Maybe Lucy had been too sheltered her whole life.

  “It was something my ex said to me. About another woman, if you can believe it. Right to my face, he said that. He was talking about a buddy’s girlfriend and how sexy she was. I should have left him right then, but I hung on for two more years. Anyway, as I was saying, Zack is hot and it sounds like the sex is good. From where I’m standing three things could happen.”

  Three things? Lucy had only thought about one so far.

  “I’m listening.”

  “Number one - Zack likes you so much he decides to stay in town and see where the relationship goes. I would say that this is the best-case scenario. Unless, of course, you’re around him all the time and you find out he clips his toenails in the kitchen. Then it’s not so great.”

  “Did your ex clip his toenails in the kitchen, too?”

  Lucy had heard many stories about Jane’s ex and few of them were positive.

  “No, but one of my friends in college had the honor of having a boyfriend who did that. He had many other disgusting habits as well. She dipped on that relationship pretty quick once she found out.”

  “I don’t blame her. What’s number two?”

  Although number one didn’t sound bad. Minus the toenail clippings, of course.

  “Zack goes back to his life in New York City, but he likes you enough that you try a long-distance relationship. You visit him, he visits you. You have smutty phone calls and FaceTime sex. You both fall madly in love and you sell the bookstore, leaving me friendless and unemployed while you live the fancy life in the Big Apple with a handsome stud for a husband. Oh wait, that became about me, didn’t it?”

  “It did, but it’s fine. What’s the third option?”

  “He leaves. And he doesn’t look back.”

  “Shit, that is brutally honest. I needed to hear it, though. I’ve been telling myself that it’s the most probable outcome. I know that he’s not going to stay. My life is here, and his is somewhere else.”

  “Do you regret sleeping with him?”

  “No,” Lucy replied immediately. “I don’t. I went in with my eyes wide open. I knew that this wasn’t a forever thing. I don’t even know if I want forever with Zack.”

  “But you wanted to decide that for yourself,” Jane said shrewdly. “Knowing what the outcome is going to be doesn’t mean that your heart won’t hurt when he goes. It just means that you’re human.”

  “I’ll miss him when he goes,” Lucy said. “It’s honestly been nice to have him here.”

  “There you go again with that nice word. I bet it’s been more than nice.”

  It had but she wasn’t sure she even had a word to describe the last few days. Zack had come into her life, turning her sedate existence on its head.

  And when he left, things would never be the same.

  Zack’s life was still up in the air as to the future, but the present was pretty damn good. Last night with Lucy had been amazing, and the connection they’d had was something he’d never experienced with another woman. He could hardly wait to see her again, and that was a new emotion. Normally, he was the one wanting his space, needing time apart. With her, he simply didn’t want to leave her company. They were going out again tonight, and he was as eager as a schoolboy.

  Pushing open the door to Tate’s bar, he immediately saw Cooper and Piper sitting in a corner booth. His brother Tate gave him a wave from behind the bar, and nodded to where his siblings were located. They’d planned to meet at the pizza place, but Piper had sent a text changing the location at the last minute.

  “We ordered you some lunch,” Cooper said when Zack sat down. “We were starving, and we didn’t want to wait.”

  It sounded like there might be an apology somewhere in that statement, but Cooper wasn’t one to go around saying he was sorry all of the time. He did, however, always admit to his mistakes. In Zack’s opinion that was a more important trait.

  “I might forgive you depending on what you ordered for me.”

  “The heart attack special. Bacon double cheeseburger and house fries. Plus a soda. You’re welcome. Admit it’s what you really wanted, but you would have ordered a grilled chicken and some salad while talking about your personal trainer back in the city.”

  Zack wasn’t going to give in that easily. But it did sound delicious.

  And I don’t have a personal trainer.

  “What did you order for yourself?”

  “The same. Extra cheese.”

  I should have known.

  “Then thank you.” He turned to Piper and gave her a hug. She had a stack of papers in front of her on the table. “How you doing, sis?”

  “I’m fine. You should stop by my loft. I made chocolate chip cookies this morning, and some cinnamon rolls.”

  Zack was a sucker for cinnamon rolls. He knew the bakeries in the city where he could get the best ones.

  “I’m going to have to do that.” He tapped the papers on the table. “Are you writing a cookbook, too? If you aren’t, you should.”

  “I am,” Piper agreed. “But that’s not what this is.”

  Zack exchanged a look with his brother, who was wearing his usual slightly happy but enigmatic expression.

  “Is it something that you want to show me?”

  “Eventually.” Piper took a sip from her soda before continuing. “I have it with me because I spoke with Finn this morning. I want him to put a full-time detective on Mom’s disappearance since Sarah has been found.”

  He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to react. His sister was giving him an expectant look while Cooper was sitting across from them acting like they talked about murder investigations every day.

  He might be right. We do talk about it.

  “What did Finn say to your request?”

  “He said that he doesn’t have those sorts of resources. I suggested Deputy Blake since he was on the job back then, but Finn told me that Blake is busy with Sarah’s case right now. I’ve worked on Mom’s disappearance a bit myself—”

  “Wait,” Zack said, holding up his hand. “You’ve been working on it? What do you know about murder investigations?”

