by Vella Day
“He’s free. I heard Trace is working tonight.”
When did she suddenly become Miss Gossip? I looked over at Iggy. Penny was talking loud enough for him to be able to listen in. I mouthed, What should I do?
He did the little lift-the-foot-thing, indicating a shrug. “I’ll see what I can do. Do you want to meet somewhere?”
If we were going to Holland, we should probably meet here and drive together. On the other hand, if the two of them got into a fight, it could become rather awkward. Jaxson and I had been in the car together when we needed to discuss something with Morgan Oliver’s aunt, and it had been fine.
“Sure. How about the parking lot next to the Tiki Hut?” she said.
“Works for me. What time?”
“It’s about five now. How about six?” she asked.
“Great. See you then.”
After I hung up, I wasn’t sure I wanted to subject Jaxson to a possibly uncomfortable evening with two people he didn’t know well, but Penny wouldn’t forgive me if I didn’t at least try. Before I lost my nerve, I found Jaxson’s number and called it.
“You heard, I take it?” Jaxson asked as a way of a greeting.
“And by hear, I’m guessing you mean there was a second dog kidnapped and the competition was canceled?”
“You knew?” he asked.
His hint of anger was what I always experienced when I was the last to know. “Penny just called a few seconds ago and told me.” I was referring to the show cancellation. I was aware of the dognapping before, but I didn’t tell Jaxson, because this wasn’t really his case—not that it was mine either.
“Oh.”
Before the silence became too awkward, I needed to ask him out. “Penny, the same Penny you went to school with—”
“Penny Carsted. I know her. She works with you.”
“Yes. Well, she was married to a guy named Sam.”
“I went to school with him too.”
Darn. This asking someone out was hard. “Yes, you did. Anyway, they’re divorced, but the two of them are now trying to give it a go again. They are having their first real date tonight and asked if we could join them.”
More silence.
“Tonight?” he asked.
“Yes, as in one hour.” I held my breath.
“Why me?”
Was he kidding? Did he expect me to say I was pining for him? I liked him, sure, but romance spoiled everything. “You know both of them—or at least you did eleven years ago.”
He chuckled, and relief washed through me. “I didn’t picture you as the scrape-the-bottom-of-the-barrel type of girl, but sure, I’ll go.”
My protest was on the tip of my tongue about his low opinion of himself, but we could discuss it later. “Fantastic. I’ll owe you one. We’re meeting them at six in the Tiki Hut parking lot. I’ll drive since Sam has picked out a restaurant in Holland. I think he wants to get away from the crowds here.”
“Smart. See you there.”
I disconnected, not liking how fast my heart was beating. This was just a date of convenience, right? I didn’t want to call it a date-date. Or was I fooling myself, as usual?
Since our meeting time was fast approaching, I rushed to my bedroom to shower and change. Considering Sam didn’t have a lot of money, I suspected the steak place wouldn’t be particularly fancy. Still, I wanted to look nice.
Since all of my clothes were pink, it was only a matter of choosing which top went well with which bottoms. Considering it was summer, the restaurant would probably be freezing. For some reason, the establishments believed all customers liked it cold—all except Aunt Fern, who liked to save money.
After changing a few times, I finally went with dark pink jeans, a pale pink lightweight shirt, and my low-top pink Converse sneakers. If I ever purchased a different color shirt or a pair of conventional blue jeans, it might freak Jaxson out.
For makeup, I put on my usual fare of light pink lipstick, some pink blush, and of course, pink eyeliner.
I stepped into the living room and grabbed my keys, credit card, and phone. “Don’t wait up for me,” I told Iggy.
“If I’m not here, don’t worry,” he shot back.
I spun around. “Where are you going to be?”
“Aunt Fern loves it when I keep her and Uncle Harold company.”
“I bet she does. I think that is great.” In reality, Iggy was probably just trying to get into Aimee’s good graces.
