Oh, it could be natural if there was a storm or thick clouds reducing coverage.
What didn’t make sense was that the town seemed to be in a complete dead zone every now and again. That kind of thing didn’t flip-flop.
This isn’t a mystery for you to solve. You’re here because you’re retired. You can spend your days fishing and sleeping in. Lounging by the lake. All leisure stuff. No work. Drop it. Not your problem.
Parker repeated this over to himself again and again until he walked back to his cabin by the lake. He didn’t believe himself.
And when he sat at his computer to look up the small town where he had decided to move, he knew there was no turning back.
So much for retirement.
FOUR
JADE
Jade’s mind kept on drifting to the newest citizen of Half Moon Key. The whole town was buzzing about the mysterious Parker Dawson.
Cameron, one of the sheriff's deputies, let it slip that Parker was retired from some fancy job back in the city. Jade rarely believed the rumors in town, but this one was particularly silly. There was just no way a man that young could beretired. It was nonsensical. He waswaytoo young to be retired. Parker had to be barely into his thirties.
Unless he was involved in some very shady stuff, there was no way he had accumulated enough wealth to never work a day in his life. It was true that life in Half Moon Key wasn’t very expensive, but still. Jade worked in a bank. She knew all about inflation and 401(k).
The chances that Parker had enough money to live out the rest of his days without working were slim to none. When she said as much to her mother, Mom rolled her eyes and waved her off.
“You’re so suspicious of everyone, honey. It is totally possible in this day and age, especially out there in the big wide world. He probably had some startup company and sold it for millions,” she ended with a resolute head nod as if it closed the matter.
“We don’t know that. Maybe he’s here on vacation. This could be a summer cabin.” Jade glanced around Main Street to make sure that the man in question wasn’t in their direct vicinity.
That would be mortifying, but it’s not like her mother was very careful about those types of things. Not many people in town were. Most folks in town just assumed that everyone was justusedto being discussed by the other residents.
Someone like Parker … a newcomer wrapped up in a mystery … would have to get used to it.
“He’s quite different from that Mason.” Mom giggled.
Mason Pierce, the sheriff’s brother who had recently moved to town and was now working at Moony’s with his very serious girlfriend Lila, was also a newcomer. But there was never much mystery around him.
“Well, of course, Parker Dawson is different,” Jade said. “Mason started working in the diner as soon as he got to town. That was the best way to get to meet everyone and to have the town get to know him. Not like this reclusive and secretive Mr. Dawson.”
“Has he gone to the bank?” Mom asked.
Jade clicked her tongue. “You know I can’t tell you that, Mom!” She shook her head. “That is his personal business.”
Mom waved her off. “Oh, please. It’s not like I asked for his social security number or his bank account information. Have youspokento him?”
Jade didn’t want to answer. No doubt, the second she told her mother that Parker had indeed been to the bank, Mom would create a story in her head. Parker was single if the rumors were to be believed. That meant Mom would be busy playing matchmaker unless Jade made it very obvious shewasn’tinterested in the super-hot man.
“I might have spoken to him, yes. But it was strictly professional. There is nothing there. Besides, I saw a ring on his left hand.”
The lie rolled off her tongue a little too easily, but it was better to start that rumor than to deal with her mother’s desire for a married daughter and grandchildren. It wasn’t Jade’s fault that the dating pool in Half Moon Key was basically nonexistent. Not that she would ever complain about that. She was fine being single.
If she ever wanted to date, she could head into the city or something. Dating apps would be useless in Half Moon Key. The internet was way too unreliable for that.
She did want a husband and kids one day, but for now, she was content with her life.
“Do you think we should divide and conquer?” Jade asked her mother, pulling her attention back to their task at hand. “I could go down to the lake to talk to Jack Hayes.”
“No. Half the fun is doing it all together. We should head to the ice cream parlor first, then go to the lake.”
“You just want a free ice cream sample,” Jade pointed out with a giggle.