Pretty as a Peach

by Sawyer Bennett

  Ollie plops down on the tailgate beside me and says, “Do you know a Mitch McCulhane?”

  I’d like to say his name surprises me, but it doesn’t. I’d like to say I never once considered him, but I did. In fact, Mitch was the only person I could think who had enough malice to do something like this. The only problem was I couldn’t figure out how he could pull it off. There’s no way that city-slicking corporate type with his fancy sports car and three-hundred-dollar loafers would be able to set a vineyard on fire.

  “Yeah. I know him.” I purposely leave out Darby’s name and how I know him, although Ollie probably knows. There’s not much that slips by him. The way the gossip mill operates in this town, there are probably not many people who don’t know I’m seeing Darby.

  I don’t say her name, though, because it actually hurts a little. Knowing I hurt her last night when I brushed her off and knowing this is about to get very, very complicated.

  “What did you find?”

  Ollie takes off his cream-colored Stetson with the sheriff’s badge pinned to the front. He scratches his head before putting the hat back on. “It appears Floyd did a little investigating of his own last night.”

  Floyd had come out last night as the vineyard was burning, but he didn’t stay long. In fact, I remember him saying something like, “I’ve got something I gotta do.”

  “What did Floyd find out?” I ask.

  The sheriff’s body shakes with amused laughter for a moment, and he looks at me with a smirk. “Turns out he had been in Chesty’s at the time the fire was being set. He remembers just before getting the call about what happened, that Travis Robbins and Gil Ellis came into the bar and they were already drunk.”

  “Typical for those boys,” I observe.

  Ollie nods. “Floyd distinctly remembers that both boys smelled like gasoline. Once he got out to the vineyard and saw what happened, he connected the dots. Went back into the bar, hauled those boys out by the scruffs of their necks, and held them by shotgun until I arrived.”

  My eyes go wide, and my jaw drops open. “You’re kidding me?”

  “Nope. Not kidding you. I took them into the station to question them, and they both admitted to doing it.”

  My brows draw inward, totally confused. “What does that have to do with Mitch?”

  “The boys claim they were hired to do it for a thousand dollars each. They don’t know the guy’s name, but they described Mitch to a T. Of course, I only know who Mitch is from Floyd. He helped me connect the rest of it up, and I figure this Mitch guy has a bone to pick with you since you’re dating Darby.”

  I shake my head in disbelief. Travis and Gill would definitely have the ability to set the vineyard on fire. In fact, the tire tracks we found running down the rows indicated it was probably somebody with a large barrel filled with gas and a sprayer attachment that let them put out so much fuel over such a large area. Once they got it sprayed down, it was simply a matter of tossing a match on it and watching it burn.

  “We’ve arrested both boys,” Ollie tells me gravely. “I’ve got men out trying to find Mitch to bring him in for questioning. I expect he’s going to deny it and he paid them boys cash, so there’s no trail.”

  “Is that going to be enough to arrest him?” I ask.

  “That’s going to be up to the prosecutor,” Ollie says with a sigh “But I don’t see why not. Those two boys’ testimony is evidence. It would be up to a jury to figure it all out.”

  I nod, letting my gaze wander back over the burned rows of trellises. Those vines hadn’t even had a chance to prosper. All because some nut job was jealous of me seeing his soon-to-be ex-wife.

  It just doesn’t make any sense, and I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it.

  Ollie claps me on the back before hopping off the tailgate. “Just wanted to tell you the news in person. I’ll fill you in after we’ve talked to Mitch.”

  “Thanks, Sheriff. I appreciate it.”

  I sit out on my tailgate long after Ollie leaves and finish my coffee. I do a lot of thinking.

  Around eight o’clock, I get in my truck and head over to Farrington Farms.

  I need to talk to Darby.

  ♦

  I no more get pulled in front of Darby’s house and turn my truck off before she is walking out the front door and down the porch steps to greet me. She must have been near the kitchen window and heard me pull up.

  She looks concerned for me and wary all at the same time.

  I get out of the truck and wait for her to come to me. It’s better we have this conversation out here where Linnie can’t hear it.

  “You haven’t been returning my texts or calls,” she says with a hint of accusation in her tone.

  I rub my hand across my jaw and give her an apologetic look. “Yeah… I’m sorry about that. Also for the way I blew you off last night. I just had a lot on my mind.”

  A look of utter relief breaks across her face, and it makes my guts twist I’m getting ready to cause her anxiety again. “Listen… Darby… Sheriff Brown has found out who set the vineyard on fire.”

  The expression of relief on her face matches the tone of her voice. “That’s wonderful news.”

  There’s no sugarcoating what I have to tell her, so I don’t. “It was Mitch. He hired two local boys to go out and do it.”

  Darby’s face drains of all color, her hand covering her mouth in shock. “Oh, God.”

  “Sheriff Brown has got his guys out looking for Mitch right now. They’re going to bring him in for questioning, but they’ve already arrested the two guys who admitted to doing it. I expect Mitch is going to be arrested as well.”

  Darby’s eyes cut over to the farmhouse before coming back to me, “Maybe they’re lying. I just can’t imagine Mitch doing something like that.”

