He hated to burst her happy little bubble, but he was a realist. “Shoot straight with me, Sheriff. Have you had auto theft problems recently here? Should we be worried?”
Kyle and Cole shared a look before the sheriff spoke up. “It’s probably nothing, but we have had a few cars taken recently.” He pointed at the cork board with BOLOs posted on it. Pictures of vehicles and individuals to be on the lookout for.
One of the cars, also a red convertible, caught Duke’s eye. “Are there a lot of vintage cars stolen? This is a ’69 Camaro.”
Kyle looked at the printout. “That BOLO is from Duluth, in the next county over. Nothing around Deep Haven as valuable as a vintage Mustang has been stolen. And the few that have all happened at night, not the middle of the day. But we’ll keep an eye out.”
Cole tapped his pen against his thumb. “It’s been pretty quiet in town lately, especially since the storm had most people hunkered down. The only call so far today was that poor guy wandering on Highway 61, lost.”
“Any of these stolen cars turn up?” Zuri’s voice was hopeful.
Kyle stared into his coffee cup a second before making eye contact, not with Zuri but with Duke. “Sort of. We found some parts of one up at Rusty’s gravel pit.”
Yeah, that’s what Duke thought. Even a sleepy little town like Deep Haven had its dark side. He sighed. “Better give me directions.”
Cole set his pen down. “You never know. I mean, Zuri is right. People around here are known to borrow cars. Check the parking lots in town first. And did you ask Boone?”
“We were trying to spare him the stress. I called him after I picked up the Mustang, and he and Vivien were tracking down her missing dress.”
“Missing dress? That’s where she’s been all day? Poor Vivie.” Zuri’s lips puckered in concern.
Sure. Now she was worried. Not about the car, of course, but about a dress. Typical.
Kyle nodded. “Sounds like he already has his hands full. We’ll keep our eyes and ears open. I’ll get the word out to some of the guys around here before we do anything official.”
Duke appreciated the effort, but something deep inside told him not to hold out much hope. He’d better prepare himself, and Zuri, for the worst.
WEDNESDAY, 7:51 P.M.
Not that she’d admit it to Duke, but Zuri’s optimism was starting to lag.
They’d been driving around Deep Haven for a couple hours, going through each parking lot and checking behind buildings, but nothing. Her gut clenched at the idea of telling the bride and groom they’d lost the Mustang, the thing that’d brought them together in the first place.
And she didn’t want to make a big deal about it…but she’d left her makeup case in the car and…well, how was she supposed to do everyone’s hair and makeup without it?
Yeah, they needed to find that car now. Not to mention it would be the perfect opportunity to show Duke what the Christmas spirit was all about.
It was a season of hope. Joy.
And the handsome but cranky guy next to her could certainly use some of that. She had yet to see a smile on that dark, brooding face of his.
And she might not be as taken with Duke as Vivie had hoped when she set up transportation from the airport, but she was smitten with the town of Deep Haven. Evergreen garland with white lights twined around lamp posts. Many doors sported wreaths with huge, red bows. The thick drifts covering lawns and trees made everything sparkle like the stars above as they drove through the residential blocks. It was enough to bolster her mood and pray for a Christmas miracle of their own.
Duke’s deep voice interrupted her thoughts. “All right, we’ve gone up and down the main streets of this town and haven’t seen a thing. Now can we go to the gravel pit?”
“I suppose. But what makes you so sure that the car was stolen and not borrowed by some well-meaning townsperson?”
“You live in New York City and you really have to ask that?”
“But we’re not in New York City. Vivie was always telling me about this concept of Minnesota-nice, and I didn’t really believe her. But since I landed at the airport, people really have been…nice. And helpful.” She glanced over at Duke. “Well, most people.”
He gave her a look, his mouth pinched, and stared again at the road.
Perfect strangers had helped her get her huge suitcase off the baggage claim belt. Ree Turnquist, Beth, and the other bridesmaids had had a welcome basket all set for Zuri in her cabin when she arrived last night. Everyone helping at Wilder House this morning had been kind and warm and welcoming. So what was it that made Duke Lowry stand out as such a scrooge?
Maybe he wasn’t a true native. “Did you move to Minnesota as an adult?”
“Are you implying I’m not nice?”
His glower didn’t scare her. Especially with…wait—was that a tone of amusement lacing his words? Hold the phone, she might be on the verge of a breakthrough. But she kept her voice even. “Come on. You don’t let me listen to Christmas music. You couldn’t get rid of me fast enough when you dropped me off at my cabin last night. And it’s obvious you didn’t really want me to tag along this afternoon. So what’s the deal?”
A long pause stretched between them. “Like I told you last night, I’m simply…not a fan of Christmas.”
“That’s the lamest excuse I’ve ever heard. Who doesn’t like Christmas?”
“Can we just look for the car?”
Touchy, touchy. “Fine.” So maybe she’d dreamed that moment of…cheer. Obviously she wasn’t going to charm her way into Duke’s good graces. But like it or not, she would help find that car. And he wasn’t going to dampen her holiday spirit. He could put up with her attempt at making her own music. She hummed “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” as he drove to the gravel pit.
They approached the entrance to a wide-open area in the woods. A streetlight guarded it. Everything was covered in two or more feet of snow, from the looks of where it hit the chain-link fence around the perimeter. It was impossible to tell what was under the snowy mounds and hills.
According to the groan coming from the driver’s seat, Duke had hoped for something different. “It hasn’t snowed enough in the last few hours to completely bury a car, and I don’t see any tire tracks. It’s not here.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to poke around? Maybe there’s some back entrance to this place. The car could be hiding behind one of these mounds. We owe it to Boone to look. And I really need to get my makeup case back before the wedding.”
“Might as well look.” Duke drove farther in until the truck came to a halt. “This is too deep.”
He shifted the truck to reverse, but it didn’t move more than a few inches. Going forward again only resulted in the unmistakable sound of tires spinning.
“That’s just great,” Duke mumbled through clenched teeth. “Stay here. I’ll dig us out.”
Yeah, right. She wouldn’t mind watching Duke shoveling snow—a little penance for all that attitude—but she wasn’t the kind of person to sit around and watch others work.
She looked around the cab and found a long-handled ice scraper with a brush on one end. That would work. Zuri tugged her black mittens on and pushed hard against the snowpack to open the passenger door. When she hopped out of the cab, snow came up over her knees. She trudged through it to the front tire.