Page 106 of A Little Luck

“I’m sorry if you were afraid.” She wraps her arm around my shoulders. “I only wanted to protect you.”

“I know that now.” We stop at the car, and I look up at her. “It happened to me.”

Our eyes meet, and hers are so sad. “I know.”

“Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

“I didn’t know how to help you. I only knew my way.” Her hand clasps mine, and she lifts it to her chest. “It had to be your decision, but I know what it’s like to hide, to be ashamed and to have secrets. In the end, the truth always finds you.”

“More like I made a deal with the devil, and now I have bad luck.”

“There is no devil, and now you have Adam Stone. That’s very lucky.”

“I thought you didn’t believe in luck.”

She winks at me. “I believe you can find a little luck, and if you can’t, you can make a little of your own.”

CHAPTER24

PIPER

“These pictures are amazing!” Jemima cries from the front desk where her phone is connected to the big Mac, and she’s alternately squealing and laughing. “You’ve got to see this one!”

After dropping Mom at her house, I came straight to the office. We’re overdue to get the wedding photos to Stew so he can print the Sunday edition in time for delivery, and now I’ve got breaking news to try and slide in under the wire.

Sitting at my desk, I have my phone on speaker on my desktop, calling Aiden to see if he’ll make any comment about the shooting at Gwen’s.

“I don’t have time!” I yell from where I wait at my laptop, chewing my nail. “Pick four or five good ones and write up captions.”

She’s in my office. “Look at this!”

Her phone is on my desk with a perfect shot of Alex’s fist making contact with Drake’s face. Cass is in the background with her hands up and her eyes wide. Her mouth is an oval, and I can almost hear her sayingOh!

Beside her, Britt is grinning with her nose wrinkled and both fists in the air like she’s about to do a cheerleader jump. Gwen holds her waist, and even Drunk Emcee on the stage is doing a fist pump.

I can’t help laughing. “That’s pretty good, but we can’t use it. We’re trying not to give Drake’s lawyer any more ammo.”

“Boo!” She pokes out her red-velvet bottom lip as she stomps to my door. “Who knew a wedding could be so fun? That was the best reception I’ve ever attended.”

“It certainly wasn’t boring.”

“Did you hear about the shooter at Gwen’s this morning?” Jemima turns when she reaches my door. “I heard an intruder broke into the house, and Bender shot him! It’s just never a dull moment around here!”

“That’s what I’m always saying.” The phone connects, and I jump, waving her away.

“Aiden here.” His tone is impatient, and I’m pretty sure he knows why I’m calling.

“Hey—on the record, what can you tell me about the shooting at Gwen’s?”

“How do you know about that?” he snaps.

“Got it straight from the horse’s mouth.” My fingers are on my keyboard, and I’m waiting to capture anything he says.

“No comment.”

“Aiden!” I practically shout. “The citizens of Eureka have a right to know how a man was killed right here in town—”

“We’re still gathering the facts, Piper. I’m not making some half-cocked statement to the press until I have more answers.”

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