Hot and Bothered E-Book

Jennifer Bernard

• Herausgeber: Jennifer Bernard
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Beschreibung

From USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Bernard comes a second chance to fall in love ...

Ben, the most romantic of Jupiter Point's smoking hot Knight brothers, knew from the moment he met his high school sweetheart, Julie deGaia, that she was the one for him. Marriage, kids…he wanted forever with Julie—until the moment she skipped town without a word. Then Ben’s father was murdered, and his life was irrevocably changed. Now, after twelve years, Julie’s back. Ben’s over her, of course. They’re completely different people now.
Right. If they’re so different, why do his feelings for her seem so damn familiar?
And how, after all this time, can she still make Ben so hot and bothered?
Julie was never supposed to return to Jupiter Point. It’s only by staying away that she’s ensured her safety. But she owes a huge debt to the wealthy and demanding Reinhard family, who took her in as a child. What the Reinhards want, they get, so here she is, dodging a handsomer-than-ever Ben Knight. Her former sweetheart has turned into a hunky pilot who aims that sexy smile at everyone except her—until he learns the truth about why she left in the first place.
If the past can’t keep Ben and Julie apart, a deadly threat in the present might. As for that idyllic future they always dreamed about? It might take some Jupiter Point magic to put this star-crossed couple on the road to happy ever after.

Leseprobe

HOT AND BOTHERED

JENNIFER BERNARD

CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Too Hot to Handle

About the Author

Also by Jennifer Bernard

Acknowledgments

1

Most days, nothing distracted Ben Knight when he was at the controls of a plane. He did his best thinking when airborne, thousands of feet above all the crap. Up here, he felt at peace with himself, and with the world in general. He often flew with a big grin on his face. His passengers, mostly honeymooners, loved him for that.

But today it was a struggle to keep that smile on his face. Actually, it had been for the past few weeks—since Julie deGaia had returned to Jupiter Point. Since she’d had the nerve to come back. Skipping into town the way she’d skipped out—without a word.

Just thinking about her made his hands tighten on the yoke of the Cessna 206, and the plane dipped. He and Julie hadn’t even spoken yet, and he was already all hot and bothered.

Luckily, the honeymooning couple currently buckled into the passenger seats didn’t notice. They were supposed to be enjoying the spectacular scenery of Jupiter Point from five thousand feet above ground. Instead, they had their tongues down each other’s throats.

Get a grip, Knight. He was over Julie, after all. He shouldn’t be so bothered that she was back. And he had a job to do. He was supposed to be showing these honeymooners a good time—though they were obviously doing just fine on their own.

“If you look out the window to your right, you’ll see the observatory. We have the West Coast’s most powerful infrared telescope right here in Jupiter Point; we’re pretty proud of that.” Ben adjusted the attitude of the 206, revealing the panorama of green hills, the highest peak topped with the sprawling observatory. “As you probably know, Jupiter Point is famous for its stargazing. You can see a lot with the naked eye, but it’s also worth taking a trip to the observatory.”

The bride, Susie, pulled away from their kiss and peered out the Plexiglas window. “Oh, I see the telescope sticking out! I bet they saw us kissing, Chuck.”

“Then let’s give them a show,” Chuck said, tugging her back toward him.

Oh boy, Ben wasn’t sure he could handle another make-out session. “Not to worry, that telescope is focused on outer space, not us,” he said. “Stars, planets, celestial objects. That sort of thing. So, what would you two most like to see on this trip? Wildlife, dolphins, scenic views…we have a little bit of everything here.”

“Just give us your best tour,” said the groom—Chuck—gruffly. He was probably fifteen years older than Susie, and to Ben, he seemed like kind of a jerk. A wealthy one. “We’re paying you good money for this flight.”

“That you are,” Ben agreed amicably. “How about we take a spin over some of the offshore islands? You can get some great shots for your honeymoon album. Hang on tight, I think I spotted a pod of dolphins.”

He straightened the wings and trimmed the plane for level flight.

“Where? I want to see!” Susie pressed her face up against the window, her attention now completely on the scenery.

Chuck gave Ben a nasty look.

He whistled to himself, ignoring his irritated passenger. He was still the captain of this ship, no matter how wealthy his passengers were. And besides, Chuck would thank him later, when the thrill of a dolphin sighting translated into hot honeymoon sex.

“There they are, to the right of Sand Island. There are several sets of binoculars back there, feel free to use them.”

Both of them picked a pair of binoculars and aimed them out the right Plexiglas window. “What a pretty island!” Susie exclaimed. “I see a beach. Can you swim there?”

