Page 72 of A Reckless Memory

“Do you blame me? Lawson seemed nice enough, a little arrogant if nothing, but I didn’t take it as a good sign that he handled us so poorly.”

“Wilder practically fingerprinted him. You interrogated him. He thought Eliot wanted to kill him and make it look like an accident when he invited him on a trail ride. And Austen did not need to be cleaning guns that weekend. All of that was minor compared to Daddy’s insults.”

“We went for target practice that day. Besides, if Lawson had nothing to hide, he wouldn’t have cared about feeling interrogated.”

I sighed. “That’s not how it works. People get offended when you treat them like a criminal.”

“You can’t blame us after Penley.”

“You knew about that?”

“Mr. Stalker? Yes.”

“How?”

Cody’s face went blank, but he held my stare.

Sutton. She must’ve leaked my problem to Wilder. I narrowed my eyes. “What’d you do?”

“Nothing.”

“What’d Wilder do?”

“You know Wilder never talks about work.” The corner of his mouth twitched. “So...Ansen?”

I wasn’t getting answers about Penley, and however they’d intervened, Mr. Stalker had ceased to bother me, making it hard to be more than mildly annoyed. “Coal Haven is full of Barrons, and he didn’t want to make anything uncomfortable. But I assume I have you to thank for the warning messages from the others?”

Wilder: If I ever find anything on that guy, I’m going to have him arrested so fast.

Austen: Do I gotta come back there and kick some ass?

Eliot: I know you have bad taste in men, but making the same mistake twice isn’t like you. You know he’s after the money again. His was the worst.

Cody grumbled as he took his drink.

“What if he’s not after the money? Will you guys be decent to him?”

Cody drained his drink. “The thing is, Aggie, how are we going to know?”

Fifteen

Ansen

The dark highway stretched out in front of us. Tonight was New Year’s Eve, and the place we were going would be busy, but I wanted to make tonight special.

“Can I open my eyes yet?” Aggie asked. Her arms were crossed, like I’d had to drag her out kicking and screaming for our date, but in reality, excitement poured off her. In the passenger seat, she sat with her legs pressed together and her heels lifted off the floor mats. Her eyes were squeezed shut, but she was biting back a grin.

I turned into the brightly lit parking lot. This area was probably beautiful in the daylight, but the way the old, repurposed train foundry and repair shop was highlighted by ground lighting and the artful Christmas lights around the doors, windows, and lining the roof made it a masterpiece. I could just sit and admire it.

I found a spot facing the brewery. “Okay, open them.”

When her eyelids fluttered open, the view sparkled in her hazel eyes. “Reservoir Barrel!” She aimed her grin toward me, and a spot in my chest tightened—hard. I’d earned her happiness just by taking her out to a place I knew she liked. She bit her lip and concern edged out her jubilation. “Are you sure?”

“I should’ve brought you here earlier.”

“Have you met the owner?”

“My cousin Isla? Yes. And her husband.” I’d met all my relatives in the last week. The experience was overwhelming but welcoming in a way I hadn’t expected. There was no simmering hostility like how my mama’s side of the family looked at me, Archer, and Dad, like Archer and I should’ve abandoned everything as soon as we’d been old enough to walk and go back to a family that was nothing but strangers. The situation would’ve been different, but a similar animosity to how the Knights would look at me. “I told her how much you gushed about this place.”

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