Chapter 2 Pointing Fingers

Wheeler spun in his uncle’s direction, looking aghast. “Sheriff!”

“Go ahead and arrest me alongside her,” Gil snarled. “Then you can testify in court how you harassed, wrongfully accused, and mistakenly arrested an innocent woman for being in possession of a gift from me.”

A gift? Bliss’s lips parted in confusion, knowing there was no way Gil Remington had placed anything in her suitcase. There’d been no opportunity. Why was he lying about it?

Her first thought after being asked to step from the vehicle was that this was some sort of prank, and he was in on it. However, things had just gotten very real.

By voluntarily leaping out of his Land Rover to defend her, the sheriff of Heart Lake had disobeyed a direct order from an on-duty police officer. At this point, it was within his nephew’s purview to arrest him. A tense silence fell over their small gathering.

Wheeler was the first to speak. “By law, everything that once belonged to Mary Remington now belongs to my uncle. Unless, of course, it’s stated otherwise in the last will and testament of the late Mrs. Remington.”

“You know for a fact it was not,” Gil snapped. “You were present at the reading of her will, the same as every other family member living in Heart Lake.”

“Everything he says is true.” Wheeler sent a perplexed look in Luke’s direction. “Which begs the question why a search warrant for the allegedly stolen item was requested in the first place.”

“Or granted, for that matter.” Luke looked equally troubled.

“Take off the handcuffs,” Gil ordered in a low, terse voice. “I’ll drive Bliss to the station, and we’ll sort everything out there.”

Luke hastily unlocked the cuffs. “Please accept our apologies, cuz.”

She nodded, nervously rubbing her wrists. “You were just doing your jobs.” She swallowed a lump of emotion, feeling dangerously close to breaking down. Too much was happening too quickly. Her senses were on overload.

Luke eyed her movements with concern. “Did I hurt you?” He sounded stricken.

“Only my feelings.” Though she tried to keep her voice light, there was nothing amusing about the hitch of emotion in her voice.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated, hurrying to the side of the road to help Wheeler seal her belongings back inside her suitcases.

“We all are.” Gil stomped to Bliss’s side to cup his large hands protectively around her shoulders. He gently guided her back to the passenger side of the Land Rover. “So help me, Bliss, we’re going to get to the bottom of this. I promise.”

She gave him a damp smile, enormously grateful to learn she’d not been the butt of some heinous Remington prank. “I guess this means our coffee stop is out of the question?”

After tossing her suitcases into the rear hatch, Wheeler moved around to the passenger side of the vehicle. “What’s this about a coffee stop?”

Gil brushed his thumb over the top of Bliss’s hand as he assisted her back into the Land Rover. “We were originally headed to the Blue Brew. Neither of us has had any breakfast yet.”

Wheeler pursed his lips thoughtfully. “I’ll take your orders,” he offered in muted undertones. “It’s the least we can do to repay Dr. Hawling for what we just put her through.”

“Don’t.” Gil didn’t seem to realize he was still holding her hand. “We’ll grab coffee at the station, and I’ll take her out for a real meal afterward.”

As kind as his nephew’s offer was, Bliss wasn’t sure she was going to feel up to any outings later on. Her thoughts drifted longingly to the peace and quiet of the hotel room where she’d be staying. She briefly closed her eyes, picturing herself falling face first into bed after she arrived.

“Listen,” Wheeler dropped his voice even further. “I had no idea you two were dating.”

Bliss’s eyelids shot open in pure astonishment.

“If you’d bothered to drop the hard-nosed sheriff act for five seconds straight at any point leading up to this,” he continued in a grumbly voice, “all of what just happened might’ve been avoided.”

“Somehow I doubt it.” Gil’s hand tightened on Bliss’s. “Whatever is going on here was carefully orchestrated. Be assured she’ll be lawyered up by the time we reach the station.”

“Figured that.” Wheeler sounded approving.

