Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

" P romise me we're never getting a cat," Josie said fervently into the phone the moment her best friend answered and said hello.

She watched Peanut Butter and Jelly use their little talons on the edge of the kitchen cabinet door as they tried to pry it open. Apparently they were looking for another adventure in the walls.

Too bad. They weren't going to get it. Thank God—and thanks to Corey too—that hole was blocked. Even if they got the cabinet open they weren't going anywhere.

Ha! Take that, Satan's minions.

"I thought you liked cats," Bailey said, her voice sounding soft. Scratchy.

Josie hoped Bailey wasn't getting a cold. Or laryngitis. Although, it was summer. Not exactly cold season. Maybe she'd just woken up. Josie kept forgetting the time difference. The kittens woke her every morning at dawn. East Coast dawn. But Bailey was on West Coast time, three hours earlier, and she didn't have two hungry, noisy alarm clocks waking her.

"I thought I liked cats too, until I became the caretaker for these two demon spawn."

"Oh, stop. I saw the pictures. They're adorable," Bailey croaked out.

"When they're asleep, maybe."

She wasn't going to admit aloud they did seem to sleep longer and sounder in their new cardboard cave Corey had demanded she provide for the furry freeloaders.

"And what's wrong with your voice?" Josie asked.

"Working too hard. The recording session yesterday went long."

"I told you already, you have to put your foot down. Don't let Xander promise the world to these record companies and then leave you to foot the bill. You can say no, you know."

"And then I'll be the diva with the reputation for being difficult to work with," Bailey countered weakly.

Josie scoffed. "You are far from a diva."

"So, what are your plans for today?" Bailey asked, not so subtly changing the subject.

"Research on the history of the town." She needed more information for the website and press kit she was putting together for the anniversary event.

"Oh. Exciting."

Josie's lips twitched at her friend's sarcasm. "It is. I'm going to the library in Mudville. I got access through the historical society to the private archives that like nobody gets to see."

More proof that she was still a geek at heart like she'd been in school. At least as an adult her nerdiness earned her a good living.

"Archives? Wow! You should have said that to begin with." Bailey laughed.

"Archives for me are like that make-up store you dragged me into is for you," Josie explained.

"Okay. I get it. But I still think make-up is much more fun than dusty old papers."

"Not just papers. There's a two-hundred and fifty-year-old compass that belonged to the town's founder." She and Bailey had both been born and grew up in Sidney. Her friend had to be impressed by that.

"Oh, well. That's different. Maybe I should get a flight right over." The sarcasm was still very much in place in Bailey's tone.

"Okay, okay. We geek out over different things. That's fine. I love you anyway."

"Love you too. But now I have to shower and dress and get to the studio."

"No. You need to call in sick. Your voice?—"

"Nothing some hot tea with lemon and honey won't fix."

"Bailey," Josie said low with warning.

"Bye. Love ya. Talk later." Bailey disconnected the call before Josie could reprimand her further.

But she had other means at her disposal. She strutted over to the laptop and opened a new email message, addressing it to Quinn. And then she did exactly what her brother had always complained about while they'd been young—she tattled and enjoyed doing it.

She'd see how Xander and Bailey liked it now that Quinn knew his fiancée was working herself sick. Ha!

Satisfied with what she'd already accomplished that morning—call to Bailey, email to Quinn, cats fed and the poop scooped—she grabbed her tote bag and her parents' car keys.

One good thing about the cats getting her up early was that Josie could check her email and her socials, handle a few business things and still have enough time to enjoy a cup of tea and something sweet at Honey Buns, the cute little bakery on Main Street in Mudville. All with plenty of time before she was due at the library.

She leisurely downed both—tea and sweet treat—at a little table set outside on the grass before she headed next door to the library.

Marie Jacobs had arranged for someone to meet her there to let her into the private archives housed on the top floor of the building.

Excited for her research adventure she walked with a spring in her step and the sun on her face…until the familiar sight of the tall, dark-haired man on the library's front porch stopped her mid-stride and cast a shadow over her sunny day.

Corey.