A Fresh Kill

by Eryn Scott

  “That does kinda change things,” Hadley admitted.

  Suze nodded. “Which makes it extra important that I go talk with Jessie and ask her if she knows why her dad has been keeping a low profile.”

  Hadley agreed, but just as Suze started to leave for the florist’s booth, Hadley saw something that made her simultaneously freeze and grow uncomfortably warm. She reached out and gripped Suze’s arm, stopping her just before she could step away.

  “Suze, I’m sorry, but you’re not going anywhere.”

  Suze followed Hadley’s intense gaze to the Fenton Farms stand.

  “Oh boy. This is not good.”

  Hadley shook her head as she stared at her ex-husband.

  16

  Hadley blinked, just to make sure she was seeing things clearly.

  Tyler. Back in Stoneybrook. Why?

  As if reading her mind, Suze whispered, “Why is Tyler here?” Being that her question was backed by surprise and anger, it came out louder than she probably meant it to.

  Hadley’s chest ached. She shook her head, not knowing the answer to Suze’s question. Penny, having spotted Tyler, backed away to the safety of her potholders.

  Tyler’s dark hair had grown out since Hadley last saw him, close to five months ago. He was letting it grow out, like he used to when they were in high school. His tall, lean frame looked even more so in the dark jeans and black T-shirt he wore. It seemed as though Seattle had worn off on him in a few months, in a way it hadn’t on Luke in a decade.

  Speaking of Luke, he glanced over at Hadley, worry written as clear as a summer’s day in his blue eyes. He pushed back his shoulders, like he always did when he was uncomfortable, then focused on Tyler again. It took a moment for Hadley to recognize Luke’s anxious tell because the man was always so laid back—maddeningly so, in fact—rarely showing anything other than confidence.

  Threading her arm through Hadley’s, Suze pulled close. “What do you want to do? Run? Stand up to him? Stand long enough to kick him and then run? Just let me know, and I’m there with you.”

  Hadley smiled. Suze’s undying support lightened the anvil-like weight sitting on her chest. She wished her brother could be here with her too. Then she would have her full support team surrounding her. But she’d known this moment would come. Even though Tyler had moved away, his entire family still lived here. She knew he would visit; it just felt like that time had come much sooner than she had anticipated.

  “I can do this,” she said, more for herself than Suze. “It’s just Tyler.”

  “Yeah, just the man you were with for over a decade, who betrayed your trust by sleeping with someone else, and spending most of your money on her,” Suze said as she stared at Tyler.

  Hadley threw a sidelong glance at her friend.

  “Uh, sorry. Not helpful. Got it.” She nodded, then tightened the link between them as she watched Tyler turn and look in their direction.

  The two women pulled in synchronized breaths, but Hadley was sure Suze’s heart didn’t ache as much as hers did when Tyler’s dark eyes met hers.

  There was a good reason he was Stoneybrook’s golden boy. He’d been the high school’s best quarterback in two decades—matched with Luke as his wide receiver, they’d been an unstoppable force for those few years. But it had been more than that. Tyler’s good nature, devastating grin, and ability to smooth talk the wrinkles out of a rhino made it almost impossible not to like him.

  Almost.

  Hadley had found plenty of reasons over the past year. Which was why she kept her face passive as he hit her with that famous smile and headed over. Glancing behind him at Luke, Hadley noticed his friend adjust his shoulders again as he feigned interest in a row of corn on the cob.

  Tyler held out his arms as he approached. “Had, how ya been?” He moved to pull her into a hug as if nothing was wrong between them, as if they were the best of friends.

  Luckily, Hadley’s actual best friend had her back—or, her front, actually—and Suze swiveled in between the two of them, creating an awkward, three-person hug sandwich.

  Tyler laughed and pulled away. He’d grown the beginnings of a beard too, Hadley noticed. He’d always stayed clean-shaven. She liked the five-o’clock shadow look on him.

  “Hey, Ty. What are you doing in town?” Hadley asked, deliberately pressing her lips together so her mouth wouldn’t hang open in her surprise.

