“Michael . . . and your last name?”
Mel dropped her pen and turned a little white. “Right . . . no, I understand.” She dropped to her knees and fished under the wicker chair to find her pen. The register in her hand hit the deck, and she was all fumble and stumble as she attempted to get herself together. By the time she knelt against the chair with pen in hand, some of the color was back in her face. Or was that a blush? “No, no . . . Miss Brown is a close friend. I totally understand the need for that . . . ah-huh. Yes, we’ll get back to you as soon as we can. Of course, thank you, Mr. Wolfe.” Mel did a little beating of the air with her hands like a child who couldn’t contain their excitement.
Mel disconnected the line and shot to her feet. She did an interesting version of a rain dance and squealed so loudly that Sir Knight lifted his head from his paws and tilted it in concern.
“Oh, my God . . . that was . . . that was . . .”
“Mr. Wolfe?” The name pinged around in Zoe’s head like a silver ball in a pinball arcade.
Mel grabbed both Zoe’s hands and squeezed. “Michael Wolfe!”
Zoe felt chills as recognition hit her hard. “The actor?”
Mel presented a toothy smile and screamed.
“Girls?” Miss Gina didn’t share in their excitement.
“Michael Wolfe . . . action flicks. Totally hot.” Mel fanned herself.
“He’s just a person,” Miss Gina said.
“An überhot celebrity,” Zoe added.
“Jo is going to be stoked!”
“You know he’s gay, right?”
Mel waved a hand in the air. “I don’t care, he’s still yummy to look at.”
Zoe giggled. “Didn’t you just get back from your honeymoon?”
Mel’s jaw dropped and she reached for the phone. “I have to tell Wyatt.” She ran into the inn and squealed.
“I think we need to go over your pricing and revamp the website.”
“Do what you have to do. I’m just happy I’ll be able to pay my property taxes this year.”
“Are you struggling? I’m happy to—”
“I’m fine. Just a little tight, that’s all.”
Zoe sat beside Miss Gina and curled into her side. “We’ll get you in the black before Santa gets here.”
“As long as Santa is buff and riding a Harley, I’d be happy.”
“What happened to Mr. Eugene?”
“He petered out.” Miss Gina didn’t sound too upset.
“He got involved with someone else?”
“No, I mean his peter petered out. What can I do with a man if that doesn’t work?”
Zoe caught the giggles. “There’s lots of things to do with a man other than play with his peter.”
“Uh-huh . . . name one.”
“Talk to them.”
“I have you guys for that.”
“Snuggle?”
Miss Gina wrapped an arm around Zoe. “Covered.”
“They lift heavy things.”
“And when Wyatt and Luke aren’t around, I grab some of those young kids that drop by looking for odd jobs.”
Miss Gina was still mentoring the youth of River Bend.
“Just keep them out of the lemonade.”
“Are you kidding? That’s what keeps the track team in this town full.”
The giggles found Zoe a second time. “Petered out!”
Jo was on the second lap of her warm-up when Zane took up the spot beside her.
“It’s not Thursday.”
“I’m on to you, Jo.”
“It’s Jo now?”
“You’ll get Sheriff on the days I have to be here.”
Fair enough.
He had something to say, so Jo waited him out. It took half a mile. “I heard Zoe moved back to town.”
“Looks like it.”
“I feel like I can’t get out of here, why would she come back?”
“That’s a question you might need to ask her.”
“I don’t think she wants to see me.” The remorse in his voice was a welcome relief.
“I don’t think you give your sister enough credit.”
They rounded onto Zane’s first mile, and Jo caught something out of the corner of her eye.
The fog was thicker as summer rushed into fall, and either the fog was playing tricks on her eyes or someone was standing in the shadows of the trees surrounding the high school.
Attempting not to stare, Jo glanced at Zane, who ran with a little more ease than when he’d started. When she looked back up, the shadow was gone.
She had never run with a weapon, but maybe that wasn’t the best decision.
“We’ve been doing this for three weeks,” Zane reminded her.
“Feels good, doesn’t it?”
He didn’t confirm or deny. “You never ask about my dad.”
“You being here isn’t about your dad. It’s about you.”
“Why? Why not just write me up and make me do my time?”
Jo slowed her run to a stop, set her hands on her knees to catch her breath. “Why? I’ll tell ya why. I think the inside just makes people meaner. Gives criminals more tools to screw up when they get out.” She sucked in another deep breath and squared off to Zane. “And I think there is more Zoe in you than Ziggy. You just haven’t figured out how to live without the cloud of your past.”
Zane ran a hand through his hair. “I thought I was doing that.”
“You were . . . got a job, and aren’t you living in Waterville more than not?”
He shrugged.
“Zane?”
“I’m back and forth.”
Not something Jo wanted to hear. “Why?”
“Keeping an eye on my sister.”
Jo read more into those words than any he’d spoken in three weeks. “You do that.”
Zane gave a quick nod.
“But Zane . . . if things get hairy, call me. I don’t want you going in because someone drags you there.”
He had a moment of confusion on his brow. “Why do you care so much?”
Jo took a step toward him and had to reach up to scruff his hair. “Because I was an only child, and you’re the closest I came to having a little brother.”
Zane stepped back and for the first time in a long time gave her a full smile.
Noise from the parking lot told them the teens had arrived.
“How many miles do you run with them?” Zane asked.
“A mile on the track, then we hit the trails for another five . . . why?”
He looked at his watch. “I don’t have to go in until noon.”
“You won’t make six miles.”
His smile fell. “Challenging me, Sheriff?”
Jo lifted both hands in the air. “Bring it!”
“What’s this?” Zoe asked from near the open dresser drawer.
Luke poked his head out of her bathroom, brushing his teeth. “What does it look like?”
She lifted a pair of his underwear. “Man panties?”
He winked and ducked back into the bathroom. The sound of water followed a drawer closing with a slight creak. “I’m leaving a toothbrush here, too.”
“Your house is three miles away.”
“Well, I’m not moving in. People will talk.”
Zoe pulled the length of her hair behind a shoulder and grinned. “We can’t have that.”
Luke pulled her into a playful hug and dragged her down to the bed, pinning her arms over her head. “You have a problem with my man panties?”
“No,” she said with a giggle.
“Good!” He kissed her hard and quick before pushing off the bed, leaving her sprawled and a little short of breath. “Now go to work. I have cars to fix, woman.”
She turned her head when he hesitated at the door.