Younger turned and looked at Duke. “You were right. He’s out of his mind.”
“See?” Duke pointed at Titus. “You can’t do that, Titus. It won’t work. We need you here. You’re one of us. Why would you ever think differently?”
“Is he talking about leaving again?” Ellie came barreling through the door next. She glared at Titus as though he were nothing but a child that needed reprimanding. “He’s been mentioning that off and on for a week or two now. But that’s quitting, Titus. You’re not a quitter. And are you honestly going to let Hilary chase you out of town? That’s ridiculous!”
“I suppose all we’re missing is Ash,” Titus muttered. He tried to ignore the others, but they were talking loudly and in his favor. At least when Ash got there, he would be able to calm everyone else down. That was Ash’s thing.
Except that’s not what happened. Ash walked into the office and raised both hands to quell the rising tide of thoughts being flung back and forth across the room as they all came up with their version of a solution for Titus’s stalker newspaper reporter problem.
Everyone shut up when Ash glared at them but then he turned and glared at Titus. “Are you talking about leaving?”
“It seems like the best option,” Titus said calmly. He could be calm. At least he was being honest with them. It wasn’t like he was stealing away in the night.
Then Ash threw Titus a curve from nowhere. “Mindy said you might try to suggest that. She said to remind you the information in those bogus files wasn’t really true and you need to be calm until you get more information.”
There was utter silence in the room. Titus could not help but feel another jolt of admiration for Mindy Forbes. The woman was sharp, that was for sure. She’d been the one to discover a couple of files on Caroline’s old computer that included a whole lot of investigative personal material on Titus that Hilary Allenwood had been gathering.
Duke pursed his lips. “We’re an investigative team, boss. If we can’t handle a little competition from the local newspaper, then what good are we?”
That wasn’t the point, but Duke didn’t get it. None of them really did. Titus had a sneaking suspicion Mindy knew he was a wolf shifter. But Mindy hadn’t told anyone. And none of them realized what the truth would mean. It was one of those things that changed you. The knowledge that magical creatures weren’t just in fairy tales sometimes made people act like idiots. Other times it made them angry and fearful. Titus wasn’t ready to see that from these people who he had worked so closely with for the last several years.
“No,” Titus told them firmly. “I’ll take care of this. It is my problem. Not yours. Best not to get yourselves involved in it.”
Ash stared at Titus for so long that Titus was almost worried Mindy had divulged his true nature. But she wouldn’t do that. Not Mindy. Not even if she wanted to.
“Got it boss,” Ash finally agreed. “But if you change your mind, every one of us will drop what we’re doing and come running. We all owe you. Not just our jobs, but a whole lot more than that, too. And whether you like it or not, we are your family.”
What a thought that was. But Titus wasn’t ready to decide if it was unwelcome or not.
Chapter Four
Being late to work wasn’t Kylie’s only problem that day. In fact, it seemed the universe was determined to make sure everything was a problem today. Kylie’s cheeks were burning from the smile she had to keep in place as she dealt with strange incident after strange incident. And this latest was a real doozy.
“I’m so sorry, ma’am,” Kylie told the woman with the white and pink blouse now covered in red wine. “Let me offer you your choice of tops from our gift shop and we will, of course, be happy to pay your dry cleaning bill to get the stain off your blouse.”
The employee who had been somewhat responsible for the incident, Frederick, was standing behind Kylie as though he actually thought the woman across the counter was about to throw a punch. He guy was in his twenties with a dreamy-eyed expression that went well with his desire to be a magician on any stage here in Branson. It was almost always the same with anyone you hired to do a regular job in this town—they all aspired to be some huge stage star, yet only a fraction of them ever got anywhere with it.
“You think that just giving me a free T-shirt will somehow make up for having wine sprayed in my face?” the woman snarled at Kylie.
Kylie sighed. This was the worst part about being the manager of the hospitality room. You had to deal with this sort of stuff. Even if she hadn’t been here or on duty, she would have still had to deal with the thing. At least this time she was getting to start on it without having to undo some other shift manager’s hasty decision, or lack of one.
