“Wonderful.”
The two of us were silent for a few minutes, Emily not looking at me as I busied myself with watching the town below us.
As I followed the silvery ribbon of the frozen creek with my eyes, Emily broke the silence.
“What did you mean that I wasn’t being fair?”
“Huh?”
“When you broke your cover in the trees,” she said, pointing back to where I’d been hidden. “I was talking about Lucy Rogers—”
“You mean you were bitching about Lucy Rogers.”
“Point taken. What did you mean?” She picked at the stray pine needles peeking through the snow.
“I meant exactly what I said. You weren’t being fair. Sure, Lucy’s a busybody and probably the nosiest person in the town, but she’s a good person. She gets along with your mom. Her daughter Rose must be close to your age. They probably talk about the two of you to one another. How old are you, anyway—thirty? Thirty-two?”
“I’m thirty-three. I didn’t know they actually got on that well…”
“Then maybe you should pay attention to the people who are looking out for your mom.”
Emily’s nose wrinkled in annoyance at the comment, but then she sighed.
“You’re right. Want a medal?”
“You got one? I look good in gold.” I laughed, shifting against the tree to make myself more comfortable. My arm ended up accidentally brushing up against Emily’s, but she didn’t pull away.
“Your impersonation of me was pretty spot-on, though,” I admitted.
Emily backed away slightly in horror. “Oh, Lord. You heard that part, too?”
“That was the whole reason I hid. So, tell me, who else can you do?”
Emily frowned uncertainly. “What do you mean?”
“The people in town. Who else do you think you’ve got pegged? Give me the run-down, and I’ll tell you if you’re right or not.”
“That sounds … pretty mean. And judgmental.”
“That’s exactly the point.” I gave her a look that told her I knew who she was. Like it or not, she was like me, and somehow that made her being in Frazier Falls perfect.
Chapter Eight
Emily
Of all the things to be doing in the world, I never thought I’d be sitting up on the top of a hill imitating the people down below in Frazier Falls with Eli Cooper.
“You seriously want me to tell you what I think of the people in town?”
Eli nodded. “Absolutely.”
Something told me that Eli wouldn’t leave until I did, and I had to admit that our conversation had been the first one I’d enjoyed with anyone other than my mom or Sadie in weeks.
“Okay. Who should I start with?”
“Have you met Rachel Wilkes?”
“What, you mean the ancient lady who runs the convenience store when she doesn’t have Paxton take over for her?”
“That’s the one. Though she’s not that old. I’m pretty sure she’s a couple years younger than your mom.”
“No way!” That information came as a shock. “I could have sworn she was older, and that’s not to mention that my mom doesn’t exactly look like a young seventy, either.”
“Some people are simply cursed with bad genes, I guess.”
“But not you, right?” I said with a smirk. “You and your brothers are absolutely perfect.”
“Hey, you’ve already roasted me. Do Rachel.”
“I don’t have much to say about her, except I’m pretty sure she has no clue how to run a shop.”
“Exactly, right?” Eli replied with surprising excitement. “There’s no way her age has anything to do with it. She doesn’t know how to actually stock shelves or work a register, and now it’s too late to ask someone to teach her.”
I burst out laughing. “You know, that’s exactly right. I’ve been in a few times over the years when I’ve flown in to see my mom, and she has never known where the canned tomatoes are even though I make a point of asking every time I’m in.”
“Sounds about right. Hey, if you’ve visited here so often, how come I’ve never seen you?”
“It’s not as if I stay long.” I grimaced at the thought of staying in Frazier Falls. “I’m only ever here to see my mom, so generally, I stay with her. My visits are usually a day or two over the weekends. It’s not all that surprising that you haven’t seen me. We spend our time sitting in the living room catching up.”
“I suppose … okay, next one. Have you met Brady Huck?”
“Ugh, is he the guy who runs that other bar? The one down the street from Reilly’s?”
“That would be the one. Doesn’t sound like you hold him in high regard.”
I rolled my eyes. “He hit on me a couple years back when my mom insisted on taking me to Huck’s for a drink. The man told me I reminded him of Hermione Granger because of my accent. What a dullard. She’s British. Not even close. The guy’s a real creep.”
“I’m fairly certain he’s a creep to everyone, and that’s a valid reason to dislike him.”
“He seems like the kind of guy who might piss on his neighbor’s daisies.”
Eli almost choked in response. “Definitely guilty of that, except they were roses. He said it was an emergency and couldn’t make it the extra twenty feet indoors.”
“Yuck. Why does anyone go to his bar if he’s such a creep?”
“Because his dad’s a decent man, and the place is cheaper than Reilly’s. Also, you’ll never get kicked out, which is a plus.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You have cause to take that as a plus?”
“Owen got us kicked out of Reilly’s a couple times.” Eli chuckled. “Once for fist-fighting with Rich, and once, for over two weeks, for being an asshole to Ruthie McCall on a date.”
“Is that the barmaid who’s always on her phone?”
“Only recently. She’s met a guy in the next town over … hopefully, he’s less of a dick than my brother.”
I frowned. “I had Owen pegged as the nice one out of you Coopers.”
“Not Pax?”
“He doesn’t count. He’s almost too nice. There must be something going on with him behind the scenes.”
“For a girl who doesn’t like this town, you sure have your finger on the pulse. You’re good at this. Owen usually is the nice one, but he was a bit of an accidental playboy before he met Carla.”
“How can one be an accidental playboy?”
“It’s possible if you’re never aware that’s what you are,” Eli replied. “That, and Owen is pretty charming and can’t say no. That’s a bad combination when it comes to women asking him out.”
“I suppose. What’s Paxton’s deal?”
“Basically,” Eli shrugged his shoulders, “he’s actually great with people. They tell him everything he needs to know before realizing he’s wormed the information out of them for a reason.”