Page 124 of The One With the Mountain Man

Her eyes went round. There were no more open spots on the walls where wedding pictures used to be or missing furniture. It was an all-new cozy space with fresh flowers and fancy curtains and new rugs.

"What did you do?" Her hands went to her face. "It's just like the pictures. How? When? Why?"

I stepped forward. "We all teamed up and did it today while you were getting pampered. And as for why...because you deserve it."

She hugged Mack and Scottie, then Digger and Travis. She wiped tears away when Marley and Eve emerged from the bathroom. Then she took my face in her hands and shook her head. "Thank you. You've done too much. I release you. Little sister can stand on her own again. This is...this is just amazing."

I believed she meant it too because the sad look in her eyes was finally gone. "I'm not going anywhere. You need me, you call me."

We stoppedin the TBR Pile before heading over to Still Standing for lunch with the other half of my siblings because Marley couldn't come to town without spending at least ten minutes in the bookstore.

"How's business?" I asked Willow. Marley was in the back of the store with her nose in a book. She was so fucking cute when it came to books.

"Great. Sharon may be bossy and a gossip, but she sure loves her merch. This new website of hers has doubled my sales."

I whistled. "How's that?"

"Online sales. People who've never set foot in Lost Creek are buying books through me and merch through Sharon because they're joining her online book clubs. TBCIMA is up to three hundred members. Well, the virtual version of it."

"The woman knows books."

"Always has," Willow chuckled.

The door jingled and the same creepy dude that went fly fishing with Travis walked in. He wandered the store while I tried to watch him without it being obvious that I was watching the hell out of him.

"He been here before?" I asked quietly.

Willow nodded. "Every day since Tuesday. He browses, buys a book, and leaves."

"Supposedly he's staying with a friend at one of the cabin rentals. You seen the friend?"

"He's always alone."

And the finance bros left town right after the fishing trip. Something about this didn't sit right with me but I had no identifiable reason other than I didn't like the guy and he gave me the creeps.

"After he leaves, I'll activate the whisper-net." She picked up her phone and started typing.

"What's the whisper-net?"

She looked up and made a circle motion with her index finger. "The Lost Creek Human Surveillance Unit. We keep an eye out like spies, except we're obviously just a suspicious small town who looks out for each other."

"And who is in this whisper-net?"

"Everyone," she shrugged.

This must have started after I left town, along with Red's comprehensive mutually beneficial plan that all the businesses in Lost Creek work together.

"Found one!" Marley crowed, plunking a doorstopper of a book on the counter. "This is a sci-fi. Not a murder book and not for book club. This is just pure fun for me."

Willow rang it up while they chatted about books. Creeper dude was doing a much shittier job of watching us than we were watching him. He was clearly listening to Willow and Marley's conversation, and he was studying them like he was trying to memorize them.

Or her.

Which one, I wasn't sure and I didn't like either possibility. The fact that he'd made it a point to come shop here every day made me think Willow was the center of his attention and not Marley, which made me really, really not want to leave her here alone with him.

I slid out my phone and texted Travis.

Huk

---