Page 18 of My Mistake To Make

I reach into my bag and pull out my pad.

‘Oh my, you have an actual list.’ She reaches across the table and grabs the list. ‘Okay, the bank we can’t do, sim and groceries we can, and I know the best brand of tea, trust me. Get to know the town,’ she grins and makes a big tick motion in the air with her finger, ‘check. Oh, find a contractor?’

‘Mmm,’ I swallow my sip of orange juice and nod. ‘Yeah, I need to find someone to carry out renovations on my house. I was planning to stay there, but when I got there, it was a wreck. I asked your happy-go-lucky pal when he walked me to the cabin, but he said he couldn’t help.’

She laughs loudly. ‘You mean Doug?’

I nod, yes. ‘He got a bit weird about it, and his face dropped even more, which I wouldn’t have thought possible. Honestly, everyone in this town seems so happy and welcoming, but he clearly did not like me at all.’

She laughs again. ‘Yeah, that’s Doug. He’s an asshole, but we like having him around.’

‘Well, I can understand why,’ I say without meaning to. My eyes widen, and I feel the heat of embarrassment on my cheeks as Zoe leans forward in her seat and raises her eyebrows. ‘I just mean, um, well, he’s not the happiest man I’ve ever met, but he’s, well…’

‘Nice to look at?’

I let a small laugh out and chew my bottom lip, then nod, yes.

‘What are you ladies laughing at?’

A woman in uniform, who looks a lot like Zoe, stands at the end of our table.

‘Chief,’ Zoe says brightly, then turns to me. ‘This is Cara, she’s new in town. Cara, this is the chief of police for our sweet little town, Bree.’

‘Hey,’ Bree holds out a hand to me, and I take it happily as she smiles at me. ‘Welcome to Forest Falls.’

‘Thank you.’

‘To answer your question, we were laughing at Cara’s observations of Doug.’

‘Oh really?’

Bree slides in next to Zoe in the booth, and once they’re side by side, it’s clear to see, they must be sisters, as they’re almost identical. Their eyes are the same hazel brown color, Zoe’s shoulder-length platinum hair hangs in loose waves, and Bree’s dark brown locks are scraped back into a neat bun at the back of her head. Bree’s skin has the glow of being sun-kissed, and I guess with her job, she must be outside more than her bar owner sister. Surprisingly though, it’s Zoe who has freckles peppering her nose and cheeks.

‘Yes, she noticed his usual happy persona,’ Bree snort-laughs, ‘and that he’s too pretty for his own good.’

Bree throws her head back and laughs loudly, and I feel like I missed the joke.

‘You don’t see it, do you?’ Zoe asks me, smirking in a way that makes me a little uncomfortable. I shake my head, no. ‘Picture Bree or me with a beard.’

‘And without our glowing smiles,’

‘Our sunshine personalities.’

Oh, my god. There’s that heat again.

‘He’s your brother,’ I breathe, wishing the ground would swallow me whole.

‘In one, honey.’ Bree winks and stands from the booth. ‘You’re right, though. He is a grumpy asshole, and as much as it pains me to say it, he is a handsome son of a bitch. He knows both of those things and does nothin’ about either.’

I don’t really understand that, but with a to-go cup of coffee pressed into her hand, Bree simply turns and strides from the diner.

‘I’m so embarrassed,’ I say quietly, my gaze dropping to the table.

‘What, why?’ Zoe’s tattooed hand lands on mine, and I look up to meet the kind, caramel eyes that I now see are pretty much identical to his.

‘I insulted your brother and talked about him in a way I never should have to his sisters.’

‘Cara, sweetheart, there’s not a person in this whole town who hasn’t insulted Doug, well, except one, and I promise it’s all justified. He needs to remove the stick from his ass and quit walking around town like looking he’s chewin’ on broken glass, but he won’t, and we won’t stop calling him out for it. As for the other thing, meh, don’t worry about it. Who knows, maybe you could be the one to remove the stick.’

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