Page 51 of Double Booked

CHAPTER 23

RILEY

Oakville took their Harvest Festival seriously. The town was decked out in bright fall colors. Oranges, reds, and yellows decorated every light post and every storefront was decorated to the max. Agnes informed me there would even be a competition for best decorated storefront. Even the guys’ construction company participated with a twenty foot tall scarecrow.

Over the last few weeks, Agnes and I had gone from store to store and helped them set up their decorations after I got done with my writing for the day. The guys had been super busy with Forrest building floats for the parade. We had worked from sun up to sun down and barely had any alone time. The only time I really got to see them was when we piled into Colton’s bed at the end of the day but I was often asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. Justin had practically moved in and I was grateful for it because we never would have seen him otherwise. The guys had started taking the dogs to work in order to get them some exercise and avoid them being cooped up in the house all day while Agnes and I were gone.

One advantage of the busyness though was any lingering tension from Vicky and Veronica’s post was dissipating. Most townspeople were thrilled for any extra help they could get decking out their shops. My fingertips were burnt from the hot glue guns but the way the community pulled together was something I hadn’t experienced before. It was actually really nice and gave me a sense of belonging I hadn’t felt before. Minneapolis was a large city and I didn’t even know my neighbors in the same condo building.

The last few weeks of work culminated this weekend though. The high school football game was tomorrow night and it kicked off the festival. The parade was Saturday morning and then the fair was all Saturday afternoon. But best of all, the guys had texted me earlier today to let me know they would be home in time for dinner.

Hissing as the hot glue touched my fingers, I pressed the final gold shimmery bow onto the massive red and orange garland hanging above Brewed Awakening’s window. “There, done.” I leaned back, blowing on my stinging fingertips.

“Looks great!” Agnes looked up from where she was fussing over the placement of a scarecrow leaning against a straw bale.

“I agree,” Isaac, one of the baristas, said. “Thanks so much for your help. We haven’t been able to decorate as we’d like since we’ve been so busy.”

“Of course,” I said, “We’re happy to help.” The baristas had always been so good to me when I was there.

“Can I get y’all a drink?”

“I’m okay,” I smiled. I probably had enough coffee today.

“I’ll take a cup of decaf.” Agnes said, looping her arm through Isaac’s and walking into the shop.

My phone dinged with an email notification. I half-expected it to be Ryan again telling me he shipped another box to me of books to sign. With them came two more boxes filled with stuff from my condo that he ‘thought I would need.’ If it was up to Ryan, I would be moved in already. And truthfully, I didn’t mind the thought either but something inside me refused to let go of the condo just yet. I didn’t even like the place that much. I had bought it more to show my parents that I could. But it was still mine and a place I could go to if something were to happen.

The email wasn’t from Ryan though, it was from Alyssa. She sent her full report and my heart sank when I read the contents. It was a list of addresses that Raymond Hargrove had lived in for the last twenty years. There were over fifteen addresses on the list, all in different states and in different parts of the country. The second page of the report listed every unsolved murder or mystery disappearance in those areas and each place his dad lived, there was an unsolved case. I kept scrolling and sucked in a breath when I saw the victims. All of them looked eerily similar to the picture of Laura, Alyssa had found. Fuck. Had we just stumbled upon a serial killer? And it was Justin’s dad? And his first victim could have been Justin’s mom?

Fuck.

It could be circumstantial but it was a little too coincidental for my tastes. I saved a copy of the report and opened a new email. I had an FBI contact, actually the same one I did my first ridealong with, Connor O’Patrick. He was an agent now and based in the Louisville KY field office if I remembered right. He had been a great technical resource for me for my books over the years and owed me a favor or two. I attached the report to the email and sent it to him, asking him to look into him. I then emailed Alyssa back and asked her to find Raymond's current location.

I sighed heavily. Fuck, this was a mess. Did I tell the guys? I would have to explain that I had looked into Raymond but my intentions had been pure. I had started all of this trying to find Justin’s mom for him but maybe accidentally discovered his dad was a serial killer. But nothing was confirmed yet. So did I tell them what I found? Would Justin be angry that I looked into his past? Angry enough that he wouldn’t want anything to do with me? And of course Colton would side with him and I was just starting to like this town and feel like it was home. Fuck this was a mess all because I couldn’t let it go. I always did too much and found answers that I didn’t want to know in the first place. But hopefully the guys would understand that I had their best intentions at heart. I needed to tell them.

“Is everything okay, dear?” I startled at Agnes’s voice.

“Yeah,” I slid my phone in my pocket. “Just catching up on email.”

Agnes looked at me carefully before she looped her arm in mine. “Okay, well if something’s happened, I hope you know that you can talk to me about anything. Even if it’s about those wild boys of mine.”

I smiled at her. “Thank you.” I appreciated her offer but I wasn’t going to tell Agnes before I told Justin and Colton. And I was going to have to tell them. Tonight. I couldn’t put this off even if the guys got upset. We promised to talk to each other and I needed to share this with them.

Except when I walked into the house later, the words died on my tongue. Soft candlelight cast the house in a cozy glow. Music played softly in the background as the dogs came bounding over to greet me. I bent down and gave them each some scratches while I searched for my guys. Are they still going to be yours after you tell them what you’ve done? A nasty voice whispered in my head but I pushed it aside. Colton stirred a pot on the stove while Justin pulled a pan out of the oven. The rich smell of garlic and butter filled the air as he turned around and I saw Beverly’s garlic bread on the pan. Justin’s eyes lit up when he saw me.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he said, setting the pan down and coming to greet me. “Welcome home. We thought we might have dinner in.”

“It smells wonderful,” I admitted, snuggling into his chest as he wrapped his arms around me and dipped his head to kiss me. He pushed me towards Colton and I wrapped my arms around him from behind, pressing my face against his back.

“Hey, baby girl,” Colton squeezed my hands before turning to wrap an arm around me. “Why don’t you go shower and get changed.

I murmured my agreement and headed down the hallway. I couldn’t tell them tonight. But tomorrow… no after the Harvest Festival. That would be better. That way I didn’t ruin it when the guys would be rightfully upset at me. I hesitated when I got to the door of the bedroom. That would work, right? The guys had worked so hard on all the festival floats that they deserved a chance to take a break. I would tell them after. I bit my lip as I thought about the last time I waited to have a conversation. It was the one where I talked to Colton about Justin. Except that one turned out well in the end so hopefully this one will too.

I pushed open the door to the bedroom. Soft candlelight filled the room in here as well turning the space into a cozy, romantic oasis. Draped across the bed was my favorite light blue dress, the same one I wore to the guys office that one time and the same one I was wearing in the infamous gossip post picture. The guys loved me in it and I laughed when I saw they hadn’t laid out any lingerie. But luckily for them, Ryan had included the contents of my underwear drawer the last time along with a few extras including a pretty light blue lace set that I pulled out of the box now.

Slipping into the shower, I showered quickly, not letting my curls get wet. Back in the bedroom, I was almost disappointed that one of the guys wasn’t there waiting for me. But it was probably for the best. I might have spilled the whole thing right there and ruined the night they had planned for us. No, I was going to talk to them about it but after this weekend.

Padding back into the kitchen, Justin’s eyes darkened when he saw me. “You look beautiful, sweetheart,” he said, placing a soft kiss on my lips while presenting me with a glass of wine.

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