Alex (BIG Northwest Book 2)

by Janice M. Whiteaker

  “It was awful.” She shifted her head around a little, moving it until her cheek rested against his left pec. “We didn’t have running water or electricity. We were hungry all the time.”

  Edward cradled the side of her head as he leaned his cheek to rest against her forehead. There wasn’t anything he could say. No words that would fix what happened to her. So he stayed silent, holding her close in the quiet.

  “My mom believed everything he said. She thought he was perfect. Did whatever he wanted.” Alex’s head tipped down. “She tried to be good to us, but at the end of the day he was more important to her.”

  “When did she die?”

  “Having James.” Alex reached out to play with one of the buttons on his shirt. “We went from at least having her a little, to only having each other.”

  “You think James will ever come to Shadow Pine?” He’d heard very little about Alex’s youngest sister. Just that she lived in Vegas.

  “We don’t know where James is right now.” Alex’s voice was quiet. “She’s missing.”

  “Holy hell.” Edward pulled her closer. “I’m sorry, Al.”

  She shrugged. “It’s not your fault.”

  “It doesn’t have anything to do with it being my fault.” He tipped his head so he could see her face. “I’m sorry you have so much to deal with right now.”

  Her eyes met his. “Thank you.” She chewed her lip. “I’m sorry your dad wasn’t really an accountant.”

  Edward laughed. “It seems pretty fucking trivial right now compared to what you’ve got going on.”

  Alex lifted one shoulder and let it drop. “It’s not a competition.”

  “Thank God, because I’m pretty sure you would beat the hell out of me if it was.” Edward relaxed back against the sofa, breathing deep for a few minutes, enjoying the quiet and the feel of Alex against him.

  Then he remembered something.

  “What in the hell are your sisters doing in the woods at night?”

  Alex didn’t respond.

  He peeked down at her. “Al?”

  Her eyes were closed, lashes fanned out across cheeks relaxed with sleep.

  Edward shook his head. “Figures.”

  ****

  “THIS IS A lot of boxes.” Alex watched as Sam and Gail and Jeffrey worked folding the newly-delivered bakery boxes and lining them along one long counter. “Did we order too many?”

  “I think you may need to order more soon.” Gail smiled Sam’s way. “We’re selling as fast as we’re making.” Gail winked at Jeffrey. “Maybe not now that we’ve got another set of hands in the kitchen.”

  “Do we need to order more?” Alex turned to Edward.

  “Got it.” He added the order to their running list. “I checked in with Charlie this morning and she said we should probably consider ordering more shirts and mugs.”

  “Already? What happens when the website goes live?” Alex looked around the kitchen, clearly feeling the weight of all they were trying to accomplish.

  “One step at a time, Al.” Edward wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her along. “Let’s get out of their way.”

  “I’ll bring you down lunch.” Jeffrey waved with one hand as the other stacked a folded box into place. “What do you want to eat?”

  “Whatever.”

  Jeffrey lifted a brow. “I wasn’t talking to you.” He gave Alex a grin. “I was talking to the lovely Alex.”

  Alex gave Jeffrey a little smile. “Soup?”

  “Which one? We have Gail’s potato and my chili.”

  “I feel like this is a setup.” Alex’s smile widened just a little before she smothered it by pressing her lips together.

  “There’s only one right answer on that one, honey.” Gail turned to them. “Pick the chili or he’ll cry about it all morning.”

  Jeffrey went back to folding boxes. “She’s not wrong.”

  Jeffrey and Gail were fast friends. Comfortable with each other from the first word.

  “Chili is good.” Alex tucked closer to Edward’s side. “Thank you.”

  Jeffrey paused, his eyes going soft as they came to Alex. “I want to be sure you’re taking care of yourself.” He wagged a finger at her. “You work too hard.” Jeffrey’s finger went Sam’s way. “All you girls do.” He pointed at Gail. “Except that one. She’s a lazy bum.”

  Gail’s head fell back as her laughter filled the bakery.

