can’t get you and Ollie working the college. I want you to talk to anyone who knows this Riley girl. Anyone who saw her last night. Where was she partying? What was she drinking, eating, smoking, snorting?”

  “I take it toxicology reports haven’t come back in?”

  “We’re waiting on the blood tests now.”

  Blaine cringed and passed the file back.

  “We need to build a timeline from last night. Someone must have seen her take something, or can at least tell us who she was with. I don’t care how many people you have to question. Just get me something by the end of your shift.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  Nate flashed Blaine a small smile before turning to answer his phone.

  Backing out of the room, Blaine headed for roll call, straightening his tie as he went. The expectation was to be well presented, and Blaine made sure he never missed a beat. He liked to do things by the letter, whether people noticed or not.

  “Hey, Blaine!” Matt tripped over himself trying to sneak in the door before him.

  Blaine rolled his eyes behind the rookie’s back and forced out a friendly “How’s it going?”

  “Always good, man. I am always good.” He winked at Blaine and clicked his tongue with a cocky point of his finger before taking a seat next to Brent Higginson. The two more experienced officers shared a withering look, which made Blaine snicker. Poor Higgs. He really pulled the short straw on this training gig.

  “Hey, hey.” Ollie held out his fist as Blaine approached.

  He tapped his knuckles against Ollie’s and grinned. “You actually look awake this morning.”

  “Andy slept in, man. Didn’t wake up until six. I think that’s my first full night since he was born.”

  “And you’re about to have another…”

  Ollie’s lips flatlined and he pointed a warning finger at Blaine. “Don’t ruin this for me. I’m in a good mood right now. You better watch it.”

  Blaine laughed and took a seat, acknowledging the last two officers who were strolling in. They gave Ollie some stick for actually showing up. He gave it right back, used to the good-natured banter between them.

  Blaine checked his watch and then pulled out his notebook.

  A minute later, Kellan walked in with Nate right behind him. The laughter ceased, replaced with a serious silence as they took in the look on Nate’s face.

  It was time to get to work.

  Monday, February 19th

  7:49am

  Blaine steered the cruiser toward Aspen Falls Community College while Ollie yawned beside him.

  “Dude, you running out of steam already? We’re only just getting started.”

  “Shut up.” Ollie rubbed his eyes. “I need me some coffee.”

  “Lulu’s?”

  “Is there any other place to get decent coffee in this town?” Ollie grinned, his white teeth bright against his black skin.

  Blaine turned right at the next intersection, his mind immediately jumping to Rosie.

  He was desperate to know if she was still in town.

  But how did he ask Louanne that while hiding just how much he’d been obsessing about it over the weekend?

  “You alright, man?” Ollie flicked his arm. “You’re frowning.”

  “What? No, I’m not.”

  “You’re lookin’ worried about something.”

  Blaine sighed and did something he’d never done before. He lied to his partner. “I’m just worried about Nate.”<
br />
  “Yeah, the guy sure knows how to work hard.”

  “He’s a workaholic. It’s not healthy, but he won’t listen to anyone.”

  “Some guys are stubborn. He’s driven, you know? Passionate about justice.”

  Blaine raised his eyebrows but kept his mouth shut. He didn’t want to open that can of worms. Nate was more than passionate. He was obsessed. Driven by demons that he still hadn’t dealt with.

  “Everyone has their thing,” Ollie said. “And even though I’m a family first kind of guy, you can’t force someone to be like that. They have to come to it on their own, you know? You wait. Something will happen to Nate at some point that will make him sit up and realize what’s important.”

  Blaine nodded, wondering what that would look like.

  Those moments of realization were not always pretty. His worst had been ugly as hell. He’d never forget the feel of that gun in his hand. It weighed a thousand pounds when he’d pressed it against his temple all those years ago.

  As usual, Rosie’s face flooded his mind, the look in her eyes as she gently talked him down, the feeling that enveloped him as she took the gun from his hand and ultimately saved his life.

  New images pushed aside the old. Her hazel eyes glassy with tears while she wept in her car, shaking and anxious. Was that her rock bottom?

  What had brought her to that point?

  As he pulled up beside Lulu’s, he knew he had to find out. Even if it meant showing off a little of how he felt, he needed to ask Louanne to share every detail of Rosie’s visit.

  8

  Monday, February 19th

  8:05am

  Rosie blew a lock of hair off her face and wiped her brow with the back of her arm. Working in the coffee shop was going to be harder than she thought. Louanne had made it sound so easy, but when it came to the crunch it was a busy place, and Rosie was struggling to keep up.

  Breakfast service was in full swing, and Rosie felt like she was drowning in a sea of coffee and fried eggs.

  “Here’s another order.” Tania gave her a sympathetic smile.

  Rosie internally cringed. Crap. Even the nineteen-year-old college student was feeling sorry for her.

  “Sure thing.” Rosie gave her a tight smile and turned back to the coffee machine.

  Squinting at the slip of paper, she struggled to decipher Tania’s rushed scribble.

  “Is that one latte and one Americano?”

  Tania giggled and stepped over to her. “You want to trade for a little bit? I’m kind of sick of heating up muffins and could use a break making coffee for a while.”

  Rosie’s eyes narrowed, but Tania just gave her a sweet smile and nudged her out of the way.

  Rosie was grateful, but then she started stressing over whether she could remember her brief training about how to work the payment system.

  Holding her breath, she stepped up to the counter and was relieved to see no one needed her for a minute. Resting her hip against the counter, she scanned the patrons and enjoyed the sound of murmured conversation and the clink of happy cutlery on rapidly emptying plates.

  There was a nice vibe to Lulu’s Coffee Shop. It reflected its owner perfectly. Louanne’s southern charm set the tone and people flocked to it, because no matter how old a person was, there was nothing quite like the warmth and care of a loving grandmother.