“We’re not dating, by the way.” Bliss finally found her voice. “We haven’t kissed since high school,” she added in a burst of mischief. Since she was supposedly the recipient of a gift of jewelry from the town sheriff, she figured it wouldn’t hurt to throw in that detail. A lot of their high school friends had witnessed the incident. It shouldn’t be too hard to verify it.

She had the supreme satisfaction of watching Gil’s face turn redder than his hair. It served him right. As far as she was concerned, he deserved to be embarrassed in front of his nephew for his part in this morning’s stunt. He had a lot of explaining to do about his so-called “gift” once they were alone.

“And I’m totally taking you up on your offer to grab refreshments at the Blue Brew.” She removed her hand from Gil’s and used it to toss a handful of her dark brown hair back. “I want a cinnamon bun latte with extra cream and a slice of broccoli and cheese quiche in a to-go box. Though I have zero appetite after watching you paw through my PJs, I’ll gladly take some quiche with me to the hotel later on.”

Wincing a little at her words, Wheeler crooked a smile at her and waved a two-fingered salute at his uncle.

Gil gave her an annoyed look and firmly shut the door between them. He stomped back to his side of the vehicle and slid behind the wheel. “I wish you hadn’t done that.” He started the motor and revved it a few times, while Luke Hawling pulled onto the road and drove around them. Gil pulled out behind Luke to follow him to the station.

She scowled back. “Well, that makes two of us, sheriff! I’m over here kind of wishing you’d never slipped a piece of jewelry into my suitcase without telling me.” Her scowl deepened as a thought hit her. “Into my locked suitcase, no less.”

“Yeah, I’m still working that part out in my head.”

“So you didn’t give it to me?” Her voice rose to a thready squeak. He was making less and less sense.

“It’s story corroboration time, Bliss.” He braked at a stoplight and met her gaze levelly. “When I told my nephew and police sergeant that I gave you the bracelet, I purposely didn’t say when. Please consider it a gift from me to you right this second.”

Since her acceptance of the gift might be the only thing that kept her out of jail in the coming hours, she nodded reluctantly. “If you didn’t put it there, then who did?”

“That’s what I intend to find out.” He started to reach for her hand again, then seemed to catch himself. “I’m wracking my brain, trying to determine who on earth might benefit from planting a stolen item on you.” The light turned green, and he hit the accelerator.

“I’m drawing a blank, too,” she confessed. She’d been gone from Heart Lake for too long and hadn’t kept in touch with many people during her absence.

“Hold that thought while we get you lawyered up.” Gil punched a few buttons on his cell phone, which was mounted on the dashboard. It connected and rang over his speaker system.

“Gil!” A jovial male voice filled the vehicle. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Gil snorted. “Really, Dave? Most people call you with that good of news, eh?”

“Fine!” The camaraderie between them suggested they were friends. “Go ahead and spoil my day with whatever crappy news you called to lay on me.”

“Pfft! You thrive on other people’s misery,” Gil shot back. “It’s been that way since our football days. Probably longer.”

“Go, Pioneers!” Dave hooted out the beginning of one of their old high school football cheers. “Give me a P. Give me an I.” Then he gave another sigh, a much heavier one that sounded real this time. “Those were the days, weren’t they? Before they turned our team into the stinking Heroes!”

Bliss knew without asking that he was referring to the string of tornadoes that had torn through the south side of Heart Lake a few years earlier, leveling the school building of their biggest competitor. Afterward, the city council had voted to unite the student body in the south with the student body in the north under one roof. The combined new administrative team had subsequently decided it made sense to come up with a whole new mascot. It had created quite a stir across town. However, the students had ultimately rallied behind the new name they’d gotten to vote on. They’d been the Heart Lake High Heroes ever since.

“Eh, well, there are worse mascots out there.” Gil sobered. “Speaking of heroes, I have Bliss Hawling sitting next to me right now, and she could use some of your finest defense skills if you have time to take her case. Just add it to my tab.”

Dave gave a long, low whistle. “Bliss Hawling, as in theBliss Kiss?”

