Page 23

Vince was still in the wind the next morning. When I came downstairs, Greg had already made us breakfast. Then he told me that he was driving me to work. And he asked me to skip my beach runs unless I had another companio n besides Emma.

I knew being careful wasn’t a bad thing, but I hated telling my dog that we wer e staying home.

“Can you ask Deek to work the morning shift with you?” Greg asked as he followed me into the shop while I opened. I’d thought he was just dropping me off, but he’d turned off the truck and followed me inside. While I was making coffee he wandered through the bookshelves, checked the bathroom, and went into the back. I heard him going upstairs to check the hallway to Deek’s apartment. Now, he was sitting at the counter, checking his email on his phone while I m ade him coffee.

“Maybe if it gets slow. I’ll have commuters soon. It’s Friday. Everyone wants a specialty coffee on Friday.” As I handed him a travel mug, two of my regulars came into t he shop. “See?”

“If it gets slow, please have Deek come down early. I’m concerned about Vince hanging around town yesterday.” He pointed to the chocolate chip cookies. “One of those, please.”

“Of course. And we don’t know if Vince is even in town. We’re assuming he was the one who called the compound. We don’t know he did.” I wrapped up the cookie, then leaned in to kiss him. “Go to w ork. I’m busy.”

“Look at the lovebirds,” a commuter named Selena said, grinning as she came up with a copy of a new release that had come out that week. “You make me hop eful for love.”

“You’ll find your perfect soulmate soon.” I held up a cup. “A mocha this morning?”

She clapped her hands together and nodded. “I think you’re my soulmate, since you know jus t what I want.”

Greg laughed and headed out of the shop. He held the door open for several more custom ers as he left.

I hoped that having people in the store would make him feel better about my safety. I didn’t want to face Vince. I’d end up saying what I thought of him and that wouldn’t be good. I didn’t control my tongue very well when I was mad. He’d used Amanda’s love and vulnerability and tricked her into taking care of him. Love was hard enough when it was real. Sifting through all the fro gs was a chore.

The door behind me opened about nine and I almost hit Deek with the pan I’d just emptied into th e display case.

“Whoa, you’re jumpy today.” He pulled on the pan I was holding like a weapon. “I guess I should have ann ounced myself.”

“Sorry, Greg’s got me seeing things.” I released my grip on the pan and closed the display case. “You’re not scheduled until eleven.”

“Your dude called and asked if I could write down here.” He glanced around the empty shop. “Something going on that I don ’t know about?”

“He’s at the stage of the investigation into Kane’s death where he sees zebras all over,” I responded. When Deek stared at me, I added, “He’s paranoid a bout everyone.”

“And you tend to fall into finding the culprit. I get it.” He held up his laptop. “I’ll be over at my favorite table if you need me. I need words today. I’ve been slacking.”

“I’m sorry he called. You don’t have to write down here.” I didn’t want Deek to feel obligated to wa tch out for me.

Deek shook his head. “Sorry. The dude asked me for a favor. I’m becoming one of his favorites. I can’t mess that up.”

“You know he’s not your boss, I am,” I reminded him as he poured a cup of coffee to tak e to his table.

“Sure. Keep telling yourself that.” He made his way to the table and got set up.

Honestly, I didn’t mind the company. I kept looking out the window to see if Vince was staring in at me. I was as jumpy as Greg today.

When the morning stayed slow, I went to a table with my laptop and worked on next month’s schedule. I didn’t schedule myself, instead putting Toby into my usual slots. If he was still on the investigation and not able to work here, I’d fill in. If the investigation was still ongoing, there’d be no honeymoon. Except maybe Greg was doing the same thing with Toby’s hours. I probably needed to warn my aunt that we might need help. Or Tilly was needing more hours. I ’d talk to her.

As I played with the schedule, I thought about the two-week honeymoon. I was hoping that Greg had made reservations someplace warm where I could lie out in the sun and read. With great food. But with our need for flexibility, we were probably going to Nebraska to stay in his mom’s spare room for two weeks. I loved Amanda, but I seriously w anted some sun.

I left the shop at eleven. Greg hadn’t called or dropped in to take me home, so I started walking toward the house. A truck was parked in front of Antiques by Thomas. As I walked by, the truck’s side door opened and some one jumped out.

A small scream slipped from my lips before I realized it was Josh Thomas. “You almost gave me a heart attack.”

“Sorry, we’ve been waiting for you. Get in.” He he ld his arm out.

“Did we have an appointment today?” I asked. Josh was an odd duck, but he’d been getting less odd since he got married. Maybe he’d left me a message that I’d missed. “Is this about the Winter Wonderland Festival next weekend? I told Darla to just bill us for our share of the costs. With the wedding, I couldn’t commit any time t o the project.”

