Page 93 of Just Between Us

I thought she was at work. Did she not show?

We hadn’t talked about her moving in again. She had left with a soft, dreamy smile and wave. I had watched her walk toward town until she disappeared down the roadway.

Had I pushed too hard in asking her to move in?

Maybe she needed time and space to think about my suggestion. My heart pounded as I waited for my brother’s reply.

JP

I’m not at the office but spoke to her earlier. Said she was going to check something out at the library and I haven’t been able to get ahold of her since. She isn’t answering my calls.

Instant worry coursed through me. I didn’t bother replying to my brother and instead dialed Veda’s number. It rang and rang until it eventually went to voicemail.

“It’s me. JP said you haven’t checked in. Call me, please.”

I hung up and stared at my phone, but dialed again. Same thing—it rang until voicemail picked up.

With a huff, I ended the call without a second message.

I sailed out of King Tattoo without an explanation. I stood outside my shop, glancing left, then right, unsure of where to even begin.

I dialed my aunt and headed toward my truck.

When she picked up, I didn’t bother with a greeting. “Was Veda at the library today? Is she still there?”

“Well hello to you too,” my aunt said.

“I need to know,” I demanded as blood ran hot in my veins.

She must have understood my urgency because she didn’t press the issue. “Yes, she was here looking at the archives for a bit, but I believe she left.”

“When?” I demanded.

“About an hour ago?”

Panic was starting to set in. In an hour she could have gone anywhere. “Did she say where?”

“No. Royal, what is going on?” Worry washed over my aunt’s voice, but I was too frantic to answer.

I ended the call without saying goodbye and sent out a mass text to the family chat, telling them to drop everything until we could figure out where Veda was. It was likely an overreaction, but every cell in my body was screaming that something was off.

I didn’t do anything to save Mom. I can’t let that happen again.

Desperation coursed through me, and I was frozen with indecision. Outtatowner wasn’t huge, but there were plenty of places she could be and had enough tourists for someone to go unnoticed. My eyes swept down the sidewalks.

When my attention landed on Bootsy—or was it Bowlegs?—panic flickered across the man’s face and my fists tightened. “Hey, Bootsy! Wait up!”

TWENTY-EIGHT

VEDA

One hour earlier . . .

My head was spinning,but my body was floating on a cloud.

Had Royal really asked me to move in with him?

I chuckled to myself because, no, he hadn’tasked. He’d simply stated it as though it was the simplest decision in the world. Every cell in my body wanted to scream a resoundingYES!