Ben didn’t answer right away. He was thinking of the last time he’d swum on Sand Island—with Julie deGaia, when he was eighteen and she was seventeen. And how she’d looked in her simple black racer-back one-piece. She was a strong swimmer; every summer he’d known her, she’d worked as a lifeguard. She didn’t go for bikinis, but it didn’t matter to Ben. To him, she’d been the sexiest thing on the planet in her plain old Speedo.

And now she was back in Jupiter Point. Sneaking into his thoughts at random moments, completely uninvited and definitely unwelcome.

Distracting him. Damn it.

“Hello?” Susie was saying.

He jolted back to the moment, the drone of the engine, the vibrations of the little craft…the poor deluded honeymooners, who thought their love would last forever.

Not that he wanted to rain on their parade. They were paying his bills, after all.

“Sorry, I was checking a gauge. Yes, the beach is swimmable,” he said. “Go ahead, take some photos. We have a good patch of air here.”

They started clicking away with their phones. He stayed quiet, letting them do their thing. God, he loved being up here. This was why he loved flying so much. While his hands and most of his brain dealt with the controls and gauges, the rest of his mind was free to wander wherever it chose.

And of course…it chose Julie.

He’d run into her for the first time since her return at the 7-Eleven, near the Slurpee machine. She looked the same, yet not the same. She’d always had a quiet kind of beauty, not the sort that jumped out at you. Her brown hair might seem ordinary at first, until you were lucky enough to touch it and discover how incredibly silky and fine it was. When they were together, he’d tried to define her eye color—kind of gray? Kind of blue? Kind of “lake water”? She’d laughed when he came up with that, but he stood by it.

Like the sappy kid that he’d been.

He and Julie hadn’t spoken to each other at the 7-Eleven. He’d been there with another woman, Lanie, who’d wanted to stop in for cigarettes. He hated smoking, and had already decided this would be their last date. But as soon as he spotted Julie, a wave of forgotten anger rushed over him, and he’d put his arm around Lanie.

Screw Julie. She’d left him without any word, any explanation. Twelve years of no explanation. He was pissed. He couldn’t even force his face to be nice to her.

Julie’s greeting froze in mid-smile. Then that smile slid away, melting like a snowman under a hot sun. She’d watched every moment of Lanie’s cigarette purchase. As if she was forcing herself to do so. Then a boy in glasses, with a wild black shock of hair, had tugged at her arm. She’d jerked to attention and finished getting the kid his Slurpee.

The look on her face as she’d turned away pissed him off even more. As if he’d done something wrong. As if he was the one who had disappeared from town without so much as a goodbye.

“Hey. Hey! Pilot!”

Chuck’s gruff voice pulled him back to attention.

“Sorry.” He pretended to fiddle with the comms controls. “I can hear you now. What’s going on?”

“Where’s the champagne in this tin can? We’re thirsty.”

“Right behind you, there’s a cooler.”

Grumbling, the man turned in his seat. He probably wasn’t used to getting things for himself. To him, this little plane was probably slumming it. No flight attendant, no white-glove service. Ben would love to tell him to shove it. But Knight and Day Flight Tours was a brand-new business, and both he and his brother Tobias had invested all their resources into it. He couldn’t afford to be blowing off wealthy and well-connected clients.

“Want me to pour some for you, too?” Susie leaned forward and tapped his shoulder.

“Ah no, that would be a serious FAA violation.”

“We won’t tell,” she teased. “Right, Chuck?”

“Wrong.” Chuck was messing around with the champagne bottle. “What is this, a screw-top?”

“Small plane,” said Ben easily. “Can’t have corks hitting something essential.”

Chuck unscrewed the top and poured two plastic flutes of champagne. The couple lifted their glasses, but when they tried to clink, a bumpy patch of air made them miss.

“Control your plane, pilot,” Chuck growled.

“Just a little turbulence. We’ll be out of it in a few. Carry on with that toast. Here’s to a happy life for you both!”

They tried again, and again missed.

The perfect metaphor for romance, if you asked Ben.

But Chuck apparently wasn’t used to glitches like this. “You’re doing it on purpose, pilot.”

Ben pulled back on the yoke to gain a little altitude, where they’d encounter fewer bumps. “Turbulence is part of flying. Kind of like marriage.”

“Excuse me?” Chuck gave up on the toast and downed his champagne.

“Turbulence in marriage. It’s a thing, or so I hear.”

“Not married, huh?” Susie leaned forward against the seat belt, her flute clutched in one hand. “Why not, a handsome guy like you? I bet the girls around here are crazy for you.”

“Yeah, but he’s probably smart enough to stay single.”

Susie made a face at her husband.

Okay then. So much for romance. Not that Ben believed in it anyway. It was a goddamn mind-altering drug, and he wanted nothing to do with it.

