Moosely Over You, page 11
“Crissy. My name’s Crissy. I hate being called Mrs. Davenport. I’m only thirty-six, you know. Way too young to feel like some old crone.” Her words spilled out quickly with exasperation as she crouched to gather the scattered contents. “Don’t suppose you finished that report?”
Chase spotted a small tube rolling down the sidewalk and hurried after it. “I’ll have them done soon,” he answered, stopping the runaway canister with his foot. He refused to promise tomorrow to anyone, even the chief. If he could buy a couple more days, he could solve this the right way. He crouched down to pick up the tube and nearly dropped the grocery bag. It was a black lipstick case with the same crocodile patterns and double heart emblem etched into the silver strip.
“Can I have that back?” Crissy held out an open palm impatiently.
As Chase handed it over, most of the missing pieces seemed to fall into place. Henry hadn’t started the fires. Crissy had. But his only chance to prove it was now tucked into her purse. He couldn’t go to the chief and demand they search Crissy’s purse. Even if they could, the coincidence would mean nothing to them. It wasn’t evidence enough to prove her guilt. “Your insurance adjuster head back to Anchorage yet?”
Crissy raised an eyebrow at him, but only briefly. “He decided to stick around after Friday night. Says he’ll be on his way after you finish the investigation reports. Can’t imagine what’s taking you so long. Heard they caught the hitchhiker near Girdwood. I already told Ryder we don’t want to press charges or anything. An accident is an accident.”
“Just being thorough,” Chase said. “Have a nice day, Crissy.”
“Chase?”
He stopped at the front of his truck and turned back. “Yeah?”
“If you have any more questions, come to me. Henry’s mind is slipping. After these fires, it just seems to be getting worse. I think it’s an early onset of Alzheimer’s.”
Not a chance he believed her, but he gave her a nod and hopped in his truck.
Chase’s first impulse was to call Laurel about the lipstick. Had it not been for her, he never would’ve paid such careful attention. He would’ve handed the lipstick tube back to Crissy and never made the connection. Because of Laurel, he was ninety-five percent certain that Crissy started the fires to collect the insurance money.
Instead of Laurel, he called Ryder.
“I don’t have the dollar amount yet,” Ryder said before Chase could get in a word. “I’ll get it tomorrow, even if I have to have Liam fly me up to Anchorage. Happy?”
“I think I know who’s responsible. Crissy—”
“Stop right there.” Ryder let out a loud sigh that sounded like a gust of wind through the phone. “Chase, you know I’ll always have your back, right? Which means if I think you’re overstaying your welcome in conspiracy-ville, I’m going to tell you.”
“You think I’m wrong.”
“I think you’re not thinking straight because of this whole deal with Laurel.”
If he and Ryder hadn’t been best friends for the better part of two decades, he might think Ryder was in on this whole thing. But that theory did make him sound as if he’d booked a one-way ticket to conspiracy-ville. “Just do me a favor?” Chase relented. “Find out the number tomorrow before I have to sign off on those reports?”
“I’ve been calling three times a day.”
Odd, considering Granger claimed his boss was bothering him constantly. Chase almost said as much, but he didn’t want to give Ryder yet another reason to think he’d lost his marbles. In a way, he thought he understood what Henry was going through. “I’ll touch base with you tomorrow.”
“Stay out of trouble, okay?”
Ending the call, Chase headed across town to the Evans’ residence.
Stomach in knots, he parked along the street and made the long, steep walk up their driveway. The log mansion, as many called it, was one of the biggest homes in town. One Laurel’s family had owned for three decades or more. There were enough bedrooms for all the Evans siblings to visit and not share a room or need a couch. They’d spent the first couple weeks after their honeymoon in that house while they waited on their own to close. He missed the days when he was openly accepted as one of the family.
His last Sunday family dinner here had been more than five years ago. They’d been ridiculously excited about the baby, the puppy they were going to adopt, and the nursery they had just painted. Twice Laurel almost slipped and made the announcement early, but they’d agreed to wait until the second trimester.