  “More than most of the cops in this town before Finn came in and cleaned house,” Piper replied, her tone laced with bitterness. “I couldn’t have done any worse than they did. They botched it from day one. You know I’m right.”

  “You are right, but did it occur to you that investigating Mom’s disappearance might be dangerous? You could get yourself disappeared.” Zack’s attention turned to his brother who had yet to speak. “Did you know about this?”

  “That Piper had been looking into the case? Not until I moved back here. But I went with her to talk to Finn this morning. I told him that if he doesn’t have the budget or resources, I’ll pay for a private investigator.”

  “You’ll pay? With what? You don’t have a job, brother.”

  Zack hadn’t meant for it to come out of his mouth like that, but Cooper didn’t appear offended. His little brother simply grinned and chuckled as if finances were hilarious. Had Cooper planned on asking Zack for the money? He would absolutely give it, but it would have been nice if there was a discussion about it. Or was that what this meal was about?

  “I have some money saved,” Cooper replied. “And no, I wasn’t planning on asking you for it, if that’s what you were thinking. I can swing this. Don’t worry.”

  “I’m the oldest. It’s my job to worry.”

  “We’re all grown up, Zack,” Piper said softly. “You’re not responsible for us anymore. But it’s sweet that you still think that you are. You need to be thinking about your own life, not worrying about ours.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  Zack sounded defensive to his own ears, but that was because…he was defensive. He’d thought he was hiding his inner turmoil well.

  “I can feel your troubled vibrations,” Piper replied. “I’ve been picking up on some very agitated emotions and feelings whenever you’re around. Your aura is giving off signals that you’re in a flux state of your existence.”

  Zack loved his sister deeply. Piper was a wonderful person with a great big heart. Funny, smart, and sweet, she was just a lovely human being in a world filled with a hell of a lot of assholes - many that he’d worked with.

  But since she was a little kid, she’d always believed that she was a bit psychic. She thought that she could “read” people, and not in the sense that she was sensitive to their moods. She thought that she could sometimes see flashes of the future, too. Zack and his siblings had eventually decided that it was simply a charming and unique part of her personality, and they didn’t say much about it. As far as he knew, Piper had never predicted anything that had turned out to be true, but then he’d been gone a long time.

  It didn’t matter either way because he didn’t believe in psychics, or auras, or crystals, or tarot cards. He believed in facts. That’s what he had dealt with every day in New York, and it had served him well. He’d learned that on Wall Street emotions could get him in trouble fast. Facts and numbers rarely did.

  “A flux state of my existence? I’m not even sure what that means.”

  “We both think that,” Cooper replied with a smirk. “And it means that your existence on the planet is in flux. You need to make decisions, and you’re not wanting to do it.”

  They’d managed to nail it, but this wasn’t a topic that Zack was eager to discuss. At least not yet.

  “I’m fine. Maybe you’re picking up on your own vibrations. Now are you going to show me what you brought?”

  Piper slid the papers over to Zack.

  “You can look through them yourself. This is what I’ve found out so far. I know it’s not much, but I think it might be useful if we really dig in and look.”

  One document was a contract for a caterer. It appeared that Lily Winslow had been planning a party for Piper’s graduation.

  Then there were travel brochures to beach destinations, plus one for a cruise.

  There was also a receipt from the local department store for a thousand-dollar designer dress.

  “Help me out here. What am I looking at? What do you see that I don’t?”

  Piper sighed and shook her head.

  “I swear you have no imagination. Look at the contract. Mom was planning a huge party for my graduation.”

  “She did that for all of us.”

  “And she was around for all of them,” Piper pointed out. “She didn’t plan your party and then run off with the mailman like Dad wants us to believe. Also, look at these brochures. She was planning a vacation. A vacation for the family. I called the local travel agent about it, and that’s what they told me. And the dress was for a fancy function that she and Dad were going to go to in the summer. People who are planning to run away from their lives and disappear don’t plan things out for the future like this. Mom did not go of her own accord. She was taken against her will, and I’m sure that she’s gone now. We need to find her so she can rest in peace.”

  The last part was spoken soft and low, slightly shaky with emotion. Piper, as the youngest, had been hit the hardest when Lily Winslow disappeared without a trace. The rest of them had been off to college or living on their own.

  “I want to do that, too,” Zack replied, placing an arm around Piper’s shoulders in comfort. It was easy to see the pain etched in his sister’s features. “And I’m not against hiring a private investigator, although Dad already did that. Plus, just because they found Sarah’s body doesn’t mean they’ll find Mom’s. Their deaths aren’t linked in any way.”

  Maybe.

  There was a long silence when he finished, and a tension had begun to build at the table. He was starting to get frustrated by all of this. It was clear his siblings were having conversations that he wasn’t privy to. He had his suspicions, but did they have something concrete?

  “Do you have any reason to believe that Mom and Sarah are connected?”

  To Zack’s surprise, this time it was Cooper that answered.

