Page 78 of Just Between Us

“Hey! Sorry I’m late!” Casselyn Benton, Huck’s wife, breezed through the saloon-style doors from the kitchen and into the main bakery. She was a petite woman with long brunette hair and green eyes. Her hulking husband wasn’t far behind her and greeted me with a silent head nod. Huck was a giant teddy bear and always only a step or two behind his wife.

Cass deposited her bag next to me and hopped onto the stool. She folded her hands in her lap and grinned before cutting right to the chase. “I hear you’ve got a story for me.”

Before permanently moving to Outtatowner, Cass had been a journalist at theChicago Dailynewspaper before meeting Huck and upending her life. She seemed suited to small-town life and happy to be writing for a local paper.

I glanced at my sister, who was leaning against the window counter. Sylvie lifted her chin and asked, “What’s the one story you’ve always wanted to write?”

Cass looked between us and grinned. “That’s easy. Political corruption of elected officials.”

Huck smiled and shook his head. “I’ll get some more cookies and coffee.”

He excused himself to the kitchen, and Cass leaned in with a smirk. “But I’ll tell you, in this area there’s nothing more interesting to folks around here than the feud between the Kings and the Sullivans. So what do you got for me?”

My face twisted and I scoffed. “The feud’s all but dead.”

Cass pointed in my direction. “Exactly. People are confused. They want to know why.How.If it’s really as simple as two people falling in love.” Cass smiled at her husband as he returned to slide a coffee cup in front of her. “You know, my job was a lot easier when I could just report on the stupid pranks you used to pull on each other.”

“What if we gave you something grittier?” I asked, swiping my finger through the fallen cinnamon sugar on my plate. “An exposé of the King family.”

Interest glittered in her eyes. “Your family would do that?”

Sylvie lifted a shoulder. “Some of us. What we’re really after is you highlighting the mysterious disappearance of our mother.” Cass stared at my sister, but I could see the wheels turning. “Off the record?”

Cass dragged a finger across her heart in an X. “Cross my heart.”

Sylvie sighed. “The story we were told as children regarding our mother leaving town is simply not true. The facts we’ve recently discovered just don’t align. You would have unlimited access to each of us, including our private investigator. Everyone except for our father.”

Cass’s eyes narrowed. “Interesting. And I can report on whatever information comes to light? I won’t agree unless I can approach it in a totally unbiased way.”

I chuckled. “Interview the Sullivans for all we care. We just want the information out there ... our only goal is for her to be publicly remembered in some way.”

Okay ... maybe not ouronlygoal.

Cass’s eyes softened and she rested a hand on my forearm. “I can promise that I’ll do right by your mother. She will remain the focus of the piece. I give you my word on that.”

I swallowed past the lump that had suddenly expanded in my throat.

Unable to speak, Sylvie stepped in and wrapped Cass in a hug. “Thank you.”

Casselyn slipped from her stool and picked up her coffee mug. After a sip she saluted with it. “Time to find my husband. I’ll check in later.”

Sylvie and I watched as she swept through the saloon-style doors and disappeared into the kitchen.

My sister exhaled. “No going back now.”

I chuckled. “Dad’s going to be pissed that someone is sniffing around.”

Sylvie leaned against me and smirked. “Exactly.”

Sylvie

Cass agreed to a story. If she asks questions, please cooperate.

Whip

Roger that.

Lee

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