The Lady Stole My Heart (The Lady is Mine, #2)

by Aimee Nicole Walker

  Elijah’s schedule didn’t always allow him to attend my weekly brunches and other times he popped in for a quick bite and a lingering kiss before he returned to work. On the latter occasions, Adrian always came with him. I loved seeing the two men ribbing each other and watching their bond grow. Besides, it was lovely to have another fan of my spectacular French toast and crispy bacon extravaganza.

  Instead of praising my cooking skills as I was accustomed to, Elijah, Adrian, Lyric, and Memphis were gathered around Memphis’s laptop to watch surveillance video from the woods around our house overnight. They were able to watch whatever the trail camera recorded overnight and also watch real-time videos. Even Andy and Milo were caught up in the sting operation.

  “The chickens look well cared for,” Adrian said while staring at the screen. “Someone is providing them with food and water on a regular basis, so we’re going to find our snatcher soon. I feel it in my gut.”

  “That’s the pound of bacon you wolfed down, partner,” Elijah said, slapping him lightly on the back.

  Adrian glanced up at me suddenly. “I’ve let this chicken snatcher sting take over my brain and have completely forgotten my manners. Pardon me, Maegan. Thank you so much for a delicious breakfast.”

  “You’re very welcome.” I looked at Elijah with a raised brow. “Is the chicken snatcher sting the reason why you forgot to thank me for brunch?”

  “I’m sorry, Freckles. I admit I’m excited about making a bust. Can you forgive me?” Elijah’s tone said he was pleading for forgiveness, but his smile and twinkling eyes said he wanted me to punish him—long and torturously slow.

  “Maybe,” I replied noncommittally. Elijah’s dark eyes narrowed, assessing to see if he was really in trouble or not. Our arguments were few and far between, but they weren’t nonexistent.

  “Well, whoever is taking care of the chickens hasn’t returned yet this morning,” Lyric said. “So far, we’ve only seen a curious buck and adorable bunnies and squirrels checking out the enclosure.”

  Memphis shut the laptop and pushed it aside so he could return to his breakfast. “This fancy software Lyric’s friend designed allowed me to set up a perimeter around the coop. I will get a notification anytime something steps inside the zone. We’ll catch whoever this is very soon.”

  “Sally Ann said everything is quiet on the home front, so our snatchers haven’t taken the bait.”

  “They may not if they’re familiar with the residents. You are a police detective and acting captain with Gabe gone, so maybe they know better than to mess with you.”

  “If we haven’t nabbed them soon, I want to take the birds back to their rightful owners. I don’t want to take a chance the snatchers saw or heard us in the woods last night and will neglect the chickens to avoid capture,” Adrian said.

  “I agree,” everyone around the large table said.

  “Let’s hope we wrap this up today so we can strut around like Foghorn Leghorn,” Elijah said.

  “Very funny,” Adrian said. “Kiss your girl so we can get back to the station.”

  “With pleasure,” Elijah said. He reached for my hand and pulled me down the hallway toward the library in the back of the first floor. “I wish I had time to show you just how much I appreciated brunch,” he said once we were behind the closed door. “I love you, Freckles.” He pressed a lingering kiss against my lips, making me sigh with need and want when we broke apart.

  “I love you too. I’m looking forward to you nabbing the chicken snatcher today and kicking ass on the ball diamond tonight.”

  “I do have a game tonight, don’t I? I can’t believe I forgot.”

  “Me too. You never forget.”

  “I guess there’s a lot on my mind.”

  I reached up and ran my fingers over the furrowed V of his brow. I knew he was worried about his dad and had called home every day since we returned from our visit. “Anything I can do to help?”

  “You’re already doing it. I’d be a fucking mess right now if not for you.”

  “Elijah, I haven’t done anything special.”

  He opened his mouth to respond, but a firm knock sounded at the door. “Elijah, Memphis just got an alert on his computer.”

  Elijah dropped a quick kiss on my forehead. “I’ll give you an update as soon as I can.” He opened the library door and revealed a frazzled Adrian standing there. “Are they in the woods right now?”

