The Spring At Moss Hill. Carla Neggers

him on the side of the road.

      “Are there bears here?” he asked.

      “Black bears.”

      He settled back in his seat. “I’m not big on bears.”

      She glanced at him as if she were trying to figure out if he was serious. But she turned, eyes on the road. “Do you know who all will be at lunch?”

      “You, me, Ruby. I don’t know who else, if anyone. Why? Do you have enemies in town?”

      “Just curious,” she said, and pointed to more ducks in the river.

      Russ figured he had ten minutes, tops, to pull himself together before he got sucked into some small-town nonsense that had nothing to do with Daphne—or Noah Kendrick and Dylan McCaffrey. It was jet lag. Boredom. Curiosity.

      His neighbor’s pretty blue eyes, her slender hands, the curve of her breasts under her purple sweater.

      He hadn’t had a woman in his life in far too long.

      The jet lag, boredom and curiosity made him vulnerable to doing something really stupid.

      And he wasn’t paid to be stupid.

      “Did I lose you?” he asked.

      “Sorry. My mind wandered off.”

      “You know you’re driving, right?”

      “It didn’t wander off like that. I’m paying attention to the road.” She smiled at him. “No worries.”

      He begged to differ, but he said nothing. If Kylie and Ruby weren’t friends, why lunch? Could be a simple question of politeness. He fought back a yawn, debating whether to watch the picturesque scenery or the attractive, intriguing driver. Finally he decided he could do both.

Six

      Smith’s was located in a 1920s house that had been converted into a restaurant, around the corner from the country store. Kylie had dined there a number of times, alone, tucked in a booth with her sketch pad. At first, she hadn’t thought much about socializing with the people of her adopted town. She was here temporarily, as an artistic retreat—to work, not to hang out with the locals. She liked people. She liked being around people. But that wasn’t why she was in Knights Bridge. When she’d moved into Moss Hill and started to consider making the town home, she’d figured friends and socializing would come in due time—when she had more head space for them and allowed herself out of the retreat mind-set.

      And there was Morwenna.

      Would Russ Colton want to know about Morwenna Mills? Why would he care?

      Because he’s the type who cares about every detail.

      Morwenna was a big detail, if not one that had any bearing on Daphne Stewart’s master class on Saturday.

      Russ followed Kylie into the restaurant. Ruby O’Dunn jumped up from a long table in the back of the eatery, greeting Russ as if they were old friends. She introduced him to Mark Flanagan and his wife, Jessica, who were also at the table, joining them for lunch.

      Mark smiled at Kylie. He was a tall, lean man in his thirties, an architect who specialized in older buildings. He wore a black windbreaker, a dark gray flannel shirt and jeans, his usual outfit. “Glad you could make it,” he said.

      She had the distinct impression he hadn’t expected her to accept Ruby’s invitation. There’d been something imperious about the text, and Kylie had suspected declining would cause her more problems than accepting. The faint feeling she’d done something wrong lingered, even with the warm greetings. Had Russ told Ruby about their meeting at Moss Hill—how Kylie had run from him? She gave herself a mental shake. She was overthinking.

      She was hungry—maybe she just needed food. Regardless, she had to settle down.

      Mark returned to his seat next to his wife. Dark-haired and green-eyed, Jessica was a Frost, one of the longtime families in town. She wore jeans and a flannel shirt but also a silver Celtic-knot necklace that Kylie suspected Mark had given her. Mark and Jess had known each other forever, but they were newlyweds, married last fall at her sister’s inn in town.

      “Moss Hill is great,” Russ said, sitting next to Kylie and across from Ruby. “Thanks for putting me up there.”

      “I keep thinking we need to come up with a name for the meeting space,” Jess said. “‘Meeting space’ is too bland. I’m looking forward to Daphne’s class. I know zip about costume design, so I won’t be one of the students and experts in attendance.”

      “We want to make sure we have at least fifty people,” Ruby said. “Ava thinks we’ll get closer to seventy.”

      Mark shook his head. “It won’t be that many.”

      He was a cut-to-the-chase type, Kylie knew from previous encounters with him. From what she’d seen of Russ Colton so far, she suspected the two of them would get along well. She’d always had the feeling that Mark and Jess looked out for her, alone up the road in her rented house and now at Moss Hill.

      The waitress arrived at their table, and they put in their orders—turkey clubs for Mark and Russ, the tuna melt for Ruby and the house-made broccoli-cheddar soup for both Jess and Kylie. Kylie didn’t trust herself to dive into a club sandwich, given how self-conscious and keyed up she was. It wasn’t just having a private investigator at Moss Hill or the unusual lunch. It was being around this many people at all. She was out of practice.

      “Ava will be here on Friday,” Ruby said. “She’s as excited as I am, but she couldn’t get away from school. A bunch of her theater friends are coming up from New York to see Daphne. Same with my friends in Boston.”

      “Are they staying in the area?” Russ asked.

      “Some. Not many options here in town, but plenty within an easy drive. But we timed the class so people could make it a day trip from New York or Boston. A longer one from New York, obviously, but doable.” Ruby seemed unable to sit still, a bundle of raw energy and nerves. “We are thrilled to have Daphne here. We loved getting to know her better over the winter. I’m dying to see Hollywood and where she lives. She says Ava and I have a standing invitation to visit, but I don’t know if she’s just being polite.”

      “If she said it, she meant it,” Russ said, nothing casual about him as he watched Ruby fidget and squirm.

      Ruby turned to Mark. “How’s everything at Moss Hill?”

      “Fine. Why?”

      But she swung around to Russ. “No problems with your apartment?”

      His eyes narrowed on her. “None.”

      “That’s good,” Ruby said half under her breath. “Good, good.”

      Jess, seated at the far end of the table, leaned forward. “Is something on your mind, Ruby?”

      She didn’t respond at once. She took a breath and fixed her gaze on Russ. “We could have a situation brewing with Saturday.”

      Kylie went still. Was this why she was invited to lunch? She felt a subtle change in Russ as he studied Ruby. “What kind of situation?” he asked.

      “Problems with codes, permits, fire extinguishers. I don’t know. Not my area of expertise.”

      “Problems at Moss Hill, you mean?” Jess asked, clearly shocked.

      Ruby nodded. “My mother says someone is spreading rumors around town about possible safety violations and cut corners.”

      Mark bristled visibly. “There are no problems at Moss Hill.”

      Jess gasped. “Who is spreading these rumors? Has anyone said anything directly to your mother?”

      “You know Mom,” Ruby said. “If a blade of grass has a complaint