Page 54 of Once Upon a Summer Night

“No.” Hannah laughed. That wasn’t a question she’d been asked since looking for their last duplex together. “Roommates, nothing more.”

Her cell phone rang, sparing her from going any further down that interrogation path. Hannah was surprised to see her father’s name on the screen.

“Hi, Dad. What’s up?”

“Hiya, peanut. Do you have customers in front of you?”

“Just Mrs. Harper, Mrs. Harrington, and Mrs. Thompson.”

“Oh, Lord. Okay, I’ll keep this brief. We just got a call from Mr. Wade, he wanted to pass along that the Wiggmans have changed attorneys.”

“Why, was the old one afraid of ours?”

“We’re not sure, but the new one has a reputation for not always doing things on the up and up. Has even been known to hire a private investigator, to try to snap pictures of the other party doing things that might not look so good in court.”

Though her father sounded concerned, Hannah took this as a sign they were starting to gain the upper hand. “So, I shouldn’t go around peeing on fire hydrants, is that what you’re telling me?”

“No, I’m telling you not to do anything unmotherly like in public.”

Hannah frowned. Had he really felt the need to say that? She wasn’t twelve, for crying out loud. Nor had she done anything remotely inappropriate since returning to town. “Fine, message received. I’ll watch for creepy guys snapping pictures. See you at home.”

She disconnected on an eyeroll, then turned back to find The Sisters staring, eyes bright with interest. Crap, she’d forgotten who her audience was.

“I sense new drama is afoot,” Barbara said. “Dotell.”

Should she? After all, these were the biggest gossips in town. Then again, maybe having them on her side could actually be a benefit to her. If anyone could spot an outsider stalking Bourbon Falls and snapping pictures, it was The Sisters.

“I don’t know. Can you all keep a secret?” At their instant pledges, Hannah worked not to laugh. It was she who had cast the line this time, and she’d snagged the others hook, line, and sinker. She filled them in on the custody battle, keeping the story as bare-bones as possible. At the mention of possible future PI sightings, The Sisters’ features went from curious to determined.

“Oh, we’ll watch for this PI of theirs, don’t you worry,” said Margaret, her sisters nodding in agreement. “We’ve got eyes everywhere. Give me your digits, and we’ll send text alerts.”

Her digits? This time, Hannah did break out laughing. “Okay.”

“And don’t worry, honey,” Barbara added. “Once we spot him, we’ll make sure to distract him plenty. He won’t get anywhere near you all.”

“Just don’t do anything too crazy, all right? This is my adoption of Noah on the line.”

The bell over the front door alerted them of a newcomer, and Nancy’s eyes widened. “What if it’s him?” She pointed to the webcam mounted to the top of her aunt’s checkout computer screen. “He’s probably already been here and hacked into your computer. I bet he heard the whole thing!”

But it was Chase who appeared around the corner a moment later, triggering four sighs of relief. Margaret gave Nancy a swat to the shoulder. “Nincompoop. You about gave us all heart attacks.”

“Call me what you want, but Big Brother is always watching.” She added in a whisper, “I’d cover that webcam, if I was you.”

Chase came to a stop beside them, sunglasses pushed on top of his head and brows tugged together. “What’s all the whispering about?”

Margaret signaled for silence, then crept forward to get a visual on the front door. “It’s safe, no one followed him in.”

At Chase’s skeptical look, Hannah broke out laughing. “Dad just called. Guess the Wiggmans’ new attorney likes to send private investigators out to snap damning pictures of their opponents.”

“But don’t worry, honey,” Barbara said, patting his shoulder. “We’ve got you covered. Just keep those sunglasses handy, and no making out in public places for a while.”

His cheeks flushed red. “I’ll try to keep that in mind. And here, Hannah—I forgot to give you this at the station. It’s our T-ball schedule. Next practice is tomorrow at seven.”

A round of “awws” rang out, and Hannah shook her head. “We’ll be there. Now you should get back to work, before anyone catches you on film or something.”

“Don’t worry, we’ve got this.” Margaret winked as she took Chase by the arm. “Come on, Romeo. You’ve got some little old ladies to help cross the road.”

Hannah watched them go, grinning at the sight. Never would she have imagined that the town gossipers could actually be a help to her instead of ratting her unruly behavior out to her father. Bourbon Falls seemed to be surprising her more and more every day.

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