Redâs arm. âYouâre always so careful.â
Red shrugged. âNo idea. Have to wait till the chief does his investigation.â
Honey shook her head. âWe donât need an investigation to confirm this fire was deliberately set. Three fires in such a short time? Somebodyâs trying to send a message.â
âYou think so?â Crystal said. âIf thatâs true, someone could have been hurt, or even killed. I wouldnât put it past those GMO people who are trying to buy up everybodyâs property. How are Pippin and Mac?â
I realized she was referring to the dogs, named after apple varieties, but before Red or Honey answered, the younger woman joined the small group. âSorry about this, Dad,â she said to Red.
Red acknowledged her comment with a nod, then added, âItâll be all right, Tiffy. Iâll rebuild. Donât you worry about it.â
âYour dadâs right, Tiffany,â Crystal said. âHe bounces back quickly, always has.â She turned to her ex-husband. âIsnât that right, Red?â
I caught Honey rolling her eyes. What was going on between the two older women and Red? Theycould claim they were all on good terms, but at the moment, something festered underneath.
âBy the way, Red, you missed Tiffanyâs maze run-through tonight,â Crystal said. âI just picked her up from the festival site. Did you forget?â
Red glanced at his daughter. âSorry, Tiffy. I got caught up. . . .â He shot a look at Honey, who looked away as soon as their eyes met. âHope it went well.â
âIt was fine.â Tiffany sighed. âMom, Iâm tired. Iâm going back to the car. You coming?â
âIâll be right there,â Crystal said. As soon as her daughter was out of earshot, Crystal turned to her ex-husband. âYou know, Red, just because weâre divorced doesnât mean you donât still have a daughter. You could come by the winery and see her once in a while, or show up at her events, or take her out for lunch sometime. She misses you, especially since you left so abruptly.â Crystal shot a look at Honey.
Red didnât answer, his gaze fixed on the threads of smoke still wafting up from the water-soaked wood.
âThis isnât the time, Crystal,â Honey said sharply. âHis barn just burned down, for Godâs sake. Leave him alone.â
I thought there was going to be a catfight, but instead Crystal pasted a fake smile on her face, gave Redâs arm another squeeze, and headed back to her SUV. She peeled off, her spinning wheels spitting gravel.
Red walked over to talk to one of the firefighters. Honey turned to us and said, âWe should probably be getting on back to the inn. The fireâs out. Not muchmore we can do here, and weâve all got a big weekend ahead.â
Roman, whoâd appeared out of nowhere, added, âI agree. Iâll go find Paula.â
I noticed Paula was still deep in conversation with Adam, the man whoâd alerted Honey to the fire. In spite of their differences in age and personalityâshe was obviously outgoing, while he seemed out of his leagueâthe pair seemed to have hit it off quickly, judging by the way they stood so close to each other as they talked. At one point she put her hand on his arm and his grin widened. I wondered what Roman thought about that.
âPaula!â I heard him call to her.
Paula stopped her conversation and looked around, then spotted Roman and waved. âBe right there!â She pulled out what looked like a business card and handed it to Adam. He took it, smiled, tucked it into his pocket and patted it, then said something I couldnât make out. I didnât need to be an expert at body language to know she was flirting her ass off, though, and he was eating it up. Had she sensed a photojournalistic opportunity in talking with Adam, or was
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