Page 12 of Gentle Fox

“Oh. Is that what happened to you?"

Now he glanced around at the patrons. "Pretty much. Heads up, we got company coming."

I expected Lex since he was the only other person I’d met, but the large man was nowhere in sight. I was about to ask who the hell he was talking about when a petite woman with gray hair and amused eyes saddled up to our table.

"Well now, Owen, who do we have here? Did you bring our humble town some fresh blood?"

The old woman laughed, though it sounded more like a cackle.

"Annalee, this is Bertha. She's Jo's grandmother and the owner of the Crazy Fox. Bertha, this is Annalee, she's interviewing for the receptionist position at the security company."

So this was the Bertha Owen was referring to. The woman didn't look like she could hurt a fly but maybe she used that to her advantage. No one saw her coming and then she struck.

"Oh, psssht," Bertha waved Owen off. "Everyone calls me Bee. Bertha is so damn formal and old sounding.”

Now was not the time to point out that the very woman talking was, in fact, old. I preferred that my food wasn't poisoned and that I would be able to return in the future.

"It's nice to meet you, Bee."

"Likewise." Bee tipped her head in greeting. "I'm just glad these boys finally found someone to keep them in line. Brand new to town and already stirring up trouble."

My eyes grew wide as my head whipped to where Owen was frowning.

"That wasn't Kati's fault, nor was it Easton's. It was simply unfortunate luck." Then Owen winked at me. "Well, maybe notunfortunateconsidering they’re now happily in love."

This was a story I needed to hear. It would appear Bee wouldn't be telling it though because someone from the kitchen was calling her name.

"Damn kids. Helpless, the lot of them." She huffed on her way through the diner, bobbing around the different groups of people.

"What was she talking about?" I dropped both elbows onto the table and leaned closer. I didn't want to miss a single detail. Curiosity was one of those things that was going to get me killed sooner or later.

Owen shook his head. "Easton met Kati because of our line of work. She was having problems with someone vandalizing her house, so she called us. Easton set up a time to meet her over there but Kati fell asleep and forgot to set an alarm clock. When Easton knocked on the door, he woke Kati up from a dead sleep. She answered the door in nothing but a shirt and her neighbor witnessed it. The whole town was talking about it."

The story was both hilarious and slightly disappointing. I expected Easton to have made some grand gesture that sent everyone in a tizzy. Although, from what Owen said, the residents were merely gossiping about it.

"Does Kati have one of those gossiping neighbors?"

I had one of those. And it just so happened it was the same neighbor whose apartment I hid out in. Thankfully, her need to tell stories didn't translate to ratting me out.

Well, not to Dennis at least. She practically threw me under the bus when it came to Owen. Not sure what that said about her loyalty just yet.

"Big-time. Sits in her parlor all day just waiting for something to whisper about. At least that's what Kati tells me. Ihaven't tested the theory and I don't want to. I would prefer to stay out of the town rumors as much as possible."

That made two of us. I’d heard all about how small towns operated and I didn't want to find myself in the middle of that. I needed to stay far away from anything that would put me back on Dennis's radar.

"I bet Kati and the rest of her neighbors love that."

"Kati's a sweetheart, and since she's living in her parents’ old place, she's used to the old woman's antics. Took some time to get over the embarrassment though. I think that had more to do with Easton than the town knowing. Not exactly the greatest first impression."

Huh. I know a thing or two about that.

Exhibit A. My apartment.

The rest of our time at the diner flowed smoothly. Bee jumped from table to table, talking to every patron who frequented the establishment. I didn't know if it was her way of checking on things or just more gossip, but I liked that she cared enough to be present despite her age.

We were just finishing up our club sandwiches when Owen hit me with a more serious topic.

"Did you have a place lined up when you were planning to move here?"

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