  A wave of white-hot anger floods through me that she would even think to defend the man. “How could you think he wouldn’t do it?” I ask bitterly. “He’s a nut job. He’s completely obsessed with you, and doesn’t want anyone else to have you.”

  Either she doesn’t recognize that the anger in my voice is directed at her or she’s not thinking straight because she gives a shake of her head and says, “It’s just so out of character for him. And what would it accomplish?”

  I growl in frustration. “Come on, Darby… Crazy people don’t need motivation other than they are crazy.”

  She blinks in surprise, taking a step backward from the fury in my voice. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be defending him. This is just a shock, and I don’t even know how to go about telling our daughter that her father may have been involved in something like that.”

  “Was involved in something like that,” I correct her. “Not may have been. Was.”

  Darby seems to understand at this point that my anger is multi-focused. She straightens her spine and asks me point blank, “Are you blaming me for any of this? Because you seem to be directing some of that anger toward me.”

  I sigh as I give a slow shake of my head. “No. I’m not blaming you. I am blaming myself for not taking him seriously, but none of this is your fault, Darby. I swear to you.”

  “I’m just trying to understand this,” she says, her voice sounding lost and unsure.

  “He approached me last Saturday when I was helping Lowe and Jake move furniture into Millie’s. He was making some veiled threats.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” she demands angrily. “I could have confronted him.”

  I throw my hands out in frustration. “I don’t know. I didn’t want to worry you. I didn’t think he would do something so heinous. Like you, I didn’t think he’d come after me in such a criminal way.”

  Darby takes a few steps back, putting her hand over her mouth again. Her eyes are wide and frightened. She glances back to the house again and murmurs, “How am I going to explain this to Linnie? She’s going to be so confused.”

  This is the part that kills me. That I could possibly be hurting Linnie with my
decision.

  “I’m going to make sure that Mitch is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” I tell her softly, but my words almost seem to knock her over. She turns her gaze to me, and it kills me how bleak it is. “It’s not going to bring back what I lost, but I need the justice. I hope you can understand that, Darby.”

  Darby’s expression is troubled when she nods. Her voice is soft. “Of course. I understand.”

  I take a step toward her, bringing my hand up to her face. It should be a reassuring touch, but it’s really nothing more than a goodbye. “This complicates things too much, Darby. I think we need to take a break.”

  Her eyes widen, and her voice is accusing. “You said you weren’t blaming me.”

  “I’m not,” I assure her. “But I’m getting ready to go after your husband. And I know he’s not really your husband in truth, but he is in name and that makes things very messy. Let’s not forget… he’s Linnie’s dad. I really don’t think either of you need the man trying to bring her father down in your life right now.”

  If I expected Darby to fight to keep this relationship going, I would be sorely disappointed. She takes a step back from me and nods. Her voice is clear and strong. “I understand.”

  And then she turns away from me and walks back into the house.

  CHAPTER 27

  Darby

  I’m lucky to find a parallel parking spot in front of Central Café. Not only is it the height of the breakfast rush because most of the court personnel are rushing in to grab sausage biscuits and such, but a very important meeting has been set up to be held here this morning.

  I check traffic in my side mirror. When I see it’s clear, I open the door and get out of my old BMW.

  I really have to get a farm truck.

  Especially after calling this meeting this morning. That’s because today I am establishing my foothold in this community.

  “What’s up, Farmer Darby?” I hear as I shut the door.

  I look over the sidewalk to see Larkin walking my way. She was invited to the meeting as well.

  “Hey,” I call.

  When she reaches me, she surprises me by giving me a long, hard hug. “How are you doing, my friend?”

  I squeeze her hard and pull back. “I’m hanging in there as best I can.”

  Larkin is fully up to speed on what’s happened the last two days since the fire, and that’s because she was at my house last night, drinking wine and commiserating.

  Giving me the type of support a really good friend does. It was much needed because in just two days, Colt’s vineyard was partially destroyed, he broke things off with me, and my soon-to-be ex-husband was arrested and charged along with the other two men he hired.

  “Mitch got out easily on bail,” I tell her. That had happened this morning. The only reason I know this is because Floyd called to tell me. I’m not even sure how he got my cell number.

  “How’s Linnie taking it?” she asks.

  I shrug. Linnie’s confused and hurt and angry and well… her emotions, like mine, are all over the place. What we decided last night when I tucked her into bed was that we are just going to take each day as it came and trust in the justice system to work. Thankfully, Linnie never asked me if I thought her father did it because I would have had to tell her I thought he had.

  “We better get inside,” I say as I point at the cafe.

  “I can’t wait to see what you have on tap for this meeting,” she says. She hooks her arm through mine, and we walk to the door together.

  She knows I have something up my sleeve to help Colt, but she doesn’t know the details. I’ve only shared those with two people… Catherine and Jerry Mancinkus.

  “You’re just going to have to wait a few more minutes,” I tease.

  “I think I have a sneaking suspicion what you might do,” she says confidently. And she probably does. Larkin is the one I poured my heart out to after Colt said he wanted to break things off. She knows very well what I feel for her brother.

