Chapter 12
Luna was pleased to see there was a queue outside the chocolate place when she arrived.
“So many people,” a young girl said as Luna joined the line. “Albert is happy.”
Clearly some of the locals didn’t feel the same as the Robbins sisters about the shop. She looked across the road to Tea Total. The lights were on, but the closed sign was up.
“Free chocolate samples,” a teenage boy said, holding a tray.
“Now look at those,” a lady said. “Pretty as a picture.”
Each was decorated with a colored flower on top. Luna took one.
“Smile.” A young man took her picture as she popped it into her mouth. “I’m putting together some pictures for the local paper,” he said.
Luna smiled.
“Take another one, it will be good publicity,” he said.
She did, used to this kind of thing. Looking over his shoulder, she noted some girls taking pictures too.
“All right, that’s enough now.”
The man who’d said the words smiled at Luna. Dylan Howard, Charlie’s brother. With him was a sweet little girl, she knew as Grace, and his wife Piper. She pushed a buggy with their son, Blake.
“She’s on holiday, Lionel,” Piper said. “Back off now.”
Lionel left at pace. Clearly Piper Howard was not someone you messed with.
“I don’t mind, really,” Luna said. “Hi, Grace.” She bent down to speak to the little girl who held her daddy’s hand.
“I like school,” the girl said. “My friend is Luanne.”
“Well now, I liked school too, and my friend was Mary.”
She wore a cap with the words FBI on the front and a cute pink dress.
“I like your cap.”
“She won’t wear anything else.” Dylan sighed. “We even got her one with her favorite character on, but she wants to wear mine.”
She knew all about this man. He’d been an FBI profiler. Luna couldn’t even begin to imagine the stuff he’d seen and heard.
“I’m kinda hoping that Miss Marla and Miss Sarah don’t see us,” Piper said, shooting a look to Tea Total. “Mandy told me to come tonight, she said it wasn’t fair of her aunts to carry on the way they have been.”
She wore shorts that showed off her long legs and a white T-shirt with lace sleeves. The woman was all class, Luna thought.
“Hey.” Jack and Rory joined the line.
“Mandy ask you to come too?” Pip said.
“Yup. I’ve never even heard that woman raise her voice, but she sure is annoyed with her aunts and letting them know,” Jack said.
“Luna said some stuff that made me feel guilty, so here I am,” Rory said.
“I didn’t mean to make you feel guilty.”
“I know.” Rory waved the words away.