“So, no girlfriend either?” Susie was asking.

“Nope. Not right now.”

“Just haven’t met the right girl yet, huh?”

“Something like that,” he muttered. Of course, that wasn’t the problem at all. The problem was that he had met the right girl. He’d just never recovered from it.

He’d met Julie through Savannah Reinhard. During the summer after his sophomore year, Savannah had invited him to her house—more like a mansion—to play tennis. The Reinhards were the richest family in town, and Savannah was their only daughter. Ben had no idea how he’d caught her eye, but all of a sudden he was scrambling to return her wicked overhand serve on the private tennis court next to the Reinhards’ infinity pool.

It was mixed doubles; her partner was her teacher, a tennis pro. Ben’s partner was Julie deGaia, who was a year younger. He’d seen Julie around town, and knew that she lived with the Reinhards. Julie’s mother was the Reinhard family’s private macrobiotic, vegan, gluten-free chef. Even though she was essentially a servant’s daughter, she and Savannah were best friends.

They were nothing alike. Savannah commanded everyone’s attention with her black hair and wild laughter. Whereas Ben wouldn’t have noticed the quieter Julie if they hadn’t been paired up on the tennis court.

Once they started playing, that changed. First, he took note of her pretty legs flashing past on her way to scoop up a shot he missed. Then they exchanged high-fives after a hard-won point. She smiled at him, and his heart jumped.

As they played, Julie managed to sneak in a few secret pointers. Things like, “Here, take my racket, it’s strung a little tighter,” and “Savannah really loves to win, just so you know,” or, “Your shoelace is coming untied. No bloodshed allowed on this court.”

By the end of the match, a lopsided victory for Savannah and her tennis-pro partner, all Ben wanted to do was find a way to talk to Julie some more. To be honest, Savannah scared him a little. She seemed to look right through him, or size him up in a way that made him uncomfortable. But Julie, with her sympathetic smile and funny comments, put him at ease.

When a servant delivered a tray of lemonade after the match, he sat next to Julie and asked her what she planned to do that summer.

“Ugh,” Savannah pouted. “She’s going to be a full-time lifeguard and I won’t have anyone to hang out with.”

She probably meant to suggest that Ben should hang out with her. But that wasn’t his conclusion.

“Stargazer Beach?” he asked Julie. “I like to go running there when the tide’s out.”

Their eyes met, and it felt like a zing of lightning flashed through him. Their connection was so complete, so thorough, so electric and undeniable, that not even Savannah could make it go away. She shifted her attention to her tennis pro and left Ben and Julie alone.

Ben had never asked a girl on a date before. He didn’t even know how to do it. At that point in his life, girls were just prettier friends to him. The whole “dating” part of life was foreign territory. So, he asked if she liked to swim, and told her they had a creek behind their house, and a tire swing that you could only use if there’d been enough rain recently.

Then it turned out she liked basketball, too. “I’m like a grasshopper, I can jump almost twice my own height,” she’d informed him.

So, a week later, she rode her bike three miles to Ben’s house for some basketball and a dip in the creek, and that was it. He was in love. They were in love.

Or so he’d thought. So everyone had thought.

“Pilot!” Chuck was barking at him. “Pay attention.”

Jesus, he’d never been this distracted during a flight. Get it together, Knight.

“My beautiful wife is about to throw up all over your no doubt highly leveraged plane, so do you think you could even things out a bit?”

“Hashtag SOS,” Susie gasped.

“Poor baby.” Chuck seized the moment and put his arm around her. “I’m here, honey-buns.”

Oh boy. More kissing on the horizon.

Enough with the distractions. Time to play tour guide again. “To your left, we’re now passing Stargazer Beach.”

How many times had he and Julie made out in the lifeguard shack after hours?

And now she was back and he couldn’t think straight.

“Up in the hills there, you can see the Seaview Inn, which is a great place for a sunset dinner.”

Like the time he and Julie had scraped enough spare change from his old Dodge truck to drive up the hill and sit on the terrace, sharing one order of crab cake appetizers. It was so good that they’d spent the next ten minutes thinking up crazy ways to finance more of their meal. Trade the Dodge for a main course? Pick bouquets from the inn’s garden and sell them to dinner guests? Let Julie sing for their supper with her pretty voice?

The elderly couple at the table next to them was so amused, they’d told the maître d’ to serve Ben and Julie whatever they wanted.

Nothing in life had ever been as fun as being Julie’s boyfriend. And it never would be, because his innocence had been completely destroyed.

And now she was back. And he was completely distracted.

