“Still, Pepper, your brother is a police officer. You cannot go around punching him, especially when he’s on duty and in uniform. And your dad does not need this extra burden right now.”
Way to make me feel guilty.
“I don’t want to make you feel guilty.”
I dropped my head back on the headrest. She did that far too often—knew what I was thinking.
“Think of your dad. He’s been through enough.”
And what I had to tell him about the mayor and Marsh was just going to burden him even more.
“I’ll get right over there, Mom,” I said.
“Wonderful. I’ll tell Josh you’re on the way,” she said and ended the call.
This was what I got for coming back to Willow Lake and living by my family… no privacy.
My cell rang again. Ian. I smiled. If I hadn’t returned, I would have never met Ian, never fallen in love, never have known Willow Lake Lodge was mine. It was good to be home.
“Pep, are you all right?”
He sounded frantic and I felt even more guilty. “I’m good, Ian. Josh is being a jerk about the whole thing.”
“Why did you run from him? Brother or not, he is a police officer.”
My devious mind was already plotting revenge against Josh for dragging Ian and our mom into this. Before I could answer him, my cell showed I had another call… my dad.
“My dad’s calling, I’ll call you as soon as I can.” I clicked over, not waiting to hear his reply.
“What the hell, Pepper. Damn, I cursed. Hell, I did it twice, no three times. Damn it, Pepper!”
“Dad, calm down,” I said, trying not to laugh at my dad’s string of accidental cuss words. “All is good.”
“All is good? How can you say that when your mom gets me out of an important Zoom conference call claiming an emergency and tells me that Josh is going to arrest you? Then Josh tells me you promised to follow him to the police station to straighten things out about the supposed break-in and you failed to do so.”
“That’s not quite right,” I said. “I texted him that I’d be there soon, and he knows I was not breaking into Marsh’s garage. Though, I did hear a boatload between the mayor and Marsh. They’re hiding something, Dad, something to do with the Carson case.”
“Get your butt back here right now,” he ordered.
“Ten minutes, Dad, please,” I begged.
“What’s more important?” he demanded.
I couldn’t lie to him. “Noah Berwick returned, and I spotted him and—”
“Do not tell me you followed him,” my dad said.
I shook my head. I was not a little girl anymore. My Dad needed to realize that. “How old am I, Dad?”
“Old enough to know better and wise enough to obey the sheriff when he tells you to get your butt to the station.” He hung up.
“Okay. That went well, Pepper,” I said to myself and was about to start the car when I saw Noah coming out of Yesterday’s Treasure. He wasn’t carrying anything. Or was his purchase small enough to fit in his coat pocket?
I watched him drive away and made a quick phone call, then I answered my own question. “You’re twenty-eight, Pepper, old enough to make your own decisions.” Though I reminded myself not to take too long.
Kate was at the counter and cringed when she saw me.
“I look better than yesterday, and I’ll look even better tomorrow,” I assured her.
“That’s a good way to look at it,” Kate said with a smile.
I could see why Josh was interested in her. She was a beautiful woman.
“What can I do for you, Pepper. If it’s about the window, it’s already been replaced and thank you. Strathmore Builders didn’t charge me for it. William Strathmore came here himself and told me that you’re an old friend of his grandson’s and was only too glad to help.”
Burke’s grandfather was the best, not so much Burke. He could be a thorn in my side.
“That would be Burke. We went to school together,” I said. “I don’t have time to spare right now. I just wanted to ask you a question.”
“Of course, how can I help?”
“The man who left before I came in, did he purchase anything?” I asked and gave a quick explanation. “He’s a father of a friend of mine and I wanted to make sure when I come back I don’t buy the same thing for her.”
“No worries, he didn’t purchase anything. He talked more to me than shopped. If there is something special you’d like for your friend I can pick out some things and show them to you when you get a chance to stop by.”
It was out of my mouth as quick as it had entered my mind. “Pins. My friend adores old pins.”
Kate reached under the counter and drew a box out. “I just have to show this to you quick. It just came in and it’s gorgeous.”