The middle of July brought heat like Garden Creek hadn’t seen in years. The patio outside Reverie was a popular spot in the afternoons because the leafy trees offered a lot of shade, and anyone who still couldn’t handle the heat just walked right down to the creek and dipped their feet in.
Tori and Grams appreciated the business. Customers could have been inside Grounds in the air conditioning but most of the town chose to head their way and enjoy a glass of iced tea or lemonade, which they just started offering, and lemon blueberry scones to match.
“Morgan and Cole stopping by today?” Grams asked as she cleaned tables out back.
Soft music played through speakers attached to the side of the building. Tori shifted a few of their new potted flowers to get them out of the sun and nodded. “Any minute now.”
It had become a sort of daily routine on the days Tori was at the shop. Cole would get some work done while Morgan was at the community center, and then they’d both stop by Reverie afterward. Most of the time Morgan played on the animals, but it had been hot enough lately she splashed in the creek or helped Grams inside as a waitress in training, which was what she enjoyed doing the most. They even shared the money in the tip jar with her on those days so she could save up for something.
“You two should go on another date so I can have Morgan over. We have new recipes to practice,” Grams said.
“I’ll talk to Cole about it.”
“You do that.”
Layla and her mom wandered to the patio, taking a seat in the shadiest spot they could find.
“Good Lord it’s hot!” Mrs. Morton said to Tori. “Even the air conditioning isn’t working. People’s cucumber masks are melting right off.”
“You should do mud masks,” Grams said. “Bake that stuff right on there.”
Layla chuckled. “Good idea.”
“Then we’ll stick them in the sunroom and tell them it’s a sauna.”
Tori grinned. “Could work. And afterward, you could send them this way for lemonade to cool off.”
“Not a bad idea. We could put a package together. Coupon book or something.”
Grams walked over to start negotiations, making Tori smile. Anything to help business. But she’d rather just work, and spend time with Cole and Morgan.
Morgan ran to the patio a few minutes later, ponytails bouncing. They were almost straight this time. Tori wondered if Cole had done it, or Miss Amy.
Cole followed just behind her without his laptop case.
“No work?” she asked.
“Too hot,” he said, walking straight to her and pressing his lips to hers.
Mrs. Morton made oohing noises, making Tori’s cheeks heat more than they already were. Cole had no problem with public displays of affection but she was still getting used it.
Tori leaned down to wrap her arm around Morgan’s shoulders. “Where’s Cooper?”
Morgan shrugged and pulled away. “I want to play in the water.”
“Wait,” Cole called after her. “You have to wait until someone is down there with you.”
She skidded to a stop by the bench, close enough they could still see her.
“Something wrong?” Tori asked, turning to him.
“I don’t think so. Cooper’s gone missing, though. She acts like she doesn’t care, but I think that’s what’s bothering her.”
She walked with him to the edge of the patio so they could see Morgan better. “I could check my house. Maybe she left him there.”
“I don’t think so.” His eyes were hidden behind his glasses, but she could still see the concern on his face. “It’s been a few weeks.”
“That long? Why didn’t you say something? I could have helped you look.”
He caught her hand in his, then brought her fingers to his lips, giving her chills. “Too much going on. And whenever I asked her about it, she’d just shrug it off.”
Tori turned to him, laughing when he wrapped his arm around her waist.
“You have tomorrow off, right?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“What are you doing?”
“Maybe a little grocery shopping. Some gardening. I need to mow my lawn.”
“Please tell me you’re going to be doing that in those short, short blue shorts of yours.”
She laughed. “Maybe.”
“Or naked—”
“Cole!”
He nuzzled her neck, breath warm on her skin. “I love you.”
Tori froze, her brain short circuiting. Cole’s arms wrapped around her, just tight enough she could feel the squeeze on her still-sore ribs. “Cole,” she whispered.
“Don’t say anything. Just let it sink in.”