Bliss gaped at the sheriff as he followed Luke’s police cruiser through a busy section of downtown. “You gave our kiss a name?”

“Hey, Bliss,” Dave called out in such a cheery, conversational voice that anyone listening wouldn’t have guessed it had been over thirty-five years since they’d last spoken.

“Hi, D-Dave.” She smiled despite her astonishment at discovering that the most romantic moment of her life had been given an actual title. Then again, Gil’s football team had been notorious for naming stuff. D-Dave had been Dave Phillips’ running back handle, a clever albeit highly irreverent reference to the allied invasion of Europe during World War II. The full version of his nickname had been the D-Dave Invasion.

“Man! You remember that?” he chortled.

“I may have been an academic nerd,” she retorted acidly, “but I cheered the loudest during your fourth quarter turnover at the homecoming game.”

“The answer is yes!” Dave gave a comical groan of capitulation. “Yes, I will represent the goddess who remembers the most defining moment of my high school football career.”

Goddess?Bliss was pretty sure that was one thing she’d never been called before. Bookworm, yes. Geek, yes. Plus dweeb and a bunch of other increasingly less complimentary names.

Throughout the drive, she’d been peeking off and on into her side-view mirror to keep an eye on Wheeler, who was following them, so she noticed when he hung a right into the drive-through of the Blue Brew. Her mouth watered in anticipation of the much-needed shot of caffeine that would be coming her way shortly.

“Someone planted a stolen bracelet on her, Dave,” Gil announced bluntly, reclaiming her attention. “A bracelet that once belonged to Mary.” He quickly filled him in on the details.

Dave whistled again. “You do realize you have yet to bring me any cut and dry, normal cases?”

“Why do you think I’m retiring?” Gil sounded as weary as the question implied.

“So…you and Bliss, eh?” Dave’s voice grew calculating. “After all this time?”

Gil ignored the question. “I might’ve failed to mention we’re pulling into the police station parking lot as we speak.”

“Of course you are,” his friend groused. “I’m on my way, bro, but it’s gonna cost you extra.”

“Why am I not surprised?” Gil disconnected the line as he pulled up to the two-story red brick building that housed Heart Lake’s small police department.

Bliss’s heart raced with trepidation as he pulled into his designated spot in front of the wide awning that stretched over half of the front row spots.

“I can pay for my own legal expenses, Gil.” She peered nervously through the windshield at the building. Though she was ready to get to the bottom of the accusation against her, she was nowhere near ready to go inside just yet.

“Or you can let me cover this one.” Gil waved a hand vaguely. “Dave tried to give back my retainer fee for, ah, some representation I ended up not needing a while back. I wouldn’t let him, so he insisted he’d hold it for a rainy day.” He gave a humorless chuckle. “It’s basically money that’ll never get used if someone doesn’t put it to work. That someone may as well be you.”

A retainer fee? She was silent for a moment, mulling over the possibility that his and Mary’s off-and-on relationship had continued into their married years. For his sake, she hoped that hadn’t been the case. If it was, though, what an awful way for him to have spent the last three decades of his life!

“There’s no catch to the offer, if that’s what you’re trying to figure out.” Gil’s voice was wry.

“So I’ll be in good hands with D-Dave?” she stalled.

“He’s the best criminal defense attorney around,” he assured so matter-of-factly that she decided to take his word for it. It wasn’t as if she knew any other attorneys in town.

“If I agree to this,” she mused cautiously, “I’m paying whatever additional expenses are involved.”

“He was just kidding about today’s consultation costing extra,” Gil assured with a wink.

The playful gesture made Bliss catch her breath. For a moment, she caught a glimpse of the much younger, less world-weary version of Heart Lake’s sheriff. He’d been a typical cocky Remington back when they’d first met. All Remingtons were born that way. But he’d been less seasoned by years of grueling law enforcement service. Less hard. Less bitter looking around the edges of his mouth.

“What?” He gave her a curious look.

She shook her head. There was no way she was admitting where her thoughts had gone. “Shouldn’t we…” she waved at the building rising in front of them, “go inside?”