“It’s not about the festival. Get in.” He waved me into the truck. I looked inside and saw Kyle, Josh’s s tore assistant.

“Hey, Miss Gardner, I mean, Mrs. King. Congrats, by the way.” Kyle started up the tru ck. “Climb in.”

“Don’t tell me that Greg asked you to drive me home.” Now I was annoyed. Greg was going to get a call from me when I got home. First, he’d chaperoned me to work, then called Deek , and now this?

“Kind of. I stopped by your house yesterday afternoon, but you were gone. So when I saw Greg this morning, he said to pick you up right after your shift. Should I have come inside the shop to gather you?” Josh held his hand out and helped me up into the front of the truck. “I thought this would be m ore efficient.”

“Why were you at my house yesterday?” Now I was curious.

Josh and Kyle exchanged a look. Neither one of them answer ed my question.

“Why are the two of you grinning like that?” Had the wo rld gone crazy?

Josh leaned out the window. “You’ll find out soon enough. It’s a pretty day for Janu ary, isn’t it?”

“Josh Thomas, you owe me.” I didn’t want to get into specifics in front of Kyle, but he did owe me.

Josh ign ored my threat.

“I should back the truck in, right?” Kyle asked Josh as we approached my house. My Jeep was the only vehicle in my driveway.

“That will work.” After Kyle parked, the men jumped out and opened the back door. I walked over to see what they were looking at. The bedroom set Amanda and I had seen at the antique store was in the back, along with a ne w mattress set.

“What is going on? Did Greg buy this?” The bed was beautiful and reminded me of the furniture at the Castle.

Josh handed me an envelope. “Not Greg. He came over and approved it, but someone else bought the set. We would have had it set up Saturday night, but we had a delay on the mattress delivery. I thought you’d want all of it together. Can you open the door and move Emma to the backyard so we can get this set up? I told Mandy we’d be fast.”

“Give me a second.” I wasn’t sure my bedroom was ready for visitors. I hurried and unlocked the door and sent Emma outside. Then I grabbed a basket and cleared out the drawers in the nightstands and anything sitting on the surfaces and put it in my closet. Then I grabbed another basket and emptied the clothes fr om the dresser.

We had another bedroom to put the extra furniture in, but it was filled with boxes. I ran over there as I heard someone coming upstairs. Maybe we could squeeze in the furniture. I swung open the door to find the room totally cleared of boxes and junk. “ What the heck?”

“Surprise,” a voice said from behind me.

I turned with my hands up in a defensive boxing stance. When I saw it was Greg, I let my hands fall. “What happened here?”

“Mom bought us that bedroom set you loved, so I cleaned out this bedroom to make room for the old stuff.” He studied me. “You’re okay wit h that, right?”

“I’m over the moon. It’s just a shock. ” I hugged him.

“Well, tell Toby, Josh, and Kyle to get up here and we’ll move out all the furniture. Then we’ll bring up the new, or old, stuff.” He glanced inside our bedroom. “Do we need to clea n up anything?”

“No, I already cleared out the dressers and nightstands. I can’t believe you set all this up without me knowing.” I kissed him before heading for the stairs.

“I’m glad to know I can still surprise you with some things,” he c alled after me.

As the furniture got moved and the new bedroom set up, I had a few minutes to read Amanda’s note. I took it to the back porch so I could watch Emma as she supervised the activity by the fences.

Dear Jill,

I’d address this to you and Greg, but he’s already in on the secret, so I guess this is your gift. I saw how much you loved the bedroom set so I hope I didn’t overstep. And if I did, Josh Thomas has told me he will take the furniture back and give you a credit in his store. Minus the mattress set. I hope you like it. If not, the mattress store has a 30-day return policy too. I’ve enclosed the paperwork.

I’ve also enclosed a letter that I found in my purse a few days ago when you brought it back from the mission. It’s from Sherry to Greg. I haven’t read it. I didn’t know the letter was in there. I should have realized that she didn’t come to Nebraska just to visit me one last time. I feel like those women who are used to carry drugs through customs. An emotion al mule, right?

You can shred it or give it to Greg. It’s probably a plea for him not to marry you, which has already happened. She didn’t want Greg. She wanted Sherry’s version of a new and improved Greg. I can see that you are in love with Greg just as he is, which is all I can ask from a d aughter-in-law.

Thanks for being you. And enjoy the new furniture.