“As you probably know, the reason we can see it so clearly is the unique topography of Jupiter Point. All those air currents that we’ve been bumping around on keep the air quality up. We have strict controls over the lumen levels to prevent light pollution. A little turbulence is a small price to pay, right?”

Glancing at the mirror that allowed him to see the interior, he saw the honeymooners were back in mash mode, kissing like fiends.

He fell silent, letting them have their moment. Maybe Chuck and Susie would make it, after all. Maybe there was a tiny part of him that still wanted to believe in love. Maybe Jupiter Point would work its honeymoon magic. It seemed to work on everyone.

Except him and Julie.

2

Julie shoved the squeeze handle of the mop all the way to the hilt. Water spurted into the mop bucket, with a few drops splattering onto Felix. He looked up from the book he was reading and sniffled.

“I’m sick, and now you’re trying to murder me with mop water.” Her godson shoved his glasses back onto his nose.

“You seem so uncharacteristically cheerful. Are you sure you’re sick?” she asked dryly. On a scale of one to ten, he was maybe at a three in terms of sickness. She figured he needed more of a mental health day than anything else. Nothing wrong with that.

“Too late now. You can’t take me back to school,” he pointed out.

“Oh yeah? Try me.”

“They wouldn’t take me. I have even more germs now.”

She pushed the mop across Mrs. Murphy’s living room floor. The bookstore owner was the first Jupiter Point resident to book her “Green and Pristine” cleaning services. Most of the others seemed to be holding back, waiting to see if she was going to stick around.

Which was a good question. She loved this town. But so far, Felix hated it.

And then there was Ben, who seemed to hate her.

He had yet to say one word to her.

“There are other places I can take you,” she told Felix ominously. “Where you’ll be babied and coddled and fed chicken soup by servants and⁠—”

“That’s not funny. You promised.”

Since Felix looked so alarmed, she relented. “Of course I won’t take you to your grandparents. I told you I wouldn’t leave you alone with them until you’re ready. But Kiddo, I hope you can be ready soon. There’s no reason to be so scared of them.”

“Mom says they’re monsters.”

“That’s just a figure of speech. You know how your mom is. She loves to make things exciting.” Sometimes Julie felt like a civilian casualty of Savannah’s ongoing war with her parents. “But I promise you that they’re not monsters. They took me in when I didn’t have anyone to take care of me. Would monsters do that?”

Felix blinked at her behind his glasses. Savannah refused to say who his father was, but clearly, he carried the near-sighted gene. None of the Reinhards wore glasses. But he’d definitely inherited his wild black mop of hair from Savannah. “I guess not.”

His phone beeped. Julie had mixed feelings about an eleven-year-old having a cell phone, but it gave Savannah a way to keep in touch with Felix when she was shooting a movie, as she was now.

He read the text and snorted. Probably a meme. Savannah communicated best with Felix via memes, especially when she was away on a film set. She loved making him laugh.

Julie reached the armchair where Felix was curled up. “Okay, kid, why don’t you jump over to that couch. And don’t forget the floor is hot lava.”

“I’m not six anymore,” he grumbled, before gathering up his backpack full of books and climbing onto the couch.

He was just settling in when the jingle of keys sounded at the front door. Mrs. Murphy bustled in.

“Julie, I’m happy I caught you before you finished up. I’ve been hoping for a nice chat after all these years.”

Julie barely kept herself from a massive eye roll. Of course that was why Mrs. Murphy had hired her. Perfect chance for some gossip. When it came to the Jupiter Point grapevine, Mrs. Murphy was the root of all information. She was never malicious. She just wanted to know what was going on.

She plopped onto the couch next to Felix, who blinked at her. “I’m Elaine Murphy. And who might you be?”

“Felix Reinhard,” he said.

“Reinhard. So your mother is⁠—”

Julie stepped in. She didn’t mind getting the third degree herself, but Felix shouldn’t have to. “Felix, can you run out to the car and get me some more vinegar?”

Felix shot her a reproachful, knowing look. When she and Savannah got into fights over Felix, Julie always made a point of sending him out of the room on random errands.

As soon as he was gone, Julie stuck her mop in the bucket and faced Mrs. Murphy. “Felix is Savannah’s son. I have no idea who his father is, but I don’t believe he’s from Jupiter Point. Savannah is currently shooting a movie, and as you probably know, Adam Reinhard has been ill. He wanted to spend some time with his grandson, so I volunteered to bring Felix to Jupiter Point for the semester. I can clean houses anywhere.”

Julie figured this was the most efficient way to get the word out, rather than explaining to everyone individually who Felix was and why he was here.

“So, you and Savannah…” The older woman trailed off delicately.

“Me and Savannah what?” Julie squeezed the water from the sponge mop again.