She did. Let it sink all the way to her toes. Love? She could say without a doubt she loved Morgan. The girl exuded energy and happiness. It was hard not to fall in love with her. But Cole…God, was that what the fluttering in her heart was?
Even so, people in her family didn’t do love as a rule.
“Is it sinking in?” Cole asked.
She tried to drum up a smile, but her eyes strayed to Morgan. A distraction.
“Tori?”
“I don’t…” Her heart squeezed. “What does that mean to you? Love?”
She closed her eyes against the words, what she feared he would say. Marriage. A family. Two things she couldn’t have. Couldn’t do.
His arms loosened on her. “Morgan! Not in the water!”
“It’s okay. Go on down with her.”
He blew out a breath. “Your shift’s over soon?”
She nodded.
“How about dinner at my place?”
“I…”
He stepped back. “Okay. I’ll give you a minute. Don’t pull back from me, Tori. This is just the natural way of things.”
“I know,” she said. Especially when she felt like she was falling in love, too. “I’ll finish up and come get you guys.”
“Good.”
She felt his eyes on her as she walked back into the building, afraid to tell Grams what had just happened, and afraid not to tell her.
#
Dinner. She could do dinner. They’d been having dinner together almost every night anyway. But Cole had told her he loved her. And she couldn’t say it back. Because then…what? What did that mean for them?
She was jumping ahead, way too far ahead, and she knew it. It wasn’t like he’d asked her to marry him. Maybe he was happy staying how they were. Neighbors. Lovers. But that wasn’t all of it, and even that was too much.
What if he changed his mind like her dad had? Or the visions got to be too much? She couldn’t do that to Cole, but she especially couldn’t do that to Morgan.
“We could grab pizza on the way,” Cole suggested as they walked from Reverie. “Or something to barbecue.”
“Actually, I—” She stopped when she saw the paper on her windshield.
“What’s that?”
Tori smiled. “Probably something from Cass. She gets bored sometimes and puts notes on my windshield like I got a ticket.”
She looked up and across the street. Toward the police station. Cass was probably watching from somewhere, laughing.
She opened the note and blinked. Her fingers clenched on the paper as she reread the single word written in black marker.
MINE.
“Tori?” Cole touched her arm. “You okay?”
“Yes.” She folded the letter up. “Of course. I’m—”
“What is it?”
“Nothing. It’s nothing.”
“A looovvee letter,” Morgan sang, dancing on the sidewalk. “Tori got a love letter.”
She choked on a laugh, even as Cole frowned. His hand dropped to hers. “Let me see.”
Tori opened her palm, letting him take the note. His eyes narrowed, and then he looked up, gaze locking with hers.
“Do you know who this is from?”
“No.”
He scanned the street one way and then the other. His jaw clenched. “Brooks.”
“I don’t think so.”
Cole squeezed her arm. “We should go see Cass.”
“Cass!” Morgan said, grabbing Tori’s hand. “Yay! Suckers!”
Tori blew out a breath of laughter. “Yeah, Cass always has suckers for the kids.”
“Let’s drop by. We can walk over there, give it to her, then we’ll get dinner.”
Tori bit her lip. She didn’t believe it was Brooks, but if not him, then who? Natalie? And what the hell was that supposed to mean? Mine?
Cole leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Come on.”
She gave in, took his hand, and walked with him and Morgan down the road. Cole still held the note, big block letters that had left her speechless. She thought this whole thing with Brooks and Natalie was over.
The police station was quiet. Tori almost wished Cass was out on a call so she didn’t have to talk to her. It wasn’t a big deal. And if it really had been Natalie, no sense in making an issue out of nothing.
But Cass sat at her desk. When she saw them, she grinned at Morgan. “Hey there, cutie!”
“Cass!” She ran to Cass’s desk, already eyeing the surface for a sucker. “We’re going to have dinner!”
Cass’s eyes met Tori’s with amusement, but her smile dimmed when she got a look at Cole’s face.
“Is that okay if Morgan sits at my desk and pretends to work?” Cass asked.