  “The alert is for my house. Sally Ann took the kids for their routine checkup which means they were watching our house. The alarm we rigged to the coop scared them off before they could nab Elvis, Patsy, Aretha, and Gaga.”

  “Let’s get going, partner,” Elijah said as seriously as if Adrian had said someone had tried to abduct his kids. His family was clearly attached to the rooster and chickens.

  “Thanks again, Maegan,” Adrian yelled over his shoulder as they disappeared down the hallway.

  Everyone else left soon after so we could all get on with our day. My hair schedule might’ve gotten out of whack, but I still had my standing bi-monthly appointment for a manicure and pedicure. My mom often joined me, but she had made plans with friends to have lunch and see a rom-com movie my dad didn’t want to see, so I settled into the pedicure chair with the next book for our book club. I’d have plenty of time to catch up with Dee during the manicure. I quickly got lost in the world of Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians. The film was scheduled to release soon, so I thought it would be fun if we read the book as part of our book club then went to see the movie in the theater to compare differences. The girls all seemed to be on board after I texted them in a group chat while I made brunch, so I decided there was no better time to start the new book than on my day off.

  I chose a dark, sparkly purple nail polish for my toes and a pale lavender color for my fingernails. Who said your toenails and fingernails had to match? I planned to head back home after Dee finished, but her sister, Josi, stopped by and said she had a cancellation and asked if I was willing to try a new facial peel she’d recently purchased. She assured me my bravery would get me a full facial as part of the deal.

  How the hell could I pass that up? Of course, I made Fun with Dick and Jane references which cracked Josi up while she went through her routine.

  “I assure you this isn’t a product testing session like the one in the movie. This peel has already gone through a rigorous testing process. I just need to get a feel for how it works on other skin types besides my own. It says it’s made for all skin types, but I always look at a product sideways when it says that. I’m oily as hell, so how could any product that works for me work on someone with dry skin, or even combination skin like yours.”

  “What’s the verdict?” I asked, looking up at her as she examined the texture and feel of my skin once she finished.

  “I admit I’m very impressed. How does it feel to you?”

  “Tingly, but in an invigorating way and not a scary, my-face-is-about-to-swell way.” I raised my hand and touched my skin. “My face has never felt this smooth before, Josi. I’m so glad I agreed to be your guinea pig.”

  “The product information recommends you keep your face free of makeup for twenty-four hours. I probably should’ve stated that part up front.”

  “Not a problem,” I replied. “I don’t always wear it, and no events are occurring in the next day which require me to go full-on glam. Do you plan on selling this facial peel at the salon, or can we only get it by booking an appointment?”

  “That’s for Josh to decide, and I’ll discuss it with him when he gets back. This product recommends monthly use only. There’s a risk someone would buy it from our salon, damage their skin after not following directions, and sue us. For that reason alone, I don’t see Josh selling it like we do other products. I’d think he’d want this service monitored to make sure we’re doing it to the manufacturer’s specifications.”

  “Makes sense, and I will gladly shell out the money to have a face that feels like this,” I said the
n hugged her goodbye.

  I left Curl Up and Dye feeling like a brand-new person with fresh nails and a vibrant, glowing face. I’d hoped to hear Elijah and Adrian had nabbed the chicken snatchers, but I didn’t hear a peep from him as the late morning turned into mid-afternoon. I made a light lunch and took it out on the covered back porch to enjoy while doing more reading. I didn’t worry about Lulu running off as long as there was a single piece of grilled chicken left on my salad.

  My cell phone rang midway through lunch, and I debated whether I wanted to answer it when I saw unknown caller displayed on the screen. It reminded me of how Elijah ignored the calls on his phone then later worried he could’ve missed out on reconnecting with his dad.

  “Hello,” I said into the phone.

  “Hello,” a rich, baritone voice said. “Is this Maegan Miracle?”

  “Yes, it is. May I ask who’s calling?”

