Falling in Love on Willow Creek by Debbie Mason

Chapter Sixteen

Something’s up with Sadie, Black. Keep a close eye on her today. Monitor her phone calls as much as possible,” Chase said to his partner as he followed Sadie’s SUV on the dirt road, scanning for any sign of a potential threat.

“You tell her that it looks like her brother’s gun is connected to Brodie’s murder?”

“I did. It hit her hard. She went pale and quiet.” He followed close behind her as they turned onto the main road. “She says she hasn’t heard from Elijah.”

“You believe her?”

“Yes, I do.”

“And you believe her because you checked her phone, right?” When Chase didn’t immediately answer, Black swore in his ear. “Listen, Dudley Do-Right, sometimes you have to bend the law, go against your Boy Scout scruples to solve a case.”

“I haven’t done so before, and I don’t intend to start now.”

“I didn’t hear you complaining when I put a tracker on Sadie’s car.”

“I didn’t know for certain that you had. But that was different. Sadie was in danger.”

She still was, which was probably why Chase hadn’t removed the tracker himself. He’d been waiting for her to ask how Gabe had found her. His reason for not telling her wasn’t exactly noble. If she removed the tracker, the odds she was holding out on him went up.

“Have you heard from Gabe?” Chase asked, in hopes of distracting his partner. Plus there was something they needed to discuss.

“Yeah, he tried to reach you about twenty minutes ago.”

He’d been in the shower, a shower that smelled like wildflowers and Sadie. It reminded him of seeing her on the bed wrapped only in a towel last night. He’d told her the truth. He’d done his best to avoid looking at all that smooth skin still damp from the shower, but focusing on her face hadn’t helped as much as he’d hoped. She was a beautiful woman. One he was attracted to despite his best efforts not to be.

The heart wants what it wants, he remembered his mother saying the day their grandfather came to take them away. It seemed to hold true for her. Only she hadn’t wanted him and his brother but a man their grandfather deemed dangerous. His grandfather had been proven right three years later.

Chase wondered what the judge would think of Sadie. He brushed the thought and the answer to his speculation aside. He had a fairly good idea what his grandfather’s opinion of the Gray family would be. “What did Gabe want?”

“He suggested we bring his father-in-law in on the search, and he mentioned someone else he thinks could be of use to us. Hunter Mackenzie.”

“Abby Everhart’s fiancé. I don’t like the idea of bringing anyone else in on this, but I have too much ground to cover on my own. What do you think?”

“Shocked that you’d ask my opinion.”

Chase sighed. “It has nothing to do with you, Black. I’m just used to working on my own.” There was another call trying to come through. His boss at the forest service. Chase glanced at the time. He wasn’t late.

“So you’ve decided you trust me, after all. I’d wondered how long it would take.”

He didn’t, not completely. “Can we get back to the matter at hand? I’m good with Boyd helping out with the search, but I’m concerned Mackenzie might not be able to keep this from his fiancée.”

He glanced at the screen when another call came in from the forest service. He really wished Gabe’s father-in-law had suggested another job for him.

“Abby and her camera. Yeah, I agree. It’s a concern. But Gabe seems to trust him, and I trust Gabe.”

“So do I.”

“You know, we’re actually starting to sound like partners. I think this calls for a celebration.”

Chase was surprised to find himself smiling. It seemed like he was beginning to like the guy. “Let’s save the celebrating until after we bring in Elijah Gray.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” The tenor of Black’s voice had changed. He was thinking about Brodie. Sometimes Chase forgot his partner’s personal connection to the case. It was something he needed to remember, for all their sakes.

“Sadie’s about two minutes out. I can’t stick around. My boss has called twice while I’ve been on with you.”

“Oh yeah, that was something else Gabe mentioned. Looks like you’re going to have a busy day, my man. A black bear was spotted in someone’s backyard this morning. I hear he’s a big mother.”

Chase didn’t miss the laughter in his partner’s voice. “And you thought you got the short end of the stick working at I Believe in Unicorns.”

“Looks like I was wrong. Wait a minute, I take that back.” Chase saw his partner in the store’s display window as Sadie pulled into the parking spot. “I’m stuck with the kid, and she’s crying again.”

This time it was Chase’s turn to laugh.

Sadie had barely been at the store five minutes when her best friends walked in, which meant she couldn’t complete the text she’d started to her brother. It wasn’t like she could send him a message while Chase watched her every move as they left for work. Pulling off to the side of the road with him following close behind hadn’t been an option either.

“You two are out bright and early.” Their concerned expressions worried her. “What’s going on?”

