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I shrugged and sipped my coffee while having an internal debate as to whether or not I wanted to get into a discussion about my love life with my mother. I decided onnot.
“Look, honey. This is one situation I’m not going to meddle in.” My eyes went wide as my head jerked back on my neck. My mother was a notorious matchmaker; so was my sister Violet, for that matter. I’d have to keep my eye on them both. “Cade, I have to be honest with you. I’ve kept in touch with Charlotte over the years. We didn’t speak often, but I never told you because—”
Holding up a hand, I stopped her. “She loved you and she needed you. I’m not angry about it. Why should you remove her from your life because my marriage with her didn’t work out?” Her sigh of relief broke my heart. I took her hand across the table. It bothered me a little, but not enough to get angry over.
“Darling, I’m so relieved you feel this way. Thank you. I was worried you’d be hurt, and I would never want to hurt you. It’s just—I have always thought of her like another daughter and I didn’t want to abandon her entirely.”
“I’m not hurt. You two were always close.” I gestured to her laptop. “Is she going to join you here? To write or whatever?”
“We hadn’t talked about it. I mean, this is Violet’s place and she’s your sister—”
“I really don’t want to be like that anymore—my side of town and hers. Especially since she’s planting roots here again. I should make it a point to stop avoiding her. This is different than when she was visiting for a holiday or on vacation. She has a townhouse this time. I can be an adult about it as much as she’s trying to be—that’s why she’s been coming in here lately, isn’t it? To get to know you all again. Plus, if she’s going to stay in town, where else would she get her coffee?”
“Yes, all of that is definitely part of it. There’s probably some curiosity as well.”
“Curiosity? About what?”
“You, of course, silly.”
“It’s been over a decade, Mom,” I scoffed. “I doubt that. Plus, she left me, remember?”
Her eyes narrowed. “It wasn’t as simple as her merelyleaving, and you know that, Caden.”
Again, I shrugged off her opinion. To me itwasthat simple. I’d loved her with my whole heart and it hadn’t been enough to make her stay. “Let’s not get into it,” I suggested.
“But, Cade, I—”
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Charlotte head to the door with her order.
“Good luck with the writing today. Love you, Mom.” I gathered my trash and stood. “I have somewhere to be.” While I didn’t quite storm out, my exit had an unintended dramatic flair that embarrassed me.
Halfway to her car, I stopped her with a hand on her arm, flinching at the burst of electricity that shot through me at the contact. I swiftly pulled away. “Hey, Charlotte? Can we talk?”
Surprised eyes met mine as she turned. “Sure.”
I needed to get to the bottom of her lie about being followed before the crash. She knew the mountain roads, how to drive in the snow and be safe. If someone was in my town threatening the people who lived here, it was my duty to put a stop to it.
Especially if the one being threatened was Charlotte.
Frustrated, I shook off my last thought. Bottom line, it didn’t matter who was in danger, it was my job to keep everyone safe.
The problem was where to start. Asking her direct questions would only serve to make her suspicious. She had lied to me before, I was sure of it, and she was not the type of person to lie for no reason, or even at all. Whatever had compelled her to downplay what happened had to be serious.
The wind kicked up, blowing a loose curl over her eye. My mouth opened, but nothing came out. I wanted to brush that curl back in the worst way. Instead, I ran a hand through my own hair and looked away with a short sigh.
“For someone who just asked to speak to me, you’re not very talkative.” I didn’t have to look at her to see the expression she wore. I’d seen it many times before: a small grin tipped higher on one side, her head tilted, blue eyes sparkling with mirth as she teased me.
A glance down at her confirmed I was correct. I tensed as nostalgia smacked me in the back of the head. “I’m sorry. I—it’s good you came home, Charlotte. Everyone missed you. About the car accident—”
“Thanks. Uh, you know I’m renting a townhouse over on Pine Street?” She was fidgety, trying to deflect my question like she had anticipated what I would ask. Or maybe the caffeine had just hit her system and she was jittery because of that. It would take me a few more minutes to read her right, given I was about ten years or so out of practice.
“I know. My entire family told me. Guess you’re sticking around then?” I winked, knowing it used to get her flustered. I wanted her off balance so she would answer my questions.
Her cheeks turned pink. “That figures. And yeah, I’ll be around. I thought I should warn you.” She let out a surprised laugh. “Dang, there really are no secrets in this town.”
“News travels fast around here. Speaking of that—”
“I heard you’re a detective now, and maybe in line to take over for your dad, too?” The wind blew her wavy ponytail over her shoulder. I forced my eyes away.