“Ma’am, please understand that I’m in no way trying to suggest we’re not deeply sorry for any trauma or discomfort this might have caused you,” Kylie began.
People were gathering. Dammit. The other employees behind the counter were trying their best to distract people, but the general public really liked a scene.
Kylie continued because there was nothing else left to do. “And your selection of a top to wear while we get your blouse dry cleaned is not limited to T-shirts. There are some very nice polo and dress shirts in our gift shop that you are more than welcome to peruse.”
“Per-what?” The woman glared even hotter.
Kylie was at a loss. “Peruse? Look over, examine, choose from?”
“Oh! So now you’re uppity? Is that it? You and all of these other winos out here trying to pretend this stuff doesn’t all taste like crap!” the woman bellowed.
Kylie bit her lip. Damn. They were now officially in the escalation phase. It would have been really nice if Kylie could have called a manager. But she was the last line of defense here.
“Ma’am,” Kylie said as she lifted the counter and stepped through the narrow walkthrough to the customer side of the counter. “Let’s go to my office and we can talk about how to make this better for you.”
“Go to your office?” the woman crowed. Then she looked around at her audience. “Hear that, folks? She doesn’t want me making a scene!”
Kylie’s lack of sleep was beginning to show. She felt her temper rising and that never happened. “Ma’am. Would you prefer I stop time, back it up, and make sure this incident never happened?”
The woman went silent. Her mouth opened and closed and she looked as though she might actually think this was possible. “You can’t do that!”
“I’m aware,” Kylie said. She looped the woman’s arm through hers and steered her out of the hospitality room toward the gift shop. “That was rather my point. I cannot make this go away. But I can make it better to the best of my ability.”
The irate customer’s face contorted. “Oh, by making me wear a shirt that has your winery logo on it like I’m advertising for you?”
“We have plenty of Branson, Missouri souvenir tops that have nothing to do with our winery,” Kylie assured the woman. “What’s your name, ma’am? I believe we even have a machine that can screen print your name on your top.”
“Really?” The lady was suddenly curious. “My name is Mildred.”
Of course it was. Kylie steered her away from the winery, the round room where people gathered for tours, and straight into the retail shop filled with just about everything a Branson visitor might want to shop for.
“Here you go, Ms. Mildred.” Kylie removed her arm from that of her guest and motioned for the gift shop manager to come quickly. “This is Jackie. She’s going to help you find the perfect shirt to wear while your blouse is cleaned.”
“You can send it out right now?” Mildred asked suspiciously. “If I bring you a bill tomorrow, I bet you’ll say you won’t pay it.”
“I’ll take it across the street to the cleaners myself,” Kylie said wearily, giving Jackie a significant glance as she did.
“Well, then.” Mildred looked thoughtful. “And a case of that wine?”
“You said that you didn’t
like wine,” Kylie said flatly. “I would be happy to give you a bottle on the house, if you like.”
“Not a case?”
“Surely, you didn’t like enough for a case.” Kylie didn’t want to say no. Not directly. She felt like that was waving a red flag in front of a bull.
Mildred looked as though she weren’t sure. “I suppose you might be right. But with a case I can give them out this Christmas as gifts! That would save me lots of money.”
No way. Kylie was going to kill Frederick when she got back. The kid had been told three times this week that he needed to pop the cork on new bottles away from the customers. That way they weren’t spraying the customers with the wine if something untoward occurred. But no. Frederick was too busy making up magic tricks to worry about it.
“Let’s get your blouse to the cleaners,” Kylie told Mildred. “I wouldn’t want that stain to soak in any more than it already has.”
With those final words, Kylie turned around and marched back to the hospitality room. She would kill Frederick and then go back to her office and finish filling out her inventory paperwork and requests so they didn’t accidentally run out of wine samples over the weekend. It was going to be a busy weekend as it was close to the start of school. People coming out to the Branson shopping venues in order to do their back to school clothes shopping and who knew what else would need a bit of wine to help them get through it all. She didn’t have time for this crap. None of it.