  Sam gave him a little smile before turning to pull a sheet of pancake balls from the ovens along the wall.

  Edward took Alex’s hand as they walked past the line of people waiting for the bakery to open. Each morning it was longer than the day before. It wouldn’t be long until it stretched down the block. He stopped outside Charlie’s shop, pulling open the door. Kenneth was inside, looking from Charlie to Spirit. The women were discussing the display options for the delivery of Spirit’s moonshine. Charlie had her arms crossed over her chest. “I want it to be a big display, though.”

  “You only have to put out a few of what you have. The rest can go back in the storage room.” Spirit shifted the jars down, reducing the footprint to a single shelf. “Then you have more room to add in other stuff.”

  “But we have all the other stuff over there.” Charlie pointed to where the official Shadow Pine gear was displayed at the front of the store.

  “Aren’t you going to look for more things to sell?”

  “Eventually.” Charlie pointed to the newly-reorganized books. “But right now I have books and beer and shirts and moonshine.”

  “And bait.” Kenneth leaned against the counter behind him, eyeing the cat stretched across the surface, flicking his tail.

  “How are you in here right now?”Edward looked from his dad to where Dashwood rested. “Shouldn’t you be miserable?”

  His dad turned to focus on where Spirit and Charlie were still working on the moonshine display.

  “Holy shit.” Edward pointed at his dad. “You’re not allergic to cats.

  Kenneth lifted his brows in a stern expression. “You know your dad would have had ten cats if I’d let him.” Kenneth pointed his way. “And if you tell him I’ll show Alex pictures of you from junior high.”

  Alex leaned back to peek up at him. “Tall, Dark, and Handsome went through an ugly stage?”

  Kenneth gave her an exaggerated nod. “Let’s just say his nose grew faster than the rest of him.”

  Alex’s eyes were as wide as her smile. “I might tell Jeffrey and blame it on you just for fun.”

  “She’s vicious.” Kenneth grinned. “Good girl.”

  Edward turned to the real reason they were in Charlie’s shop. He scanned the sparse selection of items lining the front of the space.

  There was only one deep green hoodie on the rack and a handful of t-shirts. “Did you restock yet?”

  “Yes.” Charlie’s nose crinkled on one side. “I was going to tell you last night but Gail said I had to leave you alone. “I sold a bunch of stuff yesterday.”

  “Holy shit, Charlie.” Alex went through the racks. “Are we out of long-sleeve shirts?”

  Charlie scrunched her face up as she nodded. “Yes.”

  “Crap.” Alex turned to face Edward. “What are we gonna do?”

  “It takes a while to figure out how to balance your inventory.” Edward rested his hands on her shoulders as he turned to Charlie. “I’m going to send you the link to a spreadsheet in a few minutes. I need you to fill it in every day so we can start to know what we need to order.”

  “Okay.” Charlie looked to Kenneth. “We can do that.”

  Edward pointed at his dad. “Do you even know how to fill in a spreadsheet?”

  “Yes. I know how to use a spreadsheet.” Kenneth winked at Alex. “And if I have any problems I know who to ask.”

  “I’ll help you if you need it.” Alex walked forward as Edward eased her toward the door leading out of the shop. “Don’t bother Alex. Call me if you have problems.”

  �
��We have to place another order.” Alex tapped the pad in his hand. “Put that at the top of our list.”

  He grinned at her. “Look at you. One-step-at-a-timeing all by yourself.”

  She snatched the paper from his hands. “Shut up.” Alex added to the list. “Then we—”

  “So close.” He took the paper back as they reached the door to her office. “You almost had it.”

  “But there’s—”

  “There’s only one step we need to worry about right this minute.” He opened the door, guiding her in with his hand on her back. “Then we pick another one to worry about.”

  “Fine.” Alex went straight to her desk and pulled up the online order form for the company they used for their custom-printed clothing. “Let’s get this one done then.”

  It took less than fifteen minutes to get the order in. They added plenty of hoodies and long-sleeved shirts since it seemed like those were popular. Once that was done Alex surveyed their list. “What now?”