  “My name is Theodore Rutledge,” he replied, “although, I doubt my name rings any bells for you. Would it help if I said Edwina Bliss was my great-great-great-grandmother and the oldest child of Anthony and Melanie Bliss?”

  I gasped. “Oh my goodness! Are you for real?”

  He chuckled warmly. “As real as it gets. Our family attorney was contacted by the network that airs The Paranormal Whisperer and let us know about the investigation into Anthony’s disappearance. The network seems convinced the mystery has been solved. Is it true?”

  “We do believe so, yes.”

  “I spoke with Lyric Willows this morning, and I have to say he sounded very convincing. He was the one who provided your number. I’d hoped he would inform you I planned to call you, but I’m guessing it never happened.”

  “It must’ve slipped his mind.” I suspected I knew exactly what he was up to since Vinyl and Villains was closed on Wednesday.

  “Is now a good time to talk?”

  “Absolutely. You’ve caught me at a great time.”

  “I know I’m a virtual stranger to you, but I would appreciate the opportunity to see Bliss House. I’m willing to provide character references or submit to a background check if it makes you feel better.” His offer made me snort out a laugh. “Something funny?”

  “My boyfriend is a police detective and will have no trouble looking into your background. He’ll know your shoe size before you take one step inside this house.”

  “I think I’m going to like this guy. Why don’t you and I exchange email addresses so I can provide him with any detail he’d like to do a thorough background check on me?”

  “That sounds perfect.” I rattled off my email address for him.

  “Great, I’ll start off with my full name and current address. You’ll have my email address once I send this information to you. I’m looking forward to learning more about Anthony. Our family has been pretty tight-lipped about him over the generations.”

  “I don’t think they had much to go on,” I said. “I’m willing to bet Melanie took his secret to the grave. I sort of feel like we’re exposing him, and it feels like a betrayal.”

  “Mr. Willows told me how much you love the house and how connected you feel to Anthony’s ghost.” I could tell by his tone he had a hard time accepting that part. I suspected he’d come around once he visited. My thoughts immediately turned to how Anthony would receive his flesh and blood back in the home he loved so much. “I’ll send you an email in just a bit so we can put your detective’s mind at ease.”

  “Sounds great. I’m looking forward to it,” I said politely. As soon as the call disconnected, I leaped from my chair and did a happy dance. Lulu danced around and happily barked even though she had no idea why I was excited. Once I had it out of my system, I called Lyric.

  “Oh fuck,” he said instead of the usual greeting. “I forgot to give you a heads-up that Theodore Rutledge was going to call you.”

  “Technically, you forgot to ask my permission to provide my number in the first place, but I’m willing to let it slide this once.”

  “Fuck! I’m sorry, Mae. I won’t ever do something so stupid again. Elijah is going to kill me when he finds out.”

  “Maybe we won’t tell him you skipped that all-important step. Theodore seems like a standup guy, and to prove it, he’s emailing me his personal details so Elijah can run a background check on him before he steps foot on our property.”

  “Whew, I feel so much better. I’m so excited one of Anthony’s heirs is interested in taking part in the process. He sounded—” Lyric’s voice cut off suddenly, and I heard Memphis speaking rapidly in the background. “I gotta go, Mae. The cameras caught our chicken snatcher in the woods. I need to call Elijah.”

  I don’t know what the hell possessed me to do it, but I retrieved one of Elijah’s ball bats from his equipment bag, locked Lulu safely in the house, and set off through the woods.

  “UM, ELIJAH,” MEMPHIS SAID WEAKLY into the phone. “I think we have a problem.”

  I had Memphis on speakerphone so he could give us live updates as we sped across town. It shouldn’t have been a big deal, but we had to give way to the fire trucks as they went on a run, stop for a funeral procession which was longer than any I’d ever seen before, and a water main break on Main Street had closed down the primary intersections to get around Blissville. We had to take side streets and even two alleys as part of the detour which slowed us way down. Adrian couldn’t tear through there and risk running over somebody on the way to my house, so he had to settle for blaring sirens and inventive swear words for people who didn’t move out of his way fast enough to suit him.

