A First Love to Die For

Chapter Twenty-Five- Worth Mentioning

(Josie's POV)

The whole drive over to Addy and Liam's, Hailey positively vibrated with her excitement. I had barely put the car in park, and she was running up their front stairs and I couldn't help but laugh at her enthusiasm.

Addy had started working for my Dad soon after High School and now was his head bartender and manager. She helped to take care of my dad, making sure he wasn't working too hard. She was also a big conspirator in getting Hailey and Gabriel together.  Liam had always been one of Gabriel's best friends and was now his business partner. The two of them getting together had brought Addy into our life and she had stayed there as a wonderful permanent fixture.

We walked right in and Addy called us out to the sunroom where she was feeding Stella. As she finished, Addy immediately passed her right into Hailey's arms. My friend looked perfectly at home with baby Stella cuddling to sleep against her. Hailey's eyes teared up as she looked down at the sleeping infant. I really hoped that Gabriel and Hailey got everything that they were trying for.

We left the two of them snuggled up on the sunroom porch and I went in to help Addy get the coffee. We chatted comfortably as we put away the food that Hailey had brought and dished up muffins and coffee.

I had always loved how Addy rocked a variety of styles. She altered her hair like a lot of people changed clothes. Yet, no matter what colour she had chosen on any particular day, it looked good. Right now, she was rocking some wild purple streaks. They matched the purple yoga pants she had on to a tee. I gave her a nudge. "It's hard to believe that you just had a baby. You look phenomenal."

Her smile was beaming, and she wiped a couple of tears. "Oh my god, I swear I'm so god damned happy, but I can't stop crying."

I laughed and gave her a hug. "It's really nice to see you."

Her happy grin faltered, "Same. But I wish you weren't home for all of this."

I was feeling the exact same way. As she poured her coffee, she explained, "I have been wracking my brain trying to remember what Candy could be talking about. I've seen all the girls on the news and am certain that they were all in at the brewery at some point. They looked super familiar. But I honestly couldn't tell you dates or time periods. We do good business and the last few years have been a little bit of a blur."

She paused and said, "The only things that popped up was that I know for a fact that they partied with Candy and Stephie and at least one of them was bothered by Harold. It doesn't even feel worth mentioning but you know how he gets a couple of drinks and can linger over a conversation that really isn't welcome. At least one of those girls had me redirect him back to his bar. Maybe more but that's not unheard of with him. It never goes any farther than a quiet word for him to go back to his own seat."

She was rambling, obviously feeling guilty to be mentioning any of it at all. I put my hand on hers. "Thanks for thinking about it. That's exactly what I needed to hear. Just anything that you might remember."

She hesitated, "I don't know this for sure and it just feels like straight-up gossip, but I could have sworn that one of them hooked up with Sam Taylor."

"As in Lincoln's Deputy, Sam?"

She nodded, "I think so. The ladies love him."

That I could see, he was good-looking and seemed like a good guy. I definitely saw the attraction, but why hadn't he mentioned it?

She didn't have anything else to share so we walked back with the coffee. Hailey had her nose pressed to Stella's little head. "How do babies always smell so god damned good?" She shifted for me to have a sniff and I laughed and again felt that guilt at the fact that I was enjoying these parts of being home immensely.