Page 24 of Haystacks and Hoaxes

“Oh, and you’re just going to take the word of a snobby Remington over a Kingston without giving me a chance to explain?”

“I’m asking you now.” It didn’t feel wise to remind her mother that Chanel was now a Kingston, too. “She says she sent a separate invitation with my name on it. Maybe it got lost in the mail.”

“Or she’s lying.” Her mother’s voice went from heatedto sad so quickly that it gave Mila emotional whiplash. “You’re gonna need to keep your guard up around her, you hear? For all we know, that bomb?—”

“Mom!” That was taking things way too far.

“I’m just saying.” Her mother sounded a tad sheepish. “As for the invitations, you received one for the wedding shower a few days after the event took place. Same thing for the baby shower. I don’t know what kind of game she was playing, but there was no way I was going to upset you further by?—”

“Maybe she wasn’t playing games,” Mila cut in, hating the way her mother always jumped to the worst possible conclusions about the people she didn’t like. “Maybe it was a mistake at the post office or something.” They might never know. In hindsight, it hurt her heart to realize she’d been doing the same thing by constantly assuming the worst about Chanel. They’d never given Decker’s wife a chance. Not really.

But I intend to change that. Starting now!

“If that’s what you want to believe, be my guest,” her mother groused. She clearly wasn’t in a conciliatory mood.

I do want to believe it.Mila believed that family should always give family the benefit of the doubt.She rushed to wrap up the call, feeling awful about the way she’d been talking about her sister-in-law in her own home. “Tell Chet I said hi.” She’d always called her stepdad by his first name, and he’d never complained about it. “I hope you guys have the time of your lives.”

She was extra glad she wasn’t with them right now.As mad as her mother was about her absence, Mila was looking forward to the rare break from the woman’s rollercoaster temperament.

“As if!” Her mother made a miffed sound. “Christmas is completely ruined!”

And you’ll never let me forget it. Yay, me!Hopefully, hunting down oil equipment robbers tomorrow would provide a much-needed distraction from her many shortcomings as a daughter. “‘Night, Mom,” she said softly.

Instead of answering, her mother hung up on her.

With a moan of defeat, Mila snuggled down on the floor and tipped her head against Ollie’s fluffy back. She didn’t want to be alone right now. Even the company of dogs was preferable to being alone with her mother’s angry words that were still ringing in her ears.

Tonight, Carla Kingston had been unusually vicious, enough to ruin Christmas for Mila, too.

New goal: Survive the holidays.

She honestly couldn’t wait until Christmas was over.

Chapter 5: First Assignment

Six days before Christmas

Rock slapped on extra aftershave lotion and took longer than usual debating which belt buckle to wear. Unlike the bodyguards employed by Lonestar Security, who typically wore black cargo pants and combat boots, the standard uniform for their new PI and forensics teams was identical to those worn by the Heart Lake Police Department —boots and a dress shirt tucked into jeans. He tried to tell himself that the extra time he took to get dressed this morning had nothing to do with the fact that he was about to spend his first full day on the job with Mila, but that would be a lie. It had everything to do with her.

Her opinion of him mattered — not just what she thought of him as a coworker, but as a man. As her supervisor, though, he couldn’t allow it to show. It was too bad that the first woman he’d wanted to date in a very long time now reported to him. And all he could do about it was keep things professional between them.

He thumped his way down the stairs, hating the necessity of dragging himself through life with the help of a stick. He missed things like jogging down the stairs two at a time and taking brisk morning runs. Being forced to slow down and take each day at a snail’s pace really changed a guy’s perspective. He no longer had the option of being in a hurry. He always had time to stop and smell the roses.

Or coffee, as was the case this chilly Tuesday morning. Though it was still dark outside, Gage already had a pot of coffee brewed, extra black the way they both liked it. The Hefner brothers didn’t require creamers or sweeteners.

“Look who’s getting an early start!” Gage poured a cup of steaming coffee for Rock and scooted it across the island to him. He’d recently upgraded all the formica countertops in the kitchen with marbled black and white quartz. They looked sharp against the weathered wooden cabinets he’d sanded down and stained with white oak glaze. To accent the rest of the room, he’d painted the center island cabinet a darker shade of slate. The dingy, textured walls were next on his to-do list to tackle. Rock was glad his brother was going to have more hands on deck to help sand them down. Painting the entire downstairs was going to be a big task.

He lifted the cup of coffee, breathing in the steam as he took a sip. “It’s Mila Kingston’s first day on the job,” he reminded. “We’re going to have a jam-packed schedule.” In addition to completing her new employee orientation, he was hoping to get started on the oil equipment theft case.

“Nope, I haven’t forgotten.” Gage yawned and stretched his arms high over his rangy frame. “Johnny and I are heading to her apartment to put our eyeballs on the crime scene.” He shook his head. “Or what’s left of it. According to Luke, the maintenance guy did his job a little too well,repairing the walkway and making it look as good as new before taking off for the holidays.”

“Does that mean the police haven’t spoken to the guy yet?” Rock didn’t like the sound of that. Too many details about the vandalized walkway weren’t adding up.

“Only over the phone.” Gage didn’t look any more thrilled about it than he was. “They were able to track down Mila’s landlord, though. He knew nothing about a custody case for Pat’s kids. All he could verify is that the guy is divorced. Her landlord was quick to add that Pat is a good guy. Hardworking. Reliable. Didn’t seem the least bit surprised that he’d delayed his departure to do a last-minute repair like that.”

It still sounded fishy to Rock. “Any chance you’d be willing to have your own chat with the landlord? It would be nice to verify that the guy who showed up at Mila’s doorstep is the actual Pat.”

Gage snorted. “Still trying to do my job for me, eh?”

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