“He hasn’t turned up in Knights Bridge, has he?”
“Not that I know of.”
A stiff gust of wind brought with it the smell of saltwater. She could taste it as she tried to picture Noah alone in the out-of-the-way little New England town and found that she couldn’t. Not that she’d ever been to Knights Bridge herself, but she’d never seen Noah outside of Southern California. Well, once at his winery on the Central Coast. He and Dylan had invited her up for a party celebrating NAK’s fourth anniversary.
Optimist that she was, when Dylan had told her he’d agreed to work with Noah, she’d figured NAK would go bust within months. But Dylan had been broke, going nowhere after ignoring one piece of good advice after another from her.
A good thing she’d kept her mouth shut about NAK.
Dylan and Noah had done well in their work together, and Loretta had done well by Dylan and got to know and like Noah, even if she’d never understand him.
What the hell did Julius Hartley want with him?
“Got anything more going on than listening to owls and watching the stars?” she asked Noah, hoping she didn’t sound as out of sorts as she felt.
“Olivia’s dog keeps breaking out of the mudroom and getting up on the couch.”
“The legendary Buster,” Loretta said, then promised to keep Noah informed and disconnected.
Her attempt at good humor didn’t last. Dylan had come out onto his front porch and was waiting for her. She tossed her phone into her handbag and headed up the steps, the wind at her back now. Dylan had his eyes narrowed on her in that distinctly McCaffrey manner. She’d known him since his early days with the NHL. He was more aggressive than Noah. He’d pounce. With Noah, she thought, you could be bleeding on the floor before you knew he’d even come close to you.
“Does Julius Hartley work for you?” Dylan asked.
“No. Never. He works up in L.A. He stopped by my office a couple of weeks ago.”
“Why?”
“I thought he was fishing for information on you and Noah. I kicked him out.”
“As only you can,” Dylan said.
Loretta turned to look out at the darkening ocean and sky. The stars would be out here soon, too. She didn’t know about owls.
Dylan stared at the Pacific, white caps visible as waves rolled onto the wide beach. “I can’t just step back from this, Loretta. Whatever Hartley is after involves Noah or me, or both of us.”
“Could someone in Knights Bridge be a threat to Noah?”
“Like who?”
Loretta waved a hand. “I don’t know. I’m just thinking out loud.”
“Who was Hartley talking to on Friday?”
She shook her head. “No idea. No idea who his client is, either. I’ll find out. You and Noah don’t need to worry about this.”
Dylan didn’t look convinced but Loretta wasn’t surprised. He’d had Noah’s back for four years, allowing his friend to focus on his strengths in building NAK into a highly profitable company. It wouldn’t be easy for him to give that up.
A fair-haired woman Loretta took to be Olivia Frost, Dylan’s fiancée, stepped out of the house. Dylan introduced them, and any misgivings Loretta had about their sudden romance quickly disappeared. Olivia was smart and sophisticated, but also natural, and down-to-earth. She was perfect for Dylan. And Loretta saw that Dylan was perfect for Olivia, too.
“How do you like San Diego so far?” Loretta asked.
Olivia smiled. “I absolutely love it. It’s so different from Knights Bridge. That’s where I’ve lived most of my life.”
Olivia’s eyes lit up when she mentioned her hometown. Then Loretta saw it, too. What Dylan had been trying to tell her. That as much as Olivia might like other places, her town on the edge of the Quabbin Reservoir was home. That meant Dylan would make Knights Bridge his home.
So what were she and Noah supposed to do?
Maybe that was why he was dog sitting, listening to owls and chasing a masked princess. In his own way, he was trying to figure out what he’d do with his best friend and business partner—a man who was like a brother to him—living on the other side of the continent.
And if Noah and Dylan both ended up in Knights Bridge?
Loretta didn’t want to think about it.
She’d focus on tracking down Julius Hartley instead.
Ten
Phoebe dressed for a hot August day but the library was cooler than she expected when she arrived early, well before eight o’clock. Mondays were generally quiet, and she was the only full-time employee. The part-time staff and volunteers wouldn’t start arriving until after the library opened at nine-thirty but she appreciated the time to herself.