“Not before your attorney gets here.” His voice was firm. “That’s how this works.” He jammed a thumb to his left. “Notice how Luke is making no effort to crowbar us out of the vehicle?”

“Right.” She’d noticed, but she’d figured he’d simply been waiting for a cue from his boss before proceeding.

Gil rested an elbow on the console and leaned her way, looking the GQ version of fifty-five. Though his sideburns were threaded with frost these days, his forearms were still corded with muscle. Beneath his shirt, he was probably still sporting the same six-pack from his football days, too.

Their gazes clashed and held. His eyes were hazel with flecks of green and gold. They searched hers with an intensity that made her want to squirm in her seat.

When she could no longer bear it, she burst out softly, “What are you thinking?”

His hard mouth flat-lined. “That I already know who’s attempting to press charges against you.”

That wasn’t the answer she was expecting. The message his eyes had been sending her felt much more personal.

“Who?” She couldn’t believe it had taken him this long to volunteer such an important piece of information.

“The only other person who knew my late wife owned that bracelet.” He paused a beat before adding harshly, “and where she was storing it.”

“I’ll ask again. Who?”

“My father-in-law.”

Bliss caught her breath and pressed her hands to her heart. “I don’t know what to say.” She truly didn’t.

His jaw tightened. “You don’t have to say anything.”

“But I do,” she sighed. “If he’s the one trying to have me arrested, I deserve to know why.”

“As soon as I figure it out, you’ll be the first to know, Bliss.”

A question burned on her lips that she was powerless to hold back. “Do you think it has something to do with…us?”

At his raised eyebrows, she hastily added, “I’m assuming he heard about the Bliss Kiss?” Maybe it was his attempt to punish her for outliving his daughter.

My biggest childhood enemy.

Gil gave a snort of disdain. “That’s old news. Mary made sure everyone knew about it years ago. She actually brought it up again only a few days before she…” He stopped and shook his head.

Before she died?It hurt Bliss’s heart to realize he was admitting that his marriage hadn’t been a match made in Heaven.

The next words tumbled out of her. “I always thought you had such a perfect life, Gil. I mean…” She shrugged helplessly. “You’re a Remington.”

In comparison, she’d been raised a poor Hawling. Her parents had died when she was young, so she’d been bounced around town from an aunt to an uncle and eventually to her grandparents. Only because her grandparents had lived on the second-story of their resale shop downtown had she been allowed to attend Heart Lake High School with the uptown kids. Not that she’d wanted to.

“You and the rest of the town.” The sheriff’s voice was sour.

“Gil!”

He stubbornly remained silent.

“At least tell me why your father-in-law has it in for me.” She sent a light punch to his elbow, which was still resting on the console. “Come on! You’ve gotta give me something here.” At his exasperated look, she added, “Besides a bracelet.”

“Not funny.”

“It kind of was.” She chuckled. It was inappropriate laughter, but sometimes that’s all a person could do —laugh or cry.

He shook his head at her, his hard mouth twitching.

“Just a teensy tiny bit funny?” she pressed.

“Only you, Bliss,” he sighed. “In handcuffs one minute and trying to find a spot of humor in it the next minute.”

“If you’d prefer, I could dissolve into hysterical weeping instead.” It wasn’t an idle threat. She was dangerously close to tears.

“Please don’t.”

Even though it was the middle of July, she shivered.

“Cold?” He looked concerned.

“To my very soul.”

He reached for the thermostat. She stopped him. They ended up holding hands again.

“You weren’t kidding. Your fingers are icicles.” His voice grew husky as he cradled her hand in his on the console. The console was covered in soft ebony leather, a comfortable place to rest their joined hands.

She liked the way her fingers looked tangled with his bigger, rougher ones. “Yours are like an inferno.” He’d have hers thawed out in no time.

He gave an unromantic grunt. “It’s because my blood is boiling.”

