“Jimmy? I’m here!”
A week after my lunch with Cole at Colombo’s, I was taking the afternoon off from the restaurant to visit Jamie’s grandfather, Jimmy, at his retirement home, The Rainbow.
“Out in a sec.” Jimmy’s shout was muffled by the closed bedroom door.
I smiled and took a seat on the couch in the living room as I waited. The housekeepers must have swept through this morning because the normal stack of Mountain Dew cans and old newspapers on the end table was gone and the kitchenette was free of its usual Ritz cracker crumbs. They’d even hung up Jimmy’s coats—the ones he normally just tossed on the couch.
“Gladys, you have got to see him,” a woman whispered from the hallway.
“I heard all about it at breakfast,” Gladys replied with a muffled giggle.
Were they talking about Jimmy? Because it sounded like Gladys and her gossiping friend were hovering right outside his open door. I hadn’t bothered closing it when I’d come over. The door here was never closed. Why Jimmy liked his door open all the time I hadn’t a clue. He treated this assisted living facility more like a college dorm than a place to settle down.
But at least the always-open door gave me a chance to see the women as they shuffled past.
“Hello!” I waved and smiled as two elderly women ignored me completely and craned their necks inside, searching the small living room for Jimmy. When they saw he wasn’t in his recliner, they frowned and kept on walking.
I laughed when they were out of earshot. Every time I came here it seemed like a different resident was crushing on my grandfather-in-law.
“There’s my Poppy.” Jimmy’s bedroom door opened and he emerged into the living room. “How are you today?”
“I’m goo—oh my god. What did you do?” I shot off the couch. My eyes were locked on his hair—hair that was normally snow-white, not hot pink.
Jimmy didn’t answer. He just crossed the small distance from his bedroom and pulled me into his arms. When he let me go, his eyes gave me a thorough inspection from tip to toe before he sat in his navy plush recliner.
“Are you going to answer me?” I asked, still standing.
He frowned and motioned to his hair. “I lost a bet.”
“A bet. You made a bet where the loser had to dye his hair pink?”
“Yeah,” he grumbled. “I’ll tell you, Poppy. You just can’t trust some people. You know that new guy who moved in next door?”
I nodded even though I hadn’t met Jimmy’s new neighbor.
“He’s a cheat. A lying cheat. I invited him to play in our Tuesday afternoon poker club. Thought I’d be neighborly. He told me he didn’t know how to play poker, but he’d like to learn.” Jimmy’s hands fisted on the chair’s arms. “Didn’t know how my ass. He’s a damn card shark! Got us all laughing and joking around. Convinced us to make a bet. First one out of chips dyes his hair pink. That son of a bitch. Took me all in on the second pot and cleaned me out.”
“So you got pink hair and lost a bunch of money. How much did you lose?”
He shrugged. “Eh, not much. We only play pennies. Maybe five bucks. But those ladies in the salon sure gouged me. Thirty bucks for pink hair. Can you believe it?”
“That’s unbelievable.” I pursed my lips to hide my smile as I sat back down. “I brought you your favorite peach cobbler if that will make you feel any better.”
The scowl on Jimmy’s face disappeared. “Just visiting with you will make me feel better, but I’ll take that cobbler as a bonus. How are things going at the restaurant?”
I smiled. “Beyond my wildest expectations.”
The Maysen Jar had been open for three weeks, and in that time, we’d sold twice as much as Molly and I had projected for its entire first quarter. I’d seen more repeat customers bring back jars for refills than I’d ever anticipated, and I’d closed down each night this week with a nearly full tip jar.
“I’m excited to come see it next week. Did Debbie and Kyle pick a night yet?”
“No,” I sighed. “I texted Debbie but she hasn’t gotten back to me yet. She doesn’t text much these days.”
Debbie, Jamie’s mom, used to text me multiple times a day. Now I’d go weeks without hearing from her, and then it was only because I had reached out first. Kyle, Jamie’s dad, I hadn’t heard from in ages. Jamie’s parents lived on their ranch about an hour outside of Bozeman, and when Jamie had been alive, they’d come to see us every couple of weeks. But since he’d been killed, their trips had all but stopped. Now, they rarely came to visit Jimmy—Kyle’s dad and Jamie’s namesake—and I only saw them for special occasions.
“They love you, Poppy. It’s just hard for them.”
“I know. I just miss them.” I forced a smile as I looked at Jimmy—that pink hair making it wider.