“Are you…”

Julie stared at her blankly. What exactly was Mrs. Murphy getting at?

Then it clicked.

As did the opportunity to tweak her—just a little. “Savannah and I are a couple, absolutely,” she said solemnly. “All those pictures of Savannah with movie stars and so forth? It’s all a front. Don’t be fooled. We’re lesbian lovers, always have been.”

Finally, Mrs. Murphy burst into laughter. “Okay, you had me up until the end. Always have been? I don’t think so. Not with how you and Ben Knight were. You were the most lovey-dovey couple I’ve ever seen, and that’s saying something, considering all the honeymooners who come around here.”

The mention of Ben sent a deep pang of pain right into Julie’s solar plexus. She focused on her yellow latex gloves, giving herself time to recover.

“I’m Felix’s godmother,” she explained, dropping the joke. “Almost more like an aunt.”

“Well, you and Savannah did grow up together, so that makes sense. Something tells me you’re a lot more than an aunt to that boy, though. Savannah never was especially reliable. Do you know how many times she had me order books, then lost interest by the time they arrived? I had a whole ‘Abandoned by Savannah’ section in the bookstore. I just hope the boy doesn’t fall into that category.”

Julie picked up the mop bucket and backed out of the room. They’d been chatting so long that the floor was dry. “Of course not. Savannah loves Felix. But she’s such a big star now, so in demand. Whenever she’s on location, Felix stays with me.”

Mrs. Murphy followed after her. “Well, I’m sure he’s lucky to have you. He seems very attached to you.”

Of course he was. Julie was the most consistent person in his life, other than Savannah, and he craved routine. In her opinion, he was one step away from an anxiety disorder. But she didn’t want to tell Mrs. Murphy all that.

“I’ve been wanting to ask you about something,” she said quickly, before the bookstore owner could ask her anything else.

She brightened. “What’s that?”

Julie screwed up her courage. “I wanted to ask about Robert Knight.”

“Ah. Jupiter Point’s only unsolved murder.” She gave Julie a shrewd look. “Ben’s father. You must have known him pretty well.”

Mrs. Murphy truly was a mastermind when it came to interrogations. She should have been a spy, not a bookstore owner.

“Not well, no. I was shocked when I heard what happened. Have they made any progress in solving the case?”

“You’d have to ask Chief Becker. He doesn’t tell me anything.” Mrs. Murphy sniffed, as if insulted that the town’s police chief didn’t confide in her. “But there was a big story in the newspaper recently. Merry Warren interviewed all the Knight brothers.”

Well. She’d definitely have to check that out. She could probably find it online. If she couldn’t talk to Ben herself—since he clearly didn’t want to—she could read his words in a newspaper.

“As a matter of fact, I heard that Will Knight is now investigating the murder himself. So you could always talk to him.”

Julie swallowed hard. Seeing Will would be almost as hard as seeing Ben.

Which had happened exactly three times since she’d gotten back. The first time was at the 7-Eleven, where he’d been wrapped up with a stunning blond. Ben had scowled at her so hard, she’d worried his head might explode.

Originally, she’d intended to talk to him right away and find out what had gone wrong twelve years ago, why he’d stood her up. But his frown had stopped that plan in its tracks.

Then she’d spotted him at the hardware store with his older brother Tobias. She’d ducked behind a shelf of plumbing parts before they could notice her. Then she’d spent the next ten minutes peering between copper pipes and white plastic elbows as they’d shopped for lumber.

If Ben had been alone, maybe she would have tried again to talk to him. But two Knight brothers at once? She couldn’t bear it. The brothers had been like another family to her, at a time when she felt utterly alone in the world. Even though the Reinhards asked her to stay after her mother died, there were always strings attached. She always felt like a guest, maybe one step removed from a servant. But with Ben and his family, she never felt that way.

The third time she’d seen Ben was at the cemetery. She’d gone to visit her mother’s grave. He was kneeling at his father’s, eyes closed, in silent communion with his murdered parent.

Again, she’d fled before he could see her. The guilt was too much.

Because there was a strong possibility that she’d encountered Robert Knight’s killer on her last night in Jupiter Point.

That encounter was the reason she’d stayed away until now. And one of the main reasons she’d come back.

Twelve years was long enough to keep a secret like that. Someone needed to know. Not Ben, since he obviously didn’t want anything to do with her. The police chief? Could he be trusted?

Mrs. Murphy was asking her something. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

“I was saying that we could really use you at the theater. We’re putting on Grease this year. I remember what a lovely voice you always had. The church choir sure missed you after you left.”

“Oh no. I definitely don’t have time for anything like that. I’m still settling in.” Besides, she wasn’t ready for anything that public. She still wasn’t entirely sure it was safe to be back in Jupiter Point.

