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NINETEEN
ANNIE
You have gotto be freaking kidding me.
I flipped two pages back, then forward again, using my finger to trace over the words as they settled in. I pulled out the small lockbox Kate and Beckett had found when they discovered the speakeasy.
Three people, two men and one woman, smiled back at the camera. The two men wore pressed pants and dress shoes. One had on a dark tie, loosened at the neck, while the other wore a light collared knit shirt with the top two buttons undone. The woman, in a dainty floral print dress and heels, had her hands on her hips and was captured mid-laugh. They lookedhappy.
On the back, faded cursive handwriting revealed three names—James, Helen, and Philo.
As the week unfolded, to distract myself from the mess of emotions I was feeling after the brewery date with Lee, I had gone to the public library to do some digging for Duke.
There wasn’t a lot to sift through, but one name continued to snag my attention.
Helen Sinclair.
In one document, she was listed as Helen Sinclair, but there were other documents that listed Philo and Helen Sullivan. A few hours of research and I discovered that our assumptions were correct. Helen Sinclair married Philo Sullivan in 1931. Tootie was certain, even without a marriage certificate, because in the photo of Helen and the two men, it was clear she was the source of the devilishly charming Sullivan smile.
And there, on the printout in front of me, were deeds for land from the Homestead Act of 1862 for families King, Sullivan, and Sinclair.
Sand Dune Studio was quiet as usual, and my heart beat faster.
Each of the three families claimed land through the Homestead Act of 1862, which gave them each 160 acres of public land.
I looked over to Mel, the high school girl I had hired for the summer to help with the influx of tourists. “Hey, Mel? I have to run to the library for a little bit. Can you hold down the fort?”
Mel looked around the empty shop and smiled. “I think I can handle it.”
After piling the papers haphazardly, I rushed toward the door. “Thanks so much. I owe you one.”
I hurried down the sidewalk. I was definitely on to something, and I didn’t want to lose momentum.
The Outtatowner Public Library was busy with kids out of school for the summer, and tourists popping in for a quick reprieve from the summer heat. The public library held special events for young kids all the way to teenagers, and those programs were bustling with activity.
I hurried through the stacks to the bank of computers in the far corner. My fingers raced over the keyboard to log in to the library’s system and pull up the catalog of newspaper articles stored digitally.
Using the information listed on each certificate, I pulled up a map of Remington County and began digging. It took only a few pages of searching until I found exactly what I was looking for. Documentation for King, Sullivan, and Sinclair land, all 480 acres, and each property was side by side.
My heart beat faster.
At one point in time, they were friends and neighbors.
I freaking knew it.
“Can I help you find something, Annie?”
Bug King’s voice startled me, and I quickly minimized the page. I turned with a nervous laugh. “Oh! Hey, Ms. Bug. No, I’m all good here.”
She raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Doing some research?”
Nerves rattled through me. I knew Bug. She was stern, but generally kind. She was also a King. I wasn’t entirely sure what this information meant and how it played into the strange goings-on at Sullivan Farms. Regardless, I needed to talk with Duke and the rest of the family before I uttered a word to anyone else.
“Oh, you know, just killin’ time.” I feigned fanning my face. “It’s a hot one out there today.”
“Mm-hmm.” It was all Bug replied. After a beat, she looked me up and down. “You know the auction remix is coming up. Several of the couples are displeased. Will you be adding your name to the list?”
My stomach plummeted. Things had gotten so muddied with Lee that I didn’t even know if we were really fake dating anymore or if it had morphed into something else entirely. I did know that there was no way in hell I was letting another woman get her hands on him. Especially not until I figured out what was going on between the two of us.