  Edward scanned the items. “What’s going on with the polar bear?” The two words were near the bottom of the page in Alex’s writing.

  “It’s a repair job Danny’s working on for a museum.” Alex was still going down the list, her finger following the path. “Trash cans. We need trash cans.”

  More people eating meant more trash, and right now there were no public cans where their visitors could easily dispose of their empty lunch boxes and breakfast papers. “I think we might want to look into bathroom options too.”

  Alex took a slow breath.

  He waited for her to press her temples the way she did when she was overwhelmed.

  “I don’t really want a bunch of port-o-potties sitting around town.”

  “I don’t see your visitor demographic enjoying port-o-potties.”

  She shook her head, eyes moving around the office. “What about those trailers you see at fairs and things? They’re pretty nice.”

  “Perfect.” Edward typed into the search bar on his laptop. “Looks like there’s a place that rents those in Olympia.” He copied their email address and pasted it into a new window. “I’ll see when we can get one delivered.”

  Alex watched him as he drafted up the message.

  “You’re watching me awful close, Al.” Edward sent the email. “Something wrong?”

  “No.” She sounded aggravated.

  Edward turned her way. “Sounds like something’s wrong.”

  Alex rolled her eyes at him like she did when she was trying not to make a big deal of something that was definitely a big deal.

  “I’m just shocked at how well we work together.”

  TWENTY-ONE

  “KENNETH IS A party pooper.” Charlie slouched down on Danny’s sofa.

  “How are we supposed to make sure nothing’s happening with him here?” Frankie sat on the floor, her legs stretched out in front of her, ankles crossed. “Did Edward ever find out what the heck he did for the government?”

  “No.” Alex walked from the kitchen to the great room where her sisters were camped out pretending to watch a movie. “And I’m willing to bet he never will.”

  Frankie scoffed. “Seriously?”

  Alex lifted a brow at her sister as she sat on the couch. “You’re upset someone is keeping a secret?”

  “Fine.” Frankie’s head fell back. “I might have let one of the loggers service me last week.”

  “Yeah. Not talking about that particular secret.” Alex dug into the popcorn Gail sent for their supposed movie night. “And it’s not a secret if everyone knows.”

  “Everyone doesn’t know.” Frankie looked around at her sisters. “How the fuck does everyone know?”

  “How can everyone not know?” Charlie reached across the couch to grab a handful of the sweet and salty corn. “We can practically hear his footsteps as he leaves.”

  Frankie smirked. “That’s definitely not true or you would hear—”

  Alex held her hand up. “I don’t want to think about the noises you make right now.”

  Frankie’s brows shot up. “I wasn’t talking about me.”

  “That’s worse.” Alex shoved the bowl Charlie’s way. “Here.”

  Charlie took it and dug in, her eyes on Frankie. “I would like to hear more about this.”

  “No. No more talking about Frankie’s sexcapades.” Alex scooted to sit on the edge of the cushion. “How are we going to keep an eye on everything with Kenneth running around like a tiny town vigilante?”

  “He’s going to get himself hurt.” Danny was curled up on the love seat next to Sam. “We need to keep him out of this for his own good.”

  “What if we block them in their camper like Alex did to Edward?” Sam’s lips almost twisted into a smile.

  Alex eyed her oldest sister. “I can’t tell if you’re kidding.”

  “It’s probably fifty-fifty.” Sam leaned to snag a cracker and a slice of cheese from the board on the coffee table. “It would probably only work once though.”

  “What if we get his gun?” Danny sat up a little straighter. “That might work.”

  “I would bet money he has more than one in that camper.” Sam huffed out a breath. “What if we just tell him?”

  Every set of eyes went to Sam.

  “Now I know you’re kidding.” Alex would have expected Charlie to suggest something like that, definitely not Sam though.

  “I’m not.” Sam curled her legs under her body. “What options do we have? We know they’ve been out there. Alex has caught them twice. How many times have we missed seeing them?” She shrugged. “We have to be able to get out there and not worry about being shot.”