I hadn’t just lost Jamie when he’d died. I’d lost Kyle and Debbie too. They’d become surrogate parents for me in college. They’d had me to their house for holidays when I hadn’t gone home to Alaska. They’d sat by my hospital bed during my junior year when I’d needed to have an emergency appendectomy, holding my hand until my own parents had arrived. They’d even co-signed on a car loan for me when mine had died one winter and I’d needed a replacement fast. After Jamie and I’d gotten married, our bond had grown even tighter.
Now it was nearly broken.
But at least I still had Jimmy. He was part of my family here in Montana, along with Finn, Molly and the kids, and I loved our weekly visits.
“It will be good for them to see your restaurant next week.” Jimmy sat forward in his chair and patted my knee. “If they see that you’re trying to move on, maybe they will too.”
“Or else they’ll get angry again.”
“I’m sorry to say that’s a real possibility too.”
The last time Kyle and Debbie had come to see me, they’d arranged for dinner with me and Jimmy. I’d casually mentioned going through some of Jamie’s things, asking if they wanted any of his old clothes or books I’d been keeping in the attic, and dinner had taken a nosedive. Debbie had burst into tears and Kyle had refused to look at me for the rest of the meal.
“Do you think they’ll ever stop blaming me for Jamie’s death?” I whispered.
After all, it had been my fault he’d even been at that liquor store.
Jamie had been standing at the register when a hooded man had come barreling into the store. The man had shot Jamie, then the cashier with no hesitation. Boom. Boom. Two shots, and my husband and a single mother to an eleven-year-old daughter had been murdered. The killer had loaded up cash from the register, then made his escape, disappearing without a trace.
No witnesses. No trail to follow.
No justice.
Jamie had been in the wrong place at the wrong time, all because I’d wanted to throw a party with something to drink other than tequila shots.
“They don’t blame you,” Jimmy said.
I gave him a sad smile. We both knew he was lying.
Kyle and Debbie had lost their oldest son. Since they couldn’t blame the actual murderer, they blamed me instead. Kyle couldn’t look me in the eye anymore, and whenever I tried to hug Debbie, she flinched.
But I understood. I blamed me too.
The guilt was part of the reason I’d been so diligent about visiting Detective Simmons. If I could actually find out who had killed Jamie, I might win his parents back. They could stop blaming me for his death.
Maybe I could stop blaming myself.
And now that Cole was looking into the case, I had a feeling we might actually make some progress. It was foolish to get my hopes up, but nevertheless, they were.
My faith in Cole’s abilities unnerved me. It was the kind of faith I’d always reserved for friends and family, and at best, Cole was just a casual acquaintance. Yet somehow, after one karate class, one dinner and one lunch, he’d earned my complete trust and confidence. When he’d told me that he would look into Jamie’s case, the deep-seated anxiety I’d felt for five years had eased—just a little.
Because if anyone could solve Jamie’s case, it would be Cole.
Jimmy sat back in his chair. “What else is new?”
“Nothing much. I’m pretty much confined to the restaurant right now, though I am taking a ukulele lesson tonight.” After leaving Jimmy’s, I’d go to my lesson.
“Ukulele?” He got a faraway look in his eyes. “Jamie always wanted to learn the ukulele.”
“Yeah, I know. I thought I’d give it a try for him.”
All of Jamie’s family knew about his birthday list—Jamie had practically shouted it from the rooftops when he’d came up with the idea. But while his family knew about the list, none of them knew I was working to finish it in Jamie’s place.
I hadn’t mentioned it to Kyle and Debbie because I knew they wouldn’t react well. And I hadn’t mentioned it to Jimmy because I didn’t want to make him sad. In the last seven years, he’d lost his wife to cancer, then his grandson, and then both his sisters. He’d had enough sadness, so for now, the birthday list—and my real motivations for taking ukulele lessons—was something I was keeping to myself.
“Did Jamie ever tell you why he wanted to learn?”
I shook my head. “No. Do you know why?”
“It was for Debbie.” Jimmy smiled. “She knew how to play and had always wanted to teach Jamie. Except in sixth grade, he decided on the drums instead so he could be in that awful garage band. Did he ever tell you his band’s name?”
I laughed. “The Roach Eaters.”
“Idiots,” Jimmy mumbled with a grin. “I’m glad that was just a phase. Anyway, he played the drums but promised Debbie he’d learn the ukulele someday, and you know how he was about his mama.”
“She hung the moon,” we said in unison.