“Well, I sure hope you stay a while. You’ve done a spectacular job here.” Mrs. Murphy surveyed the living room, where the floors radiated a soft glow and the windows sparkled. Julie smiled proudly. “Green cleaning” hadn’t exactly been her first choice for a job. But she liked creating order out of messes. She liked setting her own hours and choosing her own clients. Green cleaning had been very good to her.

Felix loped back into the room with his odd, stiff-legged stride. Her heart swelled at the sight of him.

Sure, the arrival of Felix had upended her life. But he was worth it.

“Julie, you have to help me.” Savannah’s call had come at night, waking Julie from a deep sleep in the little Reinhard guesthouse.

“Savannah? What’s going on?”

“You can’t tell my parents anything. Promise.”

“Um.” Julie sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “They barely know I’m alive, you don’t have to worry about that. But where are you?”

“I’m at a hotel in Benson. I need you to come here. I’ll explain when you get here. Bring a suitcase.”

“Benson?” Why was Savannah in the next town over? “A suitcase? What are you talking about?”

“Please! And don’t worry about money. I’ll cover everything.”

None of it made any sense. Julie had her last final the next day. She and Ben were planning a camping trip to celebrate the end of her junior year. She couldn’t go to Benson.

“Just come. I need you!”

The edge of panic in her friend’s voice really scared her. Savannah never panicked. She was always so bold, so defiant, so rebellious. And she’d done so much for Julie. If not for Savannah, she’d be in a foster home by now. Savannah was the one who’d insisted that Julie stay with the Reinhards, even after the car accident that took Mama.

“Okay. I’m coming.” Julie took down the address and threw some clothes into a bag.

But she had to tell Ben what was happening, and she tried his phone. No answer. Probably had it turned off.

So she got into her mother’s old sky-blue VW beetle and drove out to the Knight house.

And that was when everything had gone off the rails.

She’d told no one except Savannah what had happened. But now it was time. Past time. She was going to tell the whole story to someone.

Felix helped her pack up her cleaning supplies while Mrs. Murphy reeled off the list of who was performing in Grease.

Maybe she should tell Mrs. Murphy her story so everyone could hear it. Then she wouldn’t have to face Ben. Because once the Knight brothers heard the entire thing, they’d probably think she was a coward and want nothing to do with her.

3

“You need to fucking talk to her,” said Tobias bluntly. That was Tobias’s style, direct and to the point. With his deep-set dark eyes and fearsome physique, he played the intimidator well. But he’d do anything for his brothers—including tell them when they were being idiots. “We have a business to run here. Planes to keep in the air. Honeymoons to not ruin. You need your head in the game, bro.”

“You’re right, and I will. The next time I run into her, we’ll talk.” Ben propped his boots on the desk, where he and Tobias were going through applications for a mechanic. So far, they’d been getting by on their own, but they needed a full-time airplane mechanic to take care of their little fleet. They also needed someone to take bookings, and possibly another pilot.

A pile of fuel receipts caught his attention; he had to organize the damn things. Their need for an assistant was getting dire. Honestly, they needed an assistant to help them hire an assistant.

“I thought you were over Julie like, ten years ago.”

“I was.”

Tobias glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. “Was?”

“Am. Was and am. Still am.” He shuffled through the receipts. “Even more so now. Much more.”

Tobias looked as if he was trying not to laugh. “Got it. Loud and clear.”

Will, their oldest brother, pushed open the door of the little office. At his heels was Chase Merriweather, Merry Warren’s half-brother, who was Will’s new intern. He had the look of a golden retriever in human form; Ben always pictured a playful, eager puppy whenever he saw Chase.

“We have to talk.” Will dropped his long body into one of their metal folding chairs.

“That seems to be a theme today,” Ben said gloomily. “What is this, an Oprah episode?”

Will shot him a puzzled look. “This is about Mom and Cassie. I heard from them today. It’s happening. They’re going to come here for a visit.”

They all got very quiet for a moment.

They’d gone twelve years without seeing Janine Knight or their sister Cassie. Mom had always been fragile and volatile. Sky-high one day, deep in the dumps the next. And Ben had always been the son closest to her, the one who could coax her out of her dark moods.

And then had come the night of the murder. The night Ben had the task of telling his mother her husband was dead. And he’d fucked it up.

That night…he’d never forget it, never forgive himself.

After that, she’d fled Jupiter Point, taking Cassie with her. The four Knight brothers had scattered in various directions. Ben had joined the Air Force, Tobias had joined the Army. Only Will had stayed to take care of their youngest brother, Aiden, who was barely eight at the time.

