Page 31 of Faking I Do
“That woman’s capable of things I wouldn’t put past even some of the most hardened criminals I’ve worked with.”
Lacey laughed off my concern. “Don’t worry about me. I’m sure we can work something out. I’ll just tell her she saw someone’s pet or something.”
“You really think she’s going to buy that?”
“Maybe not, but what’s the alternative? Tell her that she’ll need to invest in traps so we can make sure a giant mammal doesn’t take off with her wedding cake?”
“Good luck. Let me know how it goes.”
“You’ll be my first call.” She rolled her eyes. “Now, don’t you have something better to do?”
I reluctantly withdrew my hand. The promise I’d made to keep an eye on Lacey was turning into a bit of a chore. Not because I resented having to follow her around, but for reasons exactly the opposite. The more time I spent trying to keep Lacey out of trouble, the more time I spent with her. The more time I spent with her, the more I enjoyed her company. The more I enjoyed her company, the more I could picture her flush against my chest, my arms wrapped around her, her lips tangled with mine . . .
“Bodie?” Her forehead creased. “You okay?”
“Yeah, um, see you later.” My face flushed with heat. It wouldn’t do anyone any good for me to voice the kind ofthoughts I’d been having about Lacey. I waited until she made it to her truck. Then I climbed into my own pickup. Thanks to her ruining my notice, I’d have to head back to the office and print off another one before I could do much else. Maybe I’d stop by the house on my way. Shotgun had been cooped up in her kennel all morning. It would do the dog some good to get some fresh air.
As I climbed into the truck, my stomach grumbling in anticipation of my lunch, my cell rang.
Pops. Dammit. Why did my family seem to have the worst timing in the world?
“What’s up, Pops?”
“It’s your dad. He’s in the hospital over in Swynton.”
My lungs seized then squeezed together. I tried to take in a breath around the giant lump forming in my chest. “What’s wrong?”
“Somebody sent him a message. Get your ass over there, we’ve got to figure this out.”
“Is he okay?”
“He will be. Not much more hurt than his pride. This time.” The line went dead.
Pops had never been a fan of long conversations or conversations in general. With hope for a quiet afternoon shattered, I turned my truck toward Swynton—the last place I wanted to go.
CHAPTER 16
LACEY
“Just a temporary setback.”I took in a deep breath through my nose as I faced Adeline. I’d finally tracked her down at work. Someone somewhere seemed to think having no heart made Adeline the perfect choice for being a pediatric nurse at the local urgent care clinic.
Adeline pointed a bright pink fingernail at me. “You sure there wasn’t more than just one? I think you’re trying to pull a fast one over on me.”
“What good would it do me to do that?” I wrapped my hand around the warm cup of coffee I’d bought from the gas station/bait shop across the street, wishing I had something a little stronger at my disposal. “We’re in this together. You get the wedding of your dreams and we get the publicity we need to kick off our project. How would me lying about an armadillo infestation be in my best interest?” As the word infestation fell from my lips, I said a silent prayer that it wouldn’t come to that.
“So you really think it was just one armadillo? Who was it you said used to work out there?” Adeline wanted to believe me, I could tell.
“The grounds manager. He used to live in the caretaker shed on the edge of the property. His pet armadillo went missingone day while he was checking the building. It’s got to be,”—I scrambled to think of a name to give the fictional pet—“Moses. He used to make the rounds with the guy.”
“So are you returning the armadillo to this caretaker?” Adeline squinted.
Moses was a bad name. Who would believe there was a pet armadillo named Moses on the loose? “Well, we tried. But he’s moved away. I have no idea how to contact him. But don’t worry, we’ll catch Moses and then we can get back to planning the perfect ceremony and reception for you and Roman.”
Adeline tapped her fingernails on the wooden laminate tabletop. The click-click-clicking made me want to smack her hand down on the table. “I don’t know . . .”
Desperate times called for desperate measures. “Hey, remember the picture you showed me of that Cinderella-style carriage? What if we throw that into your wedding package for free?”
Adeline stopped clacking her nails and drew a heart on the tabletop with her pointer finger. “With the twinkle lights and tulle netting?”
