Page 75 of Veil of Silence

The shop came into view at the end of the block. A line had already formed inside, and Austin debated whether caffeine was worth waiting behind fifteen leaf-peepers when the door opened.

Then Nora stepped out. The sight of her stopped him more effectively than it should have.

Wren and Marlowe emerged behind her, each carrying cups. Both sisters spotted him, then looked at Nora.

“Austin. Good morning.” Surprise lilted Nora’s voice, but she smiled.

He paused in front of them. “Morning.”

Her dark hair was down, falling over the shoulders of a deep-red sweater that matched the autumn colors around her. Faint shadows remained beneath her eyes, but some of the tension he’d seen during the night had left her face.

Marlowe’s gaze moved from Austin to Nora, then to Wren. Wren looked back at her.

Nora appeared oblivious to the silent conversation between her sisters. “Couldn’t sleep?”

“Apparently the mattresses at my motel are designed to build character.”

“Which motel?”

“The Whistling Pines. Martha at the desk said someone checked out early, so I got their room.”

Nora’s eyebrows rose. “During leaf season? You got lucky.”

“My back disagrees.”

Nora winced. “They advertise luxury.”

“They lie.”

Nora let out a chuckle.

Austin nodded toward the coffee in her hand. “Is that place worth the line?”

“Yes,” Nora said as Marlowe took a sip through her straw. “A local veteran owns it, and he roasts his own coffee beans.”

Wren checked the time on her phone. “We should get to the church. Nash is meeting us there when he gets back.”

Marlowe’s gaze moved between Nora and Austin once more. “We’ll meet you there.”

Before Nora could respond, her sisters flashed her a grin before heading toward the corner together, leaving him and Nora alone on the sidewalk . . . almost as if on purpose.

Chapter

Twenty-Eight

Austin watched Wren and Marlowe walk away.

Neither sister looked back until they reached the corner. Then they both did. And they grinned.

Nora saw them this time and sighed. “Oh, for heaven’s sake.”

Austin glanced at her. “Something I should know?”

“Sisters . . .” she muttered with the shake of her head. “They’re just seeing things that they want to see.”

Austin didn’t ask.

He couldn’t remember the last time Dad had asked him whether he was seeing anyone. There had been someone in Baltimore last year, but his dad hadn’t known about her. She’d wanted to meet his father, and Austin had kept putting it off. Eventually, she told him the problem wasn’t meeting his father. It was that Austin always said they could talk about the important things later. They’d broken up that spring.