Sour Layer (Bennett Dynasty Book 5) Read online

  An orderly was pushing an elderly woman in Clark’s direction. Her lap was filled with flowers she’d received during her stay, along with a plastic bag of her belongings. An overnight tote was draped across the back of the wheelchair.

  Milly was walking beside them.

  The color on his sister’s face drained when she spotted Clark. Whispering words to the orderly as Clark passed, Milly turned and jogged to catch up with him.

  “What are you doing here, Clark?” Milly asked.

  Her hair had grown since the last time he saw her. Her eyes were as vibrant as ever. He couldn’t totally hate the Bennetts no matter how hard Clark tried, considering his baby sister was married to one.

  “Official business, Milly.”

  She jogged and turned to walk backward in his way as if trying to act like a barrier keeping him from his destination. “Clark, you should leave now. You know what happened last time.”

  “Yep, it’s hard to forget finding out from strangers that my sister and my best friend were not only dating but that he’d knocked you up.”

  She rested her hand on Clark’s chest, and he finally slowed. “That Bennett has a name, and Dexter is your brother-in-law and your best friend, as you pointed out. You both need to grow up.”

  “We may be related in a court of law, but not how it matters,” Clark said, stepping around his sister. “How’s Charlotte? Mom said you brought her by last weekend.”

  “You’d know if you ever came to Sunday dinners,” Milly retorted as Clark pushed the elevator button to the third floor. The elevator doors slid open, and Milly stepped inside with him. “Tell me why you’re here, or I’ll tell Mom what really happened with you and Dexter.”

  Clark jabbed the button until the doors slid closed and it began to move.

  “You’ll know soon enough.” The elevator dinged when it arrived on the third floor. He frowned at Milly as she followed him out of the lift and down the hall toward the nurse’s station. Dexter was wearing his scrubs like he’d just come out of surgery and was behind the desk discussing a chart as they approached.

  Dexter glanced up. A look of confusion clouded his eyes. Clark had seen that look several times in his life. The last time had been when he confronted this Bennett about knocking up his baby sister.

  “What is he doing here?” Dexter asked Milly instead of addressing Clark.

  “Official business is all he’d tell me,” Milly said.

  “You can’t arrest me for marrying your sister, no matter how many times you try,” Dexter said, handing off the chart and rounding the desk.

  “We need to talk someplace in private,” Clark said, lifting a brow in challenge.

  Dexter kissed Milly and took her by the hand, leading her down the hall toward his office.

  Clark clenched his fists, fighting the urge to hit the SOB again. For an entire year Dexter had been dating Milly behind his back. An entire year and neither of them had said a damn word until he’d gotten her pregnant.

  Dexter led them all into his office and shut the door. He didn’t sit. Smart guy. Last time he’d been cornered when he told Clark that he and Milly had run off and gotten married.

  A picture of the happy couple was framed on Dexter’s desk right next to the picture of Milly holding Charlotte swaddled in a pink blanket when she’d been born. Charlotte and Milly were the only things that mattered. They were the reason Clark had driven the distance to see his one-time best friend.

  “What’s this about?”

  “We had a tourist today.”

  “And?” Dexter’s jaw clenched, and his eyes narrowed, but he kept his arms loose by his sides like he had in high school whenever someone was ready to fight.

  “She shares your last name. She’s in town looking for Maxine Bennett’s descendants. I’m here as a courtesy because my sister married your sorry ass and the last thing I want is for Milly and Charlotte to get in the middle of your family-feud drama.”

  “Shit,” Dexter said as he ran a hand through his hair. “What’s her ability, do you know?”

  Clark unzipped his jacket and pulled out the article from his pocket. It was the only article on the internet that he could find on the woman. “This is all the weirdness that I’ve found on Mercy Bennett so far.”

  She’d survived a lightning strike. He handed it to Dexter.

  “From the looks of that, she can manipulate the weather.”

