She didn’t realize the rain had let up until she noticed her screen wasn’t covered in droplets. When she looked up from the phone, Luke was staring at her in a way that told her he thought he knew exactly what she was thinking.

  Hand on her hip, she cocked her head to one side. “What?”

  “Why are you avoiding your booth?” he asked, holding her gaze with his blue eyes.

  She stuttered. “What? I—this—I’m helping Paul.”

  Luke crossed his arms.

  Hadley inhaled. “Suze is being weird again. She didn’t want to ride with me—got here early, even—and she’s wearing a watch.” As the words left her, she realized she needed to be easier on the local teenagers; she sure wasn’t acting any better than them with all of this petty drama.

  One of Luke’s favorite things in life was to mess with Hadley. But to his credit, after hearing her list, he didn’t make her feel stupid.

  His forehead wrinkled in worry. “I thought they were back to normal.”

  “They were, for a bit. But as of yesterday, it’s worse than ever.” Hadley’s shoulders slumped in defeat.

  Luke was the only other person who knew about Suze and Paul, having figured it out around the same time as Hadley. The man had figured it out solely from their odd behavior, whereas it had taken Hadley finding something of Suze’s in Paul’s car to realize the same truth. Annoying as she’d found it at first, their shared secret was actually making her feel closer to Luke for the first time since high school.

  It didn’t hurt that he’d stood up for her with her ex-husband, and his ex-best friend Tyler, earlier that summer. She was starting to wonder if maybe she’d gotten the guy all wrong.

  Before Luke could say anything further about Suze and Paul, an influx of customers crowded around the farm stand.

  Moving to pick at her polish before realizing it was all gone, Hadley curled her fingers into fists. “Thanks for your help there, Fenton. I’d better get back to my booth. See you around.” She held up a hand in goodbye.

  Luke winked at her. “Good luck.”

  On her way past Josie’s booth, the potter called Hadley over. “Hey, Hazel Smith was just telling me Miranda got in an argument the night she went missing. You hear about that?”

  Hadley stopped and nodded. “Just now.” Boy, that got around fast, she thought, but supposed she should never be surprised by the level of nosiness her small town could achieve. “I’ll make sure Paul looks into it.” She waved at Josie.

  “If he doesn’t know already, I guess,” Josie called after her with a chuckle.

  Suze was sitting back with her feet kicked up on an empty box when Hadley reached their tent. Hadley’s parents were nowhere to be seen, but Gran was standing behind the jam booth. An awestruck Suze folded her arms over her chest as Gran completed the sale. Intrigued, Hadley stepped forward.

  “Oh, and here she is now.” Gran’s face lit up when she caught sight of Hadley. “This is my lovely granddaughter.”

  Hadley smiled and held her hand out to greet the customer as Gran slipped their purchases into a bag.

  Gran clasped her hand around the customer’s as she reached for the bag. “Let us know what you think of the apple rosemary jam. It’s a new flavor, but one we’re very excited about.”

  After assuring Gran that she would, the customer walked off.

  Suze waited until the woman was out of earshot and then stood, clapping slowly. “Mills, that was magic.”

  “Yeah, we need to restock thanks to you.” Hadley eyed the empty table and bent to pull the box of stock out from underneath, but Gran stopped her.

  “Hadley, honey.” Gran’s eyes sparkled as she put a hand on Hadley’s arm. “I’m afraid there’s nothing under there.”

  “What?” Hadley sputtered, glancing down at the empty box to verify.

  “She sold everything,” Suze said, a delighted laugh lengthening each word.

  “Everything?” Hadley turned to face Gran.

  Gran took a quick bow. “Everything.”

  Now, it wasn’t as if selling out of stock was something unheard of for Hadley. It was a goal she worked for each market, but one usually only achievable even on the most crowded summer weekends in Stoneybrook. Selling out during a wet, soggy, rainy afternoon was something she’d never thought possible.

  Until Gran.

  Hadley stared at her grandmother, wide-eyed. “You’re magical. What did you do?”

