Page 11 of A Little Naughty

My shoulders drop, and I glance around the yard. “What kind of work did you have in mind?”

I’m not interested in digging a hole to China if that’s what she’s after. As fucked up as the world might be, I’m not looking to join a cult. I have plans of my own, and they’re based in reality.

“I’ve got a few trees that need to come down… and I’ve been stockpiling food and supplies for a while. I want to sort it out and donate it. Or trash it.” She hesitates. “I’ve also been thinking about adding a deck, so I could have people over.”

My brow rises.Okay. “I can do that.”

It’s how I ended up at Piper’s old house on a Monday morning, face to face with the woman who’s haunted my dreams since she left town three months ago.

The last time I saw Jemima Dixon was at El Rio for one of those karaoke nights. I sat at a high-top table, and she stood on the stage in a gold dress sparkling like Miss America with full, red lips, singing like a pop star.

She’s as pretty as she was when she left, but standing on her front porch just now, she seemed flustered and itchy. She promised to text me, and I check my phone to be sure it’s fully charged.

“I appreciate you helping out my mom.” Piper walks with me to the road leading back to Martha’s house. “I haven’t forgotten the way you offered to protect Rosie McClure when Ethan showed up at the paper office last year.”

Right. It’s a side of myself I don’t like letting people see. It plays into their prejudices against my family, but I wasn’t about to let that asshole find his runaway wife. “I don’t like men who beat women.”

It comes out as more of a growl than I intend, but something about seeing a man slap a woman sets my skin on fire. It makes me want to give him a dose of his own medicine.

“Mom always said you were misunderstood. I want to apologize if I ever made you feel, I don’t know… inferior?”

Hesitating, I think about it. Piper’s a few years younger than I am, so we were never in the same grade at school. She was always with the guys out surfing, although she wasn’t on the waves. She had her nose stuck in a book. Now she runs the town paper.

Her red hair is orange in the sunshine, and she’s got the start of a pregnant belly going under her denim jacket. She’s engaged to Adam Stone, who told Martha I was honest and a hard worker. I didn’t expect that from a Stone.

“You never did.”

She smiles, seeming genuinely relieved. “I’m glad to hear it. Be sure to get with Jemima on that story. We like to support small businesses in Eureka at theGazette.”

“Thanks.” I shove my dirty hands into my pockets before continuing to her mother’s house.

I’ll be happy to talk to Jemima Dixon.

CHAPTER3

JEMIMA

“Your hair looks amazing.” I’m standing beside Nikki in front of the bathroom mirror downstairs. “I love your style. That top and those jeans are a total vibe.”

It’s her first day at Eureka Elementary, and after checking in at the newspaper office yesterday and setting up my desk, Piper let me have the rest of the afternoon off so I could take her shopping.

We drove to Richmond to get her clothes and school supplies at the Walmart there. She got some high-waisted jeans and a rust-colored, long-sleeved crop top sweater with a baby-blue stripe across the front.

For her new room, I got her a pale pink sheet set with a matching white duvet that has little pink flowers on it. She picked out a fuzzy purple heart-shaped pillow, and I threw in a Taylor Swift blanket.

“Do you like your room?”

We walk out to the small kitchen where I’ve arranged bagels and English muffins and cream cheese on a platter along with some Jimmy Dean sausage links I bought at the store.

I’m drinking coffee.

She spears a sausage link and hands me a card. “I found this under the bed.”

It’s the size of a baseball card, and it has a picture of a guy on a skateboard.

“Tony Hawk,” I read, placing it on the table. “Must be Ryan’s. You’ll meet him at school today. He’s really nice. You’re the same age, so he’ll be in your class.”

She nods, quietly taking a bagel off the plate and slathering it with cream cheese. I watch as she takes a big bite, and I’m learning she gets quieter when she’s worried.

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