  Milly took the article and scanned it. “Or she’s just very lucky and happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Milly held the paper up. “We need to give her the benefit of the doubt. We don’t know that the other Bennetts are still holding a grudge. It’s been decades, right?” Milly asked, hopefully.

  “I’ll lead her astray. There are half a million people with the last name Bennett. Once she sees that those in town died out, she’ll leave.”

  “I hope you’re right,” Milly said.

  “But if she finds you and your brothers, then you’ll keep my sister and my niece safe, right?”

  “Of course, Clark. Milly is my wife. No one comes before her and Charlotte. Ever. Not even you.”

  “That’s the smartest thing you’ve said to me in years.” Clark opened the door and paused. “I’ll run her off. You warn your brothers she’s here just in case, but don’t come to town. You hear me. I’ll show her the graves and send her on her way.”

  “What if someone in town tells her the truth?” Milly asked, holding her hand to her chest as if to stop her heart from escaping.

  “Everyone in town knows better. They know what they’ll lose, and trust me, the last thing they’ll ever do is run off the only healer in town. They’ll keep the secret, just like they have for centuries.”

  Clark walked out without a backward glance. If Dexter screwed this up, Clark just might have a reason to shoot the bastard this time.

  Chapter 4

  The inn was typical, if typical meant pointy antlers disguised as a dining room chandelier. Old guns and flags hung on the walls with a smattering of other hunting paraphernalia. The sixtyish-year-old woman standing behind the counter looked like a sweet and innocent grandma, and not a closet hunter.

  The laugh and smile lines around her eyes and mouth were defined. Her eyes shined with welcome, and her pink cheeks suggested she’d been out in the cold and just stepped inside.

  “Welcome to the Mountain View Inn. You must be Mercy Bennett.”

  “I am.”

  “Let’s get you checked in, and I’ll show you up to your room,” she said, sliding a sign-in book across the scared wooden registration desk. There were no computers in the room, nothing to suggest this place had any upgrade in the last decade or two.

  I signed my name and slid the book back. “You’ll be in room 2A.” She rounded the corner with a key in her hand, which had a keychain shaped like the mountain attached. “My name is Dorothy. If you need anything during your stay, you’ll find me down here somewhere. Just holler if you need me.”

  Dorothy tried to grab my heavy luggage, but I took it before she could reach for it. If it bothered her that I carried it myself, she didn’t say anything while I followed her up the stairs.

  Packing for cold weather was one thing, but I had no idea what I’d need. Just because I could see potential deaths didn’t mean my fate couldn’t change and I might die of hyperthermia. I saved lives and changed fate all the time.

  If I had to be stuck with this gift, I might as well make it useful.

  My stomach grumbled, filling the silence of the hallway as we walked toward my room. I’d expected peanuts on the plane, only to discover I was the only passenger flying on the six-seater plane.

  Dorothy shoved the key in the lock and turned, walking in ahead of me.

  “I wasn’t sure when you were arriving. I’ll make some fresh coffee and something to snack on. Just come on downstairs when you get settled.”

  “Thank you, but really you don’t have to go to all the trouble. If you’ll just point me
in the direction of the diner…” I said as she handed me the key.

  “Don’t be silly. Hilda Mae’s diner is closed right now. She’s checking her traps, so she’ll be gone for a few hours.”

  I wasn’t sure I wanted to eat in a diner where the owner was rustling up fresh food by catching it.

  Dorothy smiled as she left and gently closed the door behind her.

  I heaved my bag onto the bed before stripping off my coat and hanging it in the closet. The room was warm, where I’d expected it to be cold. The cozy space was inviting, bigger than I’d expected. The furnishings were from hard wood and not particleboard, and the spacious bathroom came equipped with a see-through bag of unopened toiletries sitting on the sink. Crisp white towels hung on the racks, and hanging on the back of the bathroom door was a robe.

