Page 56 of Out to Get Her
Samantha refrained from arguing or saying anything that might give away more than she was ready to reveal yet.
They went inside together, Melanie smirking and Samantha wondering just how well her sister might know her after all.
ChapterEighteen
“You sure youwant to do this?”
Erin picked a stray blue feather from her T-shirt and yanked the legs of her dark wash jeans so they reached the tops of her black Chucks. It was the closest thing to funeral attire that she’d brought with her, considering she’d missed her grandpa’s funeral and hadn’t planned on anyone else dying while she was in town.
“I’m sure,” she said, brushing her hair from her face as a gust of wind whipped across the parking lot. “We’ll just go in quietly and hide in the back of the church. You can point and nod at people and help me narrow down who might have also been in my house. Now that we know why Paul was there.”
“Why weassumePaul was there.” Zach stood beside her with his hands in his gray pants pockets, rocking back and forth on his heels. “Still just pissing in the dark with these theories.”
“At least we’ve got a nightlight now.”
“You’re relentless.” Zach shook his head. “And stubborn. And all kinds of other pain-in-the-ass stuff.”
“Watch your mouth,” she hissed. “I do not want to get struck by lightning sitting next to you.”
They followed the flow of people streaming inside the huge front doors of St. Rose Catholic Church. Erin hadn’t set foot in this or any other church since her last Sunday with Grandpa. She’d missed a whole bunch of services in the weeks before leaving, but she’d wanted to sit with him in their favorite pew one last time before hitting the road. She’d never realized it would be thelastlast time.
Just before they reached the doors, someone stepped in front of them. Erin almost didn’t recognize her without her Lunch Shack shirt or apron and her hair loose. Thick streaks of gray hairs brushed her shoulders and glinted in the sunlight.
“Good morning, Ms. Weaver,” Zach chirped.
“Hello, Zachary.” Addie’s gaze was firmly set on Erin. “I was wondering if I could steal Erin here for a quick chat before we go in.”
“Seeing as how I’m not actually her handler, she’s free to make that decision herself.” Zach looked pretty proud of himself but didn’t get the response he’d hoped from Addie. Didn’t get any response. After a glance at Erin to make sure she didn’t give him their secretsave megesture, he said, “I’ll wait inside.”
A less strong but much longer gust of wind blew between them as Zach turned to leave. This wind was picking up a lot faster than Erin had expected. She really should have checked the weather to see if that storm had changed track.
“What do you need now?” Erin asked. “I promise I’m not here to set anything on fire. Literallyorfiguratively.”
Addie glanced over her shoulder to make sure Zach was out of earshot. “I just wanted to thank you for bringing that order to Sergeant Ardoin the other evening.”
“Oh.” Erin was not expecting that. She’d come in her armor, fully prepared for a barrage of verbal missiles from all directions. Never in a million years did she expect to walk up to athank you. “You’re welcome. It was no big deal, really.”
“It was a big deal. Or at least it was important. We all care about that girl, and it pains me to my bones to see her hurting like that. That rat bastard of a…” She pressed her lips tight together and did a sign of the cross. “Anyway, thank you. You’re about the only one she’d have opened the door for, so thanks for that.”
Erin knew she should take the appreciation and walk away. But she had more questions that needed answering today.
She had to know the answer to this one.
“What made you think she’d open the door for me?”
Addie frowned and glanced around. “I saw how she looked at you in that cafe Friday. And how she defended you. I may be stubborn, and a lot of other things, but I know what I saw.”
She relaxed and smiled at Erin. It was the first time Erin had ever seen Addie’s teeth aimed at her and not in a snarl.
“For what it’s worth,” Addie added, “I’m rooting for you two.”
“Rooting for… I don’t know—”
Addie held up a finger as the church bells rang. “Time to get inside.” She patted Erin on the side of the arm. “I’ll see you later.”
Then Addie spun around and double-timed into the church, leaving Erin alone outside, trying to figure out what the heck had just happened.
Another gust of wind snapped her out of her confusion, and Erin hustled inside where Zach waited.