Amanda

I tucked the note back into the envelope with the receipts and pulled out Sherry’s letter. Now that I knew Amanda hadn’t been aware of it, I felt better about our future together. I set it aside. I’d give it to Greg. I didn’t need to know all it said, but he should have the choice to read it. In case it was an apology or maybe a check for his half of the money in a long-lost joint account tha t she’d closed.

I saw the book Kane had given me during the open house, The Four Agreements. He might have understood the power of positive thinking, but it hadn’t saved him from being killed. I opened the book. I’d never read it. I wasn’t much for rah-rah cheerleading, positive-thinking, self-help books. Deek handled those types of advance reader copies when we got them at the bookstore. I lived in California; I should be more open to magical thinking. I think it was pumped into the air vents of all the pu blic buildings.

An envelope fell out as I opened the book. I frowned, checking to see if I’d grabbed Sherry’s letter with the book. Her letter was stil l on the table.

I took the letter out of the envelope and read the first line.

If you’re reading this, I’m probably dead .

I finished reading the letter that Kane had written to me, then smuggled out with his gift of the book. Kane hadn’t been in charge of the large security team. Neither had Roger. Maryanne was running the show over at New Hope. Kane had become a liability. He wanted out.

I held the letter up and hurried into the kitchen. The men were gathered in the living room, talking.

“Jill, the bed’s ready for sheets and stuff, but I’ve got to get back to the station.” Greg pulled me into a hug. “Thanks, Josh, Kyle, and Toby, for helping get t hat installed.”

Josh’s phone beeped with a text. He started walking to the door as he read it. He turned at the doorway and waved to Kyle. “Sorry, it’s Mandy. We need to get back to the shop. We’ve got a guy with a truc kload to sell.”

Toby must have ridden to the house with Greg because he didn’t leave with Josh and Kyle.

“Greg, you need to read this. I think Maryanne and Vince killed Kane.” I handed him the two envelopes. “And there’s a letter from Sherry that she gave your mom.”

* * * *

Darla got the exclusive for her newspaper, but Beth came back to town to help with background information. Kane and Roger were both being manipulated by Maryanne and Vince. Kane told them he was changing some of the covenants of the church. He wanted to become more mainstream in their mission. That Sunday, Kane had thought he was meeting with Pastor Bill at the mission, not Molly. Vince had redirected Bill to talk to Molly. And then he’d met Kane and killed him.

When Greg got back to the station, he’d found Roger there, asking for protection. Vince was a t the compound.

It took a while to get people prepped to take the compound from its security guards. The actual takedown had required several local law enforcement agencies as well as Anya and child protective services, so it was the next week before the actual arrest. We almost had a Waco-like standoff in our little town. Beth called as soon as the news cycle started reporting the full story.

The security team was already nervous since no one knew where Roger had gone. Losing a second prophet after one had been killed was one coincidence too far. They weren’t willing to die for the cause. They could see the writi ng on the wall.

When Greg came home that night, he sank next to me on the couc h. “It’s over.”

“Did you call your mom?” I turned off the television even though Emma was still watching the cooking show. We could start again it later. The jo y of streaming.

“Beth said she’d call her. Beth thinks she has enough for an epilogue. And she’s planning on sending out some feelers to publishing agents. So, fingers crossed for her. I’d love for this mess to turn into goo d for someone.”

“I know one more person who’s going to be excited for th is to be over.”

He looked at me, his eyes almost closed. He’d been up since four, coordinating the arrest . “Who’s that?”

“Me. After you sleep for a week and get your prisoners to wherever, we’re going on our honeymoon. So where are we going?”

He closed his eyes. He was beat, I could tell. I needed to leave him alone so he could sleep.

“Greg? Maybe you should go up to bed.” Our couch was comfortable, but that new mattress was incredible.

“I never told you what was in Sherry’s letter.” He didn’t open his eyes as he talked to me. “Aren’ t you curious?”

“A little. But you’re still here. I assumed the letter didn’t sway you to run back to her.” I brushed his sandy hair away from his eyes. He did need a haircut.

“First she listed all the ways I’d messed up our relationship, then said she’d forgive me if I came back. I guess she dumped the new husband.” He opened his eyes. “I’m so glad you’re not a drama queen.”

“Is this your way of telling me we’re going to Nebraska?” My stomach dropped a little. I’d looked up the temperature and it had been zero degrees for the past week. With a foot of snow co ming next week.

“Why on earth would we go to Nebraska?” He stood and stretched. “I’m heading to bed. Plan on being out of town starting Saturday. Let Toby know he better not lose Emma.”

I watched him walk upstairs. He still hadn’t told me where we were going. But it w asn’t Nebraska.