“And incredibly gorgeous, with really good shoulders?” Tam suggested slyly.
“Enough with his shoulders!” I protested. Then I sighed. “Yeah, essentially.”
We finished our coffee, Tam gleefully extracting details about my relationship—shit,wasit a relationship? It felt like I needed Brewer’s buy-in before I could call it that.
By the time we got up to leave, I felt lighter than I had in days.
“Thanks for listening to me ramble,” I told her as we pushed open the door and stepped out into the cool morning air.
“That’s what siblings are for,” she said, adjusting her purse strap. “That, and occasional free babysitting once my baby sleeps through the night.”
“You’re a mercenary woman, Tamsen Marie.”
“Facts are facts, Delaney Patrick. See you at book club? I’m calling it right now—Commander Xorleth’s mating bite makes his human grow tentacles.”
I snorted. “I’ll be there,” I promised. And realizing that I actuallywouldbe able to be there, not just occasionally, at least for the next little while, brought a rush of relief.
Tam shook her head and waved, heading toward her car while I turned to walk back to mine.
“Delaney!”
I jolted as Janice Plum suddenly appeared from behind a decorative tree. I was starting to think she lived there.
“Janice,” I said, recovering my composure. “Love the hoop skirt.”
And she was, indeed, wearing a voluminous blue-and-cream hoop skirt that clashed completely with the produce-aisle cornucopia atop her head.
“You like it?” She twirled, the skirt swishing around her.
“You’re a vision,” I assured her.
“Aw. You’re nearly as sweet as Brewer,” she said, ducking her head. “Oh, speaking of! You two should come to the Historical Happenings candle-dipping event Sunday! I’m calling it ‘Dip Your Wick with Janice.’ Catchy, right? Just like you told me.” She beamed. “I’ve already had five people sign up!”
Dear God.
I opened my mouth, hesitated, then closed it again. “I… will not be there,” I said firmly. “But I hope it all goes well. See you at book club?”
I made it back to my car, feeling strangely at peace despite the prospect of facing Marjorie again. But when I turned the key in the ignition, my phone rang once more.
“Delaney,” Marjorie began before I could sayhello. “You didn’t call me back.”
“Because I’m not home yet. I’ll read the email, I promise. This story is important to me.”
There was a beat of silence.
“That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about. Delaney,” she began slowly, reasonably. “You know there comes a certain point where we maybe have to admit that we haven’t found a smoking gun because thereisn’tone. Right? While she was doing research on Harmon’s company, Amber talked to quite a few of his former associates. None of them wanted to go on the record with a character reference. The opposite, in fact. He’s known as beingveryambitious and a bit… ruthless.”
I frowned. “So?”
“So… maybe it’s okay to walk back our goal from full redemption. Or maybe it’s time to put a pin in this story and move on. The Costa Rica story?—”
“Marjorie.” I took a deep breath, considered for a moment, and realized I had no doubts. “I’m not taking the Costa Rica story.”
This time, the silence lasted longer than a moment. “I don’t understand,” she finally said.
I ran my thumbnail over the logo on my steering wheel. “Look, I’m not saying I never want to travel again, but for the next little while, I’d like to stick close to home. To Copper County.”
“But… butwhy?” she demanded. “I feel like there’s a story here, Delaney Monroe.”