  Gran tucked a stray hair behind her ear and then waved dismissively. “Pshh. Nothing, really. I just did what I love best, talking up my wonderful granddaughter.”

  Overwhelmed with emotion, Hadley pulled Gran into a hug. “Thank you.”

  Suze checked her new watch. “You’ve still got a few hours until the end of the market if you want to run back to the kitchen and grab more stock.”

  “I can’t, actually.” Hadley blinked. “That was the last of what I had. Between the last few Saturdays and my online sales, I was almost wiped out. I actually packed more than I usually would because I didn’t want to leave just a few jars sitting on the shelves all lonely. I planned on going in tomorrow and making some more.”

  Grinning still, Gran patted Hadley on the arm. “Make sure you make more of the apple rosemary, dear. I thought a pair of customers was going to fight over the last jar.”

  “I can’t thank you enough, Gran.” Hadley shook her head.

  “Nonsense. You’re helping Paul with his case. That’s the important work. I’m happy to help cover while you do that.”

  Hadley sucked in a breath. How did Gran know? But when she looked over, Gran just gave her a wink and went to pick up her umbrella.

  “Now, I’m off to figure out if I want to join the knitting group or the quilting society.” She blew a kiss to Hadley and Suze.

  “Or both,” Suze said.

  Gran touched the tip of her nose and then walked out into the market.

  Suze let out a low whistle. “She sure is something.”

  “Tell me about it.” Hadley chuckled. “After Mom and Dad said they didn’t want her living on her own, I was worried her health had taken a turn for the worse, that she would be even worse than the sad, sickly woman we saw at Grandpa’s funeral. But she looks even spunkier in the fresh mountain air.”

  Pulling her feet off the box they’d been resting on, Suze leaned forward. “Yeah, she seems great. Why is it she had to sell her place?”

  “Well …” Hadley chewed on her lip. “Her house was right on the ocean and it got a serious amount of weather, so it really was a handful, but I also know she was lonely and wanted to be near all of us.” Hadley snapped her fingers. “Shoot. That reminds me, I wanted to invite her to Seven Stones.”

  It was common place for the vendors to pack up on Saturdays and head straight to the local pub and grill to debrief and—on chilly days like today—warm up with a pint and a bowl of their famous chili.

  The smile slipped off Suze’s face. “Oh, I can’t go out today. I’ve got some work to do. Sorry.” She cringed in exaggerated apology.

  “Sure—no, that’s—fine,” Hadley stammered. “No worries.”

  But even as she sank into her chair and Suze helped back-to-back customers, she couldn’t help but wonder what work Suze had to do and why she was being so tight-lipped. Sure, they didn’t go to Seven Stones every Saturday after the market, but a cancelation of a visit to the local pub usually warranted more explanation than, “I’ve got some work to do.”

  Or maybe Hadley was just being extra sensitive because neither Suze nor Paul had given even the slightest hint of letting her in on their secret. Either way, she was lost in a way she hadn’t been in a long while.

  After the market, Hadley pulled everything wet from the van and set it out in the alley behind the jam kitchen to dry out. The rain hadn’t returned and wasn’t forecasted to until Sunday evening, so she knew she would be safe leaving it out overnight. She had to come back in the morning to whip up more jam anyway, or she’d have nothing to sell if more orders came through next week.

  Hadley hopped on her bike and turned toward home instead of going to Seven Stones after all. She wasn’t pouting about Suze being unavailable—there were plenty of people she could’ve joined—but had actually decided a night in sounded like just the thing she needed on a chilly fall day like this.

  The wind was cold, but the humidity from the rain that morning helped things feel a bit weightier instead of the usual thin fall air that bit right through all manner of clothing. Hadley was approaching the second full month of living in her new house, and she couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.

  Her bike tires crunched on the gravel as she turned down the road she and a handful of other Stoneybrook citizens shared. But just as Cassie had scared her last night coming around the corner too fast, now Hadley appeared to be the one startling others. A Siamese cat sat on the side of the road, directly in her path. Its body stiffened at the sight of an impending collision, but it didn’t move.

