Tailed by Sarah Hualde

Author:Sarah Hualde [Hualde, Sarah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 0000000000000
Published: 2021-10-06T00:11:49+00:00

16

“HELLO?” I GREETED THE man on the other side of the screen door with as little rudeness as possible. He was interrupting a much-needed moment of concentration.

“Hi,” the man stumbled over his greeting. “I’m looking for Colleen. You can’t be her.”

“I’m not,” I said.

The man smiled at me. Was that a flirtatious glimmer in his eye? He pulled his phone from the inner pocket of his black leather jacket. Reading the screen, he checked the numbers marking the door frame.

“It’s the right address,” he said.

“Yes, this is Colleen’s place. Can I ask who you might be?”

The crooked grin returned. “I’m Pierce,” he said. “I’m here looking for my boss, Nigel. He had business here, yesterday. When he didn’t show up to work this morning, I tried calling him. No answer. I thought since this was his only stop, that he might be here.”

“Why would he be here?” Colleen asked as she limped up to the door, wearing her no-nonsense expression.

The man in black turned his stellar smile toward Colleen. Her resolve wilted before me. She was a sucker for any good-looking man. I stepped to the side and let her engage the stranger in small talk.

“You must be Colleen,” he said. “I’m Pierce. I work for Nigel.”

“I know,” she replied. “I heard.”

“Well then, you know he’s missing?” Pierce asked.

“A grown man can’t be declared missing for at least 24 hours. Or is it 72 hours? I can never remember.”

Pierce snickered. “Why would I declare him missing? I just need to speak with him about a very important account, and I can’t reach him. He told me he was visiting your farm. Knowing your, er, history, I figured he stayed over. I don’t mean to intrude. He’ll be ticked if I let this client down and we lose the business.”

Colleen sucked in her cheek. “Take a seat on the porch swing, will you? I’ll be out in a bit.”

“Certainly,” Pierce complied with a smile.

“Penny, dear,” Colleen whispered. “Keep the handsome man company.”

I cringed. “Me?”

She winked. “Give me a moment. I’ll have the girls freshen up, and we’ll see what he needs before continuing our talk.”

“Alright,” I mumbled. “If that’s what you want.”

I desired few things less than to entertain Pierce. Still, Colleen had her reasons.

The sooner the entire ordeal was behind us, the better. If sitting on a porch swing with a handsome guy in a leather jacket would speed things along, then I'd do it.

I unlocked the screen and opened it without inviting the stranger inside. With an outstretched hand, I motioned to the swing. The curtain on one of the front windows moved. For a moment, I thought I saw the flutter of a black wing. My fears stilled when Maddy's bewildered face pressed against the glass. I offered a low finger wave at my coworker.

Pierce took the place on the swing closest to the front door. That meant I had to walk past him to take my seat.

Nonchalance was not a skill set I possessed. Whenever I aimed for subtlety, I came across brash or boorish.

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