Page 203 of No Headlines Please

As the hooves of the two horses clip-clopped along Main Street, I took in the sounds and sights. A couple of months ago, Main Street would have been absolutely packed.

But today?

Not so much.

Sure, bicycles were still coasting by, but not nearly as many as I'd seen on prior visits. And this wasn't the only change. It was the shops, too. Most of them were still open, but their hours were shorter, and they weren't half as busy.

And then, there were the hotels. Already, a bunch of them were closed for the season. If I stuck around another month, this place would be practically a ghost town.

There'd be no touristy carriage rides then.

My resolve to sit back and enjoy the scenery lasted barely five minutes before I turned to Maddox and asked, "So, why the secrecy?"

"It's no secret."

I gave him a skeptical look. "But it must be if you're not telling me."

"No…I just haven't told you yet. But hey, do you want to hear something funny?"

I hesitated. "I'm not sure. Do I?"

He pointed to the ferry station up ahead. "This was the point where I was gonna tell you. And now we're almost there."

I blinked. "So, you had all this scripted?"

"Pretty much."

"But why?"

He smiled. "Maybe I didn't want you jumping out of the carriage."

Yikes. "Should I be jumping?"

"Sure, if you want to be trampled." He reached out and took my hand in his. "But if you do, I'm jumping, too."

In spite of my jangled nerves, I laughed. "Okay, so we'll both jump."

"Or," he said, his tone growing serious. "You can hear the apology you've got coming."

"Wait…why would you apologize?"

"Not me." His gaze locked on mine. "The guy who threatened you."

I stifled a gasp. "So he's here on the island?"

"Yup. He's with Cal, waiting for us."

No way. "You mean Cal from the business card?"

"The same. And the other guy? He wants to apologize."

"For what? Threatening me?" I let out a bitter laugh. "Why? Because you found out who he was. I mean…you did find out, right? I'm guessing you must've, or we wouldn't be meeting him." I hesitated. "Right?"

But then, before Maddox could even reply, I asked, "But why would we do this in a carriage of all places?"

"Because," Maddox said, "I wanted a place where we could talk without people listening. Or gawking. Or interrupting." He gave my hand a tender squeeze. "And I didn't want you to feel trapped."

"But why didn't you tell me sooner?"