Page 71 of Wildflower and Whiskey
“That’s not how you say hello,” I bit out.
Her gaze flicked over me, appraising, cold. “Still the protective type, I see. Tell me, have you seen Riley?”
Elyna froze beside me. “Why are you asking?”
Colette’s smile sharpened. “He mentioned he might come to town. Said he wanted to make things right.” She tilted her head,feigning innocence. “But the company he’s keeping these days… not the kind of people Val-Du-Lys wants around.”
My stomach tightened. “What kind of people?”
“Oh, you know,” she said, waving a manicured hand. “Big-city types. Friends from Montreal. They think they can make a little money here. It’s nothing you need to worry about.”
“Wrong,” I said flatly. “That’s exactly what I worry about.”
Colette’s mouth curved. “Well. You’ve certainly made yourself comfortable, haven’t you? Playing house with my grandson and his mother. But Riley will be back, Phoenix. And when he comes, I hope for Elyna’s sake she’s ready to answer for all the things she’s kept from him.”
“Enough,” Elyna said sharply. Her voice trembled, but her eyes didn’t waver. “You don’t get to rewrite what happened. Riley left me. You know that.”
Colette’s eyes narrowed, and for a heartbeat the mask slipped. “You’ve always been so sure of your version of things, haven’t you, Elyna? Just don’t be surprised when the truth shows up on your doorstep.”
She turned on her heel and disappeared into the crowd.
Elyna stood there, shaking, Braden pressed against her shoulder. I wanted to go after Colette, to tell her exactly what I thought of her twisted games, but one look at Elyna stopped me. She was pale, her eyes glassy.
“Hey,” I said quietly, brushing my thumb along her jaw. “She doesn’t get to ruin this for us. Not today.”
Elyna swallowed—her voice rough. “You heard what she said. Riley’s friends… the ones he owes money to. What if they’re here?”
“She’s baiting you,” I said, even though the thought made my stomach twist. “My dad and Becket are already looking into those messages. They’ll find out if he’s really in Montreal or not.”
“You think he’s still there?” she asked.
I hesitated. “I think… something’s off. The language in those texts, the timing. It doesn’t add up. But we’ll figure it out.”
Her eyes lifted to mine, searching. Then she nodded, slow, deliberate. “Okay.”
We moved back toward the market square, and I forced myself to focus on Braden, on his giggle when Elyna bounced him, on the way his small hands reached for the pumpkins. We bought one for the loft and another for the brewery. Somehow the tension began to ease, even if it never really left.
When we reached the pony rides, Elyna tried to protest again, but Braden’s excitement won. The handler lifted him onto the smallest pony, and I walked beside them, my hand steady on his back. Elyna snapped photos with her phone, her laughter light and soft.
Later, the three of us climbed onto the hay wagon. The air was colder now, the sun slowly setting behind the orchard. Braden fell asleep in Elyna’s arms halfway through the ride, his breath puffing warm against her scarf. I wrapped an arm around them both, pulling the scratchy blanket higher over their shoulders.
The wagon creaked down the lane, lanterns were glowing in the distance. Around us, the town was alive with chatter and laughter, but my gaze kept focusing on the shadows between the trees, to the parked cars at the far end of the square.
Becket’s text came through:Got eyes near market. Nothing unusual yet. Stay visible.
I typed back one-handed:Copy. Colette’s stirring trouble.
Then I slid the phone away and focused on what mattered, on Elyna’s head against my chest, on the tiny hand resting over her heart, on the smell of her hair mixed with apples and smoke.
This was what I was fighting for.
This quiet. This peace. This feeling of beinghome.
If Riley or whoever was pretending to be Riley brought his “friends” anywhere near that, he’d find out just how far a Thorne would go to protect what was his.
CHAPTER 32
Phoenix
