Page 92 of The Aster Valley Collection, Vol. 1

Family.

Was it possible? Had I finally created a community for myself I could count on?

Just thinking about my Aster Valley friends made me realize Sam was right.

I had people who cared about me, people who’d proven they were there for me when the chips were down.

People who ran to check on me even before I knew I needed them.

It was an amazing feeling.

“But first,” Sam said, hopping out of bed and yanking me with him. “We scrub your naked body very carefully. Can’t exactly face the day without making sure every single part of you is… spit shined.”

I snorted at his waggling eyebrows and followed him into the bathroom. While we waited for the water to heat up, I thought about how much my life had changed in the span of less than a week.

A week ago, I was imagining losing my virginity in a quiet missionary encounter with Barney Balderson.

I was trying my best to stay invisible and off the Stanners’ radar.

My biggest goal was to plant some wildflower seeds on the side of the highway without getting into trouble with the county council.

I wondered what the county council would think when they realized meek little Truman Sweet had finally managed to pin something on their precious Stanner family. Patrick and Craig would go to jail for arson, and Sheriff Stanner would no longer be able to protect them from the law.

If only the world worked like that.

After we showered and made our way back to the kitchen where Mikey and Tiller were fixing breakfast, I received a call from Dirk Bromley.

“I just wanted to let you know the Stanner brothers have an alibi for the night of the fire,” he began.

I opened my mouth to tell him they had to be lying when he continued.

“The entire Stanner clan was at the hospital for the birth of Michelle Stanner’s baby.

I understand she’s Craig’s wife. The baby was born a little after eleven, and one of the nurses on the maternity ward can place the sheriff, Barb, Gene, Kimber, Patrick, and Craig Stanner all there in the waiting room or the patient’s room until after one in the morning. ”

“Oh,” I said stupidly. My high deflated into the lowest of lows.

“We will be investigating every lead, Mr. Sweet. I just wanted to update you to put your mind at ease that this family didn’t perpetrate a crime against you.”

As if that put my mind at ease. Better the devil you knew than the one you didn’t. Besides, it didn’t make any sense. The Stanners had been gunning for me for years now. There was no way it wasn’t them. If they had an alibi, it only meant they’d found someone else to start the fire.

“Let me know what else you find,” I said.

“Will do. I need to follow up with Mr. Rigby again today to ask him a few questions that have come up. I’ll be in touch.”

He hung up before I could ask him what he meant. I glanced over at Sam, who raised an eyebrow at me.

“Was that the investigator?”

“He wants to ask you more questions.”

Sam looked at the phone and back up at me. “Right now? Is he still on the phone?”

“What? Oh. No. Sorry. He mentioned wanting to ask you more questions based on something that’s come up. He’s going to call you, I guess. But why would he want to ask you questions?”

Sam and Tiller exchanged a look that didn’t make any sense to me.

“What?” I asked.

“He probably questioned the Stanners and got pointed in my direction. If they want to claim they didn’t do it, who better to pin the crime on than a stranger passing through town?”

Tiller added, “Someone who knows construction, no less.”

Mikey sighed from where he was working in the kitchen. “Assholes,” he muttered.

“The Stanners didn’t do it,” I said. “That’s why he was calling. They were all at the hospital for the birth of Craig’s baby.”

The three of them stared at me. I shrugged and felt like crying again. “If they didn’t do it, that means someone else hates me enough to burn down my shop.”

Sam pulled me over onto his lap. “No. It might mean it was a random act of vandalism. Or maybe it wasn’t really arson.”

“What if the investigator thinks you did it?” I asked.

“I don’t have any motive for that kind of crime. They’d have a hard time pinning it on me with no evidence.”

My phone rang again. This time it was Barney.

“There you are. I’ve been buzzing at your gate with no response.”

“I’m not at home,” I said, moving back over to my seat and taking a quick sip of coffee. The wine hangover wasn’t too bad, but I was still looking forward to drenching it in whatever the heck Mikey was making that smelled so good.

“Where are you? I found something important at the shop.”

“You went to my shop?”

Tiller and Sam exchanged another look. That was beginning to annoy me.

“Where are you?” Barney asked again.

“Rockley Lodge. I spent the night at Tiller and Mikey’s.”

