Софи Райан - A Whisker Оf Trouble

“Every morning,” she repeated firmly.

“Yes, ma’am,” I said, slipping the key in the ignition.

“Are you just saying that to humor me?” she asked.

I looked over at her. “Not anymore, I’m not,” I said.

Rose just laughed.

Nick’s SUV was in Charlotte’s driveway while Liz’s car was parked in front of the little yellow house. The kitchen smelled like turkey and fresh bread, but there was no sign of Charlotte.

Rose set her carryall on one of the kitchen chairs. I took her coat while she started unloading her bag. Liz was putting napkins around the dining room table.

“Hi,” I said. “Where is everyone?”

Liz inclined her head in the general direction of the stairs and the rest of the house. “The spare room. In a moment of what may be temporary insanity, Charlotte is testing paint colors on the walls.”

“I didn’t know Nick was finished in there.” Charlotte had had a water leak in her extra bedroom and Nick had been slowly doing the repairs—given his schedule and the fact that he still did some paramedic shifts, it had been very slowly.

Liz frowned at the napkin in her hand, shook it out and carefully refolded it. “He laid the carpet last weekend. Avery is going to help Charlotte paint as soon as they settle on a color.” She set the napkin in place and looked at me then. “Charlotte got some of those little sample pots and Avery painted swatches on the wall. Nicolas is in there giving his opinion.”

“So, why aren’t you in there giving your opinion?” I asked, although I was pretty sure I knew the answer.

“I already gave mine,” she said, “and it was suggested that I might be happier setting the table.”

“And your opinion was?”

“That dandelion wine is something you drink in the bandstand behind the library with a college boy who is way too old for you, not something you paint on the wall of your spare room.” There was a challenge in her gaze that I for one wasn’t going to argue with.

“Duly noted,” I said.

I hung the coats in the living room closet and went in search of Charlotte and the others. I found Charlotte standing in the middle of her spare room, arms crossed over her aproned front. Nick and Avery were just in front of the end wall, looking at five different patches of paint color on the otherwise white wall.

Charlotte smiled when she saw me. I went to stand beside her, draping my arm around her shoulder. “How’s the decision-making process going?” I asked.

“We’re down to three choices,” she said, “and I’m starting to think that I should have just gone with off-white.” She turned her head to look at me. “And don’t you dare tell Liz I said that.”

I mimed zipping my lips shut.

Nick turned around and smiled at me. “Hey, Sarah,” he said. He gestured at the wall. “Want to weigh in?”

“Go ahead,” Charlotte said.

I joined Nick and Avery in front of the wall.

“The two that have tape across them are out of the running,” Avery said.

I looked at the three remaining colors. “Not that one,” I said, pointing to a deep green grass shade. “It’s too dark. The room will seem smaller.” I leaned in toward the two other shades.

Nick moved closer to me and I caught the scent of his aftershave, which usually made me feel fifteen again. “Take your time,” he said.

“Hey! No fair,” Avery said sharply.

“What do you mean, no fair?” I said.

She crossed her arms and glared at Nick. “He’s trying to be all sexy so you’ll agree with him.”

“I am not,” Nick retorted, but the touch of color that tinged his cheeks gave him away. Avery was right.

I turned to her. “Doesn’t matter,” I said, laughing. “Nick’s ‘all sexy’ doesn’t work on me.”

Avery made a triumphant face at him.

Nick swiped a hand over his mouth and said, “The hell it doesn’t,” so softly only I heard the words.

I shot him a stink eye and went back to studying the wall. The choices were a medium gray and a very pale butter yellow. “That one,” I said, touching the patch of yellow paint.

“Yes!” Avery crowed, doing a fist pump in the air. She turned to Charlotte. “Sarah likes dandelion wine, too.”

Charlotte’s gaze shifted to me.

“I really do like the color,” I said. “It’s warm. It’s light. It’ll make the room seem bigger.”

“Then dandelion wine it is,” she said with a smile.

“I could help you with the painting,” Avery offered. “I mean if you want some help.”

“I’d love the help,” Charlotte said. “Thank you.”

Avery smiled. “I have to tell Nonna what color we picked.”

“I’m sure she’ll be thrilled.” Charlotte smiled at me over Avery’s head.

“Fine,” Nick said, staring up at the ceiling, an aggrieved tone in his voice. “Ignore my home decor advice.”

“We’re pretty much going to, dear,” his mother said. She beckoned to Avery. “I need to check the turkey.”

Nick turned to me. “You were supposed to back me up,” he said. “Didn’t you see me signaling you?” He waggled his eyebrows at me.

“Oh, that was a signal,” I said. “I thought you were having some kind of face spasm. I didn’t realize you were being all sexy.”

He laughed. “Well, next time you’ll know.”

We headed back to the living room. “How’s your investigation going?” I asked.

“I’m getting close to wrapping things up,” he said. “How’s the Angels’ investigation going?”

“They have a couple of ideas that might actually go somewhere.”

He shook his head. “You mean a guy they think was at Feast in the Field and a woman with a plaid purse who attended a money-management seminar?”

I nodded. “It’s not as far-fetched as it sounds.”

“I told you that the police are already pursuing a lead,” he said.

“Liam thinks the two of you might have talked to the guy,” I said, ignoring his implication that Alfred and the ladies were on the wrong track.

Nick sat on the arm of Charlotte’s sofa. “I know. He told me he sent Rose and Alfred some photos off his phone.” He cocked his head to one side. “Are you going to ask to see the photos on my phone?” he teased.

“I thought maybe I could be all sexy and you’d show them to me without me having to ask.”

Nick laughed. “Now I’m wishing I actually had pictures from Feast in the Field.”

“You don’t?” I said. I knew it was a long shot that Rose’s latest suspect was actually the person who had sold Edison Hall all those fake bottles, but I’d been hoping nonetheless. That was what happened when the Angels pulled me into one of their cases. They also pulled me into their particular way of looking at things.

Nick shook his head. “Sorry. I don’t have any photos on my phone. I’m kind of a dinosaur. I like a camera.” He reached out and caught my hand. “Does this mean I don’t get to see what your ‘all sexy’ is?”

I felt my face begin to get red.

Rose stuck her head around the dining room doorway then. “There you are, dear,” she said. “Charlotte’s taking the turkey out. We need to get started on the gravy.”

“I, uh, have to go,” I said, motioning in Rose’s direction. Nick let go of my hand and I started across the room, almost tripping over the coffee table. I could feel Nick’s eyes on me.

“Did I interrupt something?” Rose asked, looking up at me.

“No,” I said. “Let’s go make gravy.”

Everyone other than Nick seemed to be in the kitchen. Liam and Mr. P. had just walked in. The turkey was on a large platter, tented with foil. The roast pan was straddling one of the stove burners. Rose had a whisk, an odd-looking measuring cup, and a Mason jar of something on the counter next to the stove. I remembered Charlotte’s remark about ketchup and fervently hoped she had some in her refrigerator.