“Mine will be, too, after I finish absorbing everything.” She kept replaying the details of her charter flight inside her head. She and the flirtatious Pete had been in the air for nearly fifteen hours together. He’d turned the controls over to his co-pilot shortly after takeoff. “Very few people would’ve had the opportunity to place something inside my suitcase.”

He raised an eyebrow at her. “Besides Pete and his crew, you mean?”

“Exactly. None of which explains how a bracelet from your wife’s jewelry box ended up in Pompeii.”

“Assuming that’s where he planted it.” Gil massaged her fingers to warm them up quicker. “He might’ve done the deed after you landed.”

Gil’s gentle ministrations were downright distracting. It took her an extra few seconds to get her thoughts focused again. “There was a guy who met us at the door downstairs.” She wrinkled her nose as she recalled his official airline cap and coveralls. “A mechanic, I think. It was right before we stepped on the escalators to head upstairs where you were waiting for us.”

Gil’s gaze sharpened. “Did you notice anything out of the ordinary?”

“I honestly wasn’t paying that much attention to either of them.” She bit her lower lip. “I was too busy being nervous about being back in Heart Lake again.”

“You? The cool, calm, and collected Dr. Bliss Hawling was nervous?” He made a sound of disbelief.

“Hey! Some guy I kissed in high school was my ride to the hotel,” she reminded, giving his thumb an irritated pinch.

“Just some guy you kissed, huh?” he asked sarcastically. “Exactly how many of us are in that club?”

She would’ve rather died than admit he was the only guy she’d ever kissed. “A girl has to have a few secrets, Gil.” She gave him a dramatic eye roll.

“To be frank, I’m kind of sick of secrets,” he muttered.

She blinked at his tone. “I don’t have that many of them.”

“I do,” he confided gruffly as he toyed with her fingers.

Her heart ached for him, sensing they were speaking about Mary again. “We still have a few minutes before we head inside if you want to unburden yourself of another one.” Her voice grew breathless in the hopes of hearing more about the famous Bliss Kiss they’d shared.

His expression grew shuttered. “Mary had me served with divorce papers two years ago. An hour later, she received a call from her oncologist with the cancer diagnosis. I tore up the divorce papers, and she never brought it up again.”

“Oh, Gil!” Bliss hated finding out that she’d correctly guessed what his retainer fee to Dave had been for. “I had no idea.” While the rest of the world assumed he’d spent the last couple of years bracing for the tragic end of a thirty-five-year marriage, he’d been struggling to honor the til-death-do-us-part of his vows to a woman who’d no longer loved him. To a woman who’d maybe never loved him. Not the way he deserved, at any rate.

“Few people know.” He spoke in the emotionless voice of a man who’d long since accepted the fact that his marriage was over. “My father-in-law is one of those people. My oldest brother’s kid, Ava, is another one of those people. Not sure why Mary confided in one of our nieces about our marital problems. Maybe she didn’t. Maybe Ava figured it out on her own. Since my oldest brother and his wife travel a lot, she stayed at our house quite a bit over the years. And let me tell you, she’s as big of a brat as Wheeler is, and twice as nosy.” Affection crept into his voice. Despite his venting, it was obvious he adored his nieces and nephews.

Bliss’s hands grew cold again. “Maybe the divorce that never happened explains the search warrant.” Maybe it was his father-in-law’s twisted attempt at punishing both of them at the same time. Talk about taking family drama to a whole new level of ugliness!

“Not to my satisfaction, it doesn’t.” Gil cupped her hand between both of his. “If my father-in-law needs someone to blame for my failed marriage to his daughter or her unfortunate death, fine. He can take as many potshots at me as he wants. From now on, though, he’d better leave you out of it.”

Bliss gazed into the distance, reveling in the fierceness of his tone. “Why bring me into it at all? It’s not like anything has happened between you and me since the Bliss Kiss.”

“You cried at Mary’s funeral.” Gil’s voice was low. “I doubt I was the only one who noticed. Anyone who knew the two of you back in high school had to know your tears weren’t for her.” His grip tightened on her hands. “So, who were they for, Bliss? I’ve been asking myself that question for the past five months.”

