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He realized Bering was waiting for him to elaborate. “Iris has applied at different government agencies in DC and a few independent think tanks. She wasn’t super specific. I’m not sure she knows what she wants.”
Bering stretched an arm toward the middle of the banner and secured it there. “I swear, nothing would surprise me where she’s concerned.”
“Me, either. I just want her to be happy.” Of all his siblings, he worried about Iris the most. She didn’t seem to have the same innate contentedness that the rest of them possessed. Even with her academic success and innumerable accolades, she seemed to be constantly searching for some elusive element.
Bering added a couple more tacks. “Jack is stopping by later. Did I tell you that?”
“No, you didn’t.” Tag wondered why the senator was coming here.
“He’s in town, and he wants to talk to us. He’s bringing Randall.”
Randall Fincher was the state senator serving in their district. He’d been in the legislature for eleven years and had committed to assisting Tag when he retired and the time came for Tag to run.
“Huh. Okay, well, I’m curious.”
“Yeah, me, too.” Bering climbed down the ladder.
They both stepped back to admire their handiwork. Bering nodded, and in tandem they picked up their ladders, folded them and carried them to Bering’s shop. After stowing them away, they headed back toward the house where Shay and Hannah were preparing the picnic tables scattered around the grassy yard. Shay smoothed out a tablecloth while Hannah tacked it down so it would stay put in the breeze.
Shay said, “Hey, just the guys we were looking for.”
“Oh, yeah?” Tag nabbed a chip out of the bowl Hannah placed on the table.
“Yeah.” Hannah grabbed a handful of chips for herself and leaned a hip against the table. “A kind of weird thing happened to me a couple of days ago, and I was sharing it with Shay, who then told me that a kind of weird thing happened to her, too. And when taken together, these two things seem big weird.” She held her hands apart for emphasis before biting off half a chip.
“Big weird, huh?”
“Yep.” She grinned. “Lucas and I were outside playing catch a few days ago when these two women pulled up in this fancy rented SUV. I figured they were probably lost until they asked for me by name. Then they asked about buying the house.” Lucas was Tate’s nephew. Hannah and her husband, Tate, had adopted him. They lived in the largest, most luxurious home in Rankins. With the real estate market improving as it had been lately, Tag wasn’t all that surprised, although it would take someone with pretty deep pockets to buy their place.
“Don’t tell me you guys are going to sell?” Hannah adored the house. Not only had it been built by one of her close friends, but it also had an atrium with a large pond, where Hannah’s treasured koi lived.
“Of course not. I haven’t finished my story. They made an offer on the spot—almost double what the house is worth.”
“Wow.” Bering was shaking his head. “Double?”
“I know, right?” Shay stepped forward. “Listen to mine—a woman and a man came into the inn late Wednesday morning. They strolled around for a long time, took a walk outside, snapped some photos and finally went for lunch in the restaurant. Adele was hostessing, the way she often does when it gets busy, and they asked her a bunch of questions, like did she know the owner and did she think the owner would be interested in selling. She texted me, and I came out to meet them.”
Bering crossed his massive arms over his chest. “Were they serious?”
“Not only were they serious, they already knew everything about the Faraway Inn. I mean, everything a person can get a hold of through public records and internet searching. The offer they made was outrageous.”
“That reminds me,” Tag said, knowing he was about to deepen the mystery. “I stopped to see Mickey and Mrs. P. on my way home the other night, and you know that piece of property Park bought across the highway?”
Bering nodded. “Yeah, I saw the for-sale sign, too. I figured Park was just trying to make a buck.”