Little did they know their child would never make it that far along.
Ignoring the impulse to turn heel and run, Chase knocked on the door, hoping either Haylee or Cody would answer the door.
But it was Marc.
“What are you doing here?” Marc growled at him, their brief alliance from the night of the fire already up in smoke.
“Is that Chase?” Haylee’s voice called before she wedged her way between Marc and the door. “Hey, you made it!” She pushed the door open as she shoved Marc back with her petite frame. “Marc, I invited him.”
“Why?”
“Knock it off,” Haylee snapped at him, her narrowed glare successfully chasing off her oldest brother. “Sorry about that. I didn’t tell anyone you were coming. Didn’t want to scare off you know who. Plan can’t work if she isn’t here.”
“What is the plan, exactly?” With Marc no longer blocking the door with his linebacker frame, Chase was able to scan the chaos inside. Beth held her granddaughter on one hip as she carried a breadbasket to the table, shouting at Cody to grab the plates and silverware. Jerry sat in his favorite recliner, head ducked behind the paper as long as he could get away with it. Some things never change.
“You’ll just have to trust me.”
Another scan, and he still didn’t find Laurel.
“She’s downstairs,” Haylee said, tugging Chase inside. “C’mon.”
“Chase,” Beth said, finally seeing him. “What a surprise.”
“Mom, I invited him, okay? Everyone needs to be nice.”
Beth’s concerned expression at that tidbit forced Chase to clear the air. The last thing he needed was any of the Evans who already considered him the bad guy to think he was preying on the youngest sister. “I’m still in love with Laurel, just to be clear.” He held out the bag to Haylee. “I brought some wine.”
“And my cookies! You’re the best, Chase.” She carried the bag into the kitchen, leaving him with Beth and Melly.
“I haven’t met you before,” he said to the precious little girl staring at him with fascinated wide blue eyes. “She’s absolutely breathtaking.”
“You say that because she’s quiet right now, but don’t let her fool you into thinking she’s a demure little thing,” Beth said with a laugh before turning on her baby voice. “But yes, you are a little angel even when you’re screaming bloody murder, aren’t you?”
“A month old today, I hear.”
“Growing up so fast.” When the oven timer sounded, Beth held Melly out to him. “Can you take her? I need to get the scalloped potatoes before they burn.” She didn’t leave him much choice, but Chase didn’t mind. He loved kids, and most of them loved him. Maybe if Laurel saw him holding her niece, it would remind her of what they could try again to have. Was that Haylee’s plan?
As everyone bustled around him, some oblivious to his presence, others noticeably irritated, Chase carried Melly to the window and quietly pointed out the world to her. She didn’t follow his finger, but instead stared up at him in wonder with those big blue eyes. “You’re going to break a lot of hearts, aren’t you, Melly?”
“What are you doing here?” Laurel’s voice caused his pulse to double, then triple. He wasn’t certain ambushing her like this was wise, but he was putting his trust in her youngest sister. Haylee had assured him that this was the last ace up his sleeve. He sincerely hoped she was right.
LAUREL
“I invited him,” Haylee said from behind Laurel’s shoulder.
Finding Chase in their house holding her niece at the window, looking happy and so natural, made her heart ache. Painfully reminding her once again why she had to sign those papers tomorrow. One more day. Why couldn’t she stay away from him for one more flipping day?
“I didn’t know you two were friends,” Laurel said between gritted teeth, more confused than ever. Hadn’t Haylee been the one over-the-top upset about the idea of Laurel getting back together with him and moving out?
“We follow each other on Instagram.”
“Since when?” Laurel demanded.
“Since forever.” Haylee rolled her eyes. “You should try reading the texts I sent you.” Haylee patted her on the shoulder before she wove between them to take Melly. “Let’s get you fed, baby girl, before you decide to have a meltdown at the dinner table and scare away our poor guest.”
As much as she was annoyed with her sister for putting her in this super awkward position, she didn’t want Haylee to leave her alone with Chase. Not when she didn’t have a good reason for running off and ignoring him since yesterday morning. All over a crib. Add in that secret you can’t seem to share. “Chase, I’m—”
“I had a break in the case.”
