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  LAST CHANCE COUNTY BOOK THREE

  Lisa Phillips

  Copyright 2020 Lisa Phillips

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Publisher Lisa Phillips

  Cover design Ryan Schwarz

  Edited by www.jenwieber.com

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Epilogue

  One

  “Eleanor!”

  Everything in her screamed, ambush, a half second before she was engulfed in French perfume and cashmere.

  Ellie gave the woman a squeeze. “Ruby.”

  “It’s so good to see you again, hon.” The older woman’s skin shimmered like glitter. She did her makeup like a pro, and her white hair had been trimmed to a pixie cut. Ruby had been working the same style since she’d taught Ellie’s fourth grade Sunday school class. Ellie had to admit, it really did work.

  “You, too.”

  “Smile a bit,” Ruby said, “and I might actually believe it.”

  “I never could pull one over on you.”

  “Can’t kid a kidder.”

  Someone at the far end of the coffee shop called out, “Sugar free vanilla soy latte with whip.”

  “Ooh, that’s me!” Ruby retrieved her paper cup from the end of the counter.

  Ellie glanced from the elderly woman’s red skinny jeans and white sweater, to her own flats and skirt with her most comfortable jacket. When Ruby came back over, Ellie pushed her glasses up her nose.

  “What brought you back to town this time?”

  Ellie said, “Meeting with the lawyer. We’re going over grandad’s will this time.”

  Her last trip to Last Chance had been for the funeral. She hadn’t even stayed overnight. This time she’d be here for a long weekend, enough to help her younger sister go through their grandfather’s things.

  “And your mama? Is she still…”

  Ellie didn’t want to get into that. “She wasn’t able to get the time off work.”

  “I see.”

  Yes, Ruby probably did. Ellie tried to smile. She moved back to the map on the wall she’d been looking at before the ambush hug.

  “The Founders’ Map.”

  Ellie glanced over, her frown enough of a question.

  “That’s the first map of Last Chance. From the year the town started.” Ruby pointed to the copyright in the corner. July 4th, 1975.

  “It’s fascinating.”

  Ruby nodded. “Long before I came to town, but I read all about it in a series the newspaper put out a few years ago.” She pointed to the foothills. “This whole section of the mountains was deemed safe, and that’s where all the hiking paths are now. The area above that is out of bounds. According to the signage posted.”

  Ellie frowned at her.

  “A couple of friends and I hiked up there.” She leaned close like she was telling a secret. “We didn’t see anything dangerous. It was fine.”

  “Oh.” She wasn’t sure what to say.

  Ellie’s gaze strayed to the bookshelf below the framed picture. A dozen or so books, all used, by the look of them, had slid sideways. In the middle was a thick tome about the Civil War. When Freemen Shall Stand had been a runaway bestseller, written by Professor Eleanor Ridgeman. Unless, of course, the reader was one of the hordes of people who’d hated it. Despite sales, people seemed to be pretty much in two camps—they’d either loved it or decried it as an emotionless regurgitation of facts.

  Ellie winced at the sight of it. She hadn’t written a single thing since.

  The same barista called out, “Extra shot, extra-dry, dairy-free cappuccino.”

  “That’s me.” Ellie stepped away from her old Sunday school teacher. “It was nice to see you again, Ruby.”

  By the time Ellie approached the door with her paper cup, the older woman had joined a friend at a table off to the side. She lifted her cup with a parting smile and stepped outside onto busy Main Street. Everything’s fine. Deep breaths.

  She took a sip of coffee. Ouch. Too hot.

  “Your hot tea is gonna be hot, smarty pants.” Her sister strode onto the sidewalk, a thermos she’d brought from home in one hand. Jess, four years younger than Ellie, was dressed in what she referred to as her “church clothes” whatever that meant. She also had her hair in a ponytail.

  Ellie shot her a smile like everything was fine and sidestepped a young woman with a stroller. She glanced over her shoulder at the cars and people passing on the opposite sidewalk.

  Going into the coffee shop for a drink was supposed to have settled her.

  Why did she still feel like she was being watched?

  “You okay, El?”

  “Sure.” She smiled at her sister. “Let’s get to our appointment.”

  They headed down the sidewalk to the office of Holmford and Watts, her grandfather’s lawyer. Where the will would be read. Once she got through the rest of this legal stuff, she wouldn’t have to come to Last Chance again.

  Her sister was Officer Jessica Ridgeman, formerly with the NYPD. Currently an officer with the Last Chance police department. As though moving to a small town and taking a job with a tiny department eight months ago could ever compare to the career of a cop in New York. But their grandfather, the previous police chief, had been terminal.

  Jess was the one who had sat beside his bed those last few months to ensure he had family around him. It had just made the most sense, considering Jess lived here. Ellie lived on the East Coast.

  Now their Grandfather was gone and buried. Ellie was back here long enough to get the paperwork done, help her sister pack the house and deal with the old man’s things, and then she’d be off on sabbatical.

