Page 6

After a stop by the front door for Bram to grab his leather jacket, we set off on a winding tour of the homes beyond the inn.

I point out the three apartments and two houses I rented over the years.

We loop around the firehouse, then cut through the city park, the trees showing off with vibrant colors of red, orange, and golden yellow.

The last time we walked these streets together, we were seventeen.

Now, we’re forty-two. It feels like a lifetime has passed since Bram’s been away.

It’s so good and weirdly strange to be walking here with him again.

If he hadn’t had a football career waiting for him, would he have stayed?

And if he had, what would’ve become of us?

Bram gazes at the colorful storefronts lining Maple Street. “ I don’t know what I was expecting. A lot of places still look the same. But a lot is different.”

The places that have been here forever, like Sparky’s Diner, Red’s Diner, The Striped Maple, and the Playhouse on Garnet Avenue near my inn haven’t changed much.

The new shops, like the coffee place, the ice cream shop, and Ever’s store, are welcome additions to the town.

Across the street, the three are in a row, directly in front of the park.

“I’m looking forward to seeing Ever. But first, I need caffeine.” Bram points to Special Blend, his brows raised in question.

“They make great coffee. Let’s go.”

We jog across the street and I leave him outside with the dogs, promising to return with lattes for the two of us and Ever.

I’m conscious of him every moment I’m inside the coffee shop and I have to force myself to keep my eyes forward instead of constantly peeking out the window to watch my friend.

It’s like part of me still can’t believe he’s here.

Back outside, in the cool autumn air, Bram accepts his latte with a smile and a thanks.

Holding the tray with my latte and Ever’s, I open the door to the Honey Spot. Ever’s never minded when I’ve stopped in with Bandit, and I know he’s looking forward to seeing Bram. “Hello? Ever?”

Footsteps sound from the back of the shop, and then our silver fox friend comes into view. His face breaks into a smile. “Hey, guys.”

“I come bearing lattes.” I set the tray down on the counter. “And longtime friends.”

Ever and Bram exchange hugs, and Ever claps him on the shoulder as they draw apart. “Good to see you, Bram. I couldn’t believe it when Trevor said you were coming.”

“The store looks great.” Bram loops Hades’s leash around his wrist a few times, drawing the dog to his side. “Your grandfather would be proud. Oh, and I need to order more soap, and honey.”

Stooped down, petting the dogs, Ever runs a thumb under his eye before looking up at us. He and his grandfather were close and even after a decade, I know Ever still misses him. “Do you want to take them back to the inn today, or later, when you don’t have your hands full of lattes and dogs?”

Bram grins at Ever’s dry tone. “Later would be great. I’ll stop in toward the end of the week.”

Brushing his hands on his thighs, Ever stands. “Have you started your investigation research?”

“Not on the ground here yet, but over the last week and a half, people have reached out with stories, thanks to the festival committee putting the word out. I talked to Ethan Gallagher a few days ago. Since he’s back in Seattle for hockey season, and couldn’t meet in person to tell me about his Mabel sightings, we did our interview over a video call.

I didn’t know he bought the Montgomery family’s place. ”

“Yeah. He bought it when he was here in the spring.” I sip my latte. The property is thirty acres of mostly woods with a great pond every kid in Maplewood loved playing on in the winter.

“He swears that, as a kid and teen, he and his friends saw Mabel there.” Bram bounces lightly on his toes like he did when he played football and couldn’t wait to get off the sidelines and back in the game.

“Ethan pays Tommy Harrington to leave food for Mabel every couple of weeks during hockey season, carrying on a tradition that the Montgomerys had. He’d helped the Montgomerys build a place for Mabel’s food back when he was a kid.

He said we can investigate on the property if we want. Really nice guy.”

Ever slips behind the counter, pulls out a box of dog treats that he started carrying once I adopted Bandit, and sets it in front of us. “Ethan’s great. Did you hear his moms bought the Playhouse a few years ago?”

“Ethan mentioned they’re showing scary movies this month as part of the Halloween activities.

