Caught in the Frame (Ponderosa Pines Cozy Mystery Series Book 3) by ReGina Welling (novel24 .TXT) 📕

turned up dead—murdered by the cuckolded husband of Evan’s most recent paramour. Everyone knew that part of the story—just not that the shadowy figure attempting to play puppet-master with their town had such close ties. Until Remy was caught, EV and Dalton had agreed to put their budding relationship on hold—a decision Chloe thought bordered on the ridiculous. So what if Dalton’s job as deputy meant he had to keep certain bits of evidence from EV? It wasn’t like she told him everything either.

“I have every intention of lending a hand; what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.”

“Lending a hand?” Mindy practically snorted out the words. “You mean meddling in their business.”

Chloe put on her best innocent look—Bambi eyes and all. “It’s done out of love.”

If EV had been completely happy as a vibrant, single woman, Chloe would have let the topic drop. And, until a recently-single Dalton came into the picture, a series of short-term relationships satisfied EV’s occasional craving for companionship. Enter Nate’s partner, the caring Deputy Dalton, and everything changed. For the first time since the disaster of Remy, EV let someone into her life who might just become permanent.

Unfortunately, Remy Vincent still stood between them. Suspecting she was at the heart of his vendetta against Ponderosa Pines, EV had pulled back from the relationship with Dalton. Until all that was laid to rest, they were in a holding pattern. Chloe sighed to herself, hoping silently that everything would work out in the end, and pushed the thought from her mind in order to focus on more pleasant matters

* * *

“G’night, you guys.” Chloe hugged first Veronica, and then Mindy. She watched them for signs of alcohol-induced impairment, saw none, and let them skip down her front steps to begin the short walk back to their own houses.

“Love you!” Veronica called over her shoulder.

Chloe glanced at the clock, which read 1:15 am, thought better of her plan to clean up the mess in her living room at a more reasonable hour, and grabbed the garbage can from the kitchen. The sudden trilling of her cell phone stopped Chloe in her tracks. Veronica and Mindy should be home by now, and who else would be calling at this hour? There was only one option that didn’t have her worrying about the safety of everyone she held dear: Lila.

Her mother’s cheerful “Hello, love” confirmed Chloe’s suspicions that Lila had once again forgotten the time difference between Ponderosa Pines and whatever European country in which she was currently ensconced.

“Hi Mother, is everything okay? You’re aware it’s the wee hours of the morning here, right?”

“Everything is lovely, darling. You know I’m lousy with time conversions. Besides, this couldn’t wait.”

“There’s an app for that.” Chloe could hear the excitement in Lila’s voice, and braced herself for an explanation.

Lila brushed the dry suggestion aside, “Javier proposed! I’m getting married in three weeks, and I want you and EV to come to Ireland and be my bridesmaids!” Chloe’s stomach dropped. Heat born of concern rushed through her veins for a split second before reason won out and cooled the fire. It wasn’t the first time Lila had enamored herself with a new man—most of them unsavory in some way. She seemed to attract men who only saw the shine and the money, but not the perfect heart underneath. But, this was the first time Lila had actually agreed to marry any of them, even though she had been proposed to more times than Chloe could count. You could feed a small country on the accumulated worth of Lila’s rejected engagement rings.

What could this man possibly have that the horde before him had lacked? Chloe wished she hadn’t been so dismissive the last time Lila called; she knew she hadn’t been paying any attention to her mother’s description of Javier, believing that he’d be out of the picture soon enough. Now, she was left wondering what her soon-to-be step-father—Chloe cringed at the word—was like.

“Congratulations, Mom!” she replied brightly. If this was what Lila wanted, Chloe wouldn’t take even one iota of her happiness away. At least not until she had good reason; soon enough, she would be there in person to watch closely and stop her mother from rushing headlong down the path toward disaster. “Of course I’ll come, and I imagine EV isn’t going to miss it either. Do I get a ‘plus one’?”

“You want to bring a date?” Lila’s voice rose an octave, her incredulity evident even from across the Atlantic.

“Nate and I finally worked out our issues. We’re officially a couple, and I think getting away from the prying eyes of everyone in town for a few weeks is just the thing we need. Of course, that is, if Javier doesn’t mind Nate tagging along with him while we’re attending to wedding details.” A plan had already begun to form in her mind. Nate’s assignment would be to spend time assessing the groom, while leaving Chloe and EV free to deal with Lila, and what was sure to be a spectacle of a wedding.

“Well, the sky must be falling. I didn’t want to push the issue with you before, since you’re so freaking sensitive about it, but I hoped you’d figure it out eventually. Of course, bring him along, darling. I’ll overnight vouchers for all three of you. We’re flying out tomorrow ourselves. Come as soon as you can; I can’t wait to see you.”

Bidding her mother goodbye, Chloe took a moment to get over the shock. She shook her head picked up the phone to dial EV’s number before realizing it was now closing in on 2 o’clock in the morning. Though it would be fun to interrupt EV’s sleep for once—her friend had a knack for waking Chloe at the butt-crack of dawn every chance she got—the news could wait until morning.

* * *

“Mom and I stayed there a number of times before. Castle Ligean is simply amazing—more a resort than