A Traitor at Poppyridge Cove Read online

  Two years had passed, and still, she couldn’t resist pulling out her brother’s picture and studying it, remembering when he was working a small fire that was almost contained. He’d been tired but relieved, and his smile showed it.

  She slipped the picture in her back pocket and opened up a new project. Typing up an announcement, she duplicated it and pushed print. In a matter of minutes, she had the notices cut out and taped up on every guest door. A meeting tonight at seven o’clock. She crossed her fingers that this would work, and that she wouldn’t have to get the police involved. News like that would hardly be helpful in promoting the inn, and the last thing she wanted was to ruin everything in the few days Abby and Chase had spent away. Glancing at the clock, she still had an hour before the hike. She chewed her lip and decided to do a little digging of her own.

  The guests had gone in all directions for the day, with many at the beach and a few out in the redwoods. Some of the cars were gone, so she guessed they were exploring the tiny neighboring town. It sat in a narrow valley and had a few charming shops with locally made goods and trinkets. But Emily wasn’t thinking of exploring the town, however temped she might be. Instead, she was hoping to search out a clue as to who might be the thief. If someone was sneaking into rooms and swiping a precious item here and there, they were likely doing it during the day when guests were preoccupied.

  She walked down the hall, checking doors. They were all locked except the one she’d seen Saul come out of, and she knew it to be the Morgans’ room. She continued down the stairs, deep in thought. It was quiet in the house, but as she passed the ballroom, she could hear a whispered conversation. Two boys were talking, the teenagers that Sage Morgan had mentioned. Emily paused and glanced behind her before stepping closer to the open door.

  “It hasn’t been that long, maybe we should wait.”

  “Wait for what? Let’s just do this.”

  “Yeah… I guess you’re right. C’mon, before Mom starts to wonder where we are.”

  Emily could hear the sound of footsteps, and she tiptoed around the corner, trying to quiet her breath. Did she really just hear them confess to stealing? She debated the possibility, but there wasn’t much to go on. Not unless she outright asked them what they were talking about.

  She stepped back into the hall, but it was empty. Peeking into the ballroom, they were nowhere in sight.

  The boys were pretty good at sneaking around. She thought over the possibility that they could be involved as she walked out onto the back deck and sat in a rocking chair, taking a break from her thoughts. A group of children played football with a bright pink light-up ball. Emily smiled, admiring the way they treated each other.

  It was a rough game, but not extreme, with kids of various ages. The older kids seemed exceptionally aware of the younger and took precautions to avoid crashing into them. They let the younger kids have more turns and allowed themselves to be tackled, falling dramatically amidst squeals of laughter and the ensuing dogpile.

  “Wanna play?”

  Emily jumped, turning to see the two teenage boys from the ballroom walking into the yard. They smiled at her and gestured to the football game. Not one to shy away from an invitation, Emily glanced at the group of children and back to the boys. A wide smile spread across her face.

  “Sure, I’ll play. Where have you two been?” She watched the way the boys glanced at each other quickly, but they didn’t answer. Instead, they yelled out to the group.

  “Hey, new players coming!”

  The dogpile of kids untangled slowly and with some difficulty, although by a small miracle no one ended up in tears. A few kids smiled at Emily, and one little girl bounced over to wrap her arms around Emily’s legs. “I’m on her team!” she cheered.

  Someone threw the ball her way, and Emily caught it in one arm, cradling it to her side. She winked at the boys behind her and laughed at their suddenly apprehensive faces. No doubt they thought she would be bumbling around in a game of football. Little did they know she could play any wild pickup game there was.

  “Okay, form your teams,” Emily yelled, stepping to one side and becoming quickly surrounded by a group of adoring girls. She bent down, whispering into their small huddle. “Here’s our plan—it’s a good one. Ready for it?” The girls giggled and stared wide-eyed. “Let’s beat the boys.”

