Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 93400 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93400 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
I brought my hand up to my mouth and let out an excited laugh. “Oh my gosh! I knew it! Last time I met Willa and Anabella for lunch and asked how the baby-making was coming along, Willa flushed so hard. I should have known, but she played it off so well.”
Kyle laughed. “Yeah, Aiden was bursting at the seams to tell someone, so he told us a few days ago.”
“Do Jack and Renee know? What about Lacy?” I asked, pouring both of us a cup of coffee.
“Jack and Renee know, yes.”
Jack and Renee Turner were Willa’s parents. They owned Boggy Creek Valley Apple Orchard, which Willa had pretty much taken over after Jack’s second battle with cancer. Lacy was Willa’s sister, who was married with two kids of her own, Lilly and Jacob.
“And Carl and Rose?” I asked. Carl was Aiden’s grandfather. He’d been the owner of O’Hara Construction company before giving it to Aiden to run since his health wasn’t the best. Rose was Aiden’s mother. His father died before Aiden had graduated from high school.
“Yep. They know as well. Ben’s going to be over the moon to have a little baby brother or sister.”
I smiled as I took a sip of coffee. Ben was Willa’s son from her first, very short, marriage. Aiden had adopted him not long after he and Willa got married last New Year’s Eve. “I bet. I’m so happy for them.”
Kyle nodded. “Yeah. So am I. Aiden’s been doing so great with the construction business and with the organization he and Mitch Hathaway set up to help folks suffering from PTSD.
“Is it true that Mitch is dating Kathleen Daughtry, that actress who Aiden’s building a mansion of a house for at the edge of town?”
With a wicked smile, Kyle nodded. “He is indeed dating her. Aiden wasn’t too happy about it at first. I don’t think Aiden had a very good impression of Kathleen when they first met, but he seems to be coming around. He sees how truly happy she makes Mitch.”
“Well, I can see why he’s protective of Mitch. They’re both former Navy SEALs. Does Mitch still enjoy being a police officer?”
Kyle popped a piece of an orange muffin I had made earlier into his mouth and quickly chewed and swallowed. “He loves it. He’s a damn good officer. They asked both of us if we wanted to step into the K9 program the department’s trying to build.”
I set down my coffee cup. “I see Hunter with his K9 partner, Jack, all the time.”
Kyle rolled his eyes. “He loves that damn dog. I swear, Hunter would marry him if he could.”
“Aw, it’s his partner, Kyle.”
He gifted me with another eye roll. “It’s funny as hell when Hunter’s dad Jack is around. Anytime you call out ‘Jack’, both his dad and the dog look at you. It drives the human Jack insane.”
“That’s funny,” I said before taking a bite of a muffin.
“So, little sister, tell me what’s going on in your world.”
With a shrug, I replied, “Not much. The bookstore’s doing great. I’ve got an author signing next week that I’m pretty excited about. She’s a local author who writes historical romance. Her debut novel is amazing.”
“It’s nice that you’re letting her do a signing at the store.”
“Well, honestly, I’m probably more excited than she is. I’m totally a fan of her book.”
My brother lifted one brow and then swiftly changed the subject. “So who’s the guy staying at the bed and breakfast who was here yesterday?”
I felt my eyes widen as I laughed. “My goodness, you do have eyes everywhere, don’t you?”
“I’m a cop. I’m supposed to know these things, Greer. Heard he was here for at least a couple of hours. What was he doing?”
I shrugged. “Working in the study room. He said he needed a quiet place.”
“Did he give you his name?”
“Yes, it’s Hudson Higgins.”
It hit me the very moment I said his name.
Hudson. Higgins.
“Oh. My. Gawd,” I whispered and then spun on my heels and rushed over to my laptop to type the name into Google.
“What is it?” Kyle moved forward and stood behind me.
I brought my hand up to my mouth and gasped.
“Greer, what’s wrong?”
“I can’t believe his name didn’t ring a bell sooner. I’m such an idiot! He probably thinks I’m a terrible bookstore owner.”
“Who are you talking about?”
I faced my brother. “The guy you were asking about who’s staying at the bed and breakfast. The one who was here yesterday. It’s Hudson Higgins. He’s an author!” I shook my head and laughed. “Not just any author, but a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author. I’ve had his books on my feature wall at the front of the store! There’s one there right now called Night Fall. It’s been on The New York Times Best Seller list for weeks!”