Cold River - Carla Neggers [126]
Sean hesitated, knowing he was on difficult ground now. “I need to ask you, if my sister were in danger, would you tell me?”
“In a heartbeat.”
“Those cretins that night weren’t just talking about Hannah, were they?”
“I don’t give a damn who they were talking about.”
Sean decided to leave it there. “So why am I ‘thickheaded’?”
“Hannah. You’ve been out of reach for her since you were kids. She only had to prove herself to herself. The rest of us know she’s too damn good for you.”
“It’s true.”
“You may have left Black Falls, but it’s never left you. I figure you had some proving to do. I also figure you made all that money for a reason.”
“And that would be?”
Bowie grinned. “To spoil Hannah Shay.”
Thirty-Seven
January 8—Black Falls, Vermont
Hannah delivered warm shepherd’s pie to the McBanes, then walked across the road to the cemetery. Sean had once again returned to California. She could have gone with him, but in light of everything that had happened, she wanted him to have a chance to get his head clear back in the place he’d lived since college. She ached to see him again, and she was downright desperate to see her brothers, but the practicalities of her own life had swarmed over her.
She needed to hire help at the café, and she needed to start some serious studying for the bar.
There was also that to-do list of house repairs to tackle.
She found Bowie collecting the last of his stuff from outside the crypt. “Need any help?” she asked him.
“Sure, Hannah. Pick up that hundred pounds of granite over there and carry it to my van, will you?”
“Funny, Bowie.”
He grinned at her. “Grit Taylor was up here, and he and Reverend McBane and I were talking, and we figured out that some women are like sisters. It’s just the way it is. Some aren’t.” He looked at Hannah and winked. “You and Rose? For me? Sisters.”
“So who would be under ‘not sisters’?”
He sidestepped her question with another grin. “Judge Robinson thinks Southern California could be a good place for you to study.”
“Do you know everything that happens in this town?”
“I didn’t know we still had killers on the loose, but everything else? Yeah.”
When Hannah arrived back at the café, Rose, Dominique, Beth and even Jo were gathered in the kitchen. Rose grabbed a folder and opened it up on the worktable. “I have airline points. I know you don’t do tips here, but people insisted. Liam O’Rourke even got in on it with tips from his place. Anyway, we’ve pooled our resources, and we’ve made our decision. We’re sending you to Los Angeles.”
“You leave tomorrow,” Beth said.
Hannah was overcome. “Thank you. You’re all too generous.”
“None of us wants to go to Los Angeles,” Rose said, then added quickly, “Sean would arrange for a private plane for you—”
“This is perfect,” Hannah said.
Dominique produced an envelope. “And here’s cash for a shopping spree on Rodeo Drive. We expect receipts. No sneaking off to a discount store—and no spending it on your brothers.”
“It’ll be a minor shopping spree compared to some Rodeo Drive has witnessed,” Beth said. “But have fun. We’ll handle the café. It’s been quiet.”
“Thank you again.”
“I can help stand in for Hannah here at the café,” Jo said. “Beth and I really are sisters, so we’ll uphold the name.”
“No.” Beth was horrified. “We’d kill each other. Back to D.C. with you before the Secret Service fires you. You’re not done, and neither is Elijah. Vermont is here. Lake, home, cabins, land. None of it’s going anywhere.”
Rose said, “Myrtle Smith suggests the two of us switch off subbing as the third sister.”
Dominique pointed her knife to the cash. “She contributed to the shopping spree and included a note on stores she recommends.”
Leave it to Myrtle, Hannah thought, amused. Myrtle had surprised everyone by not returning immediately to Washington. Grit Taylor was gone, at least for the moment, rumored to be assigned to the Pentagon.
There was even a note in Rose’s folder from Everett Robinson telling Hannah she could e-mail him with study questions, unless she decided to do something