That’s answer enough.
She points at me. “You stay out of it. If there’s a connection, and I’m not saying there is, you poking around won’t help. It will make you a target. You lucked out that Eli disappeared.”
That isn’t luck. That’s love—Jake’s love.
The door to the diner opens, and I hear Martha call out a greeting to whoever just walked in. I don’t look up because I'm focused on Harper, on the way her jaw tightens when she glances past my shoulder.
"Oh shit," she mutters.
I turn to glance toward the entrance, and my stomach drops.
Cole Turner.
57
EMMA
"Oh shit," Harper mumbles, setting her burger down untouched and reaching for a napkin from the dispenser.
Oh shit is right.
He's bigger than Eli was. Broader. More polished. Where Eli had the rough edges of someone who'd never learned to hide his appetites, Cole carries himself with the controlled precision of a man who understands leverage. He's a bit older and graduated before I started high school, but it's easy to identify his type—the kind of man who smiles while he's calculating your weaknesses.
His eyes sweep the diner, and when they land on me, his mouth curves into something that might be genuine warmth.
It's not.
I feel Harper tense as he heads straight for our booth.
Fuck. I'm not happy about this, but Jake's going to lose his shit.
Cole’s shadow falls over our table. "Emma Hayes. Deputy Garrett." He nods to each of us, his tone pleasant. "I hope I'm not interrupting."
It's just like coming across a mountain cat unexpectedly, I tell myself as I set down my fork. I just need to act cool.
When I look up at him, he's watching me with an expression of polite interest. "Cole," I say evenly. "I didn't expect to see you here."
"Didn't expect to be here myself." He pulls out a chair from a nearby table, sitting down uninvited with the ease of someone accustomed to taking up space. "But my little brother's gone missing, and I'm trying to understand what happened. I've been asking around town, and your name keeps coming up."
Harper's posture shifts, her hand moving instinctively toward her belt. "Mr. Turner, if you have questions about your brother, you should speak with the sheriff."
"I plan to." Cole's smile doesn't waver. "But I thought I'd start with Emma. Since I ran into her and she’s here. I’m sure she won’t mind. She doesn’t have anything to hide, after all, does she?" He turns his attention back to me.
“I don’t know where Eli is,” I say truthfully. “He wanted me to meet him, but he never showed up.”
“And then you went home with Jake Callahan.” He leans back in the chair, completely at ease.
I tip my head, watching him carefully. “Jake doesn’t give me the creeps, unlike some people.”
Harper sighs from across the table, as if I just poked a bear.
Cole Turner certainly doesn’t look like that bothered him. He keeps staring at me with his fake buddy-buddy smile. "That’s right. Eli mentioned he was interested in acquiring your property to expand our spread. Since he’s unavailable, I’ll step in to take over negotiations."
I don't flinch or look away. "I told Eli my land isn't for sale."
"I understand." Cole nods thoughtfully, stroking his chin, as if considering a complex business problem. "But circumstances change, don't they? Eli's approach was perhaps a bit aggressive. I'd like to offer a different perspective." He pauses, letting thatsink in. "I have investors interested in developing the area. Your land would be valuable to them. Very valuable."
"I'm not interested in selling," I say flatly.