A mixture of excitement and relief wove through her. He wasn’t going to put her on the spot. She peered into the kitchen. They might have five minutes before dinner, maybe less. “Let’s go outside.”
“I’m ninety-five percent certain our culprit is Crissy.”
“Really? What happened?”
“You happened.” Chase dipped his gaze to her lips, then away at the tree line. It wasn’t fair how badly she craved his kiss. “You recognized that lipstick case.”
“You proved it was hers?”
“Well, not exactly. But she has another one just like it. Tell me how many women in this town special order three-hundred-dollar lipstick from France? It can’t be many.” He relayed the story of him literally bumping into her at the grocery store, her purse spilling on the sidewalk. “I can’t use that as evidence, though.”
“Guess not.” She looked up at him. “So what are you going to do?”
Chase dug his fingers into the base of his neck. “I don’t know, Laurel. Ryder thinks I’ve turned into a conspiracy theorist. Chief probably does too. Oddly enough, your brother is the only one who doesn’t think I’m delusional.”
“Cody?”
“Marc.”
That was surprising.
“I’d really like to talk to Arnie Powers, but I think Ryder might arrest me as a public nuisance if I bother him.”
“I don’t understand why he’s—” Mom’s eardrum burst-inducing whistle echoed—the Evans’ family dinner bell. It was the only truly loud noise that didn’t set Melly to tears. In fact, the baby usually giggled in delight. “You know we have to go inside—”
“—right now.”
“Everyone sit down,” Mom announced as Laurel closed the sliding door behind her. “Where’s your sister? The middle one.”
Laurel held up her hands in surrender, still shocked that Sadie had made the trip for Melly turning one month. Cody was no doubt behind that miracle, though she hadn’t been able to steal a moment alone with him to ask. She only hoped she didn’t regret the favor, especially with Chase invited for dinner. Sadie was a wildcard. Anything was possible. “Don’t ask me.”
Mom leaned the upper half of her body down the basement steps and yelled, “Sadie Lynn Evans, if you’re sleeping in this house tonight, you have thirty seconds to be seated at this dinner table, do you understand me?”
Most of the seats were already filled or spoken for. If Laurel wanted space from Chase, she’d have to subject him to Marc. She wouldn’t do that to him when he already felt as though everyone else joining them for dinner was against him. He needed an ally, someone who believed in his instincts. Once this whole divorce business was behind them, maybe they could stay friends. The non-kissing kind would be safest, though not nearly as enjoyable. One glimpse at Cody, and she swore her brother was telepathically communicating with her.
These things don’t just happen.
Mom huffed in defeat after Sadie didn’t appear, taking her seat and saying grace. Laurel was secretly relieved her sister was absent. With any luck, she was already on the road back to Anchorage and forgot to mention it. The less drama at the dinner table tonight, the better.
Light conversation floated around the table, but Laurel sensed Marc and Dad’s disdain for Chase’s unexpected presence. Her family was fiercely protective of one another, and it was only now that she understood how they must’ve blamed Chase for her leaving. Probably thought he’d strayed. Guilt twisted tighter the longer the tension sizzled in the air. Secrets meant to protect the people she loved seemed to be doing just the opposite.
At least Haylee was being nice to her invited guest.
“You should bring Zeus by sometime to meet Melly. I want to get her used to dogs so I can get one down the road,” Haylee said to Chase, ignoring the conflicting expressions from everyone else at the table.
“He’s a licker,” Chase replied with a light laugh, pretending to be unaffected by the judgment. Pretending because he was such a wonderful human being, despite the real emotions Laurel could sense. The anxiety and unease. Now that they’d shared a few kisses, she doubted that undeniable connection would simply sever after the ink dried on those papers.
I’ll worry about that later.
