“As long as it doesn’t involve running, I’ll be fine.”
“You and Dalt are gonna get close,” I explained. “We’ll make it look like it happened naturally, but you two are gonna be seen spendin’ more and more time together. Cormack knows he’s part of Linc’s crew, so if he’s smart he’ll start putting some distance between him and you without getting suspicious.” I was right, I could tell by the pinched look on her face she wasn’t happy with that, so I added more, hoping to keep her head from exploding. “This way, you might be able to keep your finger on the pulse without getting any deeper, and you’ll have a reasonable excuse to have Dalton at your back if anything goes down. But we’re gonna make damn sure nothing goes down. That work for you?”
“It’s that or a safehouse in the mountains with no cable or internet,” Linc grunted.
Charlie’s nostrils flared like an angry bull as her eyes skittered around the men at the table before finally turning to look at the one standing behind her. “Fine,” she grumbled as she faced forward in her chair. “Option two it is.” She threw her arm out and pointed behind her. “But if he pisses me off, I can’t be held responsible for shooting him.”
With that said, everything was as settled as it could possibly get, given the shitstorm swirling around all of us.
We ended the meeting shortly after that, with Dalton driving a fuming Charlie back to her house to make sure it was clear.
I stood from the conference table and started toward the doors when Leo called my name. “Look, brother, I hate to pile more on your plate after the night we just had, but there’s something you gotta know.”
I watched the rest of the men clear out of the room before looking back to my partner. “What is it?”
“You know Dani knows what’s goin’ down to a certain extent.” I nodded. It was something he and I had talked about when we discovered we had at least one dirty cop in the department. We agreed he could talk to Danika about the case because she was his woman, and we both knew we could trust her. As far as I was aware, she hadn’t breathed a word of what she knew to anyone else. “Well, she was at Divine Flora earlier today, visiting Hayden, and Cormack came in.” My back went straight. Unfortunately, he wasn’t finished. “Your little showdown at The Tap Room last weekend didn’t do a damn thing to get him off her scent. He made his move right there in front of her aunt and her girl, as well as Sage and Dani.”
“He what?”
“Asked her out in front of an audience. He’s got her in his sights and he’s not shiftin’ target."
“God damnit,” I snapped. “I told her to stay away from that son of a bitch.”
“Well, the way Dani says she saw it, Hayden didn’t look too excited to have his attention. My woman did her best to warn her away from the prick without lettin’ anything slip, but Dani’s still worried. Hayden’s part of their crew now, and she wants to make sure her new friend’s got someone lookin’ out for her.”
“I’m on it,” I grunted, heading for the door. Greg Cormack wasn’t going to get within fifty feet of Hayden again. I’d make goddamn sure of it.
Chapter Sixteen
Hayden
I thought my aunt had been exaggerating when she said nearly the whole town was coming to the party she’d decided to throw on a whim. That just went to show what I knew, because it felt like every single resident in Hope Valley was currently standing in our backyard.
I’d woken up this morning frantic that nothing had been done in preparation. I’d hightailed it out to Sylvia’s to find out what I could do, only to be told “Everything will work itself out, my precious girl. Just relax.” I hadn’t bought it, but sure enough, she’d been right.
Everything was running like a well-oiled machine. Other than making a big helping of potato salad and two apple pies—my contribution to the potluck aspect of the whole thing—there’d been nothing else for me to do. There was no setting anything up ahead of time, no preparing for our “guests”.
People showed, some with folding tables, some with chairs, others with yard games, and they set stuff up wherever there was an empty space. Each person came with at least one dish, so the spread was more impressive than the catering at my wedding. There were a few kegs off to the side, and coolers full of drinks had appeared out of nowhere.
And people milling about everywhere. Micah had dragged a grill over earlier and spent the past hour standing around it with a bunch of other men, talking and drinking beers while grilling up hamburgers and hot dogs.
I didn’t recognize three quarters of the people, yet they all seemed to know exactly who I was, giving ‘hellos’ or waves, some even stopping to chat with me for a bit. There wasn’t a single stranger in sight. Everyone had made themselves right at home, kicking back and enjoying a beautiful fall day before the weather got too cold, hanging out with good friends, good food, and lots of laughs.
Eden sidled up to me, a clear plastic cup with what looked like lemonade clutched between her hands and propped on her baby bump. “Hey, babe. You having a good time?”
I let out a small laugh. “This is certainly not what I was expecting. The last time I hosted a barbecue, it had been planned weeks in advance, there were no kids allowed, and everyone came dressed in ‘garden party chic’.”
She turned her face to me, her brows raised in confusion. “I’m not even sure what that means.”
“Lightweight dresses and heels for the women. Sport coats and chinos for the men.”
“That sounds . . .” she scrunched her nose up adorably.
“Awful?” I added on a giggle. “Yeah. It really was. It was an event for Alex’s clients and work associates. I was bored out of my mind.”
“And now?”
I looked out at the sprawling yard. My baby girl was easy to spot with her long, wild hair and the purple tutu and T-shirt sporting a sequined Eiffel Tower she’d paired with her combat boots. She was in the middle of a Frisbee game with a group of kids of all ages. She looked like she was having the time of her life.
A smile slowly stretching across my lips. “Now I’m having the best time,” I admitted in a quiet voice. “Everybody knows everybody. There’s a comfort in that I’ve never experienced before. There are no pretenses, no one’s trying to show anyone else up. The only thing anyone cares about is that the person next to them is having fun.”
Eden grinned big. “Welcome to small-town living, honey.”
“It really is the best.”
A woman who looked to be around Sylvia’s age shuffled her way in front of Eden and me. Her short, gray hair was tinted blue and, while she was far less spry than my aunt, there was a shrewdness in her eyes telling me this woman still had her wits about her, and then some.
“So, this is the new one, huh?”
My chin jerked back at her bluntness while Eden let out a giggle before introducing us. “Ms. McClintock, this is Hayden Young. Sylvia’s niece. Hayden, this is Ms. M. Don’t let her fool you, she’s actually sweet as pie. You’ll love her.”