  I eased the curtain back to look out the only window in the room. Picturesque snow-covered mountains stood in the distance. The street below was in need of another pass by the plow. The lights were out on the diner across the way. A closed sign hung on the door.

  Why would Maxine Bennett settle in this town? What was the draw? Maybe if I found the missing line one of them could tell me what the appeal was because I surely wasn’t seeing it.

  The curtain slipped free, and I unpacked a few of my things. Jeans, sweaters, and thermals rounded out my wardrobe. I wouldn’t need much more.

  My stomach growled again, and I headed for the door. While I wanted to explore the town, I couldn’t expect the sheriff to play taxi driver. He was smart and curious. Staying away from him was going to be paramount.

  “Dorothy,” I called out as I hit the ground floor.

  “In here, dear,” she called back, and I followed her voice into a den-like area. Flames flickered in a hearth. The warm room was soothing and decorated with more of a woman’s touch than where the guests checked in. Several framed pictures sat on the mantel. Colorful vases of flowers sat at each end. The sofa and seating weren’t arranged around a TV or other entertainment; they were focused in the direction of the picturesque floor-to-ceiling window overlooking Main Street and the mountains beyond.

  “Come in, dear. Have some coffee and something to eat.”

  I smiled at the woman and took one of the coffee cups. After doctoring it with the cream and sugar she’d laid out I noted, “It’s very pretty here but awfully cold.”

  “Yes, it is. Probably even more so when you finally meet the locals. I’m afraid they don’t take too kindly to strangers.”

  “I’ve gathered that. The sheriff is already suspicious of me.”

  “He won’t be the only one, Ms. Bennett.” She smiled and sighed. “So, what brings you to these parts?”

  “That seems to be the question of the day.” I sipped my coffee, watching the woman over the rim before I answered. She had a sharpness about her. One of those women that made you feel at ease but was always aware of her surroundings. “Research and looking to connect with some relatives that went missing from the family tree.”

  “Oh. Well, I guess that’s a noble cause. Family is important, but if they’re missing, then how do you know they’re still living and didn’t just die out?” she asked and handed me a napkin to use for the cucumber sandwich plate she’d set out.

  “We don’t know. Officially anyway, so that’s why I’m here. We traced her to this town.”

  “How did you trace her to this town?” the keen woman asked.

  That was an answer I couldn’t provide. My sisters and I didn’t share details about our family secrets and abilities. If the Bennetts were somehow still in town, I wasn’t going to be the one to oust them.

  “I’m not totally sure. One of my sisters discovered a connection. That’s why I’m here.”

  “You have sisters? Why didn’t they come along?”

  “They’re preparing for my sister’s wedding. They had to stay and help.”

  “Ah.” She smiled sweetly. “So, you’re either the expendable one, or you volunteered to get out of wedding duty.”

  Yep, Dorothy was one smart cookie.

  A smile was my only answer before I took a bite of the sandwich. I wasn’t expecting it to be delicious, and before I knew it, I had scarfed down three before coming up for air to find Dorothy leaning back in her seat watching me with a satisfied look on her face.

  “Sorry,” I said, covering my mouth with my hand. “I grew up eating these, and yours are just as good as my grandmother’s.”

  “I’m glad you like them. My kids hated them growing up. They’d rather go to bed without dinner than be forced to eat anything green.”

  “They missed out,” I said and took another sip of my coffee to wash down the remnants. “So, have you lived around here long?”

  Her eyes sparkled as if that question had made her day. It probably had. If this town didn’t get many visitors, I could only imagine it was a lonely place to live if everyone already knew everyone’s business.

  “My family was among the first settlers in this valley.”

  “Wow,” I said, setting my plate on the table. “Then maybe you know what happened to the Bennetts?”

  “I do.” Dorothy rose. “To hear my momma tell it, they were an interesting lot that kept mostly to themselves back in the day. They lived up on the mountain and came down into town from time to time.”

