“Hey, want a doughnut?” Harry asked, holding out another box from the convenience store.
“I’ll pass.”
Jaxson stepped out into the lot, cursing when he saw both of his tires were flat. A quick check confirmed they’d been slashed. Fuckers.
“Jaxson Adams?”
Jaxson looked at the speaker, a big, serious-looking guy getting out of a Wrangler. He immediately straightened and went on the defensive.
“This your handiwork?”
The guy shook his head. “I’m Steve Tannen. Sam’s husband.”
Jaxson’s eyes flicked toward the Jeep. “Is she with you?”
“No. What do you say we get a cup of coffee and you can tell me why you want to talk to my wife?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Not really.”
Jaxson snorted. He had a feeling if he didn’t, his chances of talking to Sam would go into the negatives. “Then, sure.”
Sam’s husband wasn’t much of a talker, and the ride was a silent one. They went to the same diner Penny had taken him to. After they placed their orders, Jaxson didn’t waste time. He was already in a shitty mood and tired of playing games.
“I’ll get right to the point. I think Sam might be able to help me find my mother.”
Tannen didn’t seem surprised, which meant that Penny must have filled them in during her visit the day before.
“How so?” Tannen asked carefully.
As succinctly as possible, Jaxson told him about the letters. About his quest and the little he’d been able to discover thus far. Tannen listened quietly; his face gave nothing away.
“Sam’s put her past behind her. Perhaps you should try to do the same,” he said when Jaxson was finished.
“Yeah,” Jaxson said on a mirthless laugh, “that’s what everyone keeps telling me.”
“And yet you persist.”
“It’s important.”
Tannen sat back and said, “Tell me what happened to your face.”
There was no reason not to. “Two guys jumped me on my way into the motel last night. Probably the same guys who slashed my tires.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I thought it might have been you, but Penny seems to think it was a couple of locals trying to send a different kind of message.”
“Definitely wasn’t us. You didn’t report it?”
Jaxson laughed. “Not when one of the cops already warned me off Penny.”
“Lenny Petraski,” Tannen said knowingly.
“Yeah. You know him?”
“Yeah, I know him,” Tannen said, making Jaxson think there was a hell of a lot more to that story than Penny had shared.
“So ... I’ve been honest with you. Do I get to talk with Sam or not?”
Tannen didn’t answer right away. Jaxson was certain he was going to tell him he’d have to find another way to get the information he was looking for, but eventually, he nodded and said, “All right. I’m still not convinced this is a good idea, but Sam wants to meet you.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it. I want my wife to be happy. I do not want her upset. Are we clear?”
“Yeah, we’re clear. When?”
“The sooner, the better. How about this afternoon?”
“If I can get my bike fixed, yeah.”
Tannen’s phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket, and his lips curled into what might be the hint of a smile as he tapped the screen and brought the phone to his ear.
“Yes, I’m with him now. Yes, I really felt it was necessary. No, I didn’t. This afternoon. Yeah, all right. Love you, too. See you soon.”
Jaxson hid his smile. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who had been on the other end of that call.
Tannen slapped a few bills on the table and stood, signaling the end of the interrogation. “Let’s go see about getting you some new tires.”
“You don’t need to—” Jaxson began to protest, but Tannen cut him off.
“Like I said, I want my wife to be happy, and that means making sure your ass makes it up there today.”
When they got back to the motel, however, Jaxson’s bike was no longer in the parking lot. The Hoffmeier Floral delivery van was.
Penny and Harry were at the front desk, eating something out of a bag stamped with the name of the local mini mart and laughing at something on Harry’s screen. A big bouquet of colorful, fresh flowers sat atop the counter.
Penny looked up as they approached, her eyes lighting up when she saw him. A strange sensation skittered through his chest.
“There you are!” Penny said. “I brought breakfast burritos, but you were already gone. Hi, Steve!”
“Hey, Penny.”
“Where’s my bike?”
“Oh, Zeb has it. I called him when I saw what those bluebells had done to your tires. He said it’d be safer in his garage for the time being, so he loaded it onto his trailer and took it back to his place. He knows a guy down in Birch Falls who might have what you need. Kyle Mc-something or other.”
Jaxson blinked in disbelief. “Kyle McCullough?”
“That sounds right. Do you know him?”
“Everyone in the bike world knows Kyle McCullough. His customs are legendary.”
“Okay.” She shrugged, as if it weren’t a big deal, and then she waved her breakfast burrito back and forth between him and Tannen. “Does this mean you’re going up to talk to Sam?”
When Jaxson nodded, Penny continued, “Awesome! Mind if I tag along? I’m done with my deliveries for the day, and Tina promised me a tour of the new orchard.”
“No,” Jaxson said, shaking his head.
“Why not? Even if you ride up with Steve, you’ll need a ride back, won’t you?”
Jaxson looked to Tannen for help, who appeared to be trying hard not to smile.
“I’d just go with it if I were you,” Tannen suggested.
“Fine,” he said on an exhale. “Let me grab something before we go.”
“No worries. I’ll meet you out in the lot. We can swing by Zeb’s on the way,” Penny suggested.
Chapter Twenty-One
Jaxson
Jaxson grabbed the small lockbox he’d brought with him on the trip. Penny was waiting for him in the delivery van when he came out, just as she’d said she would be. Tannen was nowhere to be seen.
“Did you get any sleep?” he asked as soon as he climbed in.
He hadn’t wanted to ask in front of Harry, especially since he didn’t know who he could trust. As far as he knew, no one knew about Penny following him or spending the night in his room, and it was probably better to keep it that way.
She shrugged. “I don’t sleep much. I’ll grab a nap later.”
“Why?”
“Because if I don’t, I’ll get cranky.”
“No, I mean, why don’t you sleep?”
“It’s hard to turn my brain off, I guess.”
He didn’t have any trouble believing that. “What about your feet?”
“What about them?”
He sighed. “How do they feel?”