wished for love and direction in my life. Then I dreamt of Peter and the restaurant and this town.”
The door opened and Karri’s gasp caused Skye to turn around. Peter Castle stood there in a black suit with a black shirt underneath it looking for all the world like a black bear.
17
Trent rarely had the television on while he worked, but today he thought the noise would indicate he was home, especially since he wasn’t using a loud saw. Instead, he was sanding a piece as he thought about last night. Skye was moving to Shadows Landing. Could his dream really be coming true?
“Hey.” Trent looked up as Harper walked inside, a white paper bag in her hand.
“Are those my favorite muffins?”
“They are,” she said, setting down the bag and opening it.
“What do you want?” Trent asked suspiciously, making Harper laugh.
“Nothing. I just wanted to see if you wanted to talk.”
Trent bit into the muffin and rolled his eyes at Harper. “What do you want?” he asked through a mouthful.
“Fine.” Harper grabbed her own muffin. “I wanted to talk about Skye. I know I’ve been wrapped up in married life and we haven’t hung out as much. When I heard about Skye, I thought it was ridiculous. I thought she was ridiculous. However, I was wrong. I like her. I see how she’s good for you. She balances you and you balance her. It’s like Dare and me. Anyway, I know you don’t need my approval, but I wanted you to know you had it if you were trying to decide if she fits in here. She does.”
“She’s moving here.”
“What?” Harper almost screamed.
“She told me last night she’s going to move here. She said she’s made her mark in Hollywood so she doesn’t need to be out there all the time now. She wants the privacy Shadows Landing gives her, plus, a lot of her filming is done in Georgia.”
“That’s great. Why don’t you look excited?” Harper asked, zeroing right in on the heart of the matter.
Trent put down his muffin. He and Harper understood each other. They were more than cousins. They were best friends. However, that still didn’t mean he liked talking about his feelings.
“I think I love her,” Trent admitted.
“Think?” Harper raised an eyebrow in challenge.
Trent felt like tossing the muffin in her face. “No, I know I do. I have since I met her. It’s stupid, right? Who falls in love the first day they know someone? I’m embarrassed to even admit it.”
“It’s not embarrassing, Trent. I admit I fell for Dare fast and hard. Great Aunt Marcy always tells us everyone in the family falls fast and hard. ‘When we know, we know,’” Harper said in her best Great Aunt Marcy impersonation.
“True.” Trent had to admit his aunt had been telling him the same thing recently. A lot. Like, every time they talked and it was written on every note she mailed with her monthly apple pies.
“So, are you going to tell her?” Harper asked before she popped a pinch of muffin into her mouth.
“I will. I don’t know when, but I will when the time is right.” Trent had wanted to tell her last night, but it just seemed as if too much was going on. She was busy restructuring her whole life. Plus, she’d been through enough recently. When he told her, he wanted it to be private, romantic, and something they’d share with their grandkids someday.
“Oh crap!”
“Are you okay?” Trent asked Harper as he stood up from where he was leaning on a worktable.
“No, look!”
Trent turned to look at the television. There was a picture of Skye with the word MISSING under it. He lunged for the remote and turned it up as a police officer stepped to the microphone.
“Let me first say the involved parties wished for this to remain a private matter for the police to handle. However, the public statement released yesterday has pushed this case forward and into the public eye. Yesterday afternoon, Skye Jessamine’s agent, Jim Hexter, and her manager, Lenny Daniels, reported her missing after receiving a ransom note,” the police spokesperson said, nodding to the two solemn men standing slightly behind him and to the side. “The major crimes division is in charge of the investigation and is combing through the threatening letters Mr. Daniels has provided to them.
“We believe the break-in at Miss Jessamine’s property and the leaked photos were committed by this same perpetrator the other week, which caused Miss Jessamine to receive