” Bram digs two bones out of the box, handing one to me and one to Hades.

“I remember Grace and Elena, but with Ethan eight years younger than us, I didn’t know him when I lived here.

It’s nice talking to a fellow athlete, even if we do play different sports. ”

The wistfulness in his tone catches me. I look up from feeding Bandit his treat. “Are you missing football?”

“A little. Sometimes I miss it a lot. I was lucky to play for as long as I did.” He was a cornerback for most of his career then moved positions to safety for his last few seasons.

I want to cheer him up, want to keep him smiling, and think I know how. “You know that spot in the woods we always used to go to after your football games here?”

He grins. “Yeah. Those were good times. We have to go back and see it.”

“We will.” I cast a sly glance at Ever. “Ever took Dmitri there, and things got heated.” I wiggle my eyebrows.

Ever’s eyes grow wide and he sputters his latte.

I continue, “And Mabel interrupted them.”

Bram’s laugh bellows out loud in the small space. With Hades circling his legs, he faces Ever. “Mabel cockblocked you?”

Ever tucks the box of treats underneath the counter and pulls out a box of tissues. “I guess you could put it that way.”

“Oh, man. I need the full story.” Biting his lip can’t hide Bram’s smile. He pats Ever on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, it won’t be in the podcast.”

“Thanks.” Ever swipes a tissue over spatters of brown liquid dotting the counter. “And thanks for sharing that, Trevor. ”

Giving him the most innocent expression I can muster, I sip my drink. “Where is Dmitri?”

“Teaching violin lessons at Harmonic Circus.” He tosses the wet tissues in the trash can, then props his butt on the stool, his arms folded over his Honey Spot T-shirt. “That day in the woods, we saw something move in the trees. I had a feeling it was Mabel.”

“Maybe she’ll reveal herself again. You’re coming to Cryptid Night?” Bram unwinds the leash from his legs.

“We’ll be there,” Ever confirms easily, like there was never any doubt. He’s a good friend. Always supportive. Though I’m sure he’s guessed my feelings for Bram, I know he won’t say anything to him.

The door opens and two women enter, one pushing a stroller and the other holding the hands of two toddlers. Hades starts wagging his tail, straining his leash, and Bandit does the same. Bram and I meet each other’s gazes.

“Time to go.” I angle my head toward the door and he nods his agreement.

We bid Ever goodbye, let the kids pet the dogs, then hustle our furry friends out the door.

Bram touches my shoulder and inclines his head in the direction of Clover Street. “Ever looked good.”

“Being in love agrees with him. Dmitri is awesome.” We pass Scoops on Maple, the vet clinic, and the town hall before turning down the street where Agnes lives. “Do you know who will be at Agnes’s house?”

“The Rocktogenarians. They’re sticking around after band practice.”

I groan and grin. The five women in their eighties, making up a band whose music is as eclectic as its members, are a force individually, but when they get together, nothing stops them. “We might need a drink after this.”

“Oh, I know. I needed two after I met up with them in Philly when they played in that music festival a few years ago. They’re great, but overwhelming.”

We reach Agnes’s house with its sprawling garden. Multiple voices come from the backyard. Bram opens the gate and gestures for Bandit and me to go first. I slide past him, and my stomach flips at the way his eyes twinkle.

Hades’s and Bandit’s twin barks announce our arrival. Agnes comes around the side of the house, and she lights up upon seeing Bram. “You’re here. Come, let me look at you.”

Bram ambles over and stoops to hug her. “It’s good to be back.”

She kisses my cheek, pets the dogs, then links her arm through Bram’s. “The girls and I are on the back deck.”

We round the corner, and the four women sitting at the bright blue table call out cheery hellos.

Rae, the band’s front woman, with her halo of white hair, leather jacket, and oversized sunglasses, raises her glass to us. “About time you got here. Agnes has been going on about you for hours.”

Eleanor, the drummer and Rae’s partner, sits beside her, elegant in black silk. “Hello, Bram, Trevor.”

