Unfinished Business by Inglath Cooper

Author:Inglath Cooper
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2020-06-14T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

ADDY FELT LIKE a teenager. She’d changed clothes a half-dozen times before finally settling on a pair of black Capri pants and a halter-style Gap T-shirt.

Culley picked her up at six-thirty, and his response when she opened the door was the one a girl hopes for.

A long stare, and then, “You look amazing.”

She smiled. “You look pretty great yourself.”

He wore blue jeans and a white shirt that emphasized his well-shaped shoulders. Throughout the day, she’d repeated her resolve to remain levelheaded about what this night would be. But attraction had its own agenda, and she couldn’t deny that the friendship pact was not holding water.

In fact, it was sinking fast. Being redefined by something over which she was beginning to think she had little control.

They drove thirty miles to Roanoke, ate dinner downtown at an upscale restaurant that featured American-style cuisine. The walls were paneled in mahogany. Sconce lighting gave the place an immediate feeling of intimacy. They sat in a booth in one corner of the restaurant, drank red wine that rolled smoothly on their tongues.

The food was wonderful. Addy ordered a tomato and mozzarella salad with basil and aged balsamic vinegar. It was so good she could have made that her entire meal. For two hours, they ate and talked. About everything, one topic weaving itself into another, college and work, Madeline’s already blooming talent for drawing, Addy’s concern that Sheriff Ramsey had not yet established a credible lead as to who was behind the threats against Claire and others in the community opposed to the route leading through Lindmore County.

“I heard Owen Blankenship’s hay barn was set on fire early this morning,” Culley said. “Took out a winter’s worth of round bales.”

“He’s got the big dairy farm on Route 638, right?”

“Yeah. Owen’s been pretty vocal about his opposition. He’s taken out some ads in the paper. Even challenged Congressman Powers to a public debate. Owen’s another landowner who would see his property sliced in half. Not too desirable to have half your cows on one side of the interstate and half on the other.”

“Are they sure this was related to that?”

Culley nodded. “Apparently, this one came with a threat to his family.”

Addy felt the color leave her face.

“Whoever’s behind it is serious.”

“So short of selling out without a fight, what can we do?”

“They’ll mess up at some point. They’re getting too brazen.”

“I just hope it’s sooner rather than later. I think I’ll call home and make sure everything is okay.” She pulled her cell phone from her purse. Claire answered on the first ring, assured her there was no reason to worry and that she shouldn’t give it another thought.

“I have a feeling if anyone shows up there again, Claire’s going to be ready for them,” Culley said. “She still have that old .22?”

“Yeah. Not the most powerful gun, but she could do some damage.”

Culley smiled. “Remember the time she ran off Wimmer Brown when he accused us of stealing from his ice-cream truck?”

She nodded, and then they both laughed.

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