She tried to withdraw her hand from his hands, but he held on, forcing her gaze back to his. “I’m not sure what you’re hoping to hear, Gil. It’s not as if I’m going to be in town for long.” She’d perform the additional tests that he, the mayor, and the neighboring tribal council were requesting on the mummified remains of Iris and Jesse Hawling. Once they had the DNA markers they needed, half the town could line up to have blood tests done in the hopes of finding a match to the markers. If the ancient couple from one of the town’s two founding families had any living descendants left, the blood tests would identify them.

Then she’d catch the next flight out of town. This time, she wasn’t coming back. Her almost arrest today was proof that the uppercrust of Heart Lake was no more welcoming of Hawlings than they’d been when she was a child. Despite Gil’s unexpected revelations about his troubled marriage, he’d made no attempt to contact Bliss after she’d left town. Instead, he’d married one of the biggest snobs around.

“Can we please not talk about you leaving right now?” Gil ducked his head over their hands. “We just got you back.”

Bliss closed her eyes against the rush of longing his words stirred in her. There was a time when she would’ve given anything to hear a Remington say something like that about a Hawling. More specifically, to have him say something like that about her, but that ship had long since sailed.

“I have a good life, Gil, and it’s not here.” She had a rewarding career, the respect of her colleagues, and more money in the bank than she’d ever dreamed of having.

“It could be.” The gravel in his voice tugged at her heart, but she resisted its pull.

She fluttered her eyelids open and forced herself to meet his gaze again. “I’m making a difference out there,” she declared quietly, willing him to understand.

“You’re making a difference here, too.”

Before he could explain what he meant, a sharp knock on the passenger door made her yank her hand from his. This time, he didn’t try to stop her.

“It’s Dave.” Gil pushed open his door, leaped to the pavement, and jogged around the front of the Land Rover to greet his friend.

Bliss watched as they exchanged a few shoulder slaps that ended in a chest bump reminiscent of their football days.

Dave had grown stocky, but the size of his arms and chest indicated he still spent a lot of time at the gym. He’d attempted to hide his receding hairline by shaving his head. Like Bliss, his left hand was bare. It didn’t necessarily mean anything, since she’d run into plenty of people over the years who didn’t wear their wedding rings. More men than women. Now that she was thinking about it, she’d never seen Gil wear his.

Gil pulled open the door for her and held out a hand, palm facing up.

Though she playfully slapped her hand against it, she was grateful for his assistance. It had been a long flight from Pompeii, and the jet lag was starting to set in. Even with his help, she wobbled a little on her heels when her feet first touched the ground.

Gil stepped closer, resting his other hand on her waistline to steady her.

Dave Phillips had lunged her way, as well, but he stopped when he perceived Gil was already helping her regain her balance. His gaze narrowed on them. Something she couldn’t define sparked in his steely blue eyes as he drawled, “It’s been a long time, Bliss.”

“It has,” she agreed, quickly stepping away from Gil to clasp the hand her newly acquired attorney was holding out. “Thank you for agreeing to perform one of your D-Dave Invasions on my behalf. On such short notice, too.”

He grinned widely at her use of his full nickname from high school. Flicking a look at Gil, he demanded, “Where has this goddess been hiding from us for the past three decades?”

“On every continent except this one,” Gil informed him dryly. “You do not want to know what it took the mayor, the tribal council next door, and myself to secure Dr. Hawling’s archeological expertise with our current mummy project.”

Bliss was a little surprised to hear him reverting to her professional title, but two could play that game. “As you well know, the sheriff can be pretty convincing when he wants to be.” She infused her most syrupy tone.

“I’m gonna just take your word for it, since you’re the expert on the human species, past and present.” Dave’s eyes twinkled. “As well as the inspiration behind the Bliss Kiss.”

Bliss covered her face with both hands. Peeking out at him from between her fingers, she moaned, “By D-Dave Invasion, I was kind of hoping you’d aim your own subject matter expertise at someone besides me, esquire.”