  “Accounting business. I still have clients in town, you know.”

  “You couldn’t do that from Seattle?” Suze asked, crossing her arms.

  “And miss seeing my favorite Stoneybrook girl?” He grinned, but the smile faded as he glanced behind Hadley.

  “Favorite? Tyler, you and I have very different ways of showing favoritism.” Paul’s voice was low and menacing as he stepped up next to Hadley.

  She felt like crying with relief. He had heard her twin-connection plea for help. Or it was possible he’d just stopped by the market like he often did, but Hadley liked to believe he’d sensed she needed him.

  Tyler straightened his shoulders and cleared his throat. “Hey, Paul. How’s it going?”

  Paul cocked an eyebrow. “Oh, you know. Trying to solve a murder while supporting Hadley as she packs up the house you two used to share. What about you?”

  Wrinkling his forehead, Tyler attempted to stare down the larger, hairier James twin.

  “I’m… uh—” Tyler attempted, then shifted one expensively booted foot. “My mom called and… I wanted to come to town to see everyone.”

  Paul glared at his ex-brother-in-law.

  “And Leo asked me to come talk with him about his financial options.”

  “Options?” Hadley asked.

  Tyler’s face belied his surprise. “Yeah,” he said. “I mean, the man’s business is…” Tyler shrugged. “Let’s just say he needed a little help.”

  Hadley, Paul, and Suze glanced at each other.

  Tyler had been in the big city for too many months it seemed. He’d forgotten the cardinal Stoneybrook rule: Always pretend you don’t know what you know until the person you’re talking to confirms they already know what you know, and then you can chat about it to your heart’s content knowing neither of you is technically spreading gossip since you both heard it elsewhere before.

  His face turned red as he realized his mistake. Hadley had learned that even in the smallest towns, secrets would always still lurk, and it wasn’t smart to assume anyone knew everything. Tyler had obviously not learned the same lesson. And he’d just spilled something big.

  “Is that why you’re visiting?” Paul asked. “You’re helping Leo with his finances?”

  Tyler hadn’t followed his parents into the grocery business, something that had been a real fight at the time, but most of his family had put it behind them at that point. Being an accountant, however, seemed much more lucrative in a big city rather than a small town. He was still willing to come home to bail out an old friend, it appeared.

  “I didn’t—I can’t—” Tyler stammered, backing up a few steps as he tried to dig himself out of the mess he’d piled on.

  Hadley knew it probably made her a bad person, but she got some pleasure out of watching the man squirm. He’d always been so cool, so together; even in the midst of their divorce he’d maintained the same air about him. It was nice to see he wasn’t always as put together as he seemed.

  But as soon as it came, the cruel thought left Hadley. Tyler may have treated her poorly, and he may have lost her trust, but he also didn’t deserve to get the fifth degree his first day back in town.

  “Plus,” Tyler added. “I thought I could help with getting the house ready. You’ve got a lot going on with your business, Had.”

  Blinking back her surprise, Hadley was momentarily speechless. Tyler wanted to help? Also, he’d never referred to jam-making as her business. He’d always brushed it off and talked about it like it was some sticky hobby of hers.

  Who was this person standing in front of her
?

  “Well, thanks. That would be great, actually.” She found her voice.

  While Tyler had already taken small things like his clothes and daily items with him when the divorce had finalized, there were still large pieces of furniture from his family and photo albums they needed to decide how to split up. Hadley had to admit having Tyler’s help felt like it took a big weight off her shoulders.

  Tyler’s smooth facade returned and he winked at Hadley. “Anything for you, Had.”

  Anything except fidelity and fiscal responsibility, Hadley thought. She felt Paul shift next to her. Suze cleared her throat.

  “Oh, hey. There’s Jeff,” Tyler said as he spotted his cousin. “I’m going to go catch up. I’ll be in touch, Had.” He waved as he left.

  Once Tyler was gone, Hadley’s tunnel vision widened, and she began to notice the rest of the market again. And while the shoppers kept going about their business as usual, all of the locals were staring in her direction. About half of the gazes were sympathetic, paired with a head tip to the side, and the other half were glares.