Jamie had doted on Debbie, and except for me, his mother had been his favorite person in the world. A promise made to her was one only his death could break.
“Maybe next week you can bring your ukulele along and show me what you’ve learned.”
“You bet.” I nodded. “Now, before I have to head out, let’s discuss this hair situation. How long, exactly, will you be pink?”
Jimmy grinned and stood, walking over to a grocery bag by the television. The plastic crinkled as he fished out a can of shaving cream and pack of disposable Bic razors. “However long it takes for you to shave my head.”
“What?” My eyes got wide. “That’s crazy! I’m not shaving your head. Just have it bleached back to white.”
“And spend another thirty bucks? No way. This only cost me six.” The gleam in his eye turned diabolical. “That cheating bastard thinks he’s beaten me. Just wait until I show up in the dining hall tonight looking like Mr. Clean. That will show him. He’s got a crush on Millie Turner, but I have it on good authority she’s got a thing for bald guys. Let’s see his face when I swoop in and take his girl.”
“Jimmy, please don’t get into a fight with this guy and get kicked out of The Rainbow. I’m begging you.”
He grinned. “For Millie Turner, it might be worth it.”
That grin was so familiar, I had to smile back. Jamie had inherited a lot from his grandfather. His grin. His romantic side. His wild and free spirit.
And a grin that was impossible for me to deny.
“Fine. Let’s do this.” I stood from the couch and followed Jimmy into the kitchenette. Then I spent the next twenty minutes helping a seventy-two-year-old shave his head and thinking the entire time that Jamie would have loved this.
And he would have loved learning the ukulele from his mom.
“It’s official. I have no musical talent.”
Two hours after I’d left Jimmy’s apartment, any hope of becoming a ukulele virtuoso was lost.
“Oh, I disagree.” Mia smiled. “You just need some practice. Let’s give that last chord one more try.”
“Okay.” I picked up the ukulele off my lap and carefully placed my fingers.
She adjusted my index finger. “Move this one here.”
I strummed the strings, and for the first time, the sound that came from my instrument was actually melodic. My eyes shot up to Mia’s as a huge smile spread on my face. “I did it!”
“See? No musical talent,” she scoffed. “Practice makes progress.”
I liked that. Progress. Not perfect.
I strummed the strings again, then set down the instrument, wanting to end my lesson on a good note. “Thank you so much, Mia.”
“You’re welcome. Let me get you a few things. Sit tight.” She set down her own ukulele and stood, disappearing into the back room.
My eyes wandered over the small, square space. Three guitars hung on the far wall, and the two perched in the corner were covered in bright patterned scarves. At my side was a black upright piano—the top covered with colorful frames and pictures of happy students. The floral couch I was sitting on took up the other free wall, leaving just enough space for the wooden chair Mia had positioned in the middle of the room so she could sit across from me during our lesson.
Mia’s music studio was as eclectic as its owner.
I’d found Mia Crane through Google. She’d had so many five-star reviews for her guitar lessons I hadn’t hesitated to ask if she’d be my ukulele instructor, and when I’d pulled up to her house an hour ago, I’d known I’d made the right choice.
Mia had been waiting for me to arrive, standing barefoot on her front porch. One look at her carefree smile and the nerves I’d had about these lessons had vanished. She’d wrapped me in a hug instead of a handshake, then led me to her music studio—this small, cute building she’d built next to her home.
“Okay, pretty Poppy.” Her singsong voice preceded her as she came out from the back.
Pretty Poppy. My family had called me that as a child too.
The light scent of eucalyptus and cucumber lotion returned with Mia. Her long brown hair was braided loosely over one shoulder, and the number of bangles strung up one arm was nearly as impressive as her enormous hoop earrings.
“You can take that ukulele home.” She set down a black case on the couch. “Here is a case and I included some notes on what to practice this week.”
“Thank you.” I stood and smoothed down my black shift dress. “I really appreciate you taking me as a student.” She’d told me when I’d called that she was full but she’d find a way to squeeze me in.
“My pleasure. I love all my kids, but having adult students can be so much fun. Once we get you through the basics, we can jam.”
I laughed. I’d never heard a ukulele “jam” before, but if anyone could make it cool, it was Mia Crane.
“Have you been teaching for long?” I asked as I packed up the instrument.
“For years. Ever since my kids started kindergarten. I was so bored and lonely while they were at school I decided to start teaching guitar during the day.”
“Do your kids play?”