Celia, who plays the bass guitar, waves a manicured hand that matches her red platforms toward the open chairs on the table’s opposite side. “Sit, please.”

I drag out a chair for Bram, then one for myself. “Thanks. How was practice?”

“Fun. We’re experimenting with death metal.

” Clad in paint-splattered overalls, Celia’s partner and the band’s keyboard player, Lydia pushes back her chair and welcomes the dogs with open arms. “So handsome, both of you.” Then she raises her head to smile at Bram and me.

“Bram, Agnes tells us that Hades found you? ”

He drops into the chair at my side. “Yeah. I’d just come back from England, where I did an investigation on the myth of the black shuck in the British Isles.

They’re spectral hounds. Some call them hellhounds.

” Resting his arm on the back of my chair, Bram sits back and stretches out his legs.

“Anyway, I went camping on my own to unwind. A large, shaggy-haired black dog wandered out of the woods and came right up to me. My first thought was of the black shuck. He didn’t have a microchip, and no one in the area reported a missing dog.

I think he’d been on his own for a while. He’s been with me ever since.”

“According to the legends, the black shuck can range from being kind and nurturing to vicious and baneful.” Repeating what I learned from Bram about the myth, I may or may not press into his side a little.

Only to keep warm in the slight chill of the late afternoon, of course.

“Like what people think of Mabel. Some stories are of her helping people and others are of her scaring them.”

Bram shifts in his chair causing his thigh to rest against mine. “You know I’m here for the Mabel stories, but also to investigate what you saw last month. Is it okay with you if I record our conversation?”

“Of course, dear.” Agnes gives him a regal wave.

He takes out his phone, opens the recording app, and sets it on the table. “Tell me about what happened.”

She refills her tumbler with the tawny liquid of her favorite whiskey. “We played our set at The Striped Maple, an homage to eighties punk bands.”

“We rocked the place.” Rae lifts her glass, clinking it to Agnes’s.

“When I was driving home, a massive shadow of something with huge wings was ahead of me on the road. I couldn’t make out what it was, so I turned on my high beams. I looked up and there, darker than the night sky, was this thing .

” She shivers. “Flying, or more like hovering over me. My heart was in my throat. I nearly ran off the road. Then it flew into the woods.” She shakes her hand toward the sky.

“Scariest night of my life. And you know some of the things I’ve seen and done. I’m not easily frazzled.”

Eleanor rubs Agnes’s back in soothing circles and adds, “I saw something huge and hairy in the woods on the edge of the highway last month. Rae saw the same thing a week later by the fairgrounds.”

“And you’re sure it wasn’t a bear?” Bram asks.

Rae lowers her large sunglasses to peer at us over the top. “It didn’t lumber like one. It was quick, on two legs. Moved more like a primate.”

Interest piqued, Bram leans forward, his forearms resting on his thighs while maintaining the contact of our legs. “Have you seen anything since then?”

“We’ve heard things.” Celia glances at Agnes, who nods. “Bram, we’d like you to come to our next gardening club meeting on Thursday afternoon. People there have similar stories. Daniel is convinced there’s a wolf-man in the woods.”

“Sure. I’ll be there.” He leans back, his arm resuming its position draped across the back of my chair.

“My tap dancing class is on Wednesday morning. You can meet me after it. Our instructor saw the winged thing too. He’d like to tell you about it.

” Agnes’s eyes light up and I can’t tell if it’s from the excitement of the sightings or having Bram in town.

“Oh, and my friend Zeke always puts food out for Mabel. Something’s eating it. You should chat with him.”

Sipping my latte, I listen as the Rocktogenarians toss out name after name of people Bram should meet amid tales of their escapades.

The brush of his hand against my shoulder is distracting and comforting, causing an eruption of goose bumps over my too sensitive skin and ramping up my desire to see exactly what the skin beneath his ear tastes like.

Having him back in town is better than I imagined. But I’m beginning to doubt that I’ll be able to keep my feelings hidden. Facing down mythic monsters is less scary than the thought of accidentally blurting out that I love him.