“What, we can’t drop in and say hi to our bestie without a reason?” Abby asked, her red hair pulled up in a high ponytail. She wore a navy-and-white-checked top with white capris and flip-flops, while Mallory wore a flowy, flower-printed sundress that hid her baby bump.

Today’s weather was more summerlike than springlike.

“It feels like I haven’t seen you in ages.” Her gorgeous blond friend gave her a hug and then beamed at Michaela sitting in her carrier on the counter. Her eyes were still red-rimmed from her latest crying jag. “Oh, look at you, beautiful. Do you mind if I take her out of her seat?” Mallory asked.

“No way. You leave her right where she is. She’s quiet, and I’d like to keep it that way,” Nate answered for Sadie.

“She’s been a little fussy,” Sadie admitted, giving Nate a quelling look.

Unlike Chase, Nate had no qualms hiding his identity. If it wasn’t for Chase, she’d have no idea that every word she spoke was being scrutinized and judged. It was killing her not to let her grandmother in on the secret. The only positive about Nate working and living with Agnes was that he’d keep her safe. Now Sadie had to figure out a way to do what she needed to without him catching on.

Nate put his hands on his hips and looked at her like she’d lost her mind. “A little? The kid never stops crying.”

“She’s not crying now.” She caught the concern in Mallory’s eyes and wanted to shoot Nate.

Logically, Sadie knew she wasn’t doing anything that contributed to Michaela’s fits of temper and tears. Her daughter had colic. Sadie had tried warm water bottles on Michaela’s tummy and giving her a baby massage. Everything her doctor in Charlotte had suggested, she’d tried. It didn’t matter. She still felt like a failure.

Mallory was anything but a failure. She was a natural mother. Gabe’s sons—her stepsons—adored her. A doctor who was a few months into her hospital residency, Mallory would know exactly how to make her own baby girl feel better.

“Sadie, you should have told us. We wouldn’t have let you brush off our offers to help. You must be exhausted,” Mallory said.

“No wonder you’re depressed,” Abby added.

Sadie’s cheeks warmed. “I’m not depressed. Who said I was depressed?”

At Abby and Mallory’s shared glance, Sadie huffed an irritated breath. “That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?”

“No.” Mallory grimaced when Sadie crossed her arms. “Okay, it might have played into our decision to drop by. But we’re allowed to worry about you. That’s what friends do. You’d do the same for us.”

“You don’t have to worry about me.”

“Yes, we do. Having a colicky baby isn’t easy, especially when you’re dealing with that baby all by yourself,” Mallory said.

“Not anymore, she isn’t.” Nate slung a companionable arm across Sadie’s shoulders. “Her boyfriend moved in with her yesterday. The kid loves him. No accounting for taste, I guess.”

Sadie figured Nate’s light squeeze of her shoulder was to ensure she didn’t deviate from the script.

Abby and Mallory looked from Nate to Sadie, their eyes wide. She smiled. “It was the best sleep I’ve had in months.” Her smile fell. She probably shouldn’t have said that, especially with Nate around.

“Okay, well that just surprises me,” Nate said. “After all the PDA I witnessed before I kicked the two of you out of here at closing, I expected to hear you didn’t sleep a wink. I gotta have a talk with Mikey.”

“Wait a minute. You’re supposed to be my bachelorette. You can’t be my bachelorette if you have a boyfriend, especially a boyfriend who is living with you,” Abby said.

So maybe Chase’s fake-relationship idea wasn’t a bad one after all. Sadie attempted to infuse her voice with disappointment. “I’m sorry.”

Nate snorted and then glanced over his shoulder. “I better go check on Agnes. She told me she’d be down fifteen minutes ago.”

“I’m confused,” Mallory said when Nate went in search of her grandmother. “I didn’t know you were even seeing anyone.”

“Sadie has post-baby brain, or maybe it’s exhausted brain, and you have pregnant brain, Mal. I called you right after I met Michael, remember? The guy who helped deliver Michaela. The guy she’s named after.”

“Oh, the baby whisperer. Now I remember.”

“Obviously we know where your mind is at. I also said he was right up there with Gabe and Hunter in the looks department.” Abby sighed. “So I guess the bachelorette event is out. We need to come up with something else. Any suggestions?”

Mallory cleared her throat and nodded. At what, Sadie didn’t know.

Apparently, Abby did. “Unicorns. I’m thinking something with unicorns.”

“Did that just pop into your head because you’re standing in a unicorn store, or did you guys hear the news that my brother has practically bankrupted my grandmother?”

