“Good. You won’t be disappointed. Not in me, not in Mason. Not in Half Moon Key.”
“You trust the small town. You work in a bank where someone could walk in and steal all of the cash at any given time because the electricity stops working. That’s trust.”
“What would you have me do? Be afraid of going to work? Not a chance. No one from Half Moon Key would rob our bank. It’s their money and their town they would be screwing over.”
“You do realize that anywhere else in the world, you would be in some serious danger of getting super robbed if you were working in a bank without any kind of backup?”
“Well, yeah. But that’s why I choose to live and work in Half Moon Key. The world is such an ugly place, Parker. You must know that. I like this town because I don’t have to worry about any of that.”
He nodded. “Okay, I guess that makes sense. But what if the ugly, or evil, ever came to town? What would you do?”
She frowned and considered this for a moment. “I don’t think the evilcancome to Half Moon Key. I know there was some trouble with Mason a little while ago, but the sheriff took care of it.”
“Right, Sheriff Pierce. He isn’t from here.”
“No, he isn’t. He was hired, though. He is the first non-local sheriff we’ve had in a long time, but he seems to be a good fit. Mrs. Francis wouldn’t have hired him unless she was sure he was the perfect man for the job.”
“Mrs. Francis? You mean the oldest woman in town was the one who chose your lead cop?”
She nodded. “Oh, yeah. Mrs. Francis has the best instincts in the world. There’s a reason why she has been alive so long! She has instincts ofgold.”
“Must be all of those carrots she eats,” he teased.
“Yeah! Exactly.”
“I should add carrots to my diet.”
She giggled. “Make sure to tell Mason. Apparently, he can shred carrots like no one else.”
“Are we going to be serving those at Beach Day?”
“Oh, we won’t have a choice! Mrs. Francis will insist on it, and if we piss her off?” She shook her head. “Then our little party will have no chance in hell of succeeding.”
“We will succeed,” he said.
For some reason, the certainty in his voice made him sure of a whole bunch of stuff. It was enough to reach over and take her hand in his. He interlocked their fingers together, and he looked at her.
“I’m very happy I’ve met you, Jade Curran. You’ve made my life in Half Moon Key a lot more interesting.”
I’ll say,his panther agreed.There are definitely some strange things happening in this town, but the way this woman makes you feel? That has got to be the biggest mystery of all.
EIGHT
JADE
Jade sat across from Parker in a booth in Moony’s. Mason and Lila were bringing them taste tester plates to try out, but no matter how delicious the food was, Jade was completely distracted.
“I’m very happy I’ve met you, Jade Curran. You’ve made my life in Half Moon Key a lot more interesting.”
Those were the very words Parker said to her as they walked to the diner, and Jade didn’t know what to make of it.
Surely, the man hadn’t meant his words to be so damn flirty, right?
Jade had no clue, and she didn’t really know if she should ask anyone for some clarifications …
Her mother would probably pass out before going into full wedding planning mode. That wouldn’t be useful or good for anyone.
Pippa would most likely just go off on a tangent about the dangers of marriage and a steady relationship.