Free Island Refuge (Wildflower B&B Romance Book 1) by Kimberly Rose Johnson Page A

right. Right now, he had something more pressing.
     
    ****
     
    Z OE REFILLED HER coffee mug and sat in the spot Nick vacated. Irked didn’t even come close to describing how she felt. She took a gulp of the brew and rested the mug between her hands. A cool breeze fluttered the white curtains hanging from the kitchen window, making her grateful for the warmth of the cup. She should probably close it, but she enjoyed the scent of the flowers and fresh air.
    She sipped her coffee. Perhaps Nick was right about Rachel. Zoe certainly had trust issues and it wouldn’t be the first time she’d been wrong about a person. She swirled the coffee around in the mug and stood. Time to find out the truth. She was done waiting around for Nick. She’d confront Rachel herself.
    She poured a second cup, grabbed the plate of cookies she’d prepared for afternoon tea, and placed everything on a tray, then trekked up to Rachel’s room. Standing before Rachel’s door, she took a bracing breath then tapped a friendly beat on the door.
    “Come in.”
    Rachel sat at the table beside the bay window. “Hi, Zoe.”
    “If you don’t mind I thought we could both use some girl-talk. I brought treats.” She raised the tray slightly.
    “Looks delicious.” She stood and cleared the tabletop. “Come join me. That’s really nice of you to think of me. I have to admit I’m more than a little surprised you want to chat.”
    Zoe swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. She hadn’t meant to deceive Rachel. Maybe she should come right out and state her real purpose for being here.
    Rachel motioned to the space she’d cleared. “The view here is amazing. When I look at the Sound I forget about all my problems.”
    Zoe placed the tray in the center of the table and claimed her mug, then reached for a peanut butter cookie. “ You have problems?” She tried to soften the words with a smile.
    “Excuse me?” Rachel stopped mid-reach for a cookie with confusion clouding her expression.
    “Sorry. That didn’t come out right. It just seems to me like someone who is able to spend the summer vacationing in a B&B must live a perfect life.”
    “I suppose that’s what it looks like.” Her forehead furrowed. “I guess to an extent that’s exactly what I’m doing, but there is more to me than that.”
    Zoe raised a brow and took a bite from the perfectly crisp cookie.
    “If you must know, I’m here trying to figure out some things. My life took an interesting turn a couple of months ago, and now I need to fulfill a promise and come up with a plan.”
    Zoe rested her elbows on the table holding the mug between her hands. “Sounds mysterious.” But it still didn’t answer why Rachel had been snooping in Zoe’s bedroom.
    Rachel glanced toward the open door and frowned. “Can you keep a secret?”
    “As long as it doesn’t require me to break any laws.”
    “I don’t think you’d be breaking a law, but…”
    Zoe’s heart tripped. Could Rachel be into something illegal? She’d figured she was simply a snoop. Did she really want to get involved? Probably not, but if she could help, she wanted to. “You don’t have to tell me anything, but maybe I can help.”
    “Thanks.” For the next twenty minutes Rachel shared about her recent past and how she was the widow of the prior owners’ son. “Right before Jason died he made me promise to do something for him.” She looked toward the open door and lowered her voice. “This is where my story touches the gray area of legality.”
    Zoe couldn’t take much more shock. Not only was the girl pregnant, but a widow. She reached across the table and squeezed the younger woman’s hand. “You don’t have to tell me. You’ve been through enough already.” Guilt at her prior assumptions about Rachel weighed her down.
    “No. I need to tell someone. It’s driving me crazy. Jason, my husband, asked me to find a ring he stole as a child. It belonged to his grandmother, and he wants me to