  “So you’re suggesting we tell Kenneth what, exactly?” Alex’s stomach twisted at the thought. In just a few days she’d accidentally developed a fondness for Edward’s dad. Telling him she and her sisters were more than simply the Backwoods Beauties would definitely end with Kenneth thinking she was crazy. “No. No way.”

  “Do you have a better idea?” Sam waved one arm around the room. “Because I’m not hearing any.”

  Alex leaned forward. “Listen. I know you’re scared.”

  “I’m not scared.” Sam’s tone was low and icy. “I’m angry.” She shook her head. “I want to find him and make him pay for what he did to us.”

  “We all do, but we have to make sure we don’t put ourselves in a position that will make everything even worse.” She had always been the voice of reason. The one to corral her sisters when they started to get out of hand. “I think we need to be very careful how we handle this.”

  “Do we even really need to worry about it?” Charlie lifted one shoulder. “I mean, we have Kenneth, and Tate, and JD here in town now.”

  “And Lance is here a lot.” Danny focused on Alex. “Maybe we’re worrying for nothing.”

  “So you think he’s just prowling around out there to see what we’re doing?” Sam shook her head. “He’s up to something and that man has never been up to anything good.”

  The room fell silent. It was a weight none of them had been able to escape since discovering their father was nowhere near as dead as they all thought.

  Unfortunately.

  Charlie suddenly sat up straight. “I’ve been going to online school.” She turned to Alex. “I’ve been studying the effects of nocturnal animal migrating behaviors on erosion.”

  Frankie’s face scrunched up. “That sounds boring as hell.”

  “It’s super exciting. I’m taking it very seriously.” Charlie bounced a little in her seat as she pushed her glasses up her nose.

  Frankie’s brows lifted as she turned toward the television. “I don’t know why.”

  “I especially like the research that it requires.” Charlie’s smile was wide. “Specifically the night hikes.”

  Danny’s brows came together. “What?”

  Charlie’s hands clenched tight in her lap as she bounced a little more vigorously. “I’m lying.”

  Alex glanced at wh
ere Sam and Danny sat together on the love seat. Danny’s lips curved downward into a pondering line. “That might work.”

  “Kenneth will think we’re just out researching and won’t shoot us.” Charlie pressed her hands to her knees. “And we won’t have to tell him anything.” She collapsed back against the sofa cushions.

  Frankie looked Charlie over. “I’m glad your idea of wild is staying up late to read an entire book otherwise you would be a fucking handful.”

  Charlie wrinkled her nose at Frankie. “For your information, I drank a whole bottle of wine the other night.”

  Alex pressed one hand to her head. “And you need to not do that again.”

  “Why? I was fine.”

  “I know.” Alex had to ward off suspicious comments for days afterward. “Edward is still trying to figure out how you didn’t end up with a hangover.”

  “What about your ankle?” Charlie pointed to Alex’s completely-healed joint. “Didn’t he wonder how in the hell you got better so fast?”

  He did. “I don’t have time to worry about what in the hell I’ll do if Edward starts trying to figure out what’s going on.” She pointed to Charlie. “You get some sort of thing that makes it look like we’re actually doing what you said we’re doing.”

  Charlie bobbed her head in a knob. “Studying the effects of nocturnal animal migrating behaviors on erosion.”

  “Is that even a thing?” Frankie scooted closer to the coffee table to grab a handful of pretzels.

  “No.” Charlie’s smile was bright. “I made it up.”

  “It sounds convincing.” Frankie popped a pretzel into her mouth and continued to speak around it. “Convincing and boring.”

  “I know.” Charlie was clearly enjoying the prospect of lying to Kenneth and anyone else who needed a reason not to be worried about what was going on in the woods at night. “So boring no one will look into it.”

  Alex waved around the hand she’d rested on her head. “I think Charlie’s a genius. First thinking of stocking the shop with items from women-led businesses, now this.” She shrugged. “Maybe she should take over for me.”