Page 13 of Love and Loathing

“Hey, Jessie.”

“Whitley,” she breathed out.

The crowded restaurant went silent as everyone turned to look.

He ran a hand over his brown hair and turned to the patrons seated at the tables. “Hey, y’all. Long time no see.”

“You mean since your brother stole millions from the good citizens of this town?” It was Mirabelle Mason who spoke—her uncle, Jameson, had been one of the victims.

He breathed deep. “If you’ll recall, that was my brother who did that. Not me.”

“Then why did you leave?” Jessie whispered.

He glanced over his shoulder at her, and his warm brown eyes, just like his brother’s, meet hers and held. “That was mistake. I was worried I’d be blamed for Daniel’s actions. I never should’ve run.” He faced the crowd again. “This is my home, and I want to do what I can to help make what Daniel did right. So, I’m going to start by buying a slice for everyone here.”

Someone whooped in the back. Someone else clapped.

He pulled his wallet from his back pocket and stepped up to the counter. Everyone went back to eating, minus a few people who got in line again for their free slices. Jessie swore forgiveness in this town could be bought with good food just about any day of the week … except for Sunday. This was a God-fearing town, after all.

Whitley shot Jessie a side glance as he pulled his card from his wallet and handed it to the gal behind the counter. He faced Jessie, who was still so in shock that she hadn’t budged. “I’d like to talk with you, Jessie. Whenever you have the time. I’ll clear my schedule.”

Her knees went weak. She had dated Daniel, but she’d been in the same grade as his little brother through high school. He’d been one of her best friends, and she could admit that before she’d dated Daniel, she’d had a crush on Jacob. The Whitleys were hard not to crush on. They were funny, charming, and good-looking: tall, well-muscled, with golden brown hair, and right now, a golden tan—who had a tan like that in the winter?—and warm smiles. A smile he gave her now, even if somewhat hesitantly. She remembered that both Whitleys had used their looks as weapons.

Jessie straightened her spine. “Maybe sometime.” She strode off to her table. “Let’s get out of here.” Mirabelle and her boyfriend, Deputy Danny, were way ahead of her and already pushing out the door.

Caroline grabbed her purse as Jessie grabbed some tinfoil from the counter with the condiments. They wrapped their pizzas and left as quickly as they could.

Outside, Caroline turned on Jessie. “I can’t believe he just bought dinner for everyone. That’s gotta cost a pretty penny. Isn’t he a construction worker?”

Unless that penny was the money his brother had stolen.

“Maybe I should offer to pay some of it.” Caroline bit her lip.

Jessie threw her free hand up. “Caroline! He’s a Whitley. You are not going togivehim money.”

“Yeah, I guess not. But really, we don’t know he was involved. I mean, he’s here. If he’d taken the money too, why would he come back?”

That was a good question, one Jessie was determined to get the answer to.

“What did he say to you?” Caroline asked.

Jessie shrugged. “He wants to talk to me.”

“Are you going to let him?”

She swallowed. “Yeah. He’s Whitley’s brother. As of right now, Jacob Whitley is my best lead to finding Daniel.”

Chapter 6

Alex stood waiting in the living room of the villa he and Charlie had rented at the Sunset Valley Lodge and Spa. Charlie ran around looking for something and muttering about how they were going to be late. He’d apparently scheduled a meeting in one of the lodge’s conference rooms, but he wouldn’t tell Alex what it was about.

The lodge had a very rustic feel to it and was designed to look like a lodge—a fancy lodge, but a lodge nonetheless. The main building had two floors, fireplaces scattered around several rooms, leather furniture, chandeliers made of antlers, fur rugs, and tables made of direct cuts from trees that had been sanded down and lacquered to a shine. Their top-rated restaurant was open only at night, sat on the west side of the building, and had floor to ceiling windows.

Their villa had two bedrooms opposite each other with a living room, dining room, and kitchen. They also had a large, fenced-off patio area with a hot tub, a fireplace, and an eating area. The villa had stained-wood floors, and in the living room, a woolly rug was placed under two leather couches set up in an L-formation. Each of the bedrooms had California kings, walk-in closets, large desks, and bathrooms with a shower and bath.

Not bad for a small-town resort. In fact, it had far exceeded his expectations. They even had running trails all over that were ideal for his morning sprints. Considering their need for an extended stay, this place was perfect.

And Alex liked the town. In the few days they’d been here, he’d learned that the people in Harvest Ranch were business minded, hard workers, who loved good food, the outdoors, and Labradoodles. Seriously, those dogs were everywhere.