  Hadley, however, pushed through her surprise and swerved to the left, narrowly missing the cat, who remained frozen in place.

  She skidded to a halt, dropping a foot down onto the ground before her brakes had slowed the bike completely. Turning around, Hadley walked her bike a few feet closer to the animal, then engaged the kickstand and left it behind.

  “Hey, you,” she cooed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to give you a fright. I probably shouldn’t have taken the corner so fast, but you probably should find a different place to rest than in the road.”

  The cat turned its head to regard her, its golden eyes tracking her as she walked around to stand in front of it. Its large body was splayed out in true lounging fashion, just like Ansel and Marmalade often did—though they chose to get comfortable on her duvet, not in the middle of the street.

  “Whatcha doin’ here?” Hadley asked, reaching her hand forward.

  The cat let out a low growl. Hadley pulled her hand back and the sound ceased.

  “Are you hurt?” Her forehead wrinkled in concern, and she tried to get a better look at the cat’s expansive beige body.

  It seems just fine, she thought as she scanned the cat. It was actually a stunning creature, now that she got a better look. Its fur, though a little dirty, was a beautiful biscotti-like beige with white paws and dark-brown legs. It had the same dark color on its ears and concentrated around its eyes, but white surrounded its mouth, running down the cat’s neck, disappearing into the light-beige fur.

  Hadley squatted down, wondering if a lower profile might make her less intimidating to the creature. She’d never seen a cat sit so staunchly in the middle of a road before and was beginning to worry it was seriously injured.

  “I just want to help,” she said sweetly, reaching out again.

  A growl peeled from the cat, getting louder the closer Hadley’s hand got.

  If it’s hurt, I need to get it to the vet, she rationalized, her fingers curling slightly at the thought of being scratched or bitten.

  It was almost laughable how the pitch and volume of the cat’s protest coincided with her hand’s proximity. By the time her hand was within inches of the cat, its mouth was open, expelling its protestations at full volume. Hadley pushed forward, unable to leave an injured animal in the road, even if it did have a terrible attitude.

  And just when her hand was about to make contact, the cat jumped up and bounded away. It stopped a few yards out of reach, looked back at her, and sneezed as if in distaste, then slunk into the bushes on the side of the road.

  Sitting back on her heels, Hadley couldn’t help but laugh. “You weren’t injured at all,” she said aloud after seeing the cat move with the fluid ease of her healthy felines. “But who do you belong to?” she wondered as she climbed back onto her bike and rode the rest of the way home.

  It was a welcome difference to greet her own pets when she opened the front door and set her keys on the entry table. Instead of hisses and growls, she got purrs and head butts from her two.

  “A quiet night in with the two of you is just what I need.” Hadley smiled, patting Ansel and Marmalade before heading into her room to change out of her market clothes and into some soft sweatpants and her favorite sweater.

  Deciding it was time for a fall color polish, she picked out a fun eggplant shade and spent a few minutes painting it on her now bare nails. Once her nails were dry, she settled onto the couch with a mug of tea and a blanket and pulled out her laptop. She couldn’t get the road cat out of her thoughts. Even though it didn’t seem to be injured, she wondered who it belonged to and why it had been there.

  She logged onto her neighborhood’s page on social media and typed up a post:

  Hey fellow Marigold Laners,

  Anyone know anything about the beige Siamese-looking cat I found in the middle of the road? I almost hit him with my bike and when I tried to see if he was okay, he ran off. Thanks!

  Before sending the message, she took a moment to look up Siamese cats online, just to make sure she was right. They had similar coloring, but all of them had brown all across their faces. Typing in Siamese cat with white on face and paws. Pictures of snowshoe Siamese cats came up, confirming the exact breed of the road cat. But Hadley was sure none of her neighbors would mind the distinction and sent her message as it was.

  Next, she texted her brother.

  Find out anything from the boyfriend?

