Wildling Road: Wildling K9 Mystery Series - Book One by Nikki Lee Taylor

Author:Nikki Lee Taylor [Taylor, Nikki Lee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Magpie Creative Media
Published: 2026-02-17T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Six

Britt

AFTER my shift, I’m supposed to be meeting Luke down by the river. He wants to talk more, but I just don’t have it in me. All I can think about is that someone else was the father of Lilly’s baby. If it wasn’t Herm and it wasn’t Luke, that means there was another secret she was keeping from me. Could it have really been Jack?

A block away from work, I stop and take out my phone. I’m going to text Luke and say that I can’t make it tonight. Screw him. Why should I bother after what he did? I punch out the text, not bothering with niceties, and slip the phone back into my satchel. When I look back up, my heart skips a beat. Bryce and his mother are walking toward me.

‘Hey, Britt.’ Bryce beams at me with a grin wide enough to light up the entire town. He's wearing jeans and a black polo shirt with Willow's Crossing embroidered over the right breast pocket.

‘Bryce.’ I return his greeting with an awkward nod and instantly hate myself for being so weird.

‘You heading to work?’

‘Yep.’

‘How are things with your sister being back?’ Sarah asks, looking me over like she can’t possibly understand how Juniper and I could be related. ‘Will she be staying long?’

‘I really couldn’t say, Mrs Stanton.’ She looks so perfectly put together in a long floral skirt and pink blouse. The pearls around her neck sit flat against her throat, clasped by a tiny diamond that glints in the sun.

‘Jack said he invited her to dinner. You’re welcome too, of course.’

‘Mum, they don’t want to come to dinner,’ Bryce says, shooting her a look. ‘Sorry, Britt. Just ignore that.’

I'm about to nod and let it go when the conversation with Luke plays over again in my head. About fifteen minutes later, she got picked up. Picked up by who? Jack Stanton.

‘You know what, maybe we will come to dinner,’ I reply, knowing Juniper will do anything if it means getting inside goss for the story she wants to write. ‘In fact, my evening just opened up. Would tonight work?’

‘You really don’t have to,’ Bryce says.

‘No, I want to. Juniper will too. I finish at five. We could be there by six o’clock?’

Sarah gives Bryce a warm look as if to say, Look what a wonderful mother I am, and then says, ‘That’s perfect, Britt. We’ll see you both tonight.’

‘DINNER and then we’re out,’ Juniper whispers as we walk toward the towering front door of Willow’s Crossing. ‘I had a weird run-in with Bryce yesterday. I don’t want to be hanging around here too long.’

‘Weird like what?’

‘Just weird,’ she says. ‘Mum made me come because you wanted to, but we’re not sticking around.’

‘Oh, bullshit, Juniper. You came because you’re trying to write a story and want the inside scoop,’ I say with a shake of my head. ‘Do you think I’m stupid?’

My sister stares at me, clearly deciding whether it’s worth trying to deny it. ‘Why did you want to come anyway?’ she asks instead.

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