Page 190 of Cowboys & Navy SEALs

“Thanks.” The woman must be new. Addie didn’t recognize her. She sat down at a table by the wall. Out of habit, she retrieved a menu from the stack behind the metal napkin holder and perused the menu, knowing all the while she’d decide on her usual—a turkey club and fries.

The server approached removing her pen from behind her ear as she took Addie’s order and scribbled it on her pad. “Good choice, hon.”

Addie bit back a smile, not wanting to tell the woman that she’d been coming here for years. She probably knew the menu better than the server. She glanced at her name tag, committing it to memory.Cindy.

“Would you like anything to drink?” Cindy asked in a singsong voice.

“Just water with lemon.”

“Sure thing,” she quipped.

“Thanks, Cindy.”

“You’re welcome.” A large smile filled Cindy’s face as she nodded in appreciation. “I’ll be right back with your water.”

In the hospitality industry, Addie had learned the value of using people’s names. It created a sense of familiarity, letting the person know you cared. As Cindy strolled away, Addie sat back in her seat, taking in a deep breath. She had to laugh at herself for thinking of something as trivial as hospitality tips in a time like this. It was engrained in her. Maybe she was trying to concentrate on something other than the fact that her former boyfriend, the husband of her best friend was killed. And someone had ransacked her home, yet didn’t take anything.

Corbin assured her that he would look into the situation and call her as soon as he knew something. Addie had not heard from him today. In this instance, no news was not good news. She glanced across the room and caught eyes with a familiar face.Crap!Madison Wells, the last person Addie wanted to speak to right now. Madison had been crushing on Corbin for years. Addie used to get great delight out of teasing Corbin about Madison, which was fine because it was Corbin dealing with Madison, not Addie. Madison was eating lunch with a couple of her girlfriends, former high school cheerleaders, the same as Madison. The adage,Birds of a feather flock togetherran though Addie’s mind. She’d never particularly liked any of the girls. They were too superficial and snotty for her taste. Madison smiled brightly and waved. Addie held up her hand in a stiff half-wave. That’s all it took for Madison to stand up and trot over. Addie groaned inwardly. It didn’t take a brain child to guess why Madison wanted to talk to her. Madison always had an agenda.

“How are you?” Madison cooed, giving her an over-the-top concerned look.

“Fine,” Addie said tersely.

Madison touched her arm. “That’s terrible about the accident at the resort.”

“Yes, it was.” The idea was to keep her answers short and sweet, without providing additional information Madison could use as fodder for gossip.

Madison sat down across from her. “What exactly happened?” Her eyes went large as she leaned forward, intent on catching every word.

“Jordan was hit by a car.” The words sounded so plain and impersonal. In an instant, Jordan’s life had been snuffed out and Piper’s was changed forever.

“Yes, I heard that part,” Madison said impatiently with a wave of her hand. “Was it a random thing, or was he targeted?”

“No one knows at this point.”

“It’s terrible,” Madison lamented, shaking her head. “Wasn’t he a friend of yours?” The tone of her voice was innocent, but the perceptive look in her eyes spoke otherwise.

After the past two days she’d had, Addie was in no mood for silly games. She folded her arms over her chest, eyeing Madison. “Cut the crap. You know he was. And you also know that he married Piper, my best friend.” Madison knew every scrap of gossip in Birchwood Springs, including the fact that Addie and Jordan used to date. Addie felt a little guilty for being so blunt. Pops and Corbin were always cautioning her to temper her sharp tongue. It only took a second, however, for Madison to come back swinging.

“Oh, yeah. I remember now. Geez. You’re so sensitive,” Madison blustered, flipping the ends of her shoulder-length, platinum hair. “His death is a tragedy, for sure. I hope it doesn’t hurt business at the resort,” she said in a sugary voice, a smug glitter in her light eyes.

Addie’s eyebrows shot up. “Why would it?” she demanded. The comment struck way too close to home. The hit-and-run was bound to cast a negative light on the resort. Hot prickles pinged her like a thousand needles. This could be a PR nightmare. She’dworked hard all these years and finally landed her dream job as manager. Now this was happening! Addie pushed aside the negative thought. She had to focus on one thing at a time. The first order of business would be to find out what had been going on in Jordan’s life—why he asked for her forgiveness. Hopefully, Piper could shed some light on the situation when she arrived in town tomorrow.

Cindy returned with the water. She turned to Madison, a perplexed expression crossing her features. “Weren’t you just over there?” She rolled her eyes in the direction of the table across the room where Madison’s girlfriends were sitting.

Madison chuckled. “Smart girl,” she quipped, her voice coated with condescension.

Cindy was not amused. She just stared at Madison with a deadpan expression. Addie smiled inwardly watching Madison squirm.

“I just wanted to come over and say hello to my friend,” Madison trilled.

It was all Addie could do to keep from bursting out laughing.Friend? More like frenemy.

“Your food will be ready shortly,” Cindy said, moving to the next table.

Madison instantly went back to the topic at hand. “Like you said, no one knows if the incident was directly related to Jordan or if he happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.” She shrugged. “Maybe the resort is being targeted.”

“No, I don’t think so.” This had to be tied to Jordan. Why else would someone break into her home and search through her things? What was someone looking for? Jordan had never given Addie anything important. Well, except for his mother’s jewelry. She’d checked all the pieces last night. Everything was still there, right down to the earrings Jordan wanted to give Piper.

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