“It wasn’t a problem, my dear.” But you have been, Elliana MacLeod. A very big problem indeed. To not only me but your mother.
As the pieces of the puzzle slipped into place, Ellie’s fingers trembled. The glasses clinked into one another, causing the fizzy pink liquid to slosh onto the tray. “I better pass these around. Enjoy the party.” She tightened her grip on the tray and hurried away, searching for someone to hand off the drinks to. She spotted Spencer a few feet away. She handed him the tray. He looked from her to the drinks like he had no idea what she expected him to do with them. “Pass them out to the members of your team, please.”
She didn’t wait for a response. She took off at a run. She had to catch Nate before he left. As she rounded the front of the inn, she saw him talking to Chase, his duffel bag slung over his shoulder. Chase looked about as happy as Ellie was about Nate leaving.
“See if you can talk some sense into him,” Chase said as he walked past her.
Nate shook his head, then offered her a half smile. “You didn’t have to run over here. I wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye.”
She waved him off, glancing over her shoulder. “That’s not why I was running. I need to talk to you. Did you see the man in the gray suit?”
He winced. “Yeah, I didn’t want to say anything, but I’m pretty sure he’s the developer your mother signed the agreement with. He’s been casing the place since he got here. I have a meeting with the task force in forty-five minutes or I’d stick around, but Gabe and Chase are on it. They’ll keep an eye on him, see what he’s up to. But tell them immediately if he says anything to you or Joe.”
“I know who he is, but I don’t think the property is the only reason he’s here.” She took a deep breath, dreading what she had to do, but she had to tell him in case it was somehow connected to his case. In case it put Nate in danger.
“Ellie, what’s wrong?”
“I have to tell you something, and I need you to believe me.” Worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, she looked around, making sure they were alone. Then she blurted out her secret. “Nate, I’m psychic.”
He stared at her. “Say again.”
“I inherited my grandmother’s gift, only mine is different than her’s. I can read people’s minds.”
His lips twitched and he crossed his arms. “Read mine.”
“I can’t. You’re the only one I can’t read. But I don’t have to, to know you think this is a joke. It’s not, Nate.”
“So why don’t you do it all the time? You could make a fortune.”
“Because I don’t think of it as a gift. It’s always been a curse to me. It’s why my mother rejected me. I read her mind, Nate. That’s how I found out Bri wasn’t my father’s daughter, and that’s why my mother spent years trying to convince me I was mentally unstable. I’m not, in case you’re wondering. I’m completely sane. But whether you believe me or not, you need to hear what he was thinking when he was staring at you and Ryder.” She repeated the man’s thoughts exactly as she’d read them. “I don’t know how or why or what his involvement is, but I think he’s somehow connected to your case. I’m almost positive he’s also my sister’s father.”
“I don’t know, Ellie. Are you sure you aren’t just imagining that’s what you…Sorry. I get that you believe in this sort of thing. It’s just that I have a harder time with it. You know that. We’ve talked about it. But I’ll look into it.” At least he didn’t laugh at her or outright reject her, but he was humoring her.
“I don’t care that you’re a skeptic and don’t believe me. You need to look into him, Nate. Promise me that you will.”
“I promise. Now I really do have to go.” He moved in to give her a hug, but she stepped back and held out her hand.
“Goodbye, Nate. Be safe.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Thanks a lot, Ellie,” Ryder said from the doorway of her office.
She looked up from the computer. He was holding out his phone with the screen turned to her. She grinned at the picture of him doing the dishes this morning. “I couldn’t resist. You looked so cute in the apron. And I know for a fact your mom loved it.”
She’d sent the photo to Gina a couple of hours ago. They’d chatted for an hour after the party had ended last night. Five hours and twenty minutes after Nate had left. Yes, Ellie was that pathetic that she’d resorted to counting the minutes he’d been gone. She’d missed him making breakfast with her this morning too.
“What are you guys up to now?” she asked, closing the online banking app. The inn’s account balance made for depressing reading.
“Me, Joe, and the judge are going to finish up one of the cabins today. Nate is expecting an update.” He rolled his eyes but she didn’t miss the happy twitch of his lips. “Gabe’s going to bring the boys over after school to help out.”
She smiled, pleased that Ryder’s relationship with Nate hadn’t suffered irreparable damage over the broken promise. She couldn’t say the same for her relationship with Nate. Ryder was the only one of them receiving texts from him. Then again, in Nate’s mind, they didn’t have the kind of relationship that warranted daily texts or updates.
She imagined he felt like he’d dodged a bullet after learning her secret. But she didn’t regret telling him. He needed to know what the developer had been thinking. What Nate did with the information was up to him. Part of her wondered if he’d do anything with it at all. Or would he simply write her off as one of the crazy people who had come forward to offer help on his previous cases?
It hurt to think that he would, and she had to work to keep the bright and cheerful tone in her voice. “I’ll bring you guys a picnic lunch. We have a ton of food left over from the party.”
“Thanks, Ellie. See you later.” Ryder’s smile disappeared when Spencer joined him at the doorway.
Ellie frowned, wondering at his odd reaction. He’d seemed to like Spencer. Maybe not so odd after all, Ellie thought, when Ryder leaned against the door like he had no intention of leaving. Apparently, in Ryder’s mind, Ellie belonged to Nate, and Spencer was encroaching on his godfather’s territory. Sweet but completely unnecessary. However, her and Nate’s nonrelationship wasn’t a subject she wanted to broach with Ryder at the moment.
“Hi, Spencer. Ryder, don’t forget to take some pictures of Toby. I want to send them to my sister.” Despite Bri being incommunicado, Ellie continued sending the pictures in hopes her sister would eventually respond. She’d yet to receive a reply to her latest texts to Richard and her mother.
Ellie had been tempted to confront her mother about what she’d read in the mind of Bri’s father. Not about what had felt like a threat at the time—once her panic had subsided, and she’d had a chance to mull over the older man’s thoughts, she’d realized his tone had been more amused than threatening. No, what she wanted to confront her mother about was the feeling that their affair was not in the past but ongoing.
Ryder gave Spencer a narrow-eyed look before pushing off the doorjamb. “Sure,” he said, then sauntered away.