Page 18 of It's a Wonderful Knife

“Really?” I rubbed my chin. “Maybe one is her first name and the other her last?”

“Maybe, but I’d bet money that isn’t the case.”

“Why would he lie about having a girlfriend?”

Shrugging, Royce said, “To get out of being arrested for reckless driving. He played the sympathy card with me.”

“So you let him off?”

He turned his gaze on me, and it warmed. “I guess after what we just went through, I felt sorry for anyone who broke up right before the holidays.”

“I see.” I smiled wryly. “You’re such an empathetic little fellow.”

“Yep.” With a sigh, Royce seemed to shake himself. He took hold of my hand. “Where were we? I’m not here as a cop, I’m here as a guest. I need to remember that.”

“Yes. Richard is odd but most likely harmless.” We continued our walk through the trees. Above us, a yellow-breasted bird sang in short bursts of varying squeaks, chuckles, squawks, followed by short pauses as if listening for a response.

Regardless of his good intentions of dropping the subject of Richard, Royce muttered, “Maybe that guy is just acting oddly because I make him nervous or something. Cops make a lot of people uneasy.”

“Could be, although that doesn’t explain why he’s crawling around in the bushes.”

“No, it doesn’t.”

I gave him a curious glance. “You seem tense, which is unusual for you.”

He frowned. “Do I?”

“A bit.”

“Hmmm, maybe I am. I can’t shake the feeling that there’s some sort of trouble brewing here on the farm.”

I lifted my brows. “Really?”

He grimaced. “Maybe that’s too dramatic. I just remember the place seeming more harmonious in the past.”

While I had no idea what the norm was, I did agree there was definitely some tension between Mona and Ezra. “Running an operation like this must be difficult.”

“Yes, but I’ve never noticed the palpable strain between Mona and Ezra before.”

“At least Dakota seems like a nice kid.”

“He is. I think he really wants to help his parents. A lot of kids his age wouldn’t care about the farm. They’d want to run off to the city.”

“You mean like Chloe?”

Royce grimaced. “I can’t blame her for wanting something different. She’s spent her whole life here. She’s at that age where she’ll want to meet a guy and live her life.”

“Yes. Have all the staff been here forever?”

“Not all of them. Elle has been here since Mona started running things. Her husband worked the farm, but he died a few years back. Mona was a big help to her raising Chloe.”

“I’ll bet.”

“You haven’t met Leo yet. He’s been here since Mona took over too. He looks rougher than he is. He’s got the long hair and tattoos, but he’s a gentle soul.”

“Jax seems like he has been here forever.”

Royce laughed. “Yeah, he’s confident. Truth is though he’s only been here a few years. I’m not sure why he stays on, to be honest. He strikes me as the type of guy who’s always wheeling and dealing. I’d think life on this quiet little farm wouldn’t suit him, but he’s still here.”