Page 37 of Cursed Fox

"When it comes to furniture, absolutely. They don't make dressers and such like they used to." I loved seeing how older items lasted over the years. It was nothing like the newer stuff.Everything nowadays was made flimsy and barely lasted a few years.

"Nancy!" Shirley exclaimed when she walked out of the back room. "I'm so glad you decided to stop in."

"I wish I could say this was a social visit, but I need your help."

Shirley's smile slipped a bit. "Sure. What can I do to help?"

I cleared my throat and got right down to it. "Do you know where Thomas is living these days, or know anyone who does?"

Shirley scoffed. "I don't have the slightest idea. You know how I felt about him when you were married. Couldn't stand the guy. But you should ask Tim Senior. He keeps all the records of everyone in town. I bet he would know where the asshole is."

I knew there was a reason I liked Shirley so much. She had been the only one in town who saw Thomas for who he really was.

"Tim Senior owns the service station down at the end of the road," I explained to Lex.

His only answer was a jerk of the head as if to say let's go.

"Give me one second."

I walked straight over to Shirley and gave her a hug. "As soon as this mess is over, we need to get together. Maybe grab a drink so we can properly catch up."

"I look forward to it. And I don't know why you're looking for Thomas, but be careful. I always got a bad feeling from him."

She wasn't the only one. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of ignoring my feelings as a teenager and instead listened to everyone else in town.

I said goodbye and followed Lex out of the shop. We walked in silence until we came across Wickedly Delicious.

"After we speak to Tim, I want to stop in here and grab a few things."

Lex looked up to see where we were and gave me a smile. "Maverick introduced you to Maisie's scones, didn't he?"

"Oh my God, yes. I would marry the woman if she wasn't already taken."

He laughed. "Yeah, Hendrix wouldn't stand for that. He's a bit possessive when it comes to Maisie."

"I'd like to meet her and Olivia." I watched closely to see how Lex reacted to that, and wasn't the least bit surprised when he smiled.

"They are going to love you."

I sure as hell hoped so.

We continued our walk down the block and stopped when we hit the old service station. Tim Jr. was working the counter and gave me a big smile as soon as he saw me.

"Hey, Nancy. I heard you were back in town."

Tim Jr. was around my age. He was a decent-looking man in the boy-next-door kind of way, but he had nothing on Lex.

"Hi, Tim." I smiled. "And yeah, for a little bit. I was actually looking for your father. Is he here, by chance?"

"Of course. I think he's tinkering in the shop. He's usually here every day no matter how many times I remind him he's supposed to be retired."

I laughed at Jr.'s explanation. From the little I remembered about his father, he was always working on something or other. The man loved his antique cars.

"Let me just go grab him for you."

"Thanks, Tim."

I glanced around the small service station and realized nothing about the place had changed. The decor was still stuck in the sixties. The old soda fountain machine was still in the same spot and looked to be in working order. It brought back memories of riding my bike down there on hot summer days just to grab a drink. It was the hot spot back in the day.

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