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Ricky raised an eyebrow. “Do you?”
I sighed. “The official story?”
“Sure,” he grinned.
“Josiah left Hartwell Cove after high school. He enlisted in the Air Force. Spent several years away. Then he worked for Baltimore PD That’s pretty much it.”
“Uh huh.” Ricky looked at me expectantly.
“What?”
“You really don’t know anything else?”
“Why would I?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Most people would be curious.”
“I’m not most people.”
“No, but you’re a mystery writer.”
“Exactly. I save my curiosity for fictional people who solve important magical crimes.”
June laughed as Ricky shook his head at me.
“You know he served as an MP, right?” he pressed.
“Yes.”
“And then worked at Baltimore PD for years.”
“Yes.”
“And then came back here and ran for sheriff.”
“I’ve gathered that, too. It was kind of hard to miss the signs, all the gossip about it, and the election and all that.”
“And won.”
“I was here for that part, too, you know, when they announced the election results.”
Ricky studied me for a moment. “You really don’t want to know anything else? Like if he’d dated anyone else or anything like that?”
I put my coffee down. “No.” Because why would I? The details didn’t matter, not really. I remembered the important part quite well. Josiah had left without saying goodbye. He’d left without telling me he was going, and he’d made his parents promise not to tell anyone until he was gone. I’d been left to find out afterward that he’d enlisted, and by then there was nothing I could do about it.
Whatever he’d done with the years in between was his business. I had my own life, with my books, my grandmother’s house, my real friends, and my parents. Well, and now apparently their worryingly adventurous approach to campground regulations. I was doing fine. I didn’t need to know exactly where Josiah had been, who he’d dated, whether he’d been happy, or whether he’d ever thought about coming home. And I most certainly didn’t need to see him.
Ricky took a sip of coffee. “So that’s a no, then?”
“That’s a very firm no.”
“Okay.”
I narrowed my eyes. “That sounded suspiciously easy.”
He smiled. “I didn’t say I believed you.” He tapped the side of his nose. “As a hairdresser and your best friend, I have better intuition, so I know better than that.”
Before I could answer, the bell over the door jingled and I glanced up automatically.