“Sorry I’m late, everybody!” Sadie announced loudly. She didn’t exhibit any sense of urgency by rushing to the table, but her presence as she casually made her way to the last remaining seat stole the room. It wasn’t her striking red hair—the only Evans besides Grandma Kathy who was a redhead—or her bold wardrobe choice—a bright yellow midriff shirt and black leather pants—that oddly worked. It was her personality. The mix of audacious and crazy that left everyone holding their breath.
Except Mom. Sadie couldn’t rattle her if she focused all her energy on the task.
“Sit,” Mom barked. “You’re late. Everyone else is nearly through dinner.” The uncomfortable hush that fell over the table made Laurel want to grab her plate and sneak off to the basement. For weeks, family dinners had been minus Sadie—aka pleasant and mostly uneventful.
“Chase, what a pleasant surprise to see you here,” Sadie said in that dangerously unpredictable tone that meant she might be sweet or secretly plotting an ambush. She scooted her chair in. “What’s it been, five years?”
“Something like that.” He forced a smile. Chase had never quite figured out how to take Sadie, but he never quitting trying. He had more patience than she did over the matter. Laurel loved him even more because of it. “Home for a visit?”
“Something like that,” she repeated his words back to him as she cut into her pork chop. The gentle roar of side conversations started up again, and Laurel allowed herself to relax. Having Chase at the table wasn’t so bad. In fact, it was kind of nice. Don’t get used to this. Was that why Haylee was smiling so mischievously?
Laurel’s relief was short-lived when Sadie blurted, “So I heard you and my sister are still hitched.”
Silverware clattered against plates, Marc choked on his iced tea, and several sets of eyes stared both shocked and expectantly at Laurel and Chase. Though many had probably wondered why Chase was here, they certainly didn’t seem prepared for that burst of news. Even Cody and Haylee appeared stunned into silence.
“This wasn’t part of my plan,” she heard Haylee whisper to Chase.
Laurel shot laser beams at Sadie, but her sister’s smug expression didn’t falter. A warning? “Do you enjoy leaving a path of destruction everywhere you go?”
“Girls, stop,” Mom warned.
“It’s true, isn’t it?” Sadie pressed, ignoring Mom’s reddening face. “Along with your pending job offer in the Florida Keys. Are you taking your husband with you this time or ditching him again?”
How Sadie knew wasn’t Laurel’s chief concern. It was Laurel’s fault for not locking her bedroom door—something she never had to do when Sadie wasn’t home. She set aside her irritation, focusing on the damage control.
“Enough!” Dad yelled, rattling even Sadie.
Through the tense silence, Laurel felt Chase’s hurt gaze burn into her. She reached for his hand resting on his thigh, but he pulled it away when she tried to squeeze it. The rejection stung more than it should have. “Come with me,” she pleaded to him quietly. “Please.”
After several beats of reluctant silence, he nodded once. They carried their plates into the kitchen and slipped out the back door before the real tension took over the dinner table inside. Raised voices penetrated the enclosure of the house. Because half of her family could see them on the deck, she led Chase around the house to the driveway.
“I’m so sorry about that,” Laurel said immediately. “I’m not taking the job offer. It’s why I never said anything. I had no idea Sadie knew about any of that—”
“I can’t do this.”
Whatever apology Laurel had been in the middle of, she lost the words. Her chest squeezed painfully. “What are you saying?”
“I love you, Laurel.”
Her hands trembled at her sides as she felt her world falling apart one shaky breath at a time. “There’s a but in there.”
“I can’t do all these secrets. They’re going to ruin everything good in your life.” He paced in front of her briefly, ultimately heading down the driveway toward his truck. Halfway there, he stopped. “Sign the papers, Laurel. It’s what you want to do, and I don’t have the energy anymore to convince you to change your mind.”
Chapter Thirteen
Chase
“Don’t look at me like that,” Chase said to Zeus who was staring up at him from the foot of the bed, moping when he got out of the shower. For hours after Chase returned home from the disastrous Evans’ family dinner the night before, the pup had paced, whined, and constantly stared out the window. Even though the dog couldn’t tell him, Chase knew he was waiting for Laurel.