Ben missed his mother fiercely, but at the same time, his stomach churned at the thought of seeing her again. He cleared his throat. “How long are they coming for?”

“To be determined. Cassie says she thinks Mom can handle it, but she’s not sure.”

Ben grunted, fiddling with the pile of resumes.

Will glanced at him curiously. “Got something to say, Ben? You never really talk about Mom.”

Because there was nothing to say. Informing your mother that her husband had just been stabbed to death in the kitchen…yeah, everyone did that kind of thing. And Mom’s terrifying reaction—that was totally normal.

“It’s all good,” he said, with an approximation of his usual carefree manner. “I hope she comes. I miss her.” That much was true. There’d been a huge hole in his heart ever since she’d left.

Will nodded, moving on. “I got something else too. I think I found something about Dad’s murder. I tracked down⁠—”

“We tracked down,” said Chase proudly.

Will raised a skeptical eyebrow, but nodded in agreement. “Chase and I tracked down all the surviving soldiers who were with Dad during his last mission. I thought one of them was dead, but it turns out he’s been living under a different name.”

“Why?” Tobias frowned at their oldest brother. “Why a different name?”

“I’m not sure. I’m still trying to locate him.”

“We’re trying to locate him,” Chase corrected.

Ben and Tobias exchanged an amused glance. Having Chase around was like living with a puppy still being trained. No better trainer than Will, in Ben’s opinion. Will had raised Aiden, so he had the proven parenting skills.

“One thing,” Will added softly. “The last known address of this particular soldier is only a hundred miles away. He’s probably changed his name again, and moved again. But it does raise the possibility that the killer is more local than we thought.”

Silence settled over them all. The idea that someone local—someone from Jupiter Point, the most peaceful, charming tourist town you could imagine, whose biggest claim to fame was stargazing—the idea that someone from around here could have committed murder was shocking.

But no place was immune to evil deeds or to misfortune. Ben knew that. He’d learned it when his world had fallen apart at the age of eighteen, and then again in the Air Force.

He cleared his throat. “Any other leads you guys have found?”

Chase shot him a grateful look, thrilled to be included in the “you guys.”

“There were a few anonymous tips called into the police station back then. I’m going to sift through them.”

“We’re going to⁠—”

Will laughed and squeezed Chase’s shoulder affectionately. “Actually, I’m going to tackle the tips on my own. I have another fun job for you.”

An uneasy expression came over the kid’s face. “Like when I filed all your notes? And organized your desk? Got your computer up and running?”

“No, an actual fun job. I have a line on Cindy Tran, who used to work with me at the Sheriff’s Department. She disappeared and I’m worried about her. I heard she might be in Las Vegas, so off you go.”

Chase did a few air pumps while Will headed for the door. “Anyway, think about the best way to welcome Mom and Cassie back. Ben, you always knew her best, see what you can come up with. I’ll be gone for a few days, then we’ll come up with a plan.”

The door fell shut behind them. In the sudden quiet, Ben looked over at Tobias, who wore a dark scowl as he stared at his phone.

“Worried about Mom?” Ben asked him.

“No, I’m trying to decide if Sarah wants a pink bike or a red one.”

Tobias and his new wife, Carolyn, had recently adopted her younger sister, Sarah. Watching big tough Tobias turn into a father figure for a little blond pixie was hilarious.

“Pink seems too on-the-nose girlie,” Tobias continued, rubbing the back of his neck. “But some girls really like pink. I shouldn’t not get her pink just because it’s too predictable. Seems kind of unfair, in case that’s what she wants.”

As he spoke, his frown got more and more dire. That frown was the reason Ben ended up taking most of the flights. No honeymooners wanted to be scowled at.

“Have you tried asking her?” he suggested.

Tobias directed his glare toward Ben. “You make it sound so easy.”

Ben lifted his eyebrows at him. “It’s pretty easy. You just open your mouth and let the words come out.”

“A-ha.” Tobias pointed a big finger at him.

“A-ha, what?”

“Pretty much exactly what you should do with Julie, that’s what. If it’s so easy, what’s stopping you?”

Now Ben was the one scowling, while Tobias grinned like a maniac. And there they were, right back where they’d started. Go figure.

“I ought to kick your ass,” Ben muttered.

“You could certainly try. But that wouldn’t help straighten things out with Julie.”

“She fucking left town without a word. What’s there to straighten out?”

“This is Julie. Julie. She’s a sweetheart. Something must have happened. Did you try to reach her?”

“Of course. She never answered her phone. Savannah never called me back. I even went and knocked on the Reinhards’ front door.”

“What’d they say?”

