Theo grunted. He knew exactly who’d moved into that house—the new waitress, although he had no idea why she’d thought it was a good idea to live there. It had been sitting empty for as long as Theo had been in Monroe—over five years. A few months earlier, the gossip around town was that some guy from out of state had bought the place, and everyone assumed it would eventually be torn down and replaced by vacation condos. As far as Theo knew, the new owner hadn’t done anything to fix up the place, nor had he made any move to demolish it. Theo was tempted to stop, to seize on the excuse to see the squirrelly waitress again, but that spark of interest was the reason he had to shut it down quickly.
“Be a police ambassador.” With a grin, Hugh casually began to walk in the direction of Theo’s aging Blazer. Viggy stayed close, not wanting to lose his hiding spot apparently, and Theo was towed along behind. “Stop by there. Welcome your new neighbors and find out what their story is at the same time.”
Despite his foul mood, Theo couldn’t restrain a huff of laughter. “You want me to get the gossip.”
“Sure.” Hugh’s smile didn’t falter at all. “Nothing wrong with being informed. Call me when you leave there.”
“No.” Opening the back hatch of his SUV, Theo tried to keep his expression severe. Damn Hugh for always cheering him up when he just wanted to wallow in his misery. “Viggy, load.”
Hugh positioned his hip closer to the opening before giving the bumper a pat. “C’mon, Vig,” he crooned in the voice he reserved for furry creatures. “Up you go.”
As Theo watched, torn between frustration and pity, Viggy jumped into the rear compartment of the Blazer and immediately pressed his body against the back of the seat.
“He’s such a mess.”
“Yeah.” When Theo glanced over, Hugh was looking at him instead of the dog. “He is. He’ll get better, though.”
With a skeptical snort, Theo slammed the hatch door with a little too much force.
EXCERPT #6
SUMMARY: Exhausted and hunted, Jules and her family just want to collapse when they arrive at their new home in Monroe, Colorado, but there’s a problem—they don’t have any furniture. A local shopping trip is required.
Four Days Earlier
A new life was expensive. Jules had been living on her own for five years, so she should’ve been aware of this, but trying to buy all the necessities for five people in a couple of hours was bringing her very close to a panic attack.
As she handed a ridiculous amount of money to the clerk at the sporting goods store, after spending an insane amount of money at the furniture store—only to find that everything couldn’t be delivered until next week—she mentally thanked Mr. Espina for his contribution. They were bleeding money, but a week sleeping on bare wood floors would’ve been torture almost as severe as something Courtney could’ve dreamed up.
“We st-still n-n-need kitch-chen st-st-st…th-things.” Sam’s voice was tight, as if one more shopping stop was going to send Jules over the edge, making her shove them all back in the SUV and drive them back to Courtney.
“I know.” Her smile was forced, but it was the best she could do. For all her years of being an adult, she’d scrimped and saved. Spending all this money in one go was almost painful, when her instinct was to squirrel it away. “I saw a thrift store a few doors down. Let’s haul this stuff back to the SUV, and then we’ll see what they have for dishes and pans and things.”
All four of her siblings nodded solemnly and picked up the sleeping bags and air mattresses they’d just bought. Their quiet obedience made her think that Sam wasn’t the only one worried about Jules changing her mind about keeping them.
As they crammed their purchases into the SUV, Jules felt the back of her neck prickling. She tried to resist the urge to look behind her, telling herself that it was just paranoia making her feel watched, but she had to turn. There were people scattered all around Monroe’s quaint downtown, from the older man sweeping the sidewalk in front of the leather repair and tack shop to the couple leaving the diner. Her throat tightened when she noticed a squad car parked on the street. Jules squinted, trying to see if a cop was inside it, but the sun reflecting off the windshield hid any possible occupants.
The prickle of awareness turned into the burn of multiple malicious gazes, and a wave of dizziness hit Jules. She pressed a hand against the side of the SUV until her vision righted itself again.
“Y-you ok-k-kay, JuJu?”
“Sure.” She needed to stop with the crazy. There was no way Courtney could have found them, not this soon. They were safe—for now. “Just starving. Are y’all hungry?”