“Okay, Logan, but nothing has changed.”
Traffic was light and I got to Charles Street fast. “Let’s talk then. ’Bye, Pop.”
“Goodbye, son.” He sounded worried. I hated that he did, but I also knew it wasn’t going to get any better anytime soon.
What we had to do wasn’t going to be easy.
Most shops at this end of Charles Street were closed on Sunday, so the area was pretty deserted. As soon as I put the SUV in park and glanced up, I saw movement inside Elle’s boutique.
Gun ready, I crept down the empty street until I got to the window where a sign read, closed. Peering in, I rolled my eyes and relaxed. Peyton was hunched over the counter, staring into a box.
Relieved, I tucked my gun back inside my waistband and rapped on the door. She didn’t look up and I noticed a pair of earphones in her ears. The door was unlocked, so I walked in.
“Peyton,” I called casually. I didn’t want to frighten her, but she was so absorbed in her work, she still hadn’t looked my way.
She had a yellow pad of paper to her side and a pencil tucked behind her ear. She glanced up and practically jumped. Realizing it was me, she pulled her earphones from her ears and placed a hand over her heart. “Logan, you scared the living shit out of me.”
Feeling bad, I raised my hands to ease her fears. “Sorry about that. I knocked.”
She took off her red-framed glasses and set them down. “What are you doing here?”
“Elle asked me to stop by and grab her purse. She left it here and needed something from it.”
Peyton pulled her lip into her mouth and mischief glimmered in her eyes. “Did she now?”
The diamond chip in her nose sparkled. I had to give it to her—she was a spunky little thing. She couldn’t be any taller than five foot three nor could she weigh more than a hundred pounds, but her presence wasn’t one anyone would look past. With a grin, I answered. “Yes, she did.”
She raised her brows in suggestively, practically wiggling them in a way that let me know she was assuming that we’d got it on and was happy about it.
I wasn’t a kiss-and-tell kind of guy, so I gave her nothing more.
Still, she waited until it was clear there would be no further information, then sighed and circled the counter to open a drawer. Setting the black bag in front of her, she smirked. “Look at that—it appears she did leave it here.”
Feeling validated that she believed me, I walked toward her.
The pencil that was behind her ear was now tapping the counter. “Since you’re here, could you help me with something before you leave?”
With a slight hesitation, I answered, “I can try.”
An elastic band was around her wrist and she snapped it off to pull her curly dark hair back, revealing a rainbow of colors at her nape I hadn’t noticed.
She was bit of a wild child.
Giving direction, she bobbed her head toward a couple of large boxes over on the floor near the stairs. “Those boxes were delivered here yesterday by mistake. They’re for the coffee shop just down the street. Do you mind helping me take them there? I’m pretty sure they’re open until four.”
I glanced at my watch and then inside a fairly large open box to see dozens and dozens of sugar packets. They were probably too heavy for her to carry. “Sure, lead the way,” I said, stacking one on top of the other and hoisting them both.
“I can get one,” she laughed.
I threw over my shoulder, “I got them.”
“I really appreciate this. I’m a little OCD and can’t stand to have things lying around unnecessarily.”
I tried not to laugh at her. “No problem, Peyton.”
“And besides, they might need them,” she rationalized.
I shook my head. “You never know.”
She grabbed Elle’s red hat and put it on her head.
I gave her a sideways look.
“What? My hair’s a mess.”
Soon, we were walking on the sidewalk, heading north, up the hill. We crossed the first block, then the second, then the third. We passed store after store. We passed bikers and joggers, most of whom were headed toward the bottom of the hill, not up it.
Peyton was the chatty type. “How long have you lived in Boston?” she asked.
“On and off my whole life,” I answered. “You?” I added, feeling like I should return the question.
She gave me a quick glance. “We moved to Somerville when I was ten for my father’s job. He’s a Harvard professor.”
Raising a brow, I said, “Impressive.”
The sky had turned overcast, but every now and then the sun peeked through. She wrapped her arms around herself and I thought she was cold until she said, “Not really. He’s an ass.”
Not knowing how to respond to that I said, “Yeah, sometimes family sucks.”
“He fell in love with one of his students the first year we moved here and left my mother and me.”
“Like I said, sometimes family sucks.”