Cold Case Identity by Nicole Helm

Author:Nicole Helm
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2023-11-01T17:58:52+00:00

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LOUISA FELT BATTERED by conflicting emotions. Because her life had been burned down, and Palmer had kissed her.

She’d always told herself nothing would happen with Palmer, but truth be told, she’d always wondered if they could at least have a night together. Palmer wasn’t exactly picky, and like she’d told him what now felt like years ago, she knew she wasn’t an ogre or anything. A night was sort of the most she’d ever hoped for.

But Palmer hadn’t just kissed her. He’d told her that story about the bar when she’d come home from college. That wasn’t just a talk-a-woman-into-bed situation.

She’d love nothing more to ruminate on that, obsess over that, but she couldn’t. Because there was so much to deal with when her family had lost everything except themselves and the orchard. There were insurance questions and a million things she’d never even considered in losing everything inside her home.

She kept trying to take some of the responsibilities from her parents, but now that they’d pushed on from their shock, they seemed determined to keep her out of it. Protect her from the hard stuff.

She’d never been more frustrated by that than at this moment. She wasn’t a child to be protected. She was an adult, a partner in the orchard business, and a resident of the home that had burned down.

But they shut her out—as a team—and she’d had no choice but to go to her room and try to sleep. She, of course, hadn’t. She’d thought of how to get through to them. She’d thought of Palmer kissing her on a cold winter afternoon. She thought of what happened if she wasn’t her parents’ child, about who could have slashed Palmer’s tires and set her house on fire.

She wasn’t sure when her thoughts stopped whirling enough to sleep, but she didn’t sleep long or well. Still, when she opened her eyes and there was a faint light coming from the curtains in the little craft room she was sleeping in, she got up, took a shower and dressed.

She considered her reflection, but there was nothing to be done. Even if she could cover up the dark circles or try to make herself look a little extra pretty for her breakfast with Palmer, pretending that it wouldn’t lead to talking to nurses who’d worked at the hospital when she’d been born, all her makeup had been ruined in the fire.

Because that thought seemed especially overwhelming, she pushed out of the bathroom and headed for the usual morning sounds of her grandmother and mother in the kitchen.

She stepped into the kitchen to the smell of cinnamon rolls and her grandmother in her very normal spot at the stove. Mom was not there, which was a little odd. Hopefully she was sleeping. “Good morning, Grandma.”

“Morning, cupcake.” Grandma looked over her shoulder at her, then narrowed her eyes in stern consideration. “You need to eat.”

Louisa pressed a hand to her stomach. Because now, on top of all the roiling stress, was the fluttering nerves of how she was going to face Palmer.

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