Missing in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law #5)(4)

The bells over the top of the café door jangled and they all looked over to see Colt stroll inside. As he walked toward the counter, he looked their direction and smiled. Jadyn immediately felt heat rush up her face, but as he turned around and she looked across the table at Maryse, she realized the grin may not have been for her benefit. Her cousin looked simply mortified.

“What’s up with you and Colt?” Jadyn asked.

Maryse gave them a guilty look. “I may not have told you guys everything that happened this morning.”

“Why the heck not?” Mildred asked.

“Because the rest was embarrassing,” Maryse said.

“Well now you have to tell us,” Jadyn said.

Maryse sighed and told them about running down the street in her robe, waving a gun.

“Of course,” Maryse continued, “I’m not even thinking about any of that until I see Colt walk out of Big Freddie Pinchot’s house.”

Mildred shook her head. “Big Freddie must be making those UFO sighting calls again. He really should lay off the bottle.”

Jadyn had to laugh. “I wish I’d seen that. What did he do?”

“He stopped short and stared for a couple of seconds,” Maryse said, “then he just hopped in his truck and drove away, cool as a cucumber.”

Mildred gave an approving nod. “Smart, if you ask me.”

“I thought the same thing,” Maryse said.

Jadyn grinned at her cousin, the visual of a gun-toting, robe-wearing Maryse so vivid that she almost felt like she’d seen it herself. “That may be one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard.”

Mildred laughed. “Yeah, but if it’s all the same, I hope the good sheriff doesn’t look the other way every time a resident is strolling around in a robe and waving a handgun.”

Jadyn stared. “Is that really a problem?”

“Happens more than you’d think,” Maryse answered.

Jadyn shook her head. Mudbug had to be one of the strangest places she’d ever been. She wasn’t sure what it said about her that it was also the first place she’d felt like she belonged. “Maybe I should buy a new bathrobe…just in case.”

Jadyn knew she shouldn’t have looked, but she couldn’t keep herself from glancing over at the counter. At that exact moment, Colt turned around and their eyes locked. He gave her a wave with his free hand and headed out of the café.

Maryse glanced at Colt as he left and then narrowed her eyes at Jadyn. “I thought you were going to have a run at the sheriff, but so far, you’ve disappointed me.”

“Is that part of the job description?” Jadyn asked “Because if hooking up with the first single man I meet is a requirement, I need to ask for more money.”

Maryse looked over at Mildred and they both grinned.

“Told you,” Maryse said.

Mildred shook her head. “You didn’t tell me nothing I hadn’t already seen. Like you’re some big romantic. Luc practically threw himself across her to get her attention. Man had to save her life to get a date.”

Maryse rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Anyway, technically Colt has already saved Jadyn’s life, or she saved his, or both. That’s all beside the point. The fact of the matter is, they’ve faced death together so now they should take things to the next level.”

Jadyn smiled. “Jumping into bed with someone comes after a near-death experience? Seems a little rushed since I ran into trouble my first day on the job.”

“So you’re an early bloomer,” Maryse said. “Anyway, you’ve already learned how life can be taken away in an instant, so I think you need to get on with things.”

Jadyn picked up her fork and stabbed at her apple pie. She knew her cousin was half joking with her, at least about the requirement for sex after almost dying, but the truth was, Jadyn had done a lot of reflecting after everything that went down in the graveyard with Colt. For every ounce of flamboyance that her mother had, Jadyn had matched it with a conservative one. To the point that for a couple of years now, she’d been almost going through the motions rather than existing in the moment.

It was something, she decided, that needed to change, but not by hopping into bed with Colt Bertrand. Although she had to admit, there were worse ways to step outside the box. Still, a relationship wasn’t something Jadyn was ready to navigate. She was already working through a new job, a new town, and new friends and family. A man—even a man as hot as Colt—would only complicate things. They always did.

She was wondering whether to formulate a reply or change the subject when she noticed something moving at the end of the table. Before she could manage anything but pointing, the hand that extended from the wall grabbed Mildred’s pie and pulled it clean through the wall.

“Damn it!” Maryse popped up from the table and everyone in the café stopped eating and stared.

“It’s not stealing if I know you.” Helena’s voice sounded from the outside wall. “It’s borrowing.”

Maryse clenched her fists and for a minute, Jadyn thought she was going to open one of the back windows and vault out after Helena, but Mildred leaned over and grabbed her arm.

“Sit down,” Mildred hissed.

Maryse looked back at the gawking patrons. “Sorry, folks. I just realized I forgot my vitamins.”