“Already have,” he assured, growing serious. “I made a few calls on my way here, and it sounds like there’s a discrepancy on the evidence presented to the judge.”

“Plain English, please,” Gil growled. “We worked too hard to get Dr. Hawling in town to lose her to some cock-and-bull trumped up charge.”

“By all means,” his friend pretended to recoil beneath his vehemence, “tell me how you really feel about it, bro.”

Gil’s jaw hardened, making Dave throw his hands skyward in defense. His silver cufflinks winked at them from beneath the sleeves of his navy blazer. “Alright, alright. No need to burst a blood vessel. As it turns out, the man attempting to press charges against Bliss is, er…” He paused, looking uncomfortable.

“My father-in-law,” Gil supplied sharply.

“Yep.” Dave grimaced. “George Brand presented photographic evidence of Bliss showing off the allegedly stolen bracelet on a social media post that has since been determined to be shopped. The judge has thrown the whole kit and caboodle out of court. If you wish to press counter charges for all the mental anguish he’s put you through?—”

“No,” Bliss cut in. “Mr. Brand recently suffered the loss of his only child.” Slapping back at him in court wasn’t going to help anything.

Dave wrinkled his forehead at her. “Then he can shed tears over her tombstone like a normal father. Not attempt to put an innocent client of mine in jail!”

“Agreed.” Gil’s voice was frosty.

Though Bliss appreciated their defense of her, not in a million years could she bring herself to do what they were suggesting. “I can’t press charges on a grieving father. I won’t!”

Gil’s hazel gaze burned into hers. “You aren’t the only one whose good name and reputation were dragged through the dirt here.”

“I thought you were retiring, sheriff.” Her chin came up.

He jutted his chin right back at her. “I’d prefer to spend my retirement years on this side of prison bars, thank you very much.”

“No charges, or I’m catching the next flight out of here,” she informed him flatly. “That’s my final offer.” She had zero interest in commencing a court case that would force her to remain in town any longer than necessary.

As they stood there glaring at each other, Dave started to clap. “If I’d known you two were going to go at it like a pair of bloodthirsty tigers, I would’ve popped some popcorn first.”

“You’re fired.” Gil didn’t spare him so much as a glance. “There’s no way you’ve outworked my retainer fee, so don’t bother sending a bill.”

Dave swung away from them, snickering. “Remind me again why we’re still friends?”

“Like I said earlier, you thrive on other people’s misery, and I happen to be the most miserable person you know.” Gil’s tortured gaze continued to burn into Bliss’s.

With a tsk tsking sound, Dave climbed into a silver Corvette that Bliss wasn’t sure how he managed to fit into and roared off.

Luke Hawling exited his police cruiser and started to approach them, but Gil waved him away. “All charges against Bliss have been dropped. I’ll meet you upstairs to tie up the loose ends on the paperwork.”

“Glad to hear it.” Luke moved toward the entrance of the building, politely giving them their space.

Wheeler cruised into the parking lot only seconds later. He swaggered their way with the requested coffee and a to-go box.

Gil angled his head at Luke’s retreating figure. “Take it to my office,” he barked.

With a squeak of pure outrage over his highhandedness, Bliss made a swipe for the cup of latte. “Gimme!”

Wheeler dutifully handed it over. “Touchy, touchy,” he mocked.

She pretended to give him a dirty look. “You’re old enough to know better than to get between a woman and her first cup of coffee of the day.”

“Yes, ma’am, I am.” He inclined his head apologetically as he backed away from them. “I’m assuming you still want the quiche delivered upstairs to my cranky uncle’s office?”

“Yes, please.” She still wasn’t the least bit hungry yet. “That’ll be wonderful.” From the corner of her eye, she watched Gil’s shoulders relax.

“Aye, aye, captain!” Wheeler did so much scraping and bowing in their direction before heading inside that it was all she could do to hold in her laughter.

She shot an amused look at Gil, and his gaze dropped to her mouth. It was impossible not to wonder if he was thinking about the Bliss Kiss again.