  They jumped and cheered, and Emily proceeded to direct them into rather sloppy lines. If there was one thing she’d learned growing up playing neighborhood games, it was the first rule of winning… intimidation.

  She stared down the other team with a confident smirk on her lips, watching the older boys sweat.

  “Hike!”

  Chapter 6

  Ryan hadn’t expected to see Emily racing through the horde of children with a crisp, energetic smile on her face. It stopped him in his tracks. She spun out of a teenager’s reach and straight-armed a laughing little boy, handing the football off to the smallest girl on her team.

  A grin stretched on Ryan’s face as the girls all formed a circle of defense around the little one, and she ran in a joyful bounce to the closest tree, tapping it with her hand. The boys threw their arms up in the air, and the girls cheered, although he could see smiles on both sides.

  He stayed by the back porch, watching Emily dust the football off and hand it to the largest boy. His smile was the star-struck kind, although he very clearly wanted to win. He signaled to his team, and they started off like an explosion, plowing through the girls’ team and dodging their hands. Emily raced after them, laughing and covering ground quickly. But the boy managed to stay ahead of her and tapped the tree just as her hand reached his back.

  Their feet tangled, and Emily’s legs twisted, sending her down hard on her backside. She laughed and waved off the hands extended to help her up. “No, I’m staying here,” she said, lying on the grass and breathing hard.

  Ryan walked toward her, smiling at the three girls who skipped by. Some of the boys moved to the back of the lawn and started a game of catch with the football, tossing it back and forth. But Emily stayed put, gazing up at the sky.

  “Looks like I missed an exciting game,” Ryan said. She pushed up on her elbows with a few blades of grass in her hair, and he sat down next to her, admiring the lean strength in her arms. “Are you sure you still want to go hiking after all that?”

  “Well, I can understand if you’re too tired,” she said, glancing at him with one eyebrow raised.

  “Maybe just a hundred miles or so,” he answered, “nothing too strenuous.” When he glanced back at her, she was staring intently, fixated on him. He tried to guess what she might be thinking… and if it was good or bad. Her expression gave nothing away.

  “We’d better hurry.” She stood and brushed some dirt off her shorts. “Days go too quickly here.”

  Ryan noticed something in the grass, a paper that had fallen when she stood up. He reached for it and studied the young man in the picture, remembering it from when he’d surprised Emily in her room. “Is this yours?”

  Emily glanced at him and gasped, “Yes!” She took it from his hand, looking devastated. “Oh, I completely forgot I had it in my pocket. Look, it’s all crumpled.” She pressed the photo between her fingers, sliding the paper and attempting to smooth the wrinkles. Some mud smeared across the image and she froze. Her lips looked pulled down, forced by an inner dialogue Ryan wished he could hear. But in the end, he wasn’t sure how to ask, and she didn’t offer an explanation.

  Instead, she slid the image carefully back into her pocket and turned to the ocean with her hands on her hips.

  Ryan hadn’t a clue what that meant. Was she so upset about the picture that she had to take a minute to compose herself? Or was she just irritated at him for having found it? Maybe she wasn’t even thinking about the picture anymore.

  He opened his mouth, about to suggest they get going. But he couldn’t make himself form the words. She swung around, and he nearly jumped.

  “There
’s a good trail behind the house,” she offered, her lips in a tight smile. “Let’s just start there.”

  “Great idea.” Ryan decided to just drop it since that’s what she obviously wanted. But he couldn’t help but wonder who the man was. The way she acted with it had him fairly certain it was a boyfriend… or maybe an ex-boyfriend. If that was the case, why was she still carrying it around with her?

  They walked around the house, snatching a couple water bottles from the fridge in the garage and heading to the redwoods.

  It was darker under the thick green branches, especially when threaded with drops of moisture like the evening dew never completely dried. The massive trunks quieted any noise around them; even the sound of their footsteps was barely audible. Emily walked next to him with a gentle smile on her face. She seemed to enjoy being out in the woods, even without any conversation.

