Page 21 of Hard Knock Hero

I opened my mouth, my response stuck somewhere in my chest.

Scarlett cleared her throat behind us. She had the door to the sweet shop open. “Is this the brother I’ve heard so much about?”

I spun around, pasting a smile over my face. “Scarlett.” My voice cracked. “This is Trace.”

Aiden shook her hand politely, but made zero effort at conversation. The awkwardness was palpable. I was lying to my friend, and that knowledge crawled over my skin.

When the real Trace Novo got to Hartley and very muchdid notmatch up with Aiden Shelborne, Scarlett would find out I’d lied. Everyone would find out. And that sucked, because it would confirm what Jeremy had been saying about me all along. That I couldn’t be trusted with the truth. Plus, every moment that Aiden played my brother, he could be in danger. Which should’ve been obvious to me last night. And having a man like him around me, socloselike this…

No. It wouldn’t work. How had Ieverthought this would work?

I couldn’t do it.

“Actually, the thing is—”

Then another voice rang out across Main Street, interrupting me. “Miss Scarlett Weston. Just the woman I wanted to see!”

I turned and groaned when I saw who was jogging toward us. Sawyer Rigsby was in his sixties, but was one of those men whose looks had both softened and improved with age. I’d seen pictures on Jeremy’s computer of his family when he was younger, and his uncle Sawyer had been dazzlingly handsome. Now, between his white hair and the smile lines around his eyes and mouth, he was less intimidating. Attractive in a warm and easygoing way.

But I no longer trusted men who smiled that much.

Sawyer reached us, his grin flickering when he noticed me and especially when his eyes landed on Aiden. “Morning.”

“What can I do for you, Mr. Rigsby?” Scarlett asked.

Sawyer was outwardly friendly to everyone around town, and when he stepped in to defuse a controversy or argument, he acted more like a disappointed grandpa than a stern authority figure. He’d never been outright rude or dismissive of me, even after Jeremy’s arrest. But he was still my landlord. And Jeremy’s uncle.

He might as well have had a big yellowcautionsign right above his head.

Sawyer got down to business. “With the bridge out and the snowstorm, no one will be getting any deliveries today. The coffee shop is running low on supplies already. I wanted to see what we had ready to go at the sweet shop.”

“Plenty,” Scarlett said with a glance at me. Would Sawyer see the lemon tarts and ask where they’d come from?

But Aiden interrupted before I could finish that thought. “I heard there was a drive for winter coats, too,” Aiden said to Sawyer.

Mr. Rigsby gave him another assessing glance that set my nerves on edge. “That’s right. We’ve got extra people to feed and keep warm, and we want to make them feel welcome. Even if it’s not the best timing.” He stuck out his hand. “Sawyer Rigsby. You are?”

“Trace Novo,” Aiden said. “Just got in yesterday.”

“My brother.” The words left bile on my tongue. But the thought of admitting my lie now, in front of Sawyer, made my insides seize up.

I was really having a day, wasn’t I?

“And what do you think of our fair town so far?” Sawyer asked.

Oh, no.

“Mr. Rigsby owns the Hart-Made Candy Company,” I said to Aiden. “And he’s my landlord.”

Translation: please don’t say anything stupid.

But in the twelve hours or so I had known Aiden Shelborne, had he seemed like the type to shy away from controversy?

“Hartley has its charms. I’m not so sure about the Hartley welcoming wagon, though. Your nephews didn’t seem too friendly last night.”

Sawyer’s smile deflated. “I did hear about an incident. That was unfortunate. A misunderstanding, I’m sure.”

Aiden nodded. “Even more unfortunate is how Chester and his brothers have been keeping people away from Jessi’s Diner. Another misunderstanding?”

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