Page 30 of Dash of Bryce
I lowered my voice. "So, what'd you do?"
"Sorry, what?"
"Lemme guess," I said. "You robbed a liquor store?"
She laughed. "What?"
"No, wait. You slugged someone. Am I right?"
She gave me a playful punch to the shoulder. "How'sthatfor slugging someone?"
I made a show of stumbling backwards on my skates. "Oh man. You hit like a linebacker."
"Yeah, right," she scoffed. "But to answer your question, I have to be at the courthouse because that's where I sell my coffee on weekday mornings."
"Oh, yeah? What time do you get there?"
The question made her pause. "Why do you want to know?"
I recalled something I'd told her on the first day we'd met. "I dunno," I teased. "Why don'tyouwant to tell me?"
Just then, she frowned and looked past me as if she'd caught sight of something she didn't like. I turned to look but saw nothing of interest – just a few nighttime shoppers walking along the street.
I turned back to her and asked, "What is it?"
She was still looking. "I think I saw my sister."
I turned again and gave the shopping area another look. "Where?"
"She went into that restaurant on the corner. Or at least, Ithinkshe did. I mean, I only saw her for a second." A note of concern crept into her voice. "And she wasn't alone."
I turned back and studied Harper's face. "And that's a problem?"
"It depends," she said, pulling a cell phone from her coat pocket. As she scrolled across the screen, her mouth tightened like she'd gotten bad news.
Again, I asked, "What is it?"
"A text from my sister. She said that she'll be late getting back because she's going out to dinner." Her forehead creased. "With C.J."
I was obviously missing something. "Who's C.J.?"
Harper's eyes filled with worry. "That's whatIwanna know."
Chapter 15
Harper
Back at my aunt's place, I stared at my computer screen. "I knew it!"
And just like that, my day – which had taken a brief upswing – took a serious turn for the worse.
Not only had I just discovered something truly awful, I'd also been forced to take a rain check on the whole mocha-for-two idea.
Earlier tonight, when I'd decided to take out the coffee truck in hopes of turning a profit, I had been counting on Lexie returning from work at approximately the same time.
And even though technically, we could leave the kittens alone, I was all too aware that part of the reason my aunt had hired all three of us was so that the kittens wouldn't be left on their own for hours at a time.
So of course, after getting Lexie's text telling me that she was staying out later than expected, I'd felt compelled to rush back here right away.
