from Troy.
“Speaking of dating,” Kyle said as if he’d read her mind. “What’s going on with you and the photographer?”
It was Joy’s turn to shrug. “Nothing.”
“That’s not what the tabloids say,” he said with a glint of humor in his eyes.
She chuckled. “Can’t believe everything you read.” Then she sobered. “Honestly, we’re just friends. There’s not anything to talk about there.”
“We’ll see.”
She was about to ask him what that meant, but the back door swung open and Hope and Grace poured out of her house and rushed over to them, each of them fussing over Kyle, wanting to make sure he was all right.
It didn’t take long before he was yawning and insisting he needed to lie down for a while.
Joy rose from the swing and handed him his crutches. “Can I get you anything?”
“Water? Maybe some toast so I can take my pain meds?”
“I’m on it,” Hope said, turning and rushing back into the house, her dark curls flying behind her.
Grace held the door open for Kyle, and Joy waited patiently while her youngest child hobbled back into the house.
Chapter Five
“You look beat,” Hope said, eyeing Joy from the other side of the kitchen table. She’d swept her dark curls up into a messy bun. Her whiskey-colored eyes were scrutinizing Joy’s face. “Did you get any sleep last night?”
Joy held her hand up, covering her mouth as she yawned so hard her eyes watered. “A little. It was a very long day.”
Grace Valentine placed a plate of pumpkin-spice pancakes in front of Joy.
Joy glanced up at her friend and marveled that she was so well put together. She was wearing a chic shimmering-blue pant suit, and her wavy auburn hair was styled to perfection. “Thank you. You look fantastic. Got a big day?”
Grace grinned. “I have a new high-end client, and I’m showing him the Emsworth estate.”
The Emsworth estate was a large private home ten miles south of town with its own private beach. If Grace sold that property, the commission would be spectacular. “No wonder you dressed in your fancy duds. Did you bring your lucky heels? They’d go perfectly with that suit.”
Grace smiled at her friend. “They’re in the car.”
“Perfect. It sounds like you’re on track to earn that Realtor of the Year title.” Joy winked at her and dug into her pancakes. She took a bite and let out a moan of pleasure.
The conversation ceased as they each tucked into their breakfasts. When Joy finally put her fork down and leaned back in her chair, resting her hands on her full stomach, Grace asked, “Are you going to tell us what happened yesterday?”
Joy flicked her gaze over her two friends and said, “You heard about Harlow Preston.” Then she narrowed her eyes at Hope. “Or did you read my mind?”
Hope held both hands up in a stop motion. “Nope. No listening in like Angela does,” she said, referring to her mother, who was unable to stop reading minds. She had no control over it, unlike Hope, who was learning she could close her senses and keep the thoughts of others out sometimes. “I’d tell you if I did. But it doesn’t happen that often. Mostly it’s just when there are a lot of people around and I get overloaded or if my emotions are all over the place. It was in the Premonition Perspective this morning,” Hope said with a scowl. “It said you were held at the police station and questioned for hours. I swear, that rag is getting worse and worse.”
Joy let out a gasp. “It was in a gossip column?”
Hope nodded. “I only know because Lucas’s mom likes to read the stories out loud every morning. Imagine my surprise when she rattled off that Joy Lansing was seen being escorted into the police station after Carly Preston’s niece had gone missing.” Hope had recently moved into her dream home with her fiancé and his mother. It was quite a departure for Hope, who’d always been the most independent of the trio. But her life with Lucas clearly agreed with her, and Joy had never seen her friend so happy and content.
Joy buried her face in her hands and let out a groan. “Oh shit. What if the national gossip rags pick that up? Gods. They could’ve at least gotten the details as to why I was there instead of making it sound like I’m a suspect.”
“Look at it this way,” Grace said with a kind smile. “Maybe it’ll give you street cred and