“Well, well,” a snide and unfortunately familiar voice said from the entrance to the hospitality room. “It looks like you’re having quite the dramatic day. Aren’t you now? I will admit, the pictures I got of the wine spraying all over that lady will look great on the front page of the paper tomorrow morning.”
Hilary Allenwood. As if the day hadn’t been trying enough already, which was bad since it was only two in the afternoon, now Kylie had to deal with Hilary. The red-headed, pale and freckled-faced Hilary was thin as a rail and mean as a badger. Kylie usually just smiled and said no comment. Today, she was feeling a little beyond that nicety.
“Do you honestly not have better things to report on, Hilary?” Kylie did even bother to cover her irritability. It wasn’t like Hilary would appreciate an attempt at friendliness. “I would think your readers get a little sick and tired of you making this town look as though it was full of nothing but bumbling morons.”
“Bumbling morons!” Hilary said with glee. She scribbled it down on her little notepad. “I’ll remember that quote for my story. I’m sure the entire town will enjoy hearing how the premier winery is just so gracious and accommodating to its customers.”
“Go ahead.” Kylie glared at the vixen who was like a really snide little fox trying to stir up trouble and steal things that weren’t hers just to make a mess. “You say what you like. Nobody believes your crap anymore anyway. I’ve half a mind to start a rival newspaper called the Branson Tattler. That way we can track all of your movements across town and all of your failed relationships with people like that Sergeant Caprico guy who just got sent to state prison to await his trial. Has the State prosecutor talked to you about that yet, Hilary? Because I think we both know he will.”
Not all of that was pretty common knowledge as far as Kylie was concerned. It was information available in those files Mrs. Wankenfurter had been collecting on all of her suspects. But the expression on Hilary’s face did not suggest she thought it was supposed to be common knowledge.
“You!” Hilary gasped. “Who told you that?”
“Who told me what? It was in the paper. Just not your paper.” Kylie frowned and pointed to the door. “We don’t require any press services today, Ms. Allenwood. But we do require our customers to enjoy privacy unmolested by a prying member of the press. So, if you could just exit the building before I have to call the police that’d be great. Thanks.”
Kylie actually tried to turn around in order to ignore Hilary any further. But all of a sudden, Hilary grabbed hold of Kylie’s arm and tried to spin her around. Kylie was no wimp though and Hilary was a twig. That meant Hilary tugged hard and Kylie barely turned around, only far enough that her flailing hand caught Hilary right in the midsection.
Hilary went cartwheeling backwards as though Kylie had just launched her across the room. Hilary stumbled, went down, and careened into a set of chairs made from old wine casks. The chairs were solid oak, which meant they didn’t give. Hilary toppled over backwards into one and then flipped over the armrest and landed on the floor behind the little half barrel table between the chairs.
It was the most exaggerated, ridiculous-looking accidental fall that Kylie had ever witnessed. She felt her mouth popping open as she watched Hilary’s legs flail in the air as she struggled to get right side up.
Kylie became aware of other people. Customers pointing and looking confused. Whispers of she barely touched her went flying around the round room. Of course, a tour was gathering to begin in just a few minutes and that just made things more crowded and provided a bigger audience. It was almost as though someone had planned it that way.
Hilary! Kylie pressed her lips into a tight line and marched over to where Hilary was making a huge show of being unable to get to her feet. “Hilary Allenwood, that is the most ridiculous playacting show I’ve seen in quite some time. Get. Up!”
“You’ve broken my leg!” Hilary moaned.
Kylie grabbed her hand and yanked her up. As soon as Hilary’s foot touched the ground she put her weight on it. Then she seemed to think better of it and shrieked in pain with such volume that Kylie thought her eardrums must surely be shattered.
“Don’t be silly,” Kylie snapped. “You were standing on it just a minute ago.”
