“Oh, it’s a surprise,” Charlie said, mischief in her eyes. “But you are going to love it. Especially after having been cooped up.”
“Have fun,” Gina said. “Oh! One more thing.” She reached into her purse. “Youwon’thave fun without this.” She handed Maren a credit card with the name Gina Smith on it.
“What? I can’t.” She shoved the card back at her.
“You can and you will. Besides, it’s a business expense.” Gina grabbed Maren’s hand and put the card into it.
“Really, it’s best not to fight her,” Nettie said. “You won’t win. I never have.”
“Thank you. Maren stared down at the card in her hand. “So much.”
“It’s what family does,” Gina said quietly. “Now get going.”
As they left, Maren caught Charlie shooting Gina a look of gratitude. Gina nodded once.
Maren and Colin followed Charlie back through the lobby, waving at Jodie on their way out. Charlie led them to a truck in the corner of the parking lot. They wouldn’t be taking one of Watchdog’s SUVs today. Way too high-profile.
“Nice truck,” Maren told Charlie.
“Thanks. It’s not mine though. It’s my fiancé Ben’s truck. He was a friend of Sean’s, too. He’s letting us use it for the day.”
“Well, make sure to thank him for me,” Maren said.
Charlie opened the back door. “I hope you don’t mind sitting in the back. It’s a little less conspicuous. Colin can sit next to me up front.”
“That’s fine,” Maren said. “I’m just glad to be getting out of the house.”
Charlie and Colin got into the truck. Charlie started the engine and then off they went toward Lyons. It wasn’t far, only about fifteen minutes, and most of that was climbing back down the winding road off of the Watchdog property. The guard at the gate waved them through and they took a right once they hit the main road.
“It’s a beautiful little town,” Charlie said. “I think you’ll like it.”
“Have you lived here all your life?” Maren asked.
“Oh, no,” she said. “I’m a transplant. I grew up in Ohio.”
“What brought you out here?” Maren asked.
She could see Charlie smile in the rearview mirror. “Well, technically, a photograph. Sean had this photo of all his friends playing in the St. Vrain River when they were teenagers. They were just goofing around, shooting water guns at each other, doing dumb kid stuff, you know? Sean was the one who snapped the photo and it was a great picture of all the guys. His brothers. Shane, Bear, Waylon, Elias, Gabe. And then there was Ben.” Maren watched Charlie’s cheeks flood with pink.
“Your fiancé Ben?” Maren asked.
“One and the same,” Charlie said. “After I left the Swicks, Shane convinced me to move out here. He’d started working at Watchdog and said they were looking for bodyguards. I wanted to see Lyons and the St. Vrain for myself. Sean used to talk about it like it was paradise on earth. He loved the river so much. So I told myself I was coming out for him, for his memory, to see the place where he grew up.
“But it was really for Ben, wasn’t it?”
“Well, I guess you could say it was both. But yes, Ben. Here we are,” Charlie said as they approached a cliff wall made of red limestone. “The St. Vrain is at the base of that wall. We’ll find a place to park here in town. Are you hungry? Do you wanna eat first or should we go shopping? It’s up to you.”
“I’m curious about this place you wanna show me,” Maren said. “Can we go there first?”
Charlie laughed. “Oh, a woman after my own heart. Well, if you’re hungry, that will actually take care of lunch. Well, at least dessert before lunch.”
“Oh, that sounds promising.”
Charlie pulled into a small parking lot in front of an older building. It looked like all the buildings in Lyons were from the late 1800s.It’s a charming little town, Maren thought.
They got out of the truck and approached the building. There was no big sign, but painted on the window were the wordsDo’s and Donuts.
“A donut shop,” Maren said, delighted. “I love donuts.”
