I walked faster, buoyed by the possibility of crossing the final T and dotting the final I.
Beck and Noah wouldn’t like it. Dane would be furious.
I hesitated, then pulled out my phone to shoot them a text, satisfied that I was doing the right thing. I was being safe and everything!
When I was done, I put my phone back in my bag and walked faster, leaving the town square and heading for the lake.
I’d kept my promise. I’d delivered the papers to Sheriff Crowe. There was just one more thing I needed to know for sure.
Then I’d be done.
45
BECK
I pulleda fresh batch of croissants from the oven, set them to cool, and headed for the fridge to pull out the ham I’d ordered from the deli in Carleton. The ham-and-cheese croissant sandwiches I’d added to the menu the month before had been a huge hit with the lunch crowd, and I was learning to make extra so we didn’t sell out.
I’d give one to Avery when she got back to the bakery. She’d be hungry by then and we could celebrate being done with the mystery of Harold’s murder over lunch.
I sighed and shook my head as I put the ham on the deli slicer I’d recently purchased. Avery was too stubborn for her own good, but I couldn’t fault her for it. I couldn’t fault her for anything actually. In my eyes she was perfect, and not just because of her full tits and wet pussy.
My dick stirred, something I was getting used to with Avery around. I wanted her all the time, and I’d been surprised to find that I really hadn’t minded sharing her with Noah. I mean, yeah, I’d take her one-on-one any chance I got, but it had been fun having company along for the ride, and I’d loved knowing that together we could give her even more pleasure.
Dane was another story. I found it hard to believe he would be willing to share, but that was a him problem.
It was Avery’s decision, and after the way Noah and I had made her come, it was hard to believe she wouldn’t want more.
And the feeling was definitely fucking mutual.
I swore as my phone dinged with a text, my hands in the gloves I used to handle meat in the kitchen. Normally I’d let the text wait, but in the week since Avery had turned up at Evelyn’s, I’d turned into an anxious teenager, mooning over Avery, excited by every chance to see her, every possible text.
I set down the ham and peeled off the gloves, then walked over to my phone on the flour-dusted worktable.
My heart lifted at the sight of Avery’s name on my screen, but when I looked at the text, my stomach dropped.
Kept my promise. Going to Walter’s real quick to check something out. Don’t worry!
“Fuck.” I hesitated, then dialed Noah.
I wasn’t surprised he picked up on the first ring — we weren’t in the habit of calling each other — but somehow Avery had made us feel like friends.
Like family.
“Get Dane and meet me on the corner. I think our girl is about to get herself into trouble again.”
46
AVERY
Clouds had movedin front of the sun, the breeze turned cooler by the time I reached the edge of Walter’s farm. It had been warm when I’d left the house with Beck that morning, but now I wished I’d brought a sweater.
The lake looked gray under the cloudy skies, and for the first time since I’d come to Blackwell Hollow, I didn’t see any boats skimming along its surface or bobbing in the waves.
The smallest hints of a warning settled into my stomach: it was more deserted down by the lake than I remembered.
Then again, it was probably just because the last two times I’d been here the sun had been shining in a cloudless sky, Blackwell Hollow’s residents out and about around the lake.
Oh well. I wouldn’t be long anyway.