  “So, uh… the football game looked like fun.” Ryan climbed over an old tree stump and hopped down, waiting as she climbed up after him.

  “Oh, that…” She landed beside him. “I think they just needed another player.” Her mood was still cautious, and they fell into silence again.

  The trail they followed was a beautiful one, small and winding. It meandered around the largest trees, across streams and small crevasses. Usually Ryan would be up for exploring all the edges and corners on a hike, but he was still thinking about the photo.

  “I just submitted some images for a fundraiser.” Emily walked beside him on the narrow path. “It would provide access roads through these woods… more like around them, but it would give visitors the chance to see so much of the area that’s really inaccessible for a lot of people.”

  Ryan smiled back at her. “That’s pretty cool. Are they one of your clients?”

  “No, no, this was a side job. A voluntary kind of thing. I just wanted to help out.” As she talked, she seemed to relax, swinging her arms and meeting his eyes more often. “The woods were such a comfort to me a couple years back, I guess that’s why I’m so passionate about them. It could change lives if people were able to simply immerse themselves here. Don’t you think?”

  She gazed up at the trees, pausing to place her hand against the trunk of a wide redwood. As if speaking to its soul with her touch.

  Ryan admired everything about her. Everything she’d just said, he loved it all. But he had so many questions. “I agree it would do people a lot of good,” he began quietly, still watching Emily communicate with the tree. She finally turned back to him. “But how would they get the funding and approval for a project like that? I understood it was nearly impossible unless you were to repair an old road that already existed… something like that.”

  “Oh, well this would be a federally funded project. Something for the country, not a grab at commercializing anything. It’s stated very clearly in the fundraiser paperwork, so I hope it’s approved. I’m sure it will be.” She smiled back at him, but there was a touch of sadness still in her eyes, and he couldn’t ignore it.

  “Is there something wrong?” he asked, his question feeling more sincere by the quiet around them, as if the woods were curious as well. “I’m sorry if it’s because of anything I’ve said or…” He wasn’t sure how to finish. He’d been working on the car all morning, but when he’d startled her in her bedroom, maybe that was bothering her.

  She smiled another sad smile, placing her hand on his arm. “It’s nothing you’ve done, so you don’t need to apologize. In fact, I should be the one to say I’m sorry. I know I’ve overreacted at things that must seem so strange.”

  Emily shifted her weight from one foot to the next, flicking her eyes up at him and letting them drop again. She seemed unsure, and Ryan hoped she would trust him enough to say whatever was on her mind. When she pulled the small photo from her pocket, Ryan’s heart rate picked up. He wanted to know so many things, but this was number one on that list. The air felt tense as she successfully wiped the smudge of dirt off the front.

  “This is my brother,” she said softly. “He died two years ago trying to fight a wildfire. His annual memorial was actually last week, so it was really hard for me to come out here. I just wanted to hide away for a little while, you know?” She glanced up at him and down again. “This project I was working on helps me feel close to him. I’d escaped the world after he died, and these woods were the only thing that could comfort me. Strange that they can be a place of death and peace at the same time.”

  Her voice had drifted off, distant and hollow, like her thoughts were escaping without her permission. Ryan had only lost a grandparent before, but he understood the strange sensation it brought, like losing the ground you were standing on. And from the way Emily spoke, he was sure she’d been very close to her brother. He felt suddenly guilty for assuming it was an old boyfriend.

  “I’m sorry,” he said quietly, knowing there was nothing else to say. But the way she’d confided in him had warmed him from the inside.

  He ached for her pain, wishing he could take some of it away. The suffering lingered on her face, and he brought his arm around her shoulders, looking out at the meadow she’d been so mesmerized in. The sun had lowered to the perfect angle, so as to illuminate it like a spotlight. The grass looked clean and long, swaying with wildflowers and buzzing with mountain bees. “I can’t say I perfectly understand that kind of pain, but I wish there was something I could do to help.”