  My gaze turned to the window again, landing on the mound of snow packed among the boulders just beyond the shops across the street. “Any idea where I can find them?”

  Dorothy’s eye twitched, and she took my plate. “It’s best to check the graveyard or with a historian, although I’m not sure how much they’ll be able to help.”

  “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t important,” I said, rising and picking up both coffee cups and following behind Dorothy into the kitchen.

  The kitchen had a restaurant-quality stove. The smell of apple pie drifted in the room. There were two sitting on the counter. She caught me looking at them and grinned.

  “I cook everything else but the pies. I have them delivered daily. The baker down the street leaves them on my doorstep. Our community is close like that, and thank goodness, because I never mastered the art of desserts.”

  “Why two? You don’t seem to have many guests staying here.”

  She smiled. “Friends stop by to chat during the day knowing that I’ll share and the second pie we eat after dinner.”

  She set the plate into the sink and took the coffee cups from me. “So, why is it so important you find the remaining Bennetts? Have you ever considered they don’t want to be found?”

  This woman knew more than what she was telling me. I could feel it in my soul. My intuition was spot on and I could always feel a lie. There was something about the way someone lying spoke, what they said and what they didn’t.

  “An FBI agent contacted my family with tales of a missing girl. When he showed us the picture, it looked just like our sister, Talia.”

  “What does that have to do with the Bennetts up here?”

  “My sister is dead. She died decades ago when she was just a kid. It wasn’t until we found out that two of the Bennetts were twins that we discovered there still might be a Bennett that needs our help. Look, we just want to find the missing part of our puzzle and offer assistance to the Bennett that may need our help.”

  “Do you have a picture?” she asked.

  I pulled out my phone and opened the pictures to show Dorothy. “This is the girl who would could be a twin to my dead sister. The FBI has been searching and is worried something might have happened to her, and frankly so are we.”

  I spotted the recognition in the woman’s eyes. The way her lips turned down into a frown the second she saw the picture. There was a change in the air. The hesitation that hadn’t been there before now felt more like apprehension. “Why is the FBI worried and looking for her?”

  “She was part of one of their programs and then just disappeared without a trace. It was out of character for her not to tell someo
ne.”

  Dorothy crossed her arm over her chest. “What if she just wanted to leave?”

  I held up my hands. “I’m not here to talk her into going back. I’m just here to make sure she’s not in trouble. Regardless of whether she’s part of my Bennett line or not. I help people. It’s what my sisters and I do.”

  “Prove it. Show me your ability,” Dorothy said, dropping her arms to her side and resting her fists on her hips.

  Chapter 5

  “What makes you think that I have any abilities?” I asked.

  “Save it,” she said, dismissing me and walking out of the room.

  I followed like she was the candy man hoarding all the sweets.

  “You’re an outsider, Ms. Bennett. The locals aren’t going to trust you until someone vouches for you, so if you’re really worried about that girl whose picture is on your phone, then you’ll show me what it is you can do.”

  “You personally know the Bennetts if you know they have special…talents.”

  She grabbed a coat off of a rack by the door and tossed me a spare one. “Put that on and come with me.”

  She hauled a shovel from the closet, and I followed the woman out the door. The brisk breeze stabbed my face like pointy icicles. We walked for four blocks down Main Street. People shopping in the stores paused and stared out the windows at us.

  When she led me out of the suburban-style neighborhood and into the woods behind them, I slowed my step. I wasn’t dying here. If I were, I’d sense it, right? “You aren’t going to kill me and bury my body, are you?”

  “That depends on your intentions,” she said as she shoved through a clearing and stopped.

  I paused next to her. There was an outcrop of tombstones just inside an iron gate with a stone angel standing guard. A sign on the gate stated that trespassers would be shot. A small white chapel crowded against the cast iron fence bordering the plots. The icy wind whistled through the pine boughs surrounding the chapel.

  “You are going to kill me,” I whispered.