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Authors: Heather Blake
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from threats alone. It came from pain. Physical pain. “Not that I saw.”
“Well, where she goes, his special kind of crazy follows,” she said, “so he’s probably lurking around here somewhere.”
“You don’t think they could have . . .” I hitched a thumb over my shoulder, indicating the torn-up room.
“Carly, they’re capable of just about anything.”
“What did he do to you?” I asked.
Her eyes flared. “What do you mean?”
“He’s hurt you.”
Pain flashed in her eyes, and she must have realized it was fruitless to deny it to me. “Let’s leave the past in the past.”
“But if he was responsible for what happened in your room, then it’s not the past. It’s the present.”
“I don’t think he did that,” she said. “It was . . .”
“Random. Yes, I heard.”
She gave me a thin smile. “One way or another this will all be settled by Saturday, and I’ll be leaving town. Give it a week and no one will even remember I was here.”
We’d reached the upstairs landing, which looked down on the reception area below. Her gaze narrowed on something downstairs.
Not something.
Someone.
Warren Calhoun stood in a shadowy corner of the small library adjoining the reception area. His arms were folded, his brow drawn tightly as he locked eyes on Katie Sue.
I glanced at her, and I couldn’t help but notice the murderous look in her eyes as she glared straight back at him.
Chapter Six
B reaking the tense eye contact, Katie Sue started down the steps, her fists clenched at her sides but her chin held high.
Well, wasn’t that interesting? If she had been his mistress there certainly was no love lost between them right now.
As I followed her across the room, I noticed the whole Calhoun family had gathered. Aunt Hazel stood with matriarch Louisa, animatedly explaining what had happened. Cassandra sat in her wheelchair near one of the wide windows overlooking the gardens listening to Eulalie tell her that this sort of thing never happened at
her
inn. Groom-to-be Landry Calhoun stood near the fireplace. He was staring at his feet as though he wished they had wings that could fly him far, far away. But Hermes he was not.
Mercy
, but he was a handsome man, tall with long, light brown hair and soulful eyes. I wondered how it came to pass that he was being forced to marry Gabi. Hewas a grown man, after all, surely capable of saying no to his daddy.
I noticed two bulky men lurking in the hallway, keeping a watchful eye on what was going on. They looked a lot like private security.
It hit me then why they were all here. “Are the Calhouns staying at this inn, too?” I asked in a whisper as Katie Sue and I sat on a settee near the front door. I was shocked Hazel hadn’t mentioned this little fact, and realized the Calhouns must have had her sign a confidentiality agreement or something. Because, otherwise, Hazel would have taken out a billboard in Eulalie’s front yard.
Up close and personal, the Calhouns seemed quite glamorous and the picture of Southern high society. Mother and daughter, Louisa and Cassandra, looked very much alike, with medium-length chestnut hair, blue eyes, and pearls at their necks. Cassandra wore a vibrant blue silk pleated top with sheer panels with white capri pants, and her mother wore a prim bouclé tulip skirt and cream blouse. Warren had a high forehead, deep set mischievous eyes, strong chin, and the reputation as a playboy. Silver streaked his dark wavy hair. His gaze had shifted from Katie Sue to Hazel as she blathered on.
“Yes, they rented out the whole inn for the family,” Katie Sue ground out. “They all arrived this morning.”
For the family. Katie Sue wasn’t family yet she was staying here. . . .
“They’re your friends in high places?” I asked, referencing something she’d said earlier.
“It’s more like they’re keeping their enemies closer, Carly.”
The familiar saying echoed through my head.
Keep your friends close and
“Well, where she goes, his special kind of crazy follows,” she said, “so he’s probably lurking around here somewhere.”
“You don’t think they could have . . .” I hitched a thumb over my shoulder, indicating the torn-up room.
“Carly, they’re capable of just about anything.”
“What did he do to you?” I asked.
Her eyes flared. “What do you mean?”
“He’s hurt you.”
Pain flashed in her eyes, and she must have realized it was fruitless to deny it to me. “Let’s leave the past in the past.”
“But if he was responsible for what happened in your room, then it’s not the past. It’s the present.”
“I don’t think he did that,” she said. “It was . . .”
“Random. Yes, I heard.”
She gave me a thin smile. “One way or another this will all be settled by Saturday, and I’ll be leaving town. Give it a week and no one will even remember I was here.”
We’d reached the upstairs landing, which looked down on the reception area below. Her gaze narrowed on something downstairs.
Not something.
Someone.
Warren Calhoun stood in a shadowy corner of the small library adjoining the reception area. His arms were folded, his brow drawn tightly as he locked eyes on Katie Sue.
I glanced at her, and I couldn’t help but notice the murderous look in her eyes as she glared straight back at him.
Chapter Six
B reaking the tense eye contact, Katie Sue started down the steps, her fists clenched at her sides but her chin held high.
Well, wasn’t that interesting? If she had been his mistress there certainly was no love lost between them right now.
As I followed her across the room, I noticed the whole Calhoun family had gathered. Aunt Hazel stood with matriarch Louisa, animatedly explaining what had happened. Cassandra sat in her wheelchair near one of the wide windows overlooking the gardens listening to Eulalie tell her that this sort of thing never happened at
her
inn. Groom-to-be Landry Calhoun stood near the fireplace. He was staring at his feet as though he wished they had wings that could fly him far, far away. But Hermes he was not.
Mercy
, but he was a handsome man, tall with long, light brown hair and soulful eyes. I wondered how it came to pass that he was being forced to marry Gabi. Hewas a grown man, after all, surely capable of saying no to his daddy.
I noticed two bulky men lurking in the hallway, keeping a watchful eye on what was going on. They looked a lot like private security.
It hit me then why they were all here. “Are the Calhouns staying at this inn, too?” I asked in a whisper as Katie Sue and I sat on a settee near the front door. I was shocked Hazel hadn’t mentioned this little fact, and realized the Calhouns must have had her sign a confidentiality agreement or something. Because, otherwise, Hazel would have taken out a billboard in Eulalie’s front yard.
Up close and personal, the Calhouns seemed quite glamorous and the picture of Southern high society. Mother and daughter, Louisa and Cassandra, looked very much alike, with medium-length chestnut hair, blue eyes, and pearls at their necks. Cassandra wore a vibrant blue silk pleated top with sheer panels with white capri pants, and her mother wore a prim bouclé tulip skirt and cream blouse. Warren had a high forehead, deep set mischievous eyes, strong chin, and the reputation as a playboy. Silver streaked his dark wavy hair. His gaze had shifted from Katie Sue to Hazel as she blathered on.
“Yes, they rented out the whole inn for the family,” Katie Sue ground out. “They all arrived this morning.”
For the family. Katie Sue wasn’t family yet she was staying here. . . .
“They’re your friends in high places?” I asked, referencing something she’d said earlier.
“It’s more like they’re keeping their enemies closer, Carly.”
The familiar saying echoed through my head.
Keep your friends close and
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