Caught in the Frame Read Free Page B

fairy dust over every blade of grass, every tree branch. When the sun broke through the scud of high clouds, it turned the world into a white, glittering glory that both dazzled the eye and made her thankful she had decided to walk.
    Her town, Ponderosa Pines, was a place of beauty in every season. Well, maybe not mud season—the two or three weeks when spring thaw turned rich soil wet and sloppy. Right now, on the cusp of winter, these days where the town lay under a coating of sparkling ice crystals always touched something in her. She’d traveled plenty, but had yet to find any view comparable to watching the seasons dress this small town in colors from spring greens so tender they made her jaw ache, to today’s diamond-dressed white.
    Honestly, the timing for this trip couldn’t have been worse. After two months of relative chaos, her life still wasn’t completely back to normal—and wouldn’t be until the investigation into Remy Vincent’s activities was finally concluded. What he had hoped to gain with his blackmail scheme, she couldn’t understand. Most crimes, according to every good mystery book, were committed for one of three reasons; love, money, or revenge. On that point, EV fully concurred.
    Of the three, love was the wild card, often intertwined with the other two. Given Remy’s extended absence, money had seemed the most likely motivator until a thorough investigation proved none of the three parties involved—Gilmore, Ponderosa Pines, or Remy—stood to gain anything in a monetary sense.
    Boasting just over the minimum number of residents to qualify for town status, some 560 souls called Ponderosa Pines home. That number included pets and farm animals. From its humble beginnings as a commune in the sixties, one thing never changed—the dedication of every resident to living gently on the land. By town charter, each home or business must be constructed using a portion of recycled materials, and must also satisfy elevated codes for energy efficiency.
    To the novice eye, homes built from alternative means—cordwood, rammed earth, straw bales, recycled tires, and even underground bunkers—looked like a crazy collection of rustic backwoods junk. However, underneath the town’s simple exterior beat the heart of innovation. Cutting edge solar and wind technology powered the entire town with plenty to spare, but not enough to become a cash cow worth exploiting.
    That left revenge. On a whole town, though?
    Pondering that question, EV hit the end of the trail. A quick glance showed Dalton’s truck in its customary spot in front of the small office he currently shared with Nate. She’d forgotten about him. Now that Chloe and Nate had finally gotten out of their own way and become an item, he was the weakest link in the gossip chain to Dalton.
    In the rush to get this whole thing over with, EV stepped into the office without preamble. She’d no more than cleared the door when a triangle of folded paper bounced off her chest. Startled, she looked up to see sheepish grins mirrored on the faces of two grown men who’d been playing paper football during their working day.
    “Don’t let me interrupt the playoffs,” her gaze fell on Dalton. “I can see this is more important than answering your phone.”
    The size of the office left little room for guest seating; EV was too keyed up to sit anyway, so she remained just inside the door, shifting from one foot to the other.
    Dalton reached over to pluck a rice-filled plastic zipper bag from the shelf next to his desk. He shook the bag to reveal his phone amid the white grains. “My phone got wet.” From the way his eyes landed everywhere but on hers, she assumed there was a longer, and probably unflattering story to go along with the bald statement.
    He didn’t offer details, so she blurted out in a rush, “I wanted to tell you I’m going to Lila’s wedding. I’m sure Nate already told you.” She glowered at the man in question, “but I wanted you