Morgan scrambled to the chair she vacated, everything a game for her. “Daddy, I’m a policeman.”
Cole nodded. “Sure. But don’t touch anything you’re not supposed to.”
Cass handed her a stack of papers, a pen and highlighter, and a stapler. “You can do whatever you want with these. But as my employee, I expect your work to be done by the time I get back.”
Morgan chuckled. “Yes, ma’am.”
Cole gestured. “We’ll be right over here.”
Morgan was already busy pounding the stapler, grinning to herself and making a game of it.
“What’s up?” Cass asked.
Cole passed her the note. “Tori found this on her windshield after work.”
Cass’s eyes stayed on the paper for several seconds, even when she asked, “How recently was it put on there? After lunch? Or earlier this morning?”
“I’m not sure. I didn’t leave the shop all day, so sometime after I got in at eight.”
“It could be Brooks,” Cole said. “Even though you don’t think he did the spray paint on your driveway.”
“He didn’t.” Tori touched his arm when he started to shake his head. “I know it wasn’t him.”
“How?”
She lowered her voice, glancing around the room before answering. “I had a vision.”
“You didn’t tell me.”
“It was before,” she said simply.
His eyes searched hers, but she couldn’t make out what was behind them. She’d talk to him about it later. And about her other visions, too. It had taken it out of her talking to him about her mom, things she’d never told anyone else besides Cass, her closest friend. He had to know that was a start. For her, that was stepping out of her comfort zone, and she’d done it for him.
And then he’d gone and told her he loved her, which had left her reeling.
“If not Brooks, then who?” Cole asked, returning his attention to Cass.
“Natalie?” Tori said.
Cass pointed to the front desk, where Bree usually sat. “She’s out of town with Bree. Has been since yesterday afternoon. It couldn’t have been her.”
Cole nodded. “I told you. It’s Brooks.”
“I…” Tori’s vision clouded. “Shit, no, not here…”
Cass’s eyes widened. “You’re seeing something?”
Tori swallowed, glancing around for someplace to hide, to have her vision in peace.
Cole put his arms around her. “Lean against me. There you go. Cass, can you distract Morgan please? She…”
His voice faded away as the images bloomed in her mind. Morgan. Always Morgan. Running away from someone. But this time she was outside with the roses. Hiding. And a voice, someone calling her name.
A woman.
“Tori,” Cole said, voice low. She could still make out the worry in it. “Come on. Come back.”
She clutched his shirt in her fists, fighting her way back to the present. “I’m sorry.”
He guided her to a chair. “Sit for a minute.”
Heat snuck into her cheeks, embarrassment hitting her full on when Cole leaned over her. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Did Morgan see?” Tori tried to peer around him.
He crouched in front of her, taking her hands in his. “She’s fine. She’s still playing. God, what happened?”
“A vision.”
“Yeah, but…it just hit you.”
“That’s how it always works.”
He leaned back, appraising her. “What did you see?”
“I don’t—I can’t talk about it right now.”
He squeezed her hands, even as she tried to pull away. “Let’s get home.”
Home. The room swam around her. Home? Like they were a unit. She stood on shaky legs, forcing a smile at Cole when he gripped her arm.
“This is really embarrassing,” she murmured. “I’m really sorry.”
“Don’t apologize.”
But she felt sorry anyway. He’d just gotten used to the idea she had visions and dreams, and already he had to experience them firsthand.
“She’s a natural,” Cass said, holding up a packet of stapled papers for them to see. Her eyes traveled to Tori’s. “You okay?”
Tori nodded, ready to go.
“Give us a minute?” Cass asked Cole.
Cass pulled her around the cubicle and to the hallway where the bathrooms were. “How many is that now?”
“What?”
“The visions,” Cass said. “Seems like they’re coming a lot now.”
“It’s Morgan. Something isn’t right. I’m still worried for her.”
“What about you? The note on your car?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. It’s probably nothing.”
“Just be careful.”
Tori slumped against the wall. “He told me he loves me.”
