“Girl.” Darby turned on her. “You’d better open a window, cuz it’s steamy in here.” Her friend waved her hand in front of her face, doing her best Carrie impersonation as Carrie laughed.
“You need some new jokes,” Carrie said, sitting on the edge of Raven’s desk. Her friend’s smile fell away. “Tell us what happened.”
For the next hour, she hung out in her office with her friends, filling them in on every detail about what had happened over the last twenty-four hours, ending with her aunt’s actions.
“So, your aunt and uncle are both down at the police station right now?” Darby asked.
They’d ordered coffee and some blueberry muffins from the kitchen and sat in the old leather sofa and chairs that sat across from the desk. She remembered the furniture from when her father used the office and had been surprised it was still in fairly good condition.
“The sheriff made a point to mention that my uncle wasn’t under arrest. That he was just down there for questioning,” Raven clarified.
“And he questioned you last night and this morning?” Carrie asked.
“Yes, well, I was the one who found Joe.” She felt a shiver race through her and closed her eyes while she tried to control her emotions.
“That’s it. You’re staying over at my place tonight,” Carrie said firmly. “Both of you are. We’ve needed a catch-up girls’ night since all this happened. Safety in numbers and all.”
“I…” Raven started but stopped when Carrie narrowed her eyes at her.
“Girl, you are not going to deny me. I…” She shook her head and grabbed Darby’s hand. “We,” she corrected, “are not going to let you stay in this massive place alone after someone’s been murdered here.”
“I’m hardly alone,” Raven said.
“How many other guests are staying on your floor?” Darby asked.
“None,” Raven answered, causing Darby’s eyebrows to lift.
“How many are staying in the same building as you?” Darby asked.
Raven sighed heavily. “None.”
“Then it’s settled.” Carrie glanced around. “Are you really going to work today? Or can we please play hooky and go shopping before girls’ night?”
Raven thought about the pile of paperwork and decided that her mind just wasn’t on it.
“Let’s go shopping,” she said to the joy of her friends.
Raven hadn’t known she’d needed the day with her friends until they were sitting at a restaurant in Redding overlooking the river and laughing while drinking a glass of wine.
“God, I needed this,” she said with a sigh. The tears leaking out of her eyes now were happy tears. “A day with you two. I’ve missed the both of you.”
“Well, you’re the one who has been so busy since you returned,” Darby pointed out.
“For good reason.” Carrie nudged Darby. “Look at all you’ve had to take on. I mean, who would have thought that over the years your uncle and Morgan Roche would be stealing from you.”
“Not really from me,” she corrected. “From the resort. Most of the money taken was earmarked for hiring employees, general maintenance and repairs, those kinds of things. My uncle never wavered on depositing my allotted funds in my account. I think he knew that if he did, I’d find out about the other money he was taking.”
“That makes sense.” Darby nodded.
“I’ll wager he never expected you to return,” Carrie added.
“I hadn’t planned on it,” she admitted out loud.
“What made you change your mind?” Darby asked.
“My gran. The night before she passed, we had a talk.” She took a sip of her wine and swallowed the pain of losing her grandmother. “She reminded me of my parents’ sacrifice to turn the resort around. How much it meant to them and, she reminded me, how much it meant to me.”
“I’m so sorry.” Carrie reached across and took Raven’s hand.
Raven nodded and smiled. “Once her estate was settled, I decided to come back and use my inheritance to fix the resort up once more.” She frowned. “I hadn’t expected to spend all my money. I had hoped to purchase a place of my own, but after seeing the state of things.” She shook her head and finished off the last of her grilled shrimp salad. “I’m going to be lucky to get everything on my list done.”
“It’s that bad?” Darby asked.
Raven shrugged. “Some items will just have to wait until next year.” She was determined to keep a positive attitude.
“So, you are for sure sticking around?” Carrie asked.
Raven tilted her head slightly and glanced out over the water. “Part of me misses the city life. But no.” She shook her head. “There’s nothing left for me in San Diego.”
“You’ve got us here,” Carrie added as she tipped her glass towards Raven.
“To the three amigas.” Darby held up her glass.
After lunch, the three of them hit every store in town. Well, okay, not every store, but by the time they headed back to Cannon Falls, her feet felt like they had.
She wanted to tell her friends that she was okay for the night, that they could drop her off, but part of her still didn’t want to be alone.
She was happily surprised when Cade texted her midday to ask her how things were going. She filled him in quickly on playing hooky and staying at Carrie’s for the night.
He replied that it was a good idea and to have fun.
She’d wanted to ask him if he’d heard anything else from his uncle but didn’t want to put a damper on her good mood.
Carrie parked in front of a small cottage home just inside town.
“Is this your place?” Raven asked eagerly.
“It is. I had it built with the insurance money. It’s small, because the money was tight, but it’s everything I need. Besides, I spend most of my time down at my office,” she answered with a shrug.
“I love it. It’s… perfect,” Raven said, getting out of the car and grabbing her overnight bag and the bags of items she’d purchased. She shouldn’t have spent the money, but she’d found a pair of boots and a couple of new tops she wanted.
“Dad and I are just there,” Darby added, pointing across the street and down a few homes. “The blue one.”
“Wow, I can’t believe I didn’t know where you guys lived.” She felt her heart skip at the realization that she hadn’t even thought about what had happened to her friends after the fire. She’d been so… lost. There hadn’t been room for anything other than her own pain.
“It’s okay.” Darby walked up and wrapped her arms around her. “We all bounced back. Some of us just took a little longer.”
Raven smiled down at her friend. “Did you get shorter?” she joked, earning a poke in the ribs from her friend.
“Does that joke ever get old?” Carrie chuckled as she unlocked her door. “Welcome to mi casa,” she motioned with a flourish.
Raven stepped into the home and smiled. Carrie had always been an artist at heart. Even if she did spend most of her time with her nose stuck in a book.