“My daughter.” Her eyes softened. “Evie’s a music teacher at the high school now. But I never have been able to convince my son. He was always too active in sports and wasn’t really interested.”
A car door slammed outside and Mia’s smile got so big I couldn’t help but smile back. “Speak of the devil. I guilted him into coming over for dinner tonight.”
“Then I’ll get out of your hair.” I snapped the case closed and looped my purse over my forearm. “See you next week?”
“I’ll be here. And if you ever need to adjust your schedule for the restaurant, just let me know. It’s just me and my husband these days and he’s always working.” She grinned. “We can do a lesson later in the evening. I’ll supply the wine.”
I smiled. “I’d like that. And I’ll bring the chocolate.”
“I knew I liked you.”
We both were laughing as we stepped through the door from her studio onto the pathway that led toward the front of her house.
“Mom?” a man’s voice called from around the porch.
My feet stilled and my smile faltered. I knew that voice.
“Back here, Cole!” Mia yelled.
Cole was Mia’s son?
Yep. He sure is.
He rounded the corner of the house and stopped. The shock on his face mirrored mine, but he recovered first.
“Hey.” Surprise morphed into a slow grin as his eyes locked with mine and he started toward us again. He wasn’t wearing his normal sunglasses today and his eyes were bright in the early-evening sun.
“Hi.” Damn that breath hitch! I sounded like a lovestruck teenager.
My body’s natural reaction to Cole was not in line with my mind. In the week since I’d seen him, I’d been trying to make sense of Cole Goodman. Of how he made me feel.
I’d been trying with no luck.
Cole brought up a lot of emotions that I wasn’t quite ready to explore.
It bothered me that even after a week, I could close my eyes and still see his. That I could still smell his Irish Spring soap. Yet I couldn’t remember what Jamie smelled like anymore.
So I’d resigned myself to keeping some space from Cole—to getting some distance until I had this attraction under control. I’d keep our relationship strictly professional as he looked into Jamie’s murder case.
So much for my intentions.
I’d signed up for ukulele lessons from his mother.
“I see you know Poppy,” Mia said as Cole reached her side.
He tore his eyes from mine to smile at his mom, then bent to kiss her cheek. “Sure do. Hi, Mom.”
She patted his chest. “I’m surprised I even recognized you. How long has it been? A year? Two?”
He chuckled and pulled her into his arms. “So dramatic.” His smile was wide as he looked over her head to the ukulele case in my hand. “You survived her torture chamber? I’m impressed.”
“Cole!” Mia slugged him in the gut.
“Ouf. Jesus, Mom.” He pretended to be hurt, letting her go and stepping back to rub his extremely flat stomach. “And you wonder why I don’t visit more often.”
She laughed and I looked to my feet, taking a few seconds to banish all thoughts of Cole’s abs.
“So how do you two know each other?” Mia asked, looking between us.
“Uh . . .” How did I explain this? Your son was there on the worst night of my life. Your son is looking into my husband’s murder case. Your son makes me feel things I don’t want to be feeling.
Nope. Those wouldn’t work.
Thankfully, I didn’t have to explain because Cole came to my rescue. “Poppy came to the dojo the other night.”
“Karate and ukulele?” Mia asked. “And a business owner. I’m impressed.”
“Thank you.” My eyes found Cole’s, and I glanced back at Mia. “I’ll see you next—”
“You’ll stay for dinner,” Mia interrupted.
“Oh, no. Thank you, but I don’t want to intrude on a family dinner.” The ukulele case swung wildly at my side as I waved my arms.
Cole stepped past his mom and right into my space, and—damn it—my breath hitched again. Enough of that already.
“Here.” Cole reached down and took the case from my hand. The brush of his fingers sent a shudder through my shoulders. “You might as well give in now. She’s more stubborn than me and Dad combined. You don’t stand a chance.”
“But—”
“Come on, kids.” Mia marched toward the side door of her house. “Cole, you give Poppy the tour while I get started on dinner.”
“Okay, Mom,” he called and started to follow.
“I should really go.”
He just kept walking. “You heard the woman in charge. In we go.”
I stayed stuck on the pathway. I didn’t want to be rude to Mia but another personal dinner with Cole would only add more confusion to my already jumbled feelings.
“Poppy.” When Cole hit the doorstep, he glanced over his shoulder. “Dinner. Come on.”
“But—”
“If you don’t come in here, she’ll come after you, and trust me, you don’t want that. It’s just dinner.”