  “You are helping,” she said. It was a moment that had him closing his eyes and paying attention with his heart. It was coming dangerously close to caring for her. But what did they know about each other? He hadn’t learned much if anything. Just that she ran a marketing business and could throw a football. He smiled, thinking there wasn’t much more he needed.

  She leaned away, pausing to rub his back and look into his eyes. He erupted into a buzz of nerves. And then she was hiking down the trail again, leaving him there with his heart pounding and his brain scrambled.

  “We’d better pick up the pace if we want to get back at a decent time,” she said as she continued down the trail. “There’s kind of an important meeting. Did you get the notice?” she glanced back with a grin, but Ryan hadn’t really been listening. He was still reliving the last few minutes. They were dizzying.

  “Did you?”

  He flinched, looking back at her. “The meeting?”

  She exhaled in a puff, although her grin was intoxicating. “Yes, it’s my idea to just bring things to light. We have someone stealing from guests, and it needs to stop.”

  “Right.” Now that she mentioned it, he had seen the notice. But then he’d worked on the car and saw her playing football… It seemed to kind of kick out the previous thoughts of the day.

  “I think that’s a great idea.” He hurried to catch up with her. “It’s likely someone young and foolhardy if you ask me. They might not realize how serious theft can be.”

  “That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Emily said. This time they continued down the trail together. Ryan had shaken off the dreamy shock that had come over him and suddenly felt like he could run up Mount Everest in a single breath.

  It was incredible to hike alongside her. She pointed out things that he loved. Like a gnarled, twisted tree trunk covered in moss, or the way the forest floor sloped between a few particular trees. They talked, and hiked, and lost themselves in the redwoods until their trail circled around and returned them to the beginning.

  The inn stood beautiful against the setting sun. The windows were lit from behind with a sultry golden glow, while the sky was painted with brilliant orange and purple hues. With the full view stretching out beyond, it was a west coast sunset he’d never forget. Their conversation paused as they took it in, standing in the quiet surrounding them.

  Emily was so close, Ryan felt hyper aware of her hand next to his. It felt one hundred percent natural to touch her fingers and tangle his around them. Her beautiful hand felt delicate and smooth, and when she leaned her shoulder against him, he look
ed down into her face. She was smiling back at him, and cautiously, he leaned closer. Her lips parted and her eyes drifted closed, and when they touched, her hand came to his face. It settled gently at first, like a soft breeze, then traced along his jaw, trailing down to rest at the back of his neck. It set his skin on fire, while her lips burned like ice. The two sensations together were thrilling, and when their lips parted, she held him close with her eyes still closed.

  He was gazing back at her when she opened them, and she glanced across his face. When she leaned closer, he nearly melted in her arms… until a group of voices called out to each other, breaking the stillness. With a breath, she stepped back and turned to the house, watching a group of friends run to the front door. Ryan silently cursed them, but nothing could bring down his soaring mood.

  Emily pulled her phone from her pocket and glanced at the screen. “Almost seven o’clock,” she said, her voice a whisper. She cleared her throat and looked back at him.

  “We’d better get in there,” he said, wishing her lips would meet his one more time. But instead, she pulled them into a wide smile, and he nudged her with his arm. “I’ll be your backup if you need anything.”

  “Okay.”

  Her voice had gained its volume and control, although Ryan couldn’t help thinking back to the way she’d sounded before. It had been quiet and raspy, with a sense of abandon that he found so hard to resist.

  “I’m holding you to that,” she threatened, laughing and starting toward the house. “Just watch me, and if I wink, that’s you’re cue.”

  “Got it—wait.” Ryan held her shoulders, turning her to him. “Show me your wink first so I won’t miss it.” He couldn’t wipe the smile from his face, but she rolled her eyes dramatically and then winked at him. “Okay,” he said, “looks a bit like you got a bug in your eye, though.”

  She burst into a fit of laughter, pushing him away and leaving him to follow behind as she jogged into the house.