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I tilted my head. “If you don’t mind me asking, how’d you get here?”

“The car service in town. What was it? It had a pun...”

I smiled. “Valet Forge. I actually work there. If I had a vehicle with me right now, I’d be more than happy to drive you somewhere.”

“Again, you’re very kind, but I wouldn’t want to trouble you.” He pulled his phone out of his inside suit jacket pocket. “I’ll

just call them back.”

“Here, allow me.” I pulled out my own phone and dialed Neil, but curiosity stopped me from hitting the green button. “I know

I’m probably playing into small-town busybody stereotypes right now, but I have to ask how you got to town. The airline told

us there weren’t any scheduled flights today.”

“Oh. Well. I flew privately.” The man began looking around the open space of the inn—up the stairs, back to the kitchen, over

to the fireplace—and I got the impression he’d given me all the information he was willing to give.

“I see. Sorry to pry.”

He shook his head and smiled again, though it felt a little less genuine than it had before.

I hit the green button, and Neil answered on the first ring. “Hey, Neil. I’m at the inn. Jo’s not here. Are you available

to come back for the client you just dropped off? Mr., um...” I lifted my chin over the phone and said to the tourist,

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

“Brewster. Philip Brewster.”

I nodded once. “Mr. Brewster? Great. Thanks, Neil.” I hung up and slipped the phone back into my jeans. “He’ll be here in

just a couple minutes. Feel free to make yourself at home.”

“Thanks so much.”

Rather than take a seat, he made himself at home by walking closer to the stairway and looking up. And then craning his neck

to try to look into the dining room.

Well, as I’d heard Jo say on more than one occasion, the only kinds of tourists we don’t want are the ones without money. And this guy’s fancy tasseled loafers and Frank Clegg alligator briefcase certainly gave the impression he wasn’t one of those kinds of tourists.

I was still covertly watching Mr. Brewster lean over the banister to look up the stairs one more time when Jo came through

the door, unwrapping her scarf from around her neck as she entered.

“Hey, darlin’. I didn’t expect you to still be here. Thought I saw Beulah down in front of Cole’s place.”

Okay. I did not want to explain that to her right then.

“Jo, this is Mr. Brewster. He’s hoping to get a room for the night.”

“Oh, pardon me. Didn’t see you there, Mr. Brewster. Let’s get you checked in.” She hung her coat up on the rack and started

to shut the door but stopped suddenly, looking toward the driveway. “Neil’s here. Is he picking up or dropping off?”

“Mr. Brewster was going to head into town—”

“I appreciate your help,” he said, picking up his briefcase and following Jo to the registration desk, setting his ID and

credit card on the counter. “But if I can get a room and a cup of coffee, I think I may just settle in and get some work done.”

I nodded. “Of course. Well, if you need a ride later, you can always give us a call. He’s Neil, and I’m Addie.”

Mr. Brewster turned slowly away from the desk and faced me again. “Addie? Did you say your name is Addie?”

Jo could run her business however she liked, but if it were me, I might have had a policy of not accepting tourists without

money, and maybe also not looking too kindly on the ones who stare at you like they’re wondering if you’d fit into a specially

made box they keep in their basement.

“Yes. Addie Elwyn.”

“Addie Elwyn,” he whispered almost silently.

“Have we met before, Mr. Brewster?” I knew we hadn’t, but I was trying to give his unusual behavior the benefit of the doubt.

He smiled again then, and it didn’t seem as forced as before, although it didn’t exactly put me at ease either. But suddenly

he seemed to morph right before my eyes into Mr. Normal and Harmless Guy Passing Through Town. “No. Sorry. It’s just a unique

name I haven’t heard very often before. Add to that the fact that it’s been a long day of travel.” He yawned as if on cue.

“Don’t mind me. That cup of coffee will help.”

I glanced up at Jo to see if her stranger-danger radar was going off at this guy, but she wasn’t even paying attention to

anything other than her computer screen. And I knew she’d handled all sorts. If she’d been worried about any red flags, she

would have had her eyes glued to him.

“Alright, then. Um, Jo, I think I’m going to ride into town with Neil. Unless you need me to do anything for you?”

“You go right ahead.” She looked up at me over the monitor. “You staying here again tonight?”

I sighed and shrugged. “I’m not sure yet. I’ll let you know as soon as I know.”

“No rush. The room’s yours as long as you need it.” She turned her attention back to the computer, then grabbed a key for

her guest and handed it to him. “Now, Mr. Brewster, do you want to head straight to your room, or would you like a snack first?

I have a plateful of freshly baked chocolate-chip cookies just waiting to be devoured.”

Welp, that’s my cue.

I was out the door and into the car with Neil before she could discover that the bears in this situation might have cleaned

up after themselves, but they’d also helped themselves to a whole lot of cookies.