Barney sighed. “I wish you’d called me. I would have come to stay with you. I told you that.”

I was tired of telling him no over and over again, so I didn’t. “Feel free to leave what you found. I’ll be home later.”

“No need. I’ll run it up to you at the lodge.”

I stared at my phone. “Why do people keep hanging up on me before I can respond?” I muttered.

Mikey slid a plate full of a steaming serving of egg casserole in front of me. Tiller vibrated with happiness. “Egg surprise! Truman, you need to stay over more often.”

If they fed me like this, maybe I’d consider it. I dug into the food without waiting.

Sure enough, right as we finished up breakfast and I’d convinced Tiller to let me do the dishes, there was a knock on the door. Mikey brought Barney back to the kitchen. He was carrying a large paper grocery bag that he set down carefully on the island.

“Oh sweet pea,” he said, bustling over to kiss me on the cheek. My hands were dripping wet with soapy dishwater, so I simply stood there and accepted it. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Sam watching every move.

Not going to lie, I kind of liked the scowl on his face.

“How are you bearing up?” Barney asked, cooing over me and murmuring that I looked just awful. “You must not be sleeping. I knew this would happen.”

Mikey offered him a cup of coffee, then asked, “What’s in the bag? Did you bring us some cookies? I happen to know Truman has a soft spot for peanut butter cookies.”

Barney’s face wrinkled in confusion. “Truman only eats organic plant-based foods.”

I wanted to laugh. “No, I don’t.”

Sam couldn’t resist. “Pretty sure peanut butter is plant-based anyway.”

“Be that as it may,” Barney continued, “I brought something super special for you from the shop. When I remembered how dear it was to you, I couldn’t resist going over there to look for it.”

I dried my hands off and opened the paper bag, pulling out a familiar, albeit soot-dusted, spiral notebook. “Oh my gosh! It’s Aunt Berry’s recipes.” I glanced over at Barney in surprise. “How in the world did you find this?”

“And how did it survive?” Tiller asked, stepping closer to take a look.

It was a good question. The spiral was definitely covered in ash and soot, but otherwise, it didn’t look like it had been harmed at all. I searched my memory to figure out where I might have left it the last time I’d used it.

“I could have sworn I had it at the house from when I made the last batch of thyroid drops for Dee Lorens,” I murmured, brushing off the dust into the kitchen sink. “No, wait. I took it to the shop to grab the ingredients for the eczema cream. That’s right. I guess I must have left it there.”

Mikey dampened a paper towel and brought it over to help clean off the soot.

I glanced back over to Barney. “Thank you so much for thinking of this. I can’t believe I almost lost it. I have the recipes backed up on my computer now, but having them in her own handwriting means so much to me. I really appreciate it.”

Barney relaxed and smiled under my expression of gratitude. “I’m so glad. I hated the thought of you losing something so special. I know you don’t have much to remember her by. It would have been a shame to lose this in that horrible fire.”

“Was there anything else?” I asked. “Berry’s mala beads?”

Barney opened his mouth to say something, but then his eyes flicked to Sam for a beat and then back to me. “I’m afraid not.”

Mikey frowned. “Were those the colorful beads that hung behind the register counter?”

I nodded. “It kind of looks like a rosary, but the beads are all different kinds of stones. Some were rare and precious gemstones. The mala is used in meditation.”

Barney shook his head, more sure this time. “It definitely wasn’t there. Most everything is ash or broken glass, I’m afraid. And it stinks to high heaven.”

Sam nodded from where he stood a few feet away. I’d begun to notice when Barney was around, Sam seemed to keep his distance. I wondered why. Was he afraid of interfering in some perceived relationship of mine?

Sam cleared his throat. “I didn’t see anything like that when I was there either, but then again, the investigator didn’t let me very far into the building because it was considered a crime scene.”

“You went to the shop, too?” I asked him.

Sam’s eyebrows furrowed. “I boarded it up. Remember?”

“Of course. I’m sorry. I’m just turned around… When you were there, did you see anything else worth saving?”

Sam glanced at Barney, then back at me. He spoke carefully. “Truman, there wasn’t even a single square-inch of wood from an interior wall or piece of furniture that wasn’t burned. Nothing survived that fire in one piece.”

I met his eyes and saw the truth in them.

This notebook hadn’t been in the fire.