Free PassionsPoison by Lexi Post Page A

are you working
so late?”
    She didn’t answer him, but he could hear her talking to
someone else. Was that a male voice? She had moved on already?
    “Hi, I’m sorry, Jared needed to know what he should do now
that the bridal reception had consumed all their preordered wine, but I guess
you don’t really care about that, do you?”
    He relaxed. What an idiot he was for jumping to the
worst-case scenario. “I don’t know. It could be interesting.”
    She chuckled. “Trust me, it’s not. But it’s been very busy
here and the Larsens are out of town so I’m handling all three inns. I guess
it’s good experience. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself. Still, I’m
looking forward to their return.”
    He paced to the end of the porch. “When will that be?”
    “Tomorrow morning, thank God. I swear, as soon as I fill
them in on what they missed, I’m crawling into my own bed for a long sleep.”
    A sinking feeling grabbed hold of his gut. “Oh, so I guess
getting together tomorrow wouldn’t be good for you.”
    “I’m sorry, Zach. Tomorrow evening I promised my mom I’d
come for dinner.”
    He nodded to a couple of guys as they passed him to enter
the bar. “Well, you shouldn’t disappoint your mom. I don’t want her to have a
bad impression of me.”
    “Are you kidding? My mom would love you. Actually…”
    The silence lasted too long. Zach checked his phone. Did he
lose the signal? Wouldn’t be the first time among the hills, but nope, he still
had service. “Bea? Actually what?”
    “If you like, you could come with me. That is if you want. I
can’t guarantee it will be comfortable, but it will be interesting.”
    His heart skipped a beat. Meet her mom? This girl moved
fast. Was he reading too much into this? “Sure, I’d be happy to. Where does she
live?” Hell, what was he thinking?
    “She lives in Wrenborough, that’s right in between us, so
why don’t I meet you? Let’s say the Wrenborough Depot at five?”
    Zach leaned against one of the porch posts. “I can do that.
But why do you say the evening will be interesting?” She didn’t answer, but he
could hear someone else speaking to her, this time a female.
    She brought her attention back to him. “Trust me, it’s
always interesting because I never know which father will be there. Listen, I
have to run. See you tomorrow.”
    “Okay.”
    She ended the call.
    Zach clipped his phone back on his belt and shook his head.
She didn’t say “which father” did she?
    Striding back into the bar, he found Josh chewing contently
on moose balls. Zach picked up the basket with two balls left. “Mind if I have
some?”
    Josh shook his head. “Nope, I’m full.”
    Zach took a swallow of beer and popped the two balls into
his mouth. The tangy taste of pineapple and seasoned moose meat glided across
his tongue. A few more would have been nice. He gave Josh a disgruntled look.
    Josh ignored it. “Did you talk to Mystery Woman?”
    “Yeah, I’m going to see her tomorrow night.”
    Josh slammed his hand on the bar. “See, what’d I tell ya?
I’m a genius.”
    Zach shook his head. “I think your Harvard degree already
made that clear, Josh, but thanks for the nudge. What do you say we hit another
place? It’s the least I can do. We need to find you a mystery woman too.”
    Josh polished off his beer. “Yeah, good luck with that.”
    * * * * *
    Bea plopped onto the office chair and closed her eyes. She
opened one to check the time. Three in the morning. Technically tomorrow, but
she couldn’t rest until the Larsens returned.
    The evening had gone perfectly for all the guests and
special occasions, but for the staff, it had been tough. She must be managing
the business incorrectly. That or she’d been lucky to land a crazy night.
Either way, she’d done it.
    Sitting up, she opened her eyes and looked at the desk
filled with paper and started to organize. She found the day’s mail under a
band contract for an event next week and