Page 23 of Just Between Us

Growling at myself, I yanked on the door handle and pulled it open. Birds chirped as I exited my apartment building andheaded toward downtown. The small apartment building was on the end of a quiet street with cracked sidewalks and uneven asphalt. I had definitely chosen the correct footwear for my walk to work.

The closer I got to town, the more interesting the homes that dotted the street grew. Some were older homes with the classic, simple lines indicative of a house built in the 1960s, while others were brand-new builds with expansive porches and gleaming floor-to-ceiling windows.

I noticed a blue house, tucked atop a bluff, with the prettiest flowers I had ever seen nestled in front of dormered windows. A few houses up, I watched a family unload a minivan at what I assumed was their vacation rental home. Duffel bags were piled on top of one another. Two young boys chased each other in the front yard while the parents pulled a cooler and grocery bags of food from the back.

“Morning.” The woman waved, offering a bright smile as I passed.

I returned the wave with a nod.

In the distance I could hear the faint crashing of the waves from Lake Michigan but couldn’t see the water past the tall cliffs of the sand dunes. It had been ages since I had sat on a beach anywhere. So long in fact, I almost forgot what it felt like to just sit in one place andbreathe.

Lazy days basking in the sun would have to wait.

I was about to be up to my eyeballs in King Equities paperwork, attempting to untangle whatever mystery JP King was trying to unravel. I still didn’t know exactly what I was looking for, but something in my gut told me I would know it once I found it.

Maybe his father was hiding money in offshore accounts. Perhaps under-the-table deals added to their profits. I had beenin business consulting long enough to know the lengths some would go to to protect their money.

I quickly cut across the intersection, thankful that my heels were safely stashed inside my bag. Ahead, the man I recognized as Bootsy sat on a park bench. There was a small baseball field at his back. I kept up my brisk pace as I crossed in front of him.

“Good morning, Miss Bauer.”

When I glanced at him, he nodded. I stopped and turned. “Oh, I’m sorry, I don’t think that we have been introduced.”

He tipped his invisible hat. “Pleasure to make your acquaintance. I’m Bootsy, ma’am.”

I offered a polite smile. “I’m Veda Bauer, but it seems you already knew that.” I raised an eyebrow in question.

An affable laugh rolled through him as he slapped his knee. “Oh, not much gets past old Bootsy, ma’am.” He winked. “Not in this town.”

I hummed in acknowledgment.A busybody. Great.“It’s nice to meet you.”

I turned to leave.

“Of course, of course. Don’t want to upset young JP. He’s not as accommodating as Mr. King.”

Several steps down the road I slowed, thinking of Bootsy’s parting words. There was nothing but genuine affection in Bootsy’s voice as he spoke of the senior King.

Had I pegged it wrong? Was JP the asshole in this situation?

I suspected he was planning a hostile takeover of his father’s business, but I figured it would be for a good reason. I supposed it wouldn’t be a stretch of the imagination to think the younger King was just as ruthless as his father and my services were only to protect his interests.

Anxiety clawed at my shoulders. I didn’t like not knowing how this was going to play out. I would need to keep my cardsclose to my chest until I could determine what was really going on in this strange town.

When I hit the corner of Main Street, I paused to adjust the bag on my shoulder. Despite the early hour, warmth and humidity clung to the air. Taking a breath, I slipped my blazer off my shoulders and hung it across my bag. The blouse I wore beneath it was sleeveless, allowing the breeze to cool my tacky skin.

I glanced down at my slim gold watch. The sleepy coastal town was just waking up, and the majority of the businesses were still shuttered away behind darkened windows.

Movement caught my eye.

A large man dragged an A-frame sign onto the sidewalk. He was obscenely tall, with broad shoulders and thick arms.

I flipped through the catalog in my brain.

Huck Benton. Nonlocal. Outtatowner transplant. Married to Cassandra. Cassidy? Something like that.

I glanced across the street to the top-floor office building that would serve as my new office. The rounded corner windows were still dark. On one hand, beating my new boss to the job proved I was tenacious and had grit. On the other hand, if I was going to spend hours slumped over boxes of paperwork, battling dust bunnies and spiders, I was going to need caffeine.

With a nod I continued up the path toward the Sugar Bowl.

---