Page 20 of Stay for Forever

Ashlyn opens the door and switches on the lights. “You coming?”

Someone has to keep my baby sister in check. I walk inside and shut the door behind me. “Do you know where the lockbox is at least?”

The garage is mostly filled with garden equipment and other supplies for the inn, but it’s not a mess. There are shelves and stacked containers keeping the area neat. Not a surprise since Ellery is a total workaholic. I can’t wait until her baby’s born and she attempts to return to work with the baby strapped on her back. Cole is going to lose his mind.

“No need. It must be there.” Ashlyn points to a row of shelves and marches toward them.

I’m here. I might as well help. “What does the lockbox look like?”

“I knew you’d have fun.” She elbows me. “It’s rusted metal and about yay big.” She indicates a box about the size of a small dog bed.

“Found it!” She picks up a box and sets it on the work bench. She curses when she tries to open it. “Damn. It’s locked.”

I search around the room for a tool to help us open it and find a pair of wire cutters. “Will these work?”

Ashlyn yanks the wire cutters from my hands and a slight tingle of regret travels through my mind. My baby sister is going to be the death of me.

“Worth a try.”

The lock snaps open. Considering the lock’s half a century old, I’m not surprised.

“Huh,” Ashlyn says as she peeks into the box.

I shove her out of the way. “What is it?”

I groan when I see the piece of paper. “Another clue?” Yeah. Yeah. She said the box didn’t contain the stolen money, but I still hoped.

She unfolds the paper before laying it on the table. “Almost there, my love. You’ll find the item where the steel stops and families reunite,” she reads the message scrawled upon the paper aloud.

Steel stops? Families reunite? “What the heck does that mean?”

“I don’t know, but I’m going to figure it out.”

She places the paper back in the box and shuts it before placing it on the shelf where she found it.

“Are you going to pretend we weren’t here?”

“What Ellery doesn’t know won’t hurt her.”

“What about the broken lock?”

She bats her eyelashes. “What broken lock?”

“Don’t think batting your eyelashes works on me. I’m not Rowan.”

“Rowan! Shit. I promised I’d be right back.”

“What does your husband think you’re doing?”

“Getting supplies for—”

I hold up my hand. “Nope. I don’t want to hear it. I don’t need to know what my sister gets up to with her husband.”

She waggles her eyebrows. “Need a clue? I’m trying to get pregnant.”

Gee, thanks. Another reminder of how she’s found love and I never will. I whirl around and stalk out of the garage. “I’m out of here.”

“You’re welcome,” she shouts after me.

I glance over my shoulder at her. “For what?”

“Taking your mind off he who shall not be named, of course.” She winks before shutting the garage door.

“Whatever,” I grump despite her being right. She did take my mind off Mav for a few minutes and I’m grateful. I am. But why can’t I stop thinking about the infuriating man for more than a few minutes at a time?

Patience, Juniper. Maverick Langston doesn’t belong in Winter Falls. As soon as he figures out how out of place he is, he’ll skedaddle for good. Once he’s gone, I can really start to forget all about him. A fist squeezes my heart at the thought, but I ignore it. My heart isn’t in charge. I am.

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