  Write another book, Eleanor. She winced, picturing her boss’s face right in hers. Close enough she could feel his breath. You need to pull your weight, and we need a bestseller for this department.

  Jess glanced at the screen of her phone, then slid it into her back pocket. “As soon as we’re done with Mr. Holmford, I have to get to work. We have a new case and things are starting to get interesting.”

  Even having grown up with a police chief for a grandfather, Ellie still didn’t know what that meant.

  Jess spoke again. “How are things going at the university?”

  “Things are fine,” Ellie said. “Why wouldn’t they be?”

  “If you’d actually breathe, I might believe you mean that.” Jess glanced over again, assessing her.

  Ellie hadn’t liked that “cop” stare when their grandfather did it. She didn’t like it now from her little sister.

  “You get that I’m trained to interrogate p
eople, right?”

  “Criminals. Not your own sister. And we all have the right to remain silent.” Ellie sighed. “Let’s just get to the lawyer’s office and get this done.”

  There had been zero choice in coming back this time, just like there hadn’t been for the funeral. She couldn’t have left her sister to do all this alone. Being back in the old house with her sister felt good, but the memories in and through the rest of town put her on edge. That was the only reason she felt under a microscope.

  Ellie was a history professor. She didn’t know how that science stuff worked, but probably whatever scientists watched that closely—that intimately—knew they were being studied.

  “You think there’s anything in the will? Besides the house, at least.”

  “What about his cabin, or the car?” Ellie took another sip. Hot liquid encountered the burned taste buds on her tongue and she winced.

  Across the street, a man parked in his car watched them pass. It’s nothing, just ignore it. Would she always be suspicious of every man who glanced her way? No. That was no way to live her life. She might have avoided Last Chance for years, but innocent people should never be a source of fear for her. That wouldn’t be fair to someone just trying to live their life.

  Ellie had been targeted specifically by one person—and his friends. But that had been years ago. And it was done now.

  If she was inclined to thank God for anything, she would start with the news report she’d read a few weeks ago. The one that gave her peace. Some, at least. There was no reason for her fear now.

  “Who knows what all there is?” Jess shrugged one shoulder. “But the chief wasn’t exactly hiding anything. You know he never could keep a surprise.”

  Ellie chuckled. “That is true.” The old man had ruined more than one surprise party.

  Their grandfather.

  The police chief.

  Jess had connected with him as a cop and had called him “chief” even in middle school. Ellie had existed at odds with the old man. Her grandfather hadn’t understood her.

  He’d tried to help her when she needed it. But at the time, Ellie couldn’t accept it. Not from him or anyone. She knew he’d felt rejected by that. Life had never given them the opportunity to fix that. They’d exchanged emails for years. Catching up on each other’s news. But they’d never really made amends or worked to deepen their relationship. With Ellie’s book becoming so successful, and then her busy teaching schedule, there just hadn’t been time.

  Ellie felt the burn in her eyes and glanced up at the sky. She slid her sunglasses on so her sister wouldn’t see the sheen of tears. Not that Ellie would cry. She never did. Crying didn’t fix anything, and she wasn’t one to wallow.

  “Thanks for coming.”

  “I know.” Ellie smiled at her sister. “You said that already.”

  Jess shook her head. “What with you being busy and all, I was kind of surprised you came at all, to be honest.”

  Ellie didn’t take offense. She and her sister told the truth to each other, even when it might hurt. It was called honesty and it was key in healthy relationships.

  She said, “I’m glad I came, too.” Not exactly what her sister had said, but she understood the sentiment. “The will is supposed to be read to both of us.”

  Soon as it was done, she would get back to the East Coast and begin figuring out which New Hampshire rental house she was going to live in while she was on sabbatical. Ellie only had six months to research and then write a book about the Vietnam war.

  It had better be juicy, Ridgeman.

  Her department chair wasn’t going to let her ride much longer, writing papers while refusing to “come into the new millennium” as though there was a void in social media that should be filled by academia. As if they should steep that low. It was tantamount to selling themselves in the name of entertainment.

  Still, Ellie had to give him what he wanted or she had to get out. And there was no way she’d let him push her aside. She’d worked hard. For years. Now she was going to make him see how much of a mistake it would be to force her out.

  Ellie pushed all that aside for later and took a closer study of her sister’s face. She seemed over tired. Because of the big new case or their grandfather’s death, or both? Jess had adored their grandfather, which was probably why she’d become a cop. Of course she would deeply grieve the loss of her mentor and the only stable male figure in her life.

  Ellie hadn’t needed him in the same way, but she was still grieving.

  Ellie said, “I’m sorry you lost him.”

  “You lost him too.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  Jess shook her head again. She seemed to do that a lot.

  “It’s hard to suddenly have your mentor gone, a man you looked up to personally and professionally.”