It’s just dinner.
I had told myself that weeks ago when Cole had eaten dinner with me at the restaurant. Except it wasn’t just dinner. It was dinner with a man whose touch made me tingle. It was dinner with a man who seemed to bust right through my defenses. It was dinner with a man who stirred feelings I’d reserved for my husband alone.
“Hi, Son.”
I broke my gaze away from Cole’s back as another man rounded the side of the house. His necktie was loose and his suit jacket was draped over one arm. Without asking, I knew this must be Cole’s dad. They looked nearly identical except for their age difference. Cole’s dad had a liberal sprinkling of gray in his dark hair and he was a bit softer in the jaw than his son.
“Hey, Dad. Meet Poppy Maysen. She’s staying for dinner.” Cole nodded toward me, then stepped out of the way so his dad could go inside.
“Hi, Poppy. I’m Brad.” He waved. “Come on in and make yourself at home.”
“Actually, I should be . . .”
Brad disappeared into his house before I could finish my sentence.
“They’ll be disappointed if you don’t stay,” Cole said.
Sheesh. “A guilt trip? Really?”
He grinned. “Whatever gets you inside.”
Two hours later, I stood on the front porch of Cole’s childhood home with a huge smile.
Dinner had been . . . just dinner.
Cole must have sensed my internal turmoil because he’d focused mostly on his parents throughout the meal. He’d teased Mia about her two-decade obsession with General Hospital. He’d argued with his dad about the Montana State Bobcat football roster and their chances at making it to the playoffs in the fall. And he’d treated me like I’d been to dinner a hundred times before. Like I was a natural fourth at their dinner table who just needed the occasional explanation for an inside joke.
And his parents had provided the perfect buffer to the attraction between us.
“Thank you for joining us.” Mia hugged me on the front porch.
“You’re welcome. Thank you for the meal. I haven’t had anything that delicious in a long time.”
Cole laughed. “Now she’s lying, Mom. You should eat at her restaurant.”
“Oh, we plan to,” Mia declared. “We’re going tomorrow night. Got it, Chief? You be home by six.”
“Yes, Ms. Crane,” Brad agreed as Mia slid into his side.
I smiled at their endearments as I waved good-bye. At dinner, I’d learned that Brad and Mia had married young but she’d never taken his last name. She called him “Chief” because of his job and he called her “Ms. Crane.”
“I’ll walk you to your car,” Cole said, carrying my ukulele case down the steps.
Brad and Mia disappeared back inside as Cole led me down the front walkway and toward my car a few houses down.
“Your mom is such a good cook.”
Cole hummed. “You’ve got her beat.”
“I don’t know about that, but thank you.”
I rolled my eyes at the sound of my breathy voice. Why couldn’t I seem to fill my lungs when Cole and I were alone? He’d sat across from me at dinner and I hadn’t had any problems breathing. But now? I felt like I’d just run five miles.
I took a few slow breaths, hoping that when I spoke again my voice would be back to normal. “Have you found out anything on the case?”
“Sorry.” He shook his head. “Not quite yet.”
His eyebrows were furrowed and a couple lines creased his forehead. There was something he wasn’t telling me, but I didn’t press. I was simply grateful he was assisting Detective Simmons.
“So the ukulele?” he asked, changing topics. “I’m guessing this is another thing on the list.”
I smiled. “You’d be right. Though, I can’t believe that of all the guitar instructors in Bozeman, I happened to pick your mother as my teacher.” Or that I’d walked into his karate dojo.
“Coincidence.” He chuckled. “It kind of seems like a recurring theme for us.”
Was it ever. I was just grateful he hadn’t mentioned all of these coincidences to his parents. Cole had stayed quiet all night about how we really knew one another, giving me a chance to enjoy the evening’s conversation with people who hadn’t known Jamie. It was nice to have a night when no one looked at me with pity or concern about my emotional state.
Tonight, I’d just been Poppy.
“My mother is kind of in love with you. Expect a dinner mandate after each of your lessons.”
I was kind of in love with Mia too. “Then next week, I’ll be sure to bring dessert.”
“Dessert. That reminds me, I still haven’t tried your famous apple pie.”
“I’ll be at the restaurant tomorrow if you want to swing by.” The invitation popped out of my mouth before my head could intercede. And once it was out, there was no taking it back.
Cole smiled as we reached my car. “Then it’s a date.”
A date.
A date with Cole Goodman.
A rush of excitement and a chill of terror slid down my spine.