  “Oh no! Is he hurting them?” Adrian asked, his voice laced with panic. He stomped on the accelerator just as he cleared the two houses at the end of the alley and made a sharp left turn which nearly sent us careening into the path of an oncoming car.

  “Slow down, Adrian!” I wanted to solve the case too, but damn.

  “Uh…” Memphis hesitated. “Nobody is hurting the chickens. I’m more concerned about the new arrival on the scene who has our chicken snatchers cornered against the coop.”

  “Who?” Adrian and I asked at the same time.

  Then we heard Lyric say, “I should’ve been a bit more discreet when I talked to her on the phone just now.”

  Her? “My Freckles has the bad guy cornered?” I looked over at Adrian. “Go faster.” It usually took a person less than five minutes to get across town but not when I needed it most.

  “Bad guys,” Lyric corrected.

  “More like juvenile delinquents,” Memphis said. “Now that she’s forced them to lower their hoods, I can see their faces more clearly. I don’t recognize the teenagers, so they must not come into my store.”

  “They are definitely miscreants then.”

  “That’s so sweet. Thank you, Ric.”

  “You’re welcome, Firecracker,” Lyric returned huskily.

  “Can we focus here?” I asked impatiently. “How many are we talking about?” Their age didn’t matter if she was grossly outnumbered. “How is she getting them to submit?”

  “Sorry, E,” Memphis said quickly. “There are two boys and one girl. Maegan brought a wicked-looking ball bat for protection.”

  I’d seen my girl swing a bat during co-ed softball games and knew she could handle herself if they got too rowdy.

  “None of them are exchanging calculating looks like idiotic villains typically do,” Memphis added. “They look contrite.”

  “I’d even say they look embarrassed,” Lyric said.

  Adrian made a sharp right into our driveway and sped up to the house. I didn’t wait for him to turn off the car and join me. I ran through the yard and the woods.

  “Don’t be mad,” Maegan said when I came crashing into the clearing. “I saw the water main break earlier when I left the salon and knew it would delay you getting here.”

  “We’ll talk about this later, Freckles.” Then I turned to the teenagers who appeared to range in age between thirteen and seventeen. “I’ll have to take
the three of you into the station so I can call your parents. I’m sure they’ll want to be present when I question you or provide an attorney.”

  “Elijah,” Maegan began calmly, “I think this has all been a big misunderstanding, and a misguided attempt on these kids’ parts to save chickens from what they thought was animal abuse.”

  “You interrogated the suspects?” I asked in disbelief.

  “I’m not a cop, Elijah. I’m allowed to ask questions without Mirandizing them and such.”

  “A judge isn’t going to appreciate you questioning them while brandishing a bat.”

  “Do you mean the bat I dropped on the ground as soon as I realized I was dealing with kids?” She pointed to the bat which was a good fifteen feet away from where she stood. The kids could’ve easily fled the scene if they wanted to but chose to stay. Of course, Maegan’s sharp tongue was probably enough to frighten them into staying put. “We’re only having a conversation, and I think you should hear them out before you haul anyone into the station. Besides, I know every single one of the little troublemakers’ names and who they belong to, so we can easily call their folks right now.”

  “Maegan, they stole property that didn’t belong to them. Their actions can’t go unpunished.”

  “That’s right,” Adrian said, finally catching up to me. Later, I would rib him about needing to work out more to keep up with me, but not in front of the chicken snatchers.

  Maegan’s green eyes beseeched me to talk to the kids, so I faced them with my arms crossed over my chest and a serious scowl on my face. “I’m willing to hear you out, but the chickens’ owners will have a final say on whether or not juvenile charges are filed against you. One of you better start talking.”

  “We didn’t mean to cause trouble, sir,” the girl said softly. Her light brown hair was pulled into a ponytail high upon her head and adorable freckles covered her earnest face. I imagined Maegan looked a lot like the girl at that age. “We thought we were rescuing the chickens.”

  “How so?” Adrian asked.

  “Holly Gundersen said the chickens were being raised as fighting chickens,” she said in a rush.