At five minutes to six, I headed downstairs. Aunt Fern must have been in her apartment, because Bertie Sidwell was at the cash register. Good. I didn’t have time to chat anyway. I merely waved and rushed outside. To my delight, Jaxson was already waiting for me.
I slowed as I took a double take. His black jeans hugged his body quite nicely, and the white button-down shirt was tailored to show off his buff body. The polished boots were a nice touch too. I couldn’t help but wonder if he thought of this as a date. He’d never shown any interest in me, but I was never really good at reading those kind of signals.
“Hey,” I said. “You look nice.”
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I wasn’t sure if I should have said them. Then Penny’s words came back to me about this being the twenty-first century.
He smiled, but I refused to swoon. We worked together for goodness sake.
“I like your outfit too,” he shot back.
“Thanks.” I spotted Penny and Sam coming toward us.
Her skin tight dress, high heels, and dramatic makeup implied I probably should have asked for the dress code. It was too late now. Even Sam, who I had never seen in anything other than ratty jeans and a T-shirt had dressed in dark jeans and a nice shirt.
Penny rushed up to me. “This is so exciting. I can’t remember the last time we double-dated.”
“I can. Never.” I said.
She laughed, but it came out rather nervous. “Silly me. Ready?”
“Yes, but if you don’t mind, let’s take separate cars.” I let her decode what I meant.
“Sure, whatever,” Penny said.
“Where exactly is this restaurant?” I asked.
Sam handed Jaxson a piece of paper. I was guessing it had an address on it. Jaxson studied it. “It should be easy to find. See you guys there.”
As I walked to my car, Jaxson stepped next to me and held out his hand. “I’ll drive.”
“I’m perfectly capable. It was my car. It didn’t matter he’d insisted the last time.”
“I didn’t say you weren’t. I’m a guy. Guys drive.”
I wasn’t in the mood to fight testosterone, so I dropped my car keys in his palm and then climbed into the passenger seat.
This was definitely going to be an interesting evening.
Chapter Eight
I told myself this wasn’t a real date, but it sure felt like it. It didn’t matter that I had asked Jaxson to join me and not the other way around. I still found it rather odd that Penny was uncomfortable being alone with Sam. My question was why go out then? But that was Penny. Or, was she using that as an excuse to get the two of us together? Penny was a romantic, so perhaps that had been her ploy all along.
The problem I faced at the moment was that Jaxson seemed excited about the evening, and that was something I never would have expected. Me? I tried not to think about it much, as those kind of thoughts always fogged the brain. I had to admit he smelled good, and his wet hair looked sexy, and I couldn’t forget those polished boots. Who did that unless they wanted to impress a date?
What was I feeling? I’m not sure. I had never discussed my real feelings about him to Aunt Fern or to Penny, but if say Gertrude Pool—who I was sure was not a gossip—would have asked me what I thought about Jaxson Harrison, I’d say I was confused.
A month ago, I might have said that I liked Steve Rocker. He was new in town, good looking, smart, and kind. Sure, he thought I was a bit crazy, but after I helped solve his robbery case at Floyd Paxton’s house, he started to bel
ieve in my talents.
Jaxson was six years older than me, but I had known him most of my life. Before he served his prison time, he was trouble. Even Drake said he was. As teenagers, Drake and I didn’t discuss our families much, so I never learned why Jaxson acted out.
Eleven years went by without a Jaxson sighting, and to be honest, I didn’t think about him. When he returned to Witch’s Cove, he was understandably angry since he’d been falsely accused of a crime. As soon as his record was cleared though, he changed for the better.
He looked over at me and smiled. “Why so quiet?” he asked.
Whoops! “Just thinking.”
“About?”
I wasn’t about to say him. “About the dogs.”
“You are tenacious, I’ll give you that. Have you learned anything new?”