  She was desperately hoping Cassie had indeed gone in and had finally been honest about the fight Miranda seemed to have gotten into with her boyfriend. In Hadley’s mind, it only cemented him as a suspect.

  A response from Paul came through right away.

  Yeah, but don’t get too excited. He was up front about the fight. Told us they made up and he dropped her off in the same place he always did for Cassie to come get her. We’re still checking into it.

  “Darn,” she said aloud, making the cats sleeping at her feet jump.

  Hadley sipped her tea, stopping herself when she felt the urge to pick at the new polish, instead wrapping her hands tighter around the warm mug.

  So Miranda had gone missing sometime between the time Jaxon had dropped her off and Cassie had called to see where she was. The information wound through Hadley’s mind, and she could tell right away something was off. Going with her gut, she texted Paul.

  Something doesn’t feel right about all of this. I think either Jaxon or Cassie has to be lying to us.

  Paul’s response sent a chill down her back.

  Or both of them are.

  8

  The next morning, Hadley checked in with Paul first thing to see if they’d made any more headway. When he sent her back a thumbs-down emoji, she chewed on her lip for a moment before opening her email. All seven of her neighbors had replied to her question about the Siamese cat.

  This is why I love living in such a small town, she mused as she scrolled through their responses. They care about a stray cat just as much as I do.

  Unfortunately, no one seemed to know any more about the cat than they did about where Miranda had gone. And while they all mentioned seeing the cat in various places along their road, no one had been able to get near the cat either, citing its grumpy attitude and menacing growls.

  Hadley ran a hand through her hair and sighed. Her own two cats had followed her from the bedroom and were perched next to her on the couch. She glanced outside, catching a glimpse of the mountain range out her window. The higher peaks were already dusted with snow, and it was only a matter of a couple months before Stoneybrook would be as well.

  “I’ll touch base with Louise today,” Hadley told her cats. “If I can’t be helpful in finding Miranda, maybe I can help solve a feline mystery.”

  They purred and blinked lazily in response.

  It was especially difficult to pull herself from the soft comforts of her cats and couch, but Hadley finally managed to pull on jeans, a sweater, and an extra puffy vest before heading out into town to spend the morning at the jam kitchen.

  She rode extra slowly down Marigold Lane, searching as she went for any sign of the Siamese. Unsure what she would’ve even done if she had seen him, disappointment tugged down the corners of her mouth as she turned onto Main Street.

  Pulling her bike up next to the knitting shop, Hadley hopped off and poked her head inside the quiet of Main Street Skeins.

  Louise Stanton, the new owner, looked up as the bell on the front door rang out.

  “Morning, Hadley. I met your lovely grandmother yesterday.”

  Beaming, Hadley nodded. “She’s quite the accomplished knitter, unlike me.” Heat crept into her cheeks as she remembered her failed attempt at knitting a pair of socks for her mother a few months ago.

  Louise laughed. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. Everyone makes mistakes on their first few projects. People like your grandmother get so good at it because they stick with it; they don’t give up after one lumpy sock.”

  Hadley smiled. “True. I guess my persistence is all used up in the kitchen, though.”

  “Quite right.” Louise’s eyes lit up. “I bought some of your new apple rosemary jam yesterday, and I think I need to buy five more jars.”

  “I’d better get canning, then. Gran sold all of my stock.” Hadley paused. “Hey, I did want to ask you something. It’s about a cat.”

  The older woman leaned forward. “Ansel?”

  Hadley gulped. Ansel had belonged to Edith, the previous owner of the knitting store, before she was killed by a jealous rival from her past. Louise had always wanted Ansel and didn’t seem to have let go of it yet.

  “No,” Hadley said firmly. “It’s a stray I’ve seen on Marigold Lane. Are you still helping out with that kind of thing?”

  Because it was such a small town, Stoneybrook didn’t have its own animal shelter, but they did have Louise. The woman often took in any strays, got them appointments with the local veterinarian, and then used her connections around town to find homes for the animals.

 

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