  “It wasn’t sudden, El. He fought a long battle. No one thought he’d last that long. The kind of cancer he had is supposed to take a person quickly. Viciously.” Jess paused. “I actually thought he was waiting for you to come and say goodbye.”

  “You know that was impossible for me, in the middle of the semester.” She touched her sister’s shoulder. “He had you. But that also means you feel the loss more. It’s okay to be upset.”

  Jess said, “I might be comforted, if I thought this conversation was more than an intellectual thought exercise, professor.”

  “I’m not a psychologist.”

  “No, you’re not. Just smarter than everyone in the room at any given moment.”

  “We’re outside.” They were walking along the street in the center of town in broad daylight. Why was Jess comparing the two of them right now? Was Jess more distraught over their grandfather’s death than she’d thought, and trying to deflect?

  Her sister shook her head. “Never mind.” Her attention snagged on something across the street, and Ellie saw Jess’s head turn sharply. Did she see it too? Did Jess feel what she did, that there were eyes on them?

  Ellie spun to see what her sister was looking at. She heard Jess mutter, “Dean” as though the name was a curse word.

  “Who is that?”

  Ellie didn’t recognize a guy with that name from high school. He was about their age, and he was huge. His face…she’d have remembered someone with those features. Dark hair. A strong jaw. The kind of guy who knew exactly the effect he had on women.

  She saw men like him on campus every day, striding past huddles of tittering college girls like they thought they were walking through busy city streets. Heroes off to war.

  “Dean Cartwright.”

  “As in…”

  Jess nodded. “He’s Ted’s disapproving older brother.”

  Ellie glanced over.

  “Yes, we figured out we have that in common.” Jess grinned and nudged Ellie’s shoulder away. “But trust me, he’s way worse. Dean was a Navy SEAL, so of course he has that hero complex all guys like that have. The ‘hop to it’ and ‘yes sir’ stuff, with the hospital corners when you make your bed. Every day. Without fail. Ted’s a computer genius.”

  Ellie nodded as though that topic jump made any sense whatsoever. Her sister’s last email had been all about the police department’s super cute—apparently—tech specialist. Given the handsome level of his brother, she didn’t doubt he was good looking.

  “Dean just can’t stand to see Ted doing anything he doesn’t approve of.”

  “Sounds like grandpa.” Ellie grinned, trying to lighten the mood.

  Jess laughed. “Back in your ‘wild’ days, getting picked up at the golf course at two in the morning, drunk as a skunk, in junior year.”

  Ellie groaned. “Oh, I remember that. Officer Frampton didn’t let me live that down. He made me do the perp walk and everything.”

  Jess was still laughing. “Classic…until you got all weird senior year. Then you never did anything.”

  All the humor she felt dissipated in one fell swoop.

  “Shoot. Sorry, I shouldn’t have m
entioned it.” Jess sighed. “I know something happened. Grandpa never told me what, but you changed. That was obvious.”

  Ellie figured that, given her sister’s experience as a police officer, she might’ve worked out what occurred that Friday night at the home game victory party. She might have been younger, but Jess had never been dumb.

  Ellie stepped off the curb onto the crosswalk.

  “El, watch—”

  Car tires screeched. Ellie gasped, then turned to see a champagne-colored car barreling toward her. She jumped back. Landed on her behind on the street. Her hip glanced off the curb, and her palms slid across the asphalt.

  She cried out.

  Her purse dropped, and the contents dumped everywhere. The car’s engine revved, and they sped up and down the street while Ellie fought to catch her breath and figure out what had just happened.

  “This is Officer Ridgeman. There’s been a hit and run.”

  She twisted to her sister, blinking. Pain rippled through her side, and she cried out. When she touched her hip, it was with bloody hands. She winced, a breath escaping between her pursed lips.

  “Careful.” A figure entered her peripheral.

  Ellie sucked in a breath and twisted, instinct causing her to jerk back from the dark figure.

  “Easy.” Dean Cartwright reached for her. “Let’s take a look at your hands. I’m sure it’s not too bad.”

  Beyond him, Jess frowned down at the former Navy SEAL. Ellie felt his warm hands under hers, cradling them. She yanked her hands from his and shifted back. “I’m fine.”

  “Ma’am—”

  “I don’t need any help.”

  He towered over her. Big shoulders. A disapproving stare, as though she needed more of that in her life.

  Ellie looked at her sister, who took three steps to her and held out a hand. This was going to hurt. She grabbed Jess’s wrist anyway and let her sibling pull her to her feet while Dean Cartwright straightened to his full height. Good grief, he really was huge.

  And still frowning.

  Ellie lifted her chin. Ouch. “We’re good. But thanks anyway.”

  Two

  Dean looked down into her brown eyes and everything just…stopped. Then he remembered the roar of the car engine. Jessica’s cry. The car hadn’t even attempted to slow down.