  “Not necessarily, but it’s something that was never explored in the past. Seems like it should be looked into. Were there any connections? We don’t know. As for Dad hiring a private investigator, well, that’s what he told us, but I never saw any evidence of it. Did you? You’re the oldest. Did you ever meet him or hear about him? I sure as hell didn’t.”

  “No,” Zack admitted. “I didn’t. Are you saying that Dad lied about that?”

  “He’s lied about a bunch of shit throughout the years,” Cooper said with a shrug. “Why not this? I stopped trusting our father’s word in my early teens. Are you saying that you still do?”

  “I don’t, but damn…lying about an investigator? That—”

  “Sounds exactly like something Joel Winslow would do,” Cooper finished for him. “We asked Finn for a transcript of the police talking to Dad, and he’s going to try and dig it up. I think that might be interesting reading, don’t you?”

  Just what had Joel said ten years ago? Zack couldn’t say that he wasn’t interested.

  “And who knows?” Piper pressed. “Maybe by digging into Mom’s case, they might find something out about Sarah. You never know.”

  Piper was hoping for a miracle. She’d always been the optimist in the family except when it came to their father.

  And hiring a private investigator? That wasn’t a terrible idea either, although Zack wasn’t hopeful that they would be able to find anything helpful after all of these years. There was a reason that cold cases didn’t often get solved.

  It was a sad truth…they might never get any answers about their mother.

  His phone buzzed and he quickly checked his screen, surprised at the name displayed. He hadn’t been expecting this call.

  “Do you mind if I step outside and take this?”

  Cooper and Piper waved him away, and Zack stepped out into the sunshine where it was far quieter. And private.

  This was a call from a former colleague named Gary who’d left the firm Zack had worked for about a year ago. They’d been friends and had worked together well, but he wouldn’t call them buddies or close friends. They hadn’t spoken in months.

  “Hey, Zack. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

  “No, it’s fine. What’s going on?”

  “I heard you left the firm,” Gary chuckled. “To the shock and surprise of everyone there. Your departure is all anyone has been talking about lately. I wasn’t shocked, though. I could tell that you were over their bullshit last year. Good for you telling them where they could shove their bonuses. I bet it felt good. I know it did when I left.”

  Wall Street was huge, but it was also tiny. Word certainly got around when a long-time player made a move.

  “I did leave, and I’m enjoying some much needed time off. I’m back home for a family wedding.”

  “Good for you,” Gary cheered. “Everyone needs to take a little sabbatical. Where are you headed when you’re done? Shit, I won’t even beat around the bush, okay? We’d like you here. We know what you can do, and we’re willing to make it worth your while. If you’ve already made a commitment, I understand, but I haven’t heard where you’re going to land. We wanted to throw our hat into the ring, so to speak. We can give you top compensation, of course, and more work life balance than you had at our old place. When will you be back in the city? We can go for a couple of beers and talk about it. What do you say?”

  When Zack had sold his apartment and put all of his stuff into storage it was because he was done. He hadn’t planned to go back to Wall Street, although he was beginning to wonder what in the hell he was going to do. He hadn’t a clue, but he hadn’t planned on looking over his shoulder. His gaze was firmly pinned on the future.

  But…

  Gary was a decent guy, and he wouldn’t lead Zack wrong about a potential opportunity. Zack had known that he might have a few offers, but he hadn’t thought about it much more than that. He hadn’t thought he’d be tempted in the least.

  And going back to the city? That hadn’t been on his agenda either.

  “This is kind of a surprise,” Zack said, stalling a bit. “To be honest, I haven’t planned anything. I’ve sort of been playing it by ear.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with that, but sooner or later you’re going to want to get back on the horse. Guys like us are going to miss the adrenaline, am I right? I’m thrilled to hear that you haven’t made any commitments elsewhere. I want to make our case. I don’t think you’ll get a better offer, and if you do, I’ll make ours even more enticing. We want you. Full stop. I’m prepared to do whatever we need to do to make that happen. Let’s meet and talk. How about next week?”

  Talking didn’t mean he had to take the job. It didn’t mean anything really. He could have a beer with an old friend, hear about an offer, and then walk away if he wanted to. He’d been wined and dined by competitors in the past, and he’d said no in the end.

  Plus a few days in the city might be nice. See some people, that sort of thing. It wasn’t that serious. Besides, what else did he have to do?

  Nothing, that’s what. He had no goals, no place to be. He didn’t have a fucking clue what he wanted to do with his life. Did Gary have the answer? Doubtful, but wouldn’t it be prudent to hear him out?

  Besides, I don’t have any place to be or do. Oh wait, I already said that, didn’t I?

  He’d left Wall Street for good reasons. Valid ones that hadn’t changed. Had he changed, though? He didn’t feel like the guy who had left New York City only a few days ago.

  “Gary, I need to check my calendar. Can I call you back?”

  12

  Lucy was unpacking a box of books and stacking them on an endcap display when her former English teacher, Mr. Hayes, walked into the store. He’d retired a few years ago, and since then had come in regularly to pick up a mystery novel or two. He didn’t come in as much in the summer months since the weather was nice, but in the winter he was there each Monday morning like clockwork.

  “Hello, Mr. Hayes, enjoying the warm weather?”