  Rosie got the impression that Louanne seemed to be that for more than just her.

  “Since no one’s up with an order, do you want to deliver these to the couple by the window? Front left.”

  Rosie followed Tania’s pointed finger and nodded. “Got it.”

  Collecting the tray, she took the two beautifully made coffees and served them with a smile. The people were so grateful and friendly. It made Rosie wonder if she’d been hanging with the wrong crowd. As boring as small-town life had seemed when she was a teenager, there was something very earthy and welcoming about it.

  Walking the empty tray back to the counter, she found her lips pulling into a genuine smile. She couldn’t believe it but she actually felt happy. For a second, she’d forgotten about the crap from a few days before and was just in the moment, having a nice, cheerful exchange with a couple of friendly strangers.

  Spinning around the counter, she tucked the tray back where it belonged and noticed Tania slip into the kitchen just as two police officers appeared.

  Rosie immediately tensed, her heart lurching into her throat as she relived that moment of opening the door to that steely-eyed detective who wanted to search Damien’s apartment.

  “Morning.” The first officer stepped up to the counter, tucking his thumbs into his belt as he studied the menu board above her.

  His black skin was smooth and a beautiful contrast to the white smile he flashed her. “You look new. Are you new?”

  “Uh…yes. I’m just… I just started work here on Saturday.”

  “Well, welcome to town.” He raised his eyebrows in greeting while Rosie blinked and then glanced at the officer behind him.

  He was staring at her with a smile that seemed to hold more meaning than she thought it should.

  “Glad you made it safely,” he murmured, and suddenly she realized he was the officer that had pulled her over a few days earlier.

  She let out a nervous laugh and then checked his nameplate.

  And suddenly she forgot how to breathe.

  Officer Hartford? No way. It couldn’t be…

  She nearly whispered Blaine’s name, but licked her lips instead, gripping her hands beneath the counter to stop them from shaking.

  Blaine Hartford?

  She glanced up to make sure she wasn’t imagining things and knew for certain that the tall, broad-shouldered man in front of her was in fact the skinny boy she’d talked out of suicide.

  Holy crap. He’d changed so much.

  His brown eyes creased with a soft smile as he approached the counter. He was searching her face, silently asking if she remembered him.

  Of course she did!

  But did she want to admit it?

  It would connect them somehow, break that “stranger” barrier, and then he’d want to ask her questions, like What’ve you been up to? What’s brought you back to town?

  She’d rather die than admit the truth to a guy who’d had the strength to keep pressing on and make something of himself.

  They kept staring at each other while her brain wrestled with what to do.

  “So, can I grab a cappuccino to go, please?” The black officer caught her attention and she jerked her head to look at him.

  “Uh…cappuccino?”

  “That’s the one.”

  “To go.” She scribbled down his order, glancing up to read his nameplate.

  Cap. To go. Officer Moss.

  “Anything to eat with that?”

  The man’s thick lips pursed as he gazed at the luscious-looking food cabinet.

  “I shouldn’t.” His nose wrinkled. “But I’m gonna.”

  Rosie grinned as he laughed at himself and added an apple cinnamon muffin to his order. She rang it up on the till and gratefully took his cash, glad she could avoid using the machine Louanne used for payments.

  “Take a seat, I’ll bring it out to you.”

  He nodded at her and then sauntered off to a table in the corner, saying hello to a few people as he passed them.

  It seriously was a friendly town. How had she forgotten that so easily?

  “So, you got yourself a job.” Blaine grinned. “Looks like you don’t need to hightail it out of town after all.”

  She snickered and gave him an embarrassed smile. “Yeah, well, I need to save up for a jacket, right?”

  His eyebrows flickered with concern and she shook her head. “Anyway, Officer, what can I get you?”

  “I’ll take a medium black to go, and throw in one of Lulu’s granola bars too. Can’t seem to get enough of those things.”

  “They look delicious,” Rosie agreed, scribbling down his cof
fee order and adding it up on the till.

  Blaine pulled a credit card from his top pocket and handed it over. Gritting her teeth, she reluctantly took it and scrambled to remember how the system worked.

  She couldn’t believe how much confidence she’d lost since living with Damien.

  It was a freaking credit card machine. She could do it!

  Slipping the card into the bottom, she tensed as she pressed what she hoped was the right key before spinning it around so Blaine could punch his number in.

  To her immense relief, it worked, and she expelled her breath as the machine spit out a receipt.

  “It’ll just be a minute.” She passed the card and receipt back, daring to catch his eye for the briefest moment.

  His gaze was soft with affection, and her stomach pitched.

  He’d always smiled at her that way, but she hadn’t realized how beautiful it had been in high school—probably because she’d never taken the time to notice. Probably because he’d been the skinny loser that all her friends made fun of.

  But now…

  Now that chiseled, clean-shaven face was making her knees want to buckle.

  It scared her. No. It terrified her.

  She’d always fallen for guys too easily, like she was incapable of living without one.

  That’s what Louanne had told her on Friday. She was probably right. After Damien, Rosie knew she should be swearing off men for a good long while. Maybe even for life.

  But Blaine’s smile. That look in his eye.

  It was different, and pretty damn impossible not to be attracted to him.

  Swallowing, she stepped away from the counter, determined not to engage or be swayed by a man’s good looks yet again. But she was stopped short by Tania, who was sneaking back to the coffee machine and almost collided with her.

  They both yelped and then laughed, skirting around each other to get the order ready. Tania took care of the coffees while Rosie got the food ready. When it was time to take it over to the policemen, Rosie chickened out and Tania delivered the goodies with a bounce in her step and her ponytail swinging.