  The sting of their split had faded in her memory and throughout the town, and Hadley had almost forgotten how it had been when she and Tyler had first told his family, and consequently the town, about their plans to divorce. But she was reminded all too clearly of how half the town wouldn’t speak to her for months after and blamed her for forcing Tyler to leave, as went the story they’d told themselves.

  Her ex-husband’s return to town had seemed to rekindle the hatred and pity some of her neighbors and fellow business owners felt toward her.

  Hadley glanced over at the Fenton Farms booth and noticed Luke had been watching her too. He quickly pretended to be ringing up a customer, but she saw through the act.

  What does Luke think about Tyler coming home?

  He had told her that he’d been upset with Tyler for cheating on her, had even told him to stop. But Luke and Tyler had been friends since forever. Of course Luke’s loyalty would lie with Tyler over Hadley. She was fooling herself to think them getting along better lately might mean anything different.

  She turned to face Paul and Suze. “Thanks, you two. I don’t know how I would’ve gotten through that without you.”

  Suze reached forward to grab Hadley’s hand, squeezing it tight in hers.

  “Anytime I can take that jerk down a peg, I’m happy.” Paul stepped closer, wrapping an arm around Hadley’s shoulders and pulling her into a hug. “You’re a way nicer person than I am.”

  “I say that about her all the time.” Suze chuckled, but then pointed at them. “I think Had may be too nice for her own good, though.”

  Hadley felt her cheeks heat up as Paul stepped back, releasing her from the hug. She looked down at her hands, noticing with a groan that she shouldn’t have bothered applying new nail polish last night as most of it was now chipped off.

  Around them, the market was beginning to wind down, though there was still a good two hours left. Hadley swiped a hand over her face, trying to reset it from the confused frown she felt like it had frozen in.

  “I think I might pack up early and head home, if that’s okay with you, Suze.” Hadley met her friend’s gaze.

  Suze’s face softened. “Of course. You go. I can find my own way back. Penny can give me a ride since she owes me a favor after I showed her how to create that blog she’s been wanting to start forever,” Suze said, raising her voice on the last part and leaning forward so Penny could hear her.

  Their neighbor rolled her eyes, but nodded reluctantly.

  “Or I can stay and help,” Paul said. When both Hadley and Suze looked at him in surprise, he added, “I could use a little time around the locals to do some questioning for this case. I can take Suze back in my truck.”

  “That would be great.” Hadley smiled and began packing up. “Oh, by the way,” she said, turning to Paul. “Barry keeps Italian bees.”

  He thanked her and said he would let the sheriff know.

  Once Hadley dropped off her supplies at the jam kitchen, she hopped on her bike to head back home. The ride through the cool breeze and sunshine served to calm her worries and lighten her spirit, so by the time she reached her house, she was feeling like she was finally letting go of Tyler’s sudden reappearance.

  All sense of calm left her as she walked into the kitchen. Ansel was perched like an angry gargoyle outside of the laundry room, glaring as if he had killer eye-lasers that might penetrate the door and destroy the kitten for good.

  Hadley felt like crying. “Ansel, can’t you just get along with her? This is the last thing I need today.”

  The black-and-white cat growled at the door in response.

  “Maybe if you could just see her,” Hadley said. “Would that make it better?”

  He licked his paw.

  “Well, it’s worth a try.”

  At the end of her rope, Hadley carefully opened the laundry room door and picked up the orange kitten. She was waiting just on the other side and mewed when she saw Hadley’s face.

  Then, sitting on the kitchen floor, Hadley set the kitten in her lap as she crossed her legs under her. Ansel growled louder.

  “Or this will make it worse,” Hadley whispered to herself and rubbed her thumbs into her temples, feeling a headache coming on from all of the stress.

  While Hadley’s hands were busy kneading her temples, the kitten jumped free of her lap and scrambled over to where Ansel crouched. His growls deepened and grew louder the closer the kitten came.

