Page 29 of Keepsakes and Kismet

Peyton squeaks. “Um, Romy? Callum? Girl clinging to the top of a rickety ladder up here!”

“We’re trying to reach the batteries on the top shelf to replace the smoke detectors,” Romy adds.

I frown and reach up to yank on the short pull chain hanging down from the lightbulb. “You don’t have working smoke detectors here? How long have they been out of operation?”

She sniffs. “It’s not like it’s a violation or anything.”

My brows knit together. “It is a violation, Peyton. It’s literally a violation. If I was inspecting you—erm, I mean—your office, I wouldn’t give you an ass—pass. I wouldn’t give you a pass.”

“Jesus,” Romy murmurs.

Peyton shrugs. “We aren’t under your jurisdiction, Inspector. Nary a raw bird in sight. And other than Romy’s cedar bundle and a few candles, we’ve never set fire to anything in here. You have nothing to worry about.”

My mouth twists. “And while that reassurance inspires a lot of confidence, I still recommend detectors that work.” With one arm wrapped around the ladder, I stand on my toes to reach up with the other to grab a pack of batteries on the top shelf of the closet.

“Here.” I hand them to Romy before looking at Peyton. “Now you can get down.”

“Actually, I’ll trade you jobs.” Romy sets the batteries down on the bottom shelf and reaches out to take my place steadying the ladder.

For a moment, I wonder why. Then I realize that Peyton hasn’t moved an inch, like she’s waiting for me to move.

I carefully peel myself away from the ladder, and Romy takes over. I grab the batteries, and Peyton takes it one rung at a time, her legs brushing Romy’s side on the way down. On my way out of the closet, I bump into something soft.

“Is this a seahorse costume?”

“Yep!” Peyton says cheerily.

“Why would you have a…? Nevermind,” I sigh, as we all head back toward the main area.

Peyton sits down in her office chair. “You’re probably wondering…” She trails off when she sees me grab the small foot rest next to her desk and slide it underneath the hanging smoke detector.

“Keep going,” I tell her as I replace the batteries.

But neither of them speaks, looking on from their desks in silence. I glance at Peyton in the middle of reaching for a detector, wondering why everyone’s so quiet, but she’s just staring at me with her head softly tilted. Her eyes go a little heavy-lidded, and I wonder if she’s somehow enjoying watching me changing the batteries. I give it one more moment of thought before deeming the idea ridiculous.

Why do they even have battery-operated smoke detectors to begin with? Hard wired detectors are safest and within code compliance for businesses. Batteries are usually just back-up in case the power goes out.

Five minutes later, the batteries in all three detectors are replaced.

Romy blinks at me. “Wow. After the stress of the ladder situation, I was two minutes away from just, like, hiring that out.”

I scratch the stubble on my chin. “You would’ve paid someone to replace your smoke detector batteries?”

Romy smacks her lips. “Frankly, I’d pay someone to kill a bug on my behalf. Neither of us will do it.”

Peyton nods. “Usually, we just pretend we didn’t see the bug and go about our day until it vanishes. Then we don’t come back to the office until we forget that the bug ever existed.”

I sit in a rolly chair opposite Peyton’s desk. “And when you leave the office, you…”

Her eyes spark with delight. “Are you asking me what my job is, Inspector?”

Romy sighs. “Have mercy on the man, Peyton. He changed the batteries for free.”

“I am… drumroll please…” Peyton starts gently banging her desk.

“No. We’re not doing that,” Romy interjects.

“A tastemaker!” Peyton wiggles her fingers as she says the word.