“I have.” I filled Jaxson in on the recent developments, including Iggy’s information about the two women, Michelle and Patty, and how they might have it in for each other. While he listened intently, I realized I should have told him the truth. “I kind of lied before.”
He glanced over at me. “About what?”
“I wasn’t thinking about the case. I was thinking about you.”
His grin said it all. He liked me, or so I thought. My first instinct was to withdraw, but even I knew that wasn’t healthy.
“Is that so? Good or bad?”
I couldn’t be totally honest. “We’ve worked together on Morgan’s case and now this one, but I don’t know all that much about you.”
His forehead furrowed. “Sure, you do. You know I got into trouble in high school, was accused of a crime I didn’t commit, spent time in jail, went back to school, and then moved here.”
“Those are facts.”
“And?” he asked.
I rarely probed into someone’s personal life—I did have my limits—but I wanted to know about Jaxson—about the loves of his life, his dreams, and his hopes. But those topics were too personal, at least this soon in our friendship. “I guess I’d like to know the real Jaxson Harrison.”
He laughed. “What you see is what you get, sweetheart.”
“But you’re so different now.”
He glanced over at me. “I grew up.”
That seemed like a safe topic to pursue. “Okay, when you were young, why were you so rebellious? Drake wasn’t.”
“Ah, the age-old question. How can parents raise two such different kids?”
“I’m an only child, so I have nothing to compare it to,” I said.
“I think Drake is the way he is because of me.”
That was a bit cryptic. “Like you raised him or something?”
Jaxson laughed. “No. I didn’t do well in school on purpose, and as a result, I was always getting into trouble. Because of that, Dad gave me a lot of unwanted attention. Drake saw that and decided he wouldn’t follow in my footsteps.”
“I can see Drake doing that.”
He flashed me a smile. “Good.”
That still didn’t answer the why. “Why go the bad route instead of the good?”
“Ah, the ever-curious Glinda. We have about twenty more minutes to this drive, and you won’t let me alone until I answer, right?”
I lightly punched him in the arm. “I’m not that bad.”
“Yes, you are.”
Okay, I was. “Fine. Why be bad?”
He blew out a breath. “I’ve done a lot of thinking about that. In prison, all you have is time to think.”
I liked where this was headed. Jaxson never seemed the deep thinker type, but now I believe I’d misjudged him. “Go on.”
“Dad was a hard worker. In fact, all he did was work. It was rare for him to find the time to throw a baseball to me or take me on any kind of adventure. The only way for him to even notice me was if I acted out. Dad believed in education more than anything.”
I could fill in the blanks. “If you did poorly in school, he’d have to do something about it.”
“Exactly.” He pressed his lips together for a moment. “I was good in math. So good in fact, that I knew how to mess up on a test and make it look like I didn’t know what I was doing. Dad loved math too, so he would tutor me on weekends.”
“You enjoyed that, didn’t you?” I never would have expected the tough as nails jock to be so needy. Ever.
“I did.”
“Did you ever tell him what you did?” I asked.
He chuckled. “Are you kidding? I’m still afraid of what he might do or say.”
I’m sure that wasn’t true, but it was a sweet sentiment. “Thank you,” I said.
“For?”
“For sharing.”
He squeezed my leg. “That’s because I expect the same back.”
Uh-oh. “How about them Tampa Bay Bucs?”
“What?”
I laughed. “That’s a football reference to one of Florida’s teams.”
“I know who they are.” He tapped the wheel. “Ah. I get it. That’s your avoidance phrase. You never were good dealing with your feelings.”
What? “How would you know?” It didn’t matter if it was the truth or not.
“Drake and I have talked about you once or twice.”
I didn’t want to ask about that. “Good to know.”
“Tell me why you are so afraid?”
I hope he wasn’t talking about emotional fear. Even I didn’t understand it, but I had my theories. “I’ll tell you this much, and then we need to discuss a safer topic.”
He laughed. “Fine.”
