“So, Colleen decided to forgive you?” Gavin asked.
“Surprisingly, yes. I’m not sure I would have been so kind.” Yvette laughed at herself.
“You heard Steve left town?” Dean piped up.
“He did?” everyone said in unison.
“Yup. He stopped by the lumber yard when I was working to let me know. Said he’d decided to move out of Heritage and travel the world, spending his money how he saw fit.”
“Good for him.” Amelia smiled.
“I’m glad he was able to get away. That poor man.” Abigail frowned.
“More good news,” Vanessa said, “I got a call from Joey while I was at work today, saying he’s coming back to work next week!”
Charlie Lockhart groaned.
“Give the kid a break.” Heath slapped his friend on the back.
“Not until someone explains why he took off right after Laura died. Sure made him look a little guilty, wouldn’t you say?” Charlie challenged.
“Leave that job to me.” Heath chuckled. “When I stopped by Joey’s repeatedly and he wasn’t there, I decided to give his landlord a call. He told me there was a leak in Joey’s apartment that needed to be taken care of, so he’d left to stay at the motel for a few days. Not sure why he didn’t tell anyone that, though.”
Yvette put her hand on her head. “He did tell someone. Well, sort of. He told me there was a leak and that it was being taken care of. That was before all of this even happened, but I guess it slipped my mind.”
“I think I know why he never came back to work,” Vanessa chimed in. “He told me he was afraid that he’d bring trouble to Sundae Afternoon since he knows he has a reputation around town and he didn’t want to cause anyone any harm. He feels really terrible about the choices he made.”
“That is good news. Everything is getting back to normal.” Yvette breathed a sigh of relief. Shooting Vanessa a grin, she continued, “I’m glad it’s all coming together, and Joey will be back at work. You’ll need him there since I called Emma and officially agreed to cover the Townsend shop for Henry’s vacation and told her that you were thrilled to take over my spot.”
Vanessa’s eyes widened, and the group burst into laughter.
Yvette’s heart swelled with all the love she felt from her friends and family. She really was lucky to be alive. She could understand how Joey was feeling because she had definitely made some poor choices of her own over the last week. Promising to never get involved in another murder, Yvette sat down and dug into some of the best-looking food she’d ever seen.
Triple Dipped Murder Page 7
