Page 171 of Taken Away

“Well, damn,” she said under her breath. “Hi, eye contact.”

“Get out, Chloe,” they said in unison.

Chloe laughed.

“See?” she muttered as she headed down the hall. “You two think you’re subtle.”

Bennett pushed away from the doorway and walked out, leaving Aubrey alone with the reports.

And the text messages.

Still, as she glanced at the glowing notification on her screen, she realized she was already thinking about lunch.

Production Office

Down on the main floor, Chloe propped the door to the small production office open with her hip and slid a long clipboard onto the desk.

Savannah looked up from her inventory spreadsheet, a pencil tucked behind her ear. “You look ridiculously pleased with yourself.”

“I am pleased with myself,” Chloe replied, pulling up a rolling chair. “Thirty-two boxes of high-end corporate wardrobe just landed on the Victorian porch. The FedEx guy looked like he wanted to pass out in the driveway. Our Philly girl isn’t going back north anytime soon.”

Savannah sat back, a soft smile crinkling the corners of her eyes. “So she’s really unpacking. Even with Burke turning the house upside down?”

“Unpacking and digging in,” Chloe said, taking a sip of her coffee. “The whole town is panicking, and she’s up there aggressively auditing payroll. She’s not running.”

Savannah’s expression softened, her gaze dipping back toward the spreadsheet. “Good. Mabel would’ve haunted us if we let her walk away.”

“Oh, Mabel is absolutely haunting us either way,” Chloe laughed. “But did you catch Bennett in Aubrey’s office just now?”

Savannah’s mouth curved. “Hard to miss. The man takes up the entire mezzanine.”

“Whew,” Chloe said, fanning herself once with a packing slip. “Talk about fireworks. Those two are completely into each other. The glaring? The bickering? It’s spectacular.”

Savannah snorted. “Are you just now getting that, Chloe?”

“Vanessa’s history,” Chloe said with a shrug. “Besides, this is the most I’ve ever seen Bennett McCrae smile since I started working here. He’s completely done for.”

Savannah rolled her eyes affectionately, but she was smiling as she looked up toward the mezzanine glass. “Zack Fowler is going to be deeply disappointed, though. Our cellar master was a little smitten himself.”

“Come on. If they’re going to bicker their way into saving this winery, the least we can do is finish this valve inventory.”

Savannah shook her head, still smiling, and went back to her spreadsheet.

Aubrey’s laughter drifted down the iron stairwell.

Chloe looked up toward the mezzanine.

A slow smile spread across her face.

Told you.

THIRTY-SIX

Jackson County Sheriff’s Department

Main Office

Static from the department radio crackled through the briefing room. Outside the square, grimy windows, the last of the morning fog had burned away, leaving a hard June sun shimmering off the courthouse parking lot.