“My father is a funeral director. He is kind, gentle, and open to everyone he talks with. But when it comes to his own daughter though, he doesn’t know how to act.”
“I get it. To avoid being hurt, you withdraw. You smile, ask about others because it is safer, and try to be the best you can.”
I was stunned. “Yes.”
“Fair enough. You don’t like talking about yourself. I’ll respect that. I have a lot of topics I don’t want to discuss either. Tell me more about the dog investigation.”
I’d already mentioned that two of the contestants might have had it in for each other. “I’m hoping that Steve can look into past events and see if any dogs had disappeared,” I said. “That might help point a finger at someone if there is any overlap in contestants.”
“That sounds good. If the thief is someone local, do you have anyone in mind for the dognapping?” he asked. He almost sounded happy we were no longer discussing our feelings.
“Not really, though I think we need to find out more about the entrants. If Michelle and Patty have a history, who’s to say others don’t?”
“True. It’s like anything that involves a common ground, whether you are in law enforcement, a lawyer, an eye doctor, or a dog trainer. Go to enough events and you are bound to run into the same people over and over again,” he said.
“That is an interesting point. I need to create a spreadsheet about who might be guilty. I’ll focus on the relationships between the contestants. There are very few people in this world who have no secrets.”
He glanced over at me before returning his gaze to the road. “Ain’t that the truth.”
I said nothing for a bit, remembering Jaxson as a much younger man. I’d met his dad many times and could see now why he turned out the way he did.
As Aunt Fern would say: The past is in the past and should be left there. While I thought it was a dumb comment at the time, it applied here. That meant I had to focus on the present—which was getting us to the restaurant.
Since Jaxson was driving, it was my job to navigate. “It should be about a mile up the road on the right.”
“Roger that.”
We arrived just as Penny and Sam were getting out of their car. Jaxson adeptly parallel parked in front of the restaurant, a talent I had never fully developed.
Not wanting to test whether he planned to open the door for me, I pushed it open myself. Instead of looking over at him for his reaction to o
ur rather intimate conversation, I focused on the steakhouse. It looked quite fancy with its large wooden door. The windows were made with wavy glass, and the carriage lamps on the outside gave off an air of sophistication. Overall, it had a German feel to it.
I was the first to admit that I didn’t expect something this nice. Go Sam. Penny had said he’d recently changed jobs—it must be one that paid better.
Sam reached the door first and held it open for us. “Thank you, Sam,” I said.
He smiled. The man was smart to know that if he could impress me, it would make it easier for Penny to agree to be with him. For the sake of their child, I hoped things worked out, despite their tumultuous history.
Once we were seated, we each picked up the menus, pretending it was the most interesting thing in the world. I was seated next to Jaxson, but I couldn’t think about that anymore.
Penny might be my best friend, but I wasn’t sure what to talk about either. The last time Sam and I had interacted, it was right after I took potentially incriminating evidence of a crime I thought Sam might have committed to Sheriff Rocker. Thankfully, Sam had been innocent. I internally laughed. That was one thing Sam and Jaxson had in common. Some people from Witch’s Cove believed they were both criminals, and it turned out both had been innocent.
“I heard you’re working on a caper,” Sam said, breaking the ice.
A caper? That word reminded me of days of old. “Two dogs from the dog show have gone missing. I wouldn’t be involved if one of the psychics hadn’t come to me and asked for my help.” Truth was, Gertrude hadn’t come out and asked me to help, since at the time no dog had been taken. But she had implied it.
“I’m sure you’ll get to the bottom of it,” Sam said with great confidence.
I supposed his belief in me was slightly well-founded since I had proven he wasn’t a murderer.
Before I could elaborate, the front door of the restaurant opened, and who should walk in but none other than Nash Solano and Amy Jones—the owner of the Sheltie named Stumpy. Jaxson had shown me a picture of her when he was doing his research.
My pulse jackknifed. I lifted the menu in front of my face so he wouldn’t see me.