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Chapter 2
Scheming – when sisters make underhand plans that scare the pants off of men
Beckett
I slow my car as I reach the Welcome to Winter Falls sign. What am I doing here? Why can’t I leave Lilac alone?
No matter how many times I tell myself to stop bothering her, I can’t. And now she hasn’t responded to any of my messages for a day. Is she okay? Is she in trouble? Has something happened to her?
My heart rate accelerates at the idea of her being in danger. I need to make sure there’s nothing wrong. I need to know she’s not in trouble.
I check my rearview mirror and my heart rate accelerates for an entirely different reason. A cop car is flashing its lights at me. I check my speedometer, but I’m driving the speed limit. His siren begins to wail, and I pull to the side of the road.
I roll down my window and wait as the police officer makes his way to my car. I force a smile on my face as I ask, “How can I help you today, Officer?”
I know better than to ask why he’s pulling me over. Police officers do not appreciate having their actions questioned. Even thinking of how I know that makes my hands curl into the steering wheel until my knuckles turn white.
“Where are you going?”
My brow wrinkles. “Where am I going?” I repeat, because I’m confused. What does it matter to him where I’m going? It’s not illegal to drive on a road in a town in Colorado.
“Yes. Where are you going in Winter Falls?” he speaks slowly as if I’m an idiot.
“I’m here to see Lilac West,” I answer despite thinking it’s none of his damn business who I’m here to visit.
“Lilac?” He grins. “Phew. What a relief. I thought the gossip gals would set their sights on me next.”
Gossip gals? Sights? What the hell is he talking about?
“Pardon?”
He waves away my question with a flick of his hand. “Don’t worry about it.” He extends his hand. “I’m Peace.”
“Peace?” I ask as we shake hands. “Your name is Peace and you’re a peace officer?”
“Yep. Mom thought if she gave me the name Peace, I’d be a well-behaved child.” He smirks. “She couldn’t have been more wrong.”
I sympathize with his poor mom. I raised my four sisters after our parents passed away. I love those four girls more than anything in the world but raising them was by far the most difficult thing I’ve ever done in my life.
“I’m sure you gave her a run for her money,” I murmur.
“I did.” He knocks on the hood and strolls away.
I reach forward to switch on the engine, but he returns. “Oops. Sorry. I forgot to write you a ticket.”
“Write me a ticket? What was I doing wrong?”
“Gasoline engine vehicles are illegal in Winter Falls.”
I open my mouth to tell him my car isn’t a gasoline engine before I remember I’m driving my sister’s car since she ‘borrowed’ mine. Without asking mind you. Cassandra doesn’t let things like asking permission get in her way.
“They are? How the hell do people get around?”
“Bikes and golf carts.”
I nod. It makes sense. And, as the CEO of an environmental engineering company, I can appreciate how their efforts benefit the earth. But there’s one problem with their approach.
“How do I actually get into town?” They can’t expect me to drive the thirty miles from my home in White Bridge to Winter Falls in a golf cart. It would destroy all the good their policy is trying to do.