  A huge, growling rumble fills the air around me, and I can feel the vibration of a motorcycle approaching. Larkin and I turn around to see a massive Harley-Davidson slowly coming our way. It’s all black and chrome, but the most distinguishing feature is the man riding it. He’s dressed all in black. Black leather chaps, black leather motorcycle jacket, and one of those black helmets that cover just the top portion of the head. He has black sunglasses on, black gloves, and black boots.

  “Oh my God,” Larkin breathes out the side of her mouth. “It’s Jax Teller from Sons of Anarchy.”

  I snicker, but I couldn’t agree more with her. The man has longish golden-blond hair and a neatly trimmed blond beard. No clue what color his eyes are, but his facial features are model perfect with the straight nose and hard jaw. About the only difference between him and Jax is this guy looks to be a lot bigger. He’s tall and really built. It’s obvious even under all that leather he’s wearing.

  The motorcycle slows to a stop in the street right beside where we stand on the sidewalk, and Larkin self-consciously starts tugging at the short ends of her hair at the nape of her neck.

  The man cuts the motorcycle off and removes his glasses. Larkin and I both suck in air when we are blindsided with dazzling green eyes that are crinkling at the corners as the man smiles at us.

  “Morning, ladies,” he says in a gruff, gravelly voice that sends shivers up my spine. This man is way too good looking for words.

  The man gives me a polite smile before turning his attention to Larkin. Her cheeks turn pink when he runs an appreciative look over her before asking, “Can you recommend a good place to stay in this town?”

  Larkin doesn’t say anything. A glance at her shows she seems to be frozen in place, staring at the man. I give her a nudge in the ribs with my elbow, and she snaps out of it.

  Her hand comes up to play with her hair again as she says, “Um… we don’t have anything open right now. I mean, we used to have a bed-and-breakfast called Millie’s. It’s right over there. But Millie’s sons are a bunch of drunken losers, and they let it get run into the ground with termite infestations. But someone bought it. And then sold it to my sister-in-law. Her name’s Mely. And her husband… that’s my brother Lowe… made all the repairs. And they just moved in furniture. But it’s not going to be open for a few weeks yet. And I’m rambling.”

  The man grins at Larkin, showing straight white teeth. “I think your rambling is cute. What’s the closest town that will have lodging?”

  “That would be Milner,” Larkin says, her voice a little steadier. “Just keep straight on this road out of town and you’ll run into it.”

  The man studies Larkin for a moment before giving her a nod. “Much obliged. Maybe I’ll come back sometime and check out Millie’s once it opens.”

  Larkin blushes and ducks her head. Her words come out stammering again. “That would be okay… nice. I mean… cool, I guess.”

  The man chuckles and says, “Totally cute.”

  He starts the motorcycle back up, the rumble of it vibrating the sidewalk, and slowly rolls out of town. We watch him until he disappears. Even after he’s gone, I have to bump my hip against Larkin’s to get her attention.

  She turns to me and gives a low whistle. “He was totally hot.”

  “You were totally a babbling cutie pie,” I tease.

  Larkin laughs at herself. “I’ve never been the best around super good-looking men.”

  “Well, if he does come back to town, you better practice on your communication skills because that man had serious interest in you.”

  We start toward Central Café and walk up to the door. Larkin opens it and motions me in.

  The sound of several people chattering hits me, and I’m surprised to see it’s standing room only inside. Every table and stool at the counter is taken and all the spots in between are filled with standing people. It seems the entire town has turned out for this meeting.

  I see Billy Crump standing next to an
older man who has to be his father. Judge Bowe is sitting at the counter next to Pap with a plate of biscuits and gravy in front of him. There’s Floyd, Jason, and Della. Mary Margaret Quinn, who owns the antique shop, smiles at me. I see Sissy Givens, who owns Lady Marmalade’s sitting next to her. In the corner sitting at one of the larger tables is the Mancinkus clan. Jerry and Catherine as well as Laken, Lowe, Mely, and Jake. Trixie and Ry are sitting there as well, and Larkin walking in behind me completes the package. There’s only one person missing, which is Colt, but he wasn’t invited to this meeting.

  I survey the room. There are dozens of other people here who I don’t know. They were all invited through the grapevine.

  I walk through the crowd which starts quieting down as all eyes turn to me. I make my way over to Catherine and Jerry and they both stand to give me a hug.

  To stop the remaining chatter, Muriel stands on top of the counter and gives a shrill whistle. Everyone quiets and turns to her. “All right, everyone… You were invited here for a meeting by that woman over there, Darby McCulhane. Now some of you know her, but those who don’t, you need to know she’s sweet on Colt Mancinkus and he’s sweet on her.”

  All eyes turn toward me, and I flush with embarrassment. I was never very good at speaking in front of a lot of people, and Muriel just called me out as “being sweet on Colt”.

  Muriel continues. “She’s got something important to say, so everybody shut up and listen.”

  There’s a slight chittering of laughter before it goes quiet.

  I clear my throat and take in a breath. “Thank you, everyone, for coming out here this morning. If you don’t know already, I’m the operations manager at Farrington Farms. While I’m new to your community, I have been welcomed so graciously I feel like I’m an absolutely accepted member here.”