“Not much,” Ben muttered. He could still remember the pitying look on Priscilla Reinhard’s face. He must have looked pathetic, begging for answers about why his girlfriend had kicked him to the curb. “They promised to pass along her new phone number and address when they had it. I tried again before I left for Miramar. The housekeeper said they hadn’t heard anything. And that was it.”

Tobias leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands behind his neck. His gold wedding band caught the light, and Ben actually wanted to punch him. How’d he get to be the lucky one with a happy family?

Ben was supposed to be the one already married with kids. It was always supposed to be him and Julie. How had things gotten so screwy? A year ago, all the Knight brothers had been single. Then Will had fallen head over heels for Merry, a reporter at the local newspaper. Tobias had fallen deeply and suddenly for Carolyn Moore, an art history teacher.

Now Ben was the single one, flirting his way through Jupiter Point. And Julie was back and⁠—

Stop it.

Love is a mind-altering substance, Ben reminded himself. No need to be jealous.The single life is the way to go.

“The Reinhards were always jerks,” Tobias said. “The only decent thing they ever did was let Julie stay on after her mom died. You know there’s only one way to get this straightened out, brother.”

“Swear to God, if you say ‘talk to her’ again, I’ll⁠—”

“Talk to her.”

“Ah hell.”

4

Julie kept Felix out of school for another day. She didn’t have any other cleaning jobs lined up yet, so she decided to show him around the charming little historic downtown. Her pride had been piqued by Felix’s constant complaints that her hometown was boring.

“Did you know that Jupiter Point is famous?” she asked him as they strolled down Constellation Way.

“So what? My mom’s famous.”

“True. But Jupiter Point’s famous for stargazing.”

“My mom’s a star.”

Yeah, so far this wasn’t going very well. “Not that kind of star, grumpy.” They passed the Milky Way Ice Cream Parlor. “Do you want to try the best ice cream sundae in the galaxy?”

“That’s stupid. How can they know if it’s the best? No one’s tried all the ice cream sundaes in the entire galaxy.”

She stopped in the middle of the charming street, with its ironwork lampposts and cedar-shingled storefronts. The Reinhards had wanted Julie and Felix to stay in the guesthouse where Julie had lived with her mother. But Felix flat-out refused, and Julie knew him well enough to pick her battles. So, they were staying in a little studio apartment just a few blocks away, paying by the month. Every few days she took him to visit the Reinhards. It never went well. Tomorrow was their next scheduled visit.

Was that the problem here? Was he anxious about seeing his grandparents?

“Felix. Kiddo. What’s wrong?”

Felix hung his head and stared at his sneakers, which sported a cartoon depiction of a detonating bomb. “Nothing.”

“You can’t fool me, sweetie. How long have I known you?”

“Since before I was born.”

“Yup. Now cough it up. What’s bugging you?” She decided to throw out some possibilities. “Is it school? Do you miss your mom? Is it your grandparents?”

He screwed up his face at her. “When can we go back to LA? We’re only five hundred ninety-two and a third miles away.”

Julie smiled at his accuracy. Felix was always meticulous with his facts. When he got into something, he learned it to the nth degree. They called it “pulling a Felix.”

“You know, you could try giving your grandparents more of a chance. That’s why we’re here. Family’s important.” Take it from me, she wanted to say. She had no more family, just a faraway father who never called her. Savannah and Felix were the closest thing she had to family.

“But they said that you⁠—”

Before he could finish his sentence, someone called to them from one of the charming little shops. “Julie deGaia, get your butt over here!”

She swung around to see her old friend Suzanne Finnegan. She’d known Suzanne well in high school, but she hadn’t stayed in touch with her. In fact, all her old Jupiter Point friendships had fallen by the wayside.

She guided Felix over to the shop, with its gracefully lettered sign reading Stars in Your Eyes. She and Suzanne shared a hug, then she introduced Felix.

“This is Savannah’s son, Felix. My godson.”

“Nice to meet you, Felix.” Suzanne’s blond hair was pulled into a twist, making her look grown-up and professional. “I’m Suzanne. I knew Julie waaaaay back in the day. By the way, any kid who steps into my shop gets a lollipop.”

“Dentists give lollipops,” Felix told her, with his usual gift for moroseness.

Suzanne smiled brightly. “That’s true, and I always thought that was strange. Why would you get your teeth cleaned, then get them all sugary? Not that I ever complained. But it’s okay, you don’t have to take a lollipop. You can just sign my guest book. I’d love that even more.”

Suzanne herded them through the front door into a comfortable office space filled with cream furniture, a Keurig, a rack of brochures and a desk bearing a vase of fresh tulips. On the wall, the store’s name was written in flowing script, along with the tagline, “Where honeymoon dreams come true.”