Abby’s eyes went wide. “Your brother? We didn’t know Elijah was involved. All we heard is that Agnes is months away from losing the store and her home, which, I might add, we didn’t hear from you.”

“I’m sorry. I would have told you guys but things kept piling on, and I was overwhelmed.”

“That’s when most people call their friends,” Abby said, sounding a little hurt.

But most people weren’t getting shot at in the woods or finding out their knight in shining armor was really an FBI agent hunting their brother.

“I get it. I’ve done the same thing myself. So have you, Abby. It’s easier to give help than it is to receive it. But it doesn’t make you weak to lean on people who love you.” Mallory smiled. “I’m glad you let Michael in. It can’t have been easy after Drew.”

If they only knew. “No, it wasn’t. But he’s nothing like Drew, and he’s wonderful with Michaela.” She glanced at her daughter, who’d been suspiciously quiet. She was sound asleep with her thumb in her mouth. Sadie reached for her phone to take a picture. It was gone. She looked under and around the carrier. It wasn’t there.

“What’s wrong?” Abby asked.

“I can’t find my phone. I was sure I put it beside the carrier.” As she was about to go down on her hands and knees to check under the counter, the door chimed, and Zia Maria walked in with a takeaway bag in one hand and Finn, Nessa McNab’s golden retriever, on a leash in the other hand.

“I know, I know,” the older woman said. “We’ll say he’s a support dog if someone makes a fuss.” She caught sight of Michaela and made a beeline for her. “Oh, look at her. Such a bella bambina.” She put the bag on the counter and let go of Finn’s leash, making grabby motions with her fingers as she leaned toward Michaela. Knowing the woman’s cheek-pinching tendency, Sadie said, “She just went to sleep. I promise, I’ll bring her in to see you this week.”

Zia Maria squinched up her face and then raised her hands and backed away from the counter. “Okay, you do that. You and Michael. The food, it’s for you and him. He’s such a good boy, and so handsome too. Did you like what I sent home for you last night?”

Even though most of the dinner was sitting neatly wrapped in her refrigerator, Sadie said, “I loved everything. You’re going to make me fat.”

“You need some meat on your bones. The depression, it’s making you too skinny. Men like something to grab on to.” She patted her own backside and then waved at Mallory and Abby. “Good, you take care of your friend, girls. And don’t let her tell you she’s fine. She’s not fine. Too much to deal with on her own.” She patted Sadie’s cheek. “But don’t you worry. We’re all gonna help. Abby, the mayor says you have a plan.”

Abby gave Sadie a sorry, not sorry glance. “I do. I just have to iron out a few details before I unveil it.”

“Good. That’s good. But I have some news that’s not so good. Nessa, she had a bad fall and broke her hip. She’s gonna be in the hospital a long time.”

“Oh no, what happened?” Sadie asked.

“I like Michael, but it’s his fault. He told Nessa she have to put Finn on a leash, and the leash, it wrapped around her feet when they were going for a walk. Finn, he chases the squirrel, and whoosh.” She lifted her hand and brought it down. “Nessa, she fall. So now, Finn needs a home.” She retrieved the dog’s leash and handed it to Sadie.

“Oh no, not me. I can’t take Finn, Maria. I wish I could but I have too much on my plate as it is.”

“I know. It’s okay, you’ll feel better soon.” She tapped a piece of paper stapled to the bag with her finger. “It’s a list we make for you. To deal with the depression.”

“But I’m not depressed. I’m just…Wait, you forgot Finn,” she said when Maria turned to walk away.

“No, I no forget. Michael, he’ll take him. He likes Finn, and Finn, he like him. It’s a good match, you’ll see. Michael, he saved him. You know the saying. If you save a life, you’re responsible for it. Finn, he’s Michael’s responsibility now. All good.”

“No, no it’s not. Michael moved in with me.” She grimaced, preparing for a lecture from Maria. She was old-school.

“Eh, what’s a matter with you? Look at Abby, she lives with Hunter a year. Is she married? No. I don’t know what’s wrong with you girls. Mallory, you talk some sense into these two for Zia Maria.” With that, she was out the door.

Sadie turned to her friends. “You guys have to help me out here. Abby, you love dogs.”

“Yes, and I have two. Plus you know how territorial Bella is.”

“Mal?”

“I wish I could but we have five boys, a dog, and a baby on the way. Plus, there’s Finn’s reputation. It would put Gabe in an awkward position.”

Sadie frowned, looking at the dog sitting at her feet. “What reputation? He seems perfectly sweet.”

“Oh, he’s charming all right, until he robs you blind,” Abby said. “He’s a kleptomaniac.”