Cass blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Cole.” She closed her eyes, pressing her hands over her face. “He told me he loves me, and I didn’t know what to say.”
“Maybe that you love him back. That would be a good start.”
She made an argumentative noise.
“You don’t love him?”
Tori dropped her hands and stared at Cass. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It doesn’t matter? Shit. That’s probably not the smartest thing I’ve ever heard come from your mouth. Are you serious? It matters! It matters a whole hell of a lot.”
“I can’t…I don’t do relationships. After what happened with my mom—”
“You’re not your mom. And he’s sure as hell not your dad.”
“But it’s not easy. It won’t be easy for him or Morgan.”
Cass frowned. “And you’ve already decided he can’t handle it?”
“I…” Tori swallowed. “No, but he doesn’t know what he’s getting himself into.”
Cass propped her hands on her hips, dropping her chin to her chest. “Listen, you’re going to have to think about this. But give Cole the benefit of the doubt. In the meantime, tell me if you get any more notes. And be careful.”
“I will.”
Tori joined Cole and Morgan at the door. His eyes lingered on hers, questions in their depths. He took her hand.
“I’d rather you ride with us,” Cole said. “Just in case.”
She opened her mouth in surprise. “I’m fine. It’s over now.” When he didn’t answer, she squeezed his hand. “Sure. Let’s go together.”
She didn’t work tomorrow anyway, and had only planned on cleaning up her yard. But she’d have to call Grams and let her know what happened. Even more, she needed to see if there was any way she could get the visions under control.
#
Cole convinced Tori to eat dinner with them, but she left early to head back home. He gave her space because that’s what she wanted, because he owed it to her to let her get her thoughts under control. After all, she’d given him space when he’d walked out on her.
But he didn’t like it.
She’d had a vision, and she wouldn’t tell him about it. Not only that, someone was leaving notes on her car and he couldn’t help but think the two might be related.
Cole put Morgan to bed, making sure her nightlight was on before he walked to his study. His phone rang, and he pulled it from his pocket, smiling when he saw Sean’s number.
“Hey,” he said. “What’s going on?”
“Not much. Just wanted to check in.”
Something in Sean’s voice had him on alert. “Why? Something wrong?”
“So…Deirdre’s gone.”
“What do you mean she’s gone?”
“I mean…” Sean sighed. “She was telling her friend Stephanie—you remember her?”
“Yeah.”
“So she was telling Stephanie she was going to come find you and Morgan.”
Cole dropped into his chair, blowing out a harsh breath. “Shit. You sure?”
“Pretty sure.”
“She called before, said she wanted to see Morgan, but she doesn’t know where we are. Or didn’t before. Not too hard to figure it out, I guess.”
“I went by Stephanie’s, ’cause that’s where she was staying. Stephanie said she packed up almost a week ago and took off.”
Cole rubbed his hand over his eyes. Which meant she could already be here, or nearby. But he hadn’t seen her. Maybe she’d changed her mind.
“Listen,” Sean said. “We both know Deirdre. She probably got distracted by some guy—or something else—along the way.”
“You’re right.” He wanted to believe that. Should believe that because he knew Deirdre well. It was just like her. But he also knew she thought he owed her something. He’d taken her daughter away from her. The daughter she didn’t want, of course, but Deirdre seemed to keep shoving that to the back of her mind when it was convenient for her.
“So…” Sean laughed. “This blows. You want me to come down? I could take some time off of work.”
“No. You don’t need to. I’ll keep you updated. You’re right, she’s probably with some guy. I doubt we’ll see her here.”
“Yeah.”
“Thanks for calling, man.”
Sean made a noise in his throat. “Sure. Shitty news, but there it is.”
“Yeah, there it is.”
He got off the phone and walked back to Morgan’s room, inching the door open just enough he could see her form in bed. Sleeping soundly.
She’d be fine. If Deirdre came around, he’d know, and he’d deal with it then.
In the meantime, he had someone else to deal with.
Tori.