Page 33 of Haystacks and Hoaxes

“I’m sorry you lost your dad, too.” He leaned her way. “Sorry it’s taken me so long to say it.”

It felt good to hear it, anyway. “While we’re baring our souls, I’m also sorry I came kicking and screaming into town. I was an angry, resentful teenager who never gave you a chance to be my family.” Until now.

“Oh, really? I hadn’t noticed,” he teased. “Neither did Chanel.”

At the mention of her sister-in-law, Mila groaned and covered her eyes with a hand. “I really like her, Deck.”

He chuckled. “So do I.”

“I mean it,” she insisted. “I shouldn’t have listened to…you know.” To a mother who was so insecure that she’d found it easier to paint his wife into a rich, unfeeling snob than welcome her into their lives. What a mess!

“You’re not the only one who was wrong about Chanel.” He lowered his voice. “When we first met, I assumed she was a snob, just because she was a Remington. Didn’t give her a chance. We bickered every time we got near each other.”

“What changed?” Mila was suddenly dying to know how such a checkered beginning had turned into a love story.

“We got elected to serve on the town council together, and the mayor got sick and tired of hearing us crab at each other. She sent us out of town on a leadership retreat, and we came back engaged.”

“Whoa!” Mila set her cup down so quickly that she sloshed some coffee on the granite countertop. “So that’show you two got together?” She gaped in astonishment at him.

“Yep.” Reaching beneath the overhead cabinets, he tore a paper towel from the dispenser and held it out to her. “Looking back on how our relationship started, the tension was always there between us. We just didn’t see it for what it was at first.”

Tension?As Mila used the paper towel to dab up the spilled coffee, she couldn’t help thinking about Rock. She’d known the guy for all of two days, but already there was an insane amount of tension between them, too, along with a heightened sense of awareness every time they were together. It was intense!

“Speaking of tension…” She steered the subject back to safer territory. “How long before I outstay my welcome here?” From what she understood, her apartment was still a crime scene.

“I’d rather not put a time limit on your visit.” There was no hesitation in his response. “Right now, it feels safer having you here than anywhere else.”

That makes two of us.“So, it’s another Take Your Sister To Work Day, huh?” She picked up her cup of coffee and took another few sips. It was starting to cool off, making it easier to drink.

“Yep.” He straightened and chugged down the rest of his coffee. “Both Chanel and I want you to stay with us until we get to the bottom of who’s gunning for you. We wouldn’t be able to live with ourselves if…” He stopped and shook his head. “Good grief, Mila. You drove here with a bomb sitting beside you. If I thought too hard about it, I’d never sleep again.”

Her insides grew toasty warm beneath his brotherly concern. It was wonderful having a family who cared. Shesmiled into her coffee cup. “If you keep saying nice things like that and brewing me coffee, I might never leave.” It wasn’t true, of course. She missed her own bed and all the plants she nursed and babied year-round.Plants!Her eyes rounded in alarm. “My plants,” she gasped, stepping away from the cabinet. “I was just kidding about never leaving. I need to get home. Today!” A sense of urgency surged through her. “Before every last one of my plants wilts and withers away!” She glanced at her watch, wondering if they could squeeze in a stop on their way to Lonestar Security.

“Relax,” Decker drawled, grinning widely. “Gage and Johnny are country boys. They watered your crops while they were at your place yesterday. Sorry I forgot to mention it before now.”

She made a bleating sound of distress. “As wonderful as that is, my plants are going to need to be watered again today. And tomorrow. And the day after that.”

“Which is why I’m having them delivered here this morning.” He leaned her way to tweak one of her plump braids. “With your permission, of course. We can rig something in the garage or basement with heat lamps and what not. Just until we figure things out.”

“Deck!” She hated putting him and Chanel to so much trouble. “That’s so sweet of you to offer, but I really could just go home.”

“I can’t stop you if that’s what you insist on doing.” His expression grew anxious. “But I don’t recommend it, and not just because you’re family. If you were a regular ol’ client, I’d be telling you the same thing and trying to figure out how to get you to a safe place.”

Family.There was nothing else he could’ve said to her that would’ve swayed her decision more. “Okay. I’ll do it,” she agreed. “Yes to moving my plants here. Yes to shelteringin place. Thank you.” She hugged him with her eyes. “I’ll find a way to repay you guys.”

“That’s not what—” He broke off his protest in mid-sentence when Chanel shuffled sleepily into the room.

She walked right up to her husband to wrap her arms around him. “Morning, Mila. I love you, Deck.”

“I love you, too.” He cuddled her closer. “Thanks for getting up to see us off. You going back to bed, I hope?”

“I shouldn’t.” She muffled a yawn against his shoulder. “But I stay so ridiculously tired these days.”

“Yeah, owning and operating your own business can do that to a person.” He brushed his lips against her forehead. “Along with serving on the town council, being the mother of a two-year-old, and having another bun in the oven.”

Mila, who was hightailing it out of the room to give them some privacy, couldn’t resist tossing over her shoulder, “And putting up with my brother.”

“There’s that,” Chanel giggled.

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