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“I thought she was working at the campus café,” I said.
“So did I,” Jeremy said.
“So does her mother,” I added.
“You can’t tell her,” he said quickly. “It has to stay between us. I haven’t even gone online to check the place out. It feels over the line, now that we’re?—”
“On a break,” I said before he could finish.
“Yeah. Whatever.”
My heart ached for him. “Anyway,” I said, “it gives me something to go on. I’ll keep it to myself, but you know it’s going to come out. You can’t keep secrets in this family.”
He nodded. “It’s probably not what it sounds like.”
“That’s good, because it sounds like the kind of place with poles. But it can’t be that. Everybody knows Misty’s the good twin.”
“Maybe she’s sick of being the good twin.”
I sighed. “I don’t think that’s it. Seriously, Jere, don’t jump to conclusions. Be a cop. Wait for evidence. And I’ll go find some answers before we both go off the deep end. We’ll only be gone two or three nights. If you have to go to work, I’ll have Amy on standby for backup bulldog-sitting. You have her number.” I sighed, and added, “But I hope you stick around after we get back. You know, if you want to.”
“I think I will. Home is a good place to lick my wounds.”
“Myrtle will help you out with that,” I said, glancing at my dog, who was lying across my feet on the sofa, snoring loudly enough that Jeremy could hear her, too.
“I’ll see you when we get back.”
“Okay.”
I didn’t hang up, because he had more to say, and then he did. “Thanks for being there, Aunt Rache. All this time. I mean it.”
“I got the best end of that deal, kid. Go be a good cop.”
He was done. I hung up and twisted my nose in a sidewinder sniffle. Twenty-two, rookie cop, and he could still make me bawl. The little shit.
I still had to pack. I leaned over and squished Myrt’s face between my hands and kissed her nose.
She was going to be majorly pissed at us when we got back.
* * *
RACHEL
Mason drove our bright red Solterra, which had replaced my beloved Crosstrek. He still had his Beast, and I still had my T-Bird, but we only broke the gas-burners out on special occasions these days. He knew a lot was up with me, but he also knew I’d tell him when I was ready.
“So, it’s not really a dress-shopping trip?” he asked, glancing sideways at me.
“Oh, no, it totally is. I know exactly which dress I want to try on.”
The tension left Mason’s face like the sun coming out on a cloudy day. Aw, man. Was he worried about us? I wasn’t doing a very good job as a partner if I he was. “But since I’m going to be out there finding a dress good enough to marry you in, it’s also an excuse to check up on Misty.”
“Because she dumped Jeremy,” he reiterated.
“It’s a break. And yes. And also because she’s stopped coming home from school on weekends and is keeping secrets, such as the fact that she’s working at someplace called The Sapphire Club. Where we have dinner reservations.”
“Under a false name?” he was teasing. His dimples showed.
“I felt like that would be overkill. But I reserved under Brown. No first names. Maybe she won’t notice.”
