Worst Laid Plans (A Maddox Storm Mystery Book 1) (26 page)

By rocked up, I meant he was driven up in one of those suburban mommy wagons.

And by bags, I meant two enormous trunks, each the size of a mini U-Haul trailer. Okay, a slight exaggeration, with emphasis on the
slight
.

I set my laptop down behind the railing and stood to watch as Joe and the driver lugged the trunks out from the back of the wagon and deposited them at the foot of the porch steps.

Joe glanced up at me, hair flopping over his brow, tall and lanky and all puppy-dog cute. “Hi, Maddie.”

“Moving in?” I joked.

Turns out, the joke was on me.

“I handed in the keys to the apartment this morning.” He gestured at the larger of the trunks. “That one’s yours.”

“Wait a minute,” I gulped. “You’re not serious! You can’t stay here.”

“The shares you invested here belong to both of us, Maddie, and if you get free Jack Daniels and board, then so do I.” His uncertain smile fractured into a very decided frown. “I have no place else to go.”

“What about your Uncle Marcus?” I demanded.

It was a valid question.

Joe’s parents had died in a car crash when he was twelve and his Uncle Marcus had raised him. His Uncle Marcus also lived in a brownstone in Brooklyn, which was a lot closer to the city than Silver Firs.

“I’m not moving back home with my tail between my legs,” Joe said flatly.

“He’s going to find out sooner or later that your marriage failed and you’re broke.”

“But he doesn’t need to know why.”

My gaze sharpened on him. “Why your marriage failed?”

“Why I’m broke, Maddie.”

Okay, crap. Joe didn’t want to rat me out to Uncle Marcus.

Still, this was ridiculous. “You hate Silver Firs.”

“And as soon as we dump these shares and get our money back, I’m out of here,” Joe assured me.

The driver stood forward, fiddling with the beak of his cap. “Do you need help with your luggage, Sir?”

“Yes, please.” Joe went to take one end of the trunk. “Would you mind getting the door?” he called up to me. “Thanks.”

I didn’t get the door.

Panic set in, rooting me to the spot as I watched the two men heave the larger trunk off the ground.

No, no, no, this hadn’t been part of the plan.

Not that there’d been a plan.

You know what I mean!

… Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this first book in my Maddox Storm Cozy Mystery series. Please don’t forget to give this book a quick review on Amazon if you’re able. Even just a couple of words, “Liked it” or “Not for me” reviews help so much. I’m grateful for all feedback from my readers, good or bad. You can
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If you’d like to find out what happens next in Maddox Storm’s imminent future, book 2 is now available, just
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.

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