Page 18 of Second First Kiss

“He’s not dangerous,” Tessa protested. “He’s just misunderstood.”

“Misunderstood?” Kat snorted. She knew firsthand the stupid shit girls did to impress boys and she wasn’t going to let Tessa make the same mistakes. “He’s got a juvie record a mile long and has been involved in all sorts of shady dealings.”

“How would you know?”

“The whole town knows,” she lied. “And you want to hang out with him?”

“He’s different with me,” her sister insisted. “He’s sweet and kind and he really cares about me.”

Kat shook her head in disbelief. “That’s what they all say,” she muttered.

“Just because your ex didn’t want to marry you, doesn’t mean that I’m not girlfriend material.”

Tessa could have slapped her, and it would have hurt less. Not only had her ex, Ryan, said she wasn’t wife-y enough, he also said he had a hard time picturing her as a nurturing mother.

Kat swallowed the hurt and said, “Truth time. Who had the gun?”

“I didn’t see. I swear. I was talking to Kristen when I heard the shot.”

“I need you to be able to trust me. I promise that whatever you tell me stays between us.”

Tessa eyed Kat, as if trying to decide if she could be trusted. Kat softened her features so that her sister could see the desperation and concern in her eyes. It must have worked, because Tessa whispered, “I didn’t see it, but I heard about it. Supposedly, he found it and he was just showing it around when it went off.”

Found it, my ass. Stole it was more likely.

“R. J. would never hurt me. He’s not what people think, and I really like him, Kat.”

He was exactly what people thought. He was bad news with a rich dad to cover his ass when shit got real. As in first name Douche and last name Canoe.

“Just work with me for the next few weeks until the social worker signs off, so we show her that we’ve got this.”

Tessa never got the chance to answer because there was a knock at the door. Kat stood. “We’re not finished with this conversation.”

“Lucky me,” Tessa said.

Kat opened the door and her stomach sank to her toes. “Ms. Woods,” Kat croaked out. And here she’d thought her day couldn’t get any worse. The joke was on her.

Sierra Vista County social worker Nancy Woods stood on the porch in a navy pantsuit, crisp white blouse, and a file folder the size of the Bible. She was a gatekeeper, and Kat had never done well with gatekeepers. They always seemed to be able to sniff out her BS.

Kat smoothed down her hair and tightened the belt of her robe. “What are you doing here?”

“I heard there was an incident last night. I wanted to come check on your sister’s well-being,” she said.

Kat was going to be sick. Nerves and anger swirled in her stomach. Anger at herself for letting things with Tessa get this far. For working a job that required her to be absent on school nights, giving Tessa the freedom to make bad decisions. And this decision might have just cost them their family.

“How is Tessa?” Nancy peeked over Kat’s shoulder, then sent Kat a scathing look.

Kat already knew what she saw, a hungover teen who was playing hooky from school, and a wannabe guardian who looked like she’d spent the night at the police station bailing out her kid sister.

6

The next day, Nolan hadn’t expected to spend his morning scraping dried eggs off the front windows of Bigfoot’s Bar and Grill with his siblings.

In addition to being the locals’ favorite hangout and bar, the resort-style lodge boasted a hundred luxury rooms, a gift shop, equipment rentals, and an outdoor café where every table was equipped with its own firepit and a s’more station. There were a half dozen other buildings on the property, including a bunkhouse for ski patrol, search and rescue, and some of the seasonal instructors. Atop a small bluff was a little amphitheater used for hosting weddings and events.

But it was the location of the lodge that drew people there. Bordering the Tahoe National Forest, Sierra Vista was surrounded by dense sequoias, sugar pines, and Douglas firs, giving the feeling that one was in the middle of a forest rather than a five-minute drive from the quaint downtown. With gas lamp–lined streets, shiplap-fronted shops, and a million strung twinkle lights crisscrossing overhead, Sierra Vista was the gem of Lake Tahoe. And with views overlooking the crystal-blue lake and backdrop of mountains, it was a prime destination for tourists and locals alike.

For Nolan, it was home, a place he’d give his life to protect. But he’d never imagined protect and serve would include solving who was behind what looked to be a Costco-sized egging attack. The eggs were dry and frozen to the windows and log exterior, which meant whoever did this had attacked after last call.

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