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He’dremindedme of the nepotism that got him his job. In the big city it tended to be frowned upon.Small-town life.“Are you good at it?” my mouth asked before checking the wisdom of that question with my brain.
This was the reason I worked with a keyboard instead of in a job where I had to talk to people. The backspace key saved me from big mistakes, but I didn’t have the equivalent with my stupid mouth.
He cocked his head. “You’re refreshing.” A little grin emerged. “Not as good as I’d like to be, but I’m learning. Right now I’m working a big case. It’s the only murder we’ve had here in, like, forever—my cousin, Lee, was the victim.”
“Oh, that’s terrible,” I said, wishing I hadn’t started the conversation down this path.
He sipped from his cup. “I know who did it. I just can’t prove it yet.”
I pasted on my best smile and leaned forward.
He knew who did it, and nobody else in town had more than a hunch going for them.
“Who?” I whispered.
He took my hand and squeezed. “Between you and me, it’s one of the Bensons. I just can’t prove it yet. But I will.” This sounded more like the feud talking than anything else.
The flash of color in my peripheral vision drew my eyes to the road.
Boone’s gaze met mine as he drove by slowly in his big, blue truck.
Devlin hadn’t noticed him.
I returned my attention to Devlin, pulled my hand back, and rubbed at the corner of my eye. “What makes you so sure?”
He tapped the table. “Nobody else in town had a motive.”
“And?”
“It always starts with motive,” he said smugly. “Then you find the clues they left behind.”
I nodded along with him, finally understanding the depth of the family hatred. In Devlin’s mind, that was all he needed to pursue a man for murder. The thought was chilling.
A minute later, he finished his coffee and stood. “I have to get going.” That smile was back in force when he asked the question I hadn’t expected, the one I hadn’t gotten in forever. “How about I give you a call so we can get together for dinner some time?”
Without showing the reluctance I felt, I answered, “Sure.”
“Oh,” he added. “And I know you didn’t know the rules, so that ticket is off to the side. I look out for my friends.”
“Thanks.” I smiled.
After he left, I allowed myself a moment to relax before clearing the table to return to work. Mission accomplished—the ticket had been neutralized. His comment about looking out for his friends and the ticket being “off to the side” meant I should probably expect it to resurface if I begged off on the dinner invitation.
Staying on his good side would be the price of keeping the ticket buried for now. He had been pleasant enough, except for his determination to pin a murder on Boone’s family. That was creepy times ten.
* * *
Boone
I clenchedand unclenched my hands on the wheel to burn off some of the steam in my attitude. I’d felt the raw attraction between Angela and me again last night, and it freaked me out. How could I be attracted to the witch who’d ruined my life? And according to Grace, she was still screwing over the men in her life, but something about her reaction last night when I’d asked her about it bothered me.
Sipping a cup of coffee outside in the sunshine at Lake Java always helped me settle down, but then I’d seen her and scrapped that plan. She’d been sitting with Devlin Pollock and holding hands. I’d seen it with my own eyes. Had she come back here to see him again? The questions swirled through my brain on repeat. None of them had good answers.
My truck pulled to the right, and the tires settled into the soft dirt of the shoulder. Adrenaline coursed through me, and instinct took over as I yanked the wheel left. After re-centering myself in the lane, I slowed down and took a few deep breaths.
I needed to think all this through, preferably while sitting down somewhere safe, not driving distracted through a tangle of emotions. Crashing into a tree and having to deal with Devlin when he responded would likely end in bloodshed.
Turning around, I changed my destination to the house. I needed some quiet for the phone call I almost dreaded making. But sisters shared a lot, and if anybody knew what was going on between Devlin and Angela, it would be Grace.