“Ambulance!” Hilary wailed. “Someone call 911, I’ve been assaulted!”
Kylie frowned and shook her head. “On what planet? I didn’t do anything of the sort. You grabbed me! I was only walking away. What on earth are you trying to pull?”
And then it all became rather obvious. Hilary was indeed trying to pull something. But why? What purpose could she have for coming into the winery and pretending to break her ankle or her leg or whatever.
“Ambulance!” Hilary moaned. “Someone quick! Dial the EMS. I need emergency medical attention!”
“Don’t worry, lady!” Some helpful tourist raised their cell phone into the air. “I called the paramedics. They’ll be here in a minute.”
Kylie felt her stomach knot with fear. What was happening right now? She was going to lose her freaking job over this! But why had Kylie and the winery become a target for Hilary Allenwood? That didn’t make any sense. It was a freaking winery. There was nothing sensational about it!
“Kylie?” Joe Turner, the manager and one of the family members of the actual owners, came striding out of the main office. “Kylie what happened?”
“Kylie attacked me!” Hilary moaned. She was actually hanging off of Kylie’s arm since Kylie had been the one to help her up and around the stupid chairs and table that she’d made such a dramatic scene with. “Kylie tried to kill me, Mr. Turner! I cannot believe you have such a foul-tempered woman working for you!”
“Kylie?” Joe was incredulous. “Ms. Allenwood, Kylie is not foul-tempered. What on earth happened?”
Kylie gave a short description of the incident to Joe, but the paramedics came bursting into the room a minute later and made a hoopla of getting Hilary onto a gurney and off her foot, which they weren’t sure was broken just because Hilary said it was; they couldn’t feel anything wrong. It was absolutely ridiculous.
“Kylie,” Joe Turner whispered. “You need to just leave. Right now. I’ll handle this. Just exit quietly and take the rest of the day off.”
“But, Joe—”
“I’ll take care of the weekend inventories,” Joe assured her.
Kylie made a face. Joe did a terrible job with those. He always underestimated what they’d need because he was afraid of waste and that meant the entire weekend would be
a hell show with not enough samples to go around. People liked the free wine. That’s why they came to the winery in the first place!
“But, Joe,” Kylie began in a reasonable tone of voice. “I’ll just stay in my office. I promise. I’ll do the inventories and then leave. Please?”
He looked torn. He was a middle-aged man with a very nondescript sort of face and brown hair and eyes and a medium build and everything else you would just sort of find forgettable in a man. Finally, he shrugged. “Fine. But stay in your office. I’ll come talk to you as soon as we get her out of here.”
“Got it.” Kylie turned on her heel and walked away. She left the scene and the entire preposterous dramatic bullshit behind her. Maybe she could get some things done and get out of here and then she could decide what in the hell was going on. Was it a full moon or something? It was like everyone had gone crazy.
Chapter Five
Six o’clock in the morning, barely, but Titus was still standing in his kitchen window listening to the low hum of the paper van turning off of Pine. It was close. Not long now and he would have the latest edition of the Branson Register in his hands. It had rained last night. The humidity outside was so intense the windows were actually fogging over on the outside. It made keeping an eye on the front gate worse than difficult. Nearly impossible. Titus wanted to know when that paper hit the front walk. He wanted to read what nonsense Hilary had drummed up about the community of Branson and the surrounding areas.
A dark ponytail bobbed into view. It was Kylie out for her morning run no doubt. She came up and around the corner onto Hawthorne Street and then abruptly stopped. She began to stretch. Her running shorts rode up her shapely legs and her snug camisole tank top hugged her torso and kept her breasts anchored down. It was a rather flattering outfit. Before Titus knew it, he was reaching for the door handle and heading outside. He couldn’t see the front walk anyway. Not with all of the condensation on the outside of the window. That was his reason for exiting the house before the paper van drove all the way up. That was it.
Rock Wolf Investigations: Boxset Page 98
