Page 74 of The Secret of Emerald Cottage

“I’ll second that.” Chase grinned. “We’d planned to go fishing a few times this spring and summer, but when the date rolled around, he’d always forget.”

Sloan chuckled as he scratched the back of his head. “Actually did the same thing with me once last year, too, so I thought it was just me.”

Molly set a steaming mug of coffee before Sloan. “By the way, how did Pete seem to you today?” she asked, her concern growing for the sweet older man who’d never failed to wave and say hello whenever she jogged by.

“Thanks, Molly.” Sloan’s brow wrinkled as he took a sip of his coffee. “Pete doesn’t seem good, I’m afraid.”

“What do you mean?” Miss Lilly asked, a slight pucker popping above her nose.

Sloan exhaled slowly. “He looks like he’s lost weight to me, and his skin doesn’t look good—almost grayish. Claims he’s had the flu, but to be honest, he looked the same way when I questioned him a while back, so that doesn’t make sense.”

“No, it doesn’t.” Chase scrubbed his face with his hands. “Pastor Dave and I feel the same way, and Dave’s talked to him about it a number of times, trying to get him to go to the doctor, but Pete refuses. ‘Hates doctors,’ he says, and Dave thinks it’s because he almost died a few years back from an appendectomy that went awry. Pete swore he’d never step foot in another doctor’s office or hospital again.”

“Oh, that’s not good,” Molly said. “I’ve been worried there’s something drastically wrong, like maybe he has cancer, because he seems to be wasting away. And he always used to be puttering in his garden when I’d stop and chat on my jogs, but now he just rocks on his porch with a glazed look like he’s lost the will to live.” A shiver tiptoed down her spine. “It makes me so sad every time Cat and I stop to chat when we see him.”

“Hey, Molly”—Chase sat up with a scrunch of brows—“Pete knows you’re a nurse, right? Do you think he’d let you examine him?”

Brec issued a grunt. “Are you kidding? He’s got a major crush on her if you ask me. Barely talks to me when we’re jogging, but flirts his head off with her like he’s still in high school.”

Sloan took a drink of his coffee, eyes twinkling over the rim of his cup. “I can certainly understand that.”

“He’s just lonely, most likely, living by himself and all.” Molly nibbled on the edge of her smile, unable to deny their remarks because Pete did always seem to light up whenever she came around. She paused, brow wrinkling a hair. Or used to. He hadn’t been outside on his front porch for a while now, come to think of it, whenever she and Cat had gone jogging.

“Yeah,” Sloan said with a faint tease of a smile, “most likely.”

“I’ll go tomorrow, then,” she said quickly to deflect the warmth in her face, “because I haven’t seen him in a while, then I’ll give you an update after.” She managed a wink. “With a fresh batch of snickerdoodles, which I happen to know are his favorites.”

“Wait—you can’t go tomorrow.” Brec sat straight up. “I’m coaching soccer tomorrow, all day, and Miss Lilly is leaving in the morning for Mabel’s, to help cook for her pinochle luncheon.”

Molly blinked. “I won’t jog over there, Brec, I promise. I’ll drive since I’ll be delivering cookies.”

He paused, his hesitation obvious from the strain in his face. “You’ll take your Glock?”

“Yes, Mo-ther,” she drawled out with a twitch of a smile. “I’ll take my Glock, all right?”

He scowled. “No, but I guess I don’t have a choice.”

“No, you don’t, Soccer Boy,” she said with a smirk, trying to tease him out of his mood.

Sloan pushed his empty mug away, concern ridging his brow too. “Molly, I’ll be happy to go with you tomorrow after work—”

“I can do that,” Brec mumbled.

She delivered a similar smirk to Sloan. “Sorry, Detective, I appreciate the offer, but you don’t have a choice either.” Smiling to ease the tension, she glanced from Sloan, who was pinning Brec with a cool gaze, back to Brec, who returned it with a hint of a glare. “After all, I’m a big girl with a big gun, so I can take care of myself.” She swallowed hard as the tension between the two men seemed to crackle in the air.

I hope …