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She lifted her head to meet his brown gaze and ran her fingers through the hair that hung across his forehead. The shadows in his eyes told her how hard he fought to hide his exhaustion. There’d been an incident on Halloween night when she’d been arrested and released by the FBI. Ever since, he’d been working overtime with federal officers to find members of Salem’s outlaw motorcycle club–Black Jacks–she’d once been involved with.
She hated how her old life was causing him stress now, but he’d promised once the investigation was over, things would settle down for them. He’d also promised that, after weeks of waiting, they’d be together. Romantically together. Since Halloween night, the time hadn’t been right and neither of them wanted to rush things. “You look tired.”
She’d been both disappointed and relieved by their lack of intimacy. While she wanted him, desperately, they’d been apart for ten years and still were getting to know each other again. It all made sense and reeked of logic, but she also worried about his feelings for her. They’d both lived difficult lives during their decade apart. And while their reunion proved wishes could come true, there was a low level tension between them she didn’t understand.
She just hoped she hadn’t used up her lifetime’s allotment of wishes.
“I’m not tired.” He dropped a kiss on her nose. “Do you have any beef pies?”
“I do.” She drew out of his arms and pretended to believe he wasn’t exhausted. “I’ll heat some up for you and Gage.” She glanced at Lily and saw her in Gage’s arms. “I’m sure you’re both hungry.”
Ten minutes later, she carried a tray of petite hot beef turnovers and sugar cookies to the table where Gage, Ben, Nana Ruthie, and Mr. Elmer sat. She handed plates to Gage and Ben and realized most of the customers had left. Lily appeared with a tray of six hot chocolates for everyone. After handing them out, she took the chair next to Gage.
“I made decaf hot chocolates.” Lily wrinkled her nose. “But no one can ever know. They’re expensive because of the special chocolate I have to use.”
Ben took Sophie’s hand and tugged it until she sat next to him. The lights flickered, the wind howled outside the window, the heat hummed, and instrumental Christmas music filled the chocolate-tinged air.
Sophie held her mug and settled in her chair. Her thigh touched Ben’s, and she appreciated the warmth he exuded. Surrounded by these people who’d taken her in–physically and emotionally–a sense of peace and calm overwhelmed her. “Ben, what happened after we left?”
“Nothing.” Ben shared a look with Gage. “We talked to Damian but didn’t get much out of him. Tomorrow, I’ll call the county fire inspector and visit the Fawkes’ farm. While it’s unfortunate the sleigh is lost, I’m more concerned there might have been a fire we didn’t know about.”
“Ben?” Nana Ruth used a softer voice than usual. “Who do you think took that money?”
“I don’t know.” Ben sent Sophie an apologetic smile. “I knew about the theft a while ago, when Gage told me, but we wanted to spring it on the town to watch their reactions.”
She nodded and exhaled the breath she’d been holding. Maybe that theft was the cause of his distance these past few weeks.
“Not all the townsfolk were there tonight,” Lily said.
“True,” Gage said. “And we still don’t have a suspect.”
“Are you ruling out Damian?” Mr. Elmer asked.
“For now.” Gage took a beef turnover, ate a huge bite, and continued. “The money was stolen from the online account, and the bank is claiming it’s not their fault a sophisticated hacker got through their online security system. I hate to sound mean, but Damian isn’t that smart.”
“Lotto is that smart.” Lily handed her husband a napkin. “I remember in high school how he never studied for the SATs yet he ended up with a perfect math score.”
Sophie took Ben’s hand on the table and squeezed. Lotto had once been a member of the Devil’s Renegades, along with Ben and another Mosby brother named Kane. Somehow, Lotto, Kane, and Ben had gotten free of the MC–yet no one was ever truly free from their past. Weeks of working with federal agents had taught her that. “Lotto has been nothing but kind to me since I came to town.”
Lotto also worked next door, in the kitchen of The Ren, the down-and-dirty biker bar that had once been owned by the motorcycle club until Gage purchased the building.
“I’ve known Lotto for years,” Ben said. “I can’t see him doing something like this.”
“What about your brother Kane?” Mr. Elmer asked. “Isn’t he a computer genius who works for the government? What does he think about this mess?”
“Kane doesn’t know about this yet,” Ben said. “He and Eve are on a Thanksgiving cruise with her parents, and I didn’t want to ruin his vacation. Once he’s home, though, I’m sure he’ll help.”
Sophie took another sip of her hot chocolate and told herself this mess wasn’t her fault. Her arrest on Halloween, and her subsequent work as an anonymous FBI witness with enough evidence to put away the Black Jacks, had been a huge hassle for everyone close to her. While Ben had taken the brunt of the stress as he worked with federal agents in multiple states, Kane had stepped up as well.
She wasn’t sure who Kane worked for–and he’d never tell her–but he was helping with her case. That meant two of the six Mosby brothers had put their lives on hold to help her regain her own. “What did the Santa parade involve? Besides Santa sitting in a sleigh?”
“It was an entire day of events,” Mr. Elmer said. “We began with the historic homes tour and the gingerbread house contest at the Generals Tavern–”
“Which is uninhabitable.” Nana Ruthie glanced at Sophie, and she sunk into her chair.
When she’d first arrived in town, she’d hidden in the old, haunted inn that predated the American Revolution until Ben and Kane moved her to the apartment above the café. But Nana Ruthie was correct. The Generals Tavern had no power or water.
From what she’d seen the past few weeks, most of the historic homes in town–many from the mid-seventeenth century–were uninhabited. When people couldn’t sell their properties, they abandoned them. Now big banks owned more than half of the town’s residences.