  Hadley’s breath caught in her throat. The kitten was fast. She was already standing in front of Ansel by the time Hadley could react and shoot forward to grab her.

  But before Hadley could get to the kitten, Ansel’s growls broke into a full hiss. The kitten, seemingly undeterred, took another step closer so she was right in front of the angry cat. Then, without warning, her small paw whipped forward, smacking Ansel right in the face.

  The growling and hissing came to a sudden halt. Ansel blinked in surprise.

  Hadley stood there, poised to grab him if he decided to retaliate, but she found she didn’t need to worry. The look of surprise on Ansel’s face was quickly replaced with interest. He leaned forward and smelled the kitten, who was still standing her ground. Then he licked her face.

  The kitten walked forward and head-butted the older cat, rubbing her body against his. Hadley relaxed. She couldn’t help but grin as the sound of purring met her ears. Ansel began following the kitten around as she explored the rest of the kitchen.

  Sighing, Hadley enjoyed having at least one of the problems in her life resolved.

  17

  The next day, Hadley called up Vivian’s receptionist and canceled her Monday appointment with the woman, stating she would call and set up another time when she could. With Tyler in town, Hadley just couldn’t fathom adding anything more to her plate. It seemed as if she’d learned as much as she could from Vivian, anyway.

  Minutes after she hung up with one realty office, her other realtor called. Deborah had found a house she thought was The One for Hadley. Seeing as how Deborah had said that a few times already, Hadley didn’t get too excited, but she did agree to be ready in half an hour to go look at it.

  She didn’t even feel guilty about leaving for however long it took to go see the house. Between last night and that morning, Hadley had managed to pack up all of the nonessentials in her bedroom and create a pile of things she needed to go through with Tyler. It had been her most productive packing day yet. Knowing Tyler would be there to help had made a world of difference, and having the cats get along like long-lost siblings didn’t hurt.

  It was a particularly hot day, with temperatures creeping into the nineties as noon approached, and not a cloud in the vast blue sky. Hadley changed out of her dusty packing clothes and slipped into her favorite floral cotton dress. She plaited her long, dark hair into a side braid, which fell over her left shoulder.

  Half an hour later, she was soaking u
p the midday sun as she stood in front of her house, waiting for Deborah. She lifted her face to the warmth, smiling and leaning back against her fence for support. Hadley was just contemplating whether or not she should pop back inside to put on another layer of sunscreen when Deborah pulled up.

  Hadley jumped a little in surprise as she noticed Luke sitting in the back seat when she climbed inside. His lips quirked into a half smile and he waved.

  Noticing Hadley’s surprise, Deborah said, “Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t mention it on the phone, but Luke called this morning and had a property he wanted to see right around the same area I’m taking you. I didn’t ask since you two seemed to be getting along so well last time. I figured it would be okay.”

  The setup attempt was back on, it appeared. Hadley feigned a smile. Yeah, but last time was before his best friend came back into town and reminded me of why we don’t get along, she thought to herself. Aloud, she said, “Oh, sure. That’s fine. Hey, Luke.” Hadley didn’t look back at him. She buckled in, focusing forward.

  Deborah looked a little disappointed at the lackluster greeting, but started driving anyway.

  The awkward air between Hadley and Luke felt almost palpable, and maybe it was, because after the first five minutes, Deborah said, “I saw Tyler’s back in town, Hadley. How are you feeling about that?”

  Was Deborah onto a new setup, or was she thinking it might make Luke jealous?

  Shrugging, Hadley said, “He’s just visiting, but I’m fine. He’s going to help me get the house ready, which I appreciate.”

  Deborah waggled an eyebrow in Hadley’s direction. “Oh, I see. Having a big, strong man around to help with the heavy lifting can’t hurt.”

  Unsure whether she wanted to burst out laughing or hide her face in embarrassment, Hadley squeaked out a, “Deborah!”

  The woman grinned conspiratorially. “What? It can’t. Plus, with a history like the two of you have, you never know what could happen when you two get all sweaty moving boxes.”