Hemingway & IPA Read online

  “Wow,” Noelle breathed. “I’m not back in town for two days and someone gets killed. What are the odds on that?”

  “Well, at least that adorable Jackson Blackwell might be able to get his tasting room now. We all knew it would be good for the town, but Mark was always standing in his way.” She leaned closer to Noelle. “I always thought he was jealous. Jackson’s such a cutie and Mark…well…not so much.”

  The two women chatted for a few more minutes and Noelle promised that the two of them would set up a dinner soon so they could catch up some more.

  After Genevieve left, Noelle found herself wanting to talk to someone about Mark’s murder, but the only person who came to mind was Jess. She picked up her cell and found Jess’s contact number. She answered on the first ring.

  “Hello?” She sounded like she’d been crying.

  “Jess? You okay?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Jess sniffled. “I’m sorry. I just…did you hear about Mark Dingwell?”

  “Genevieve Russell just came in and told me,” Noelle said. “I can’t believe it.”

  “Me neither,” Jess said. “I’m sorry I’m so upset, I just…someone dying so young like that? It’s terrible. It had to be an accident, right?”

  “Well, we don’t really know what happened yet,” Noelle reminded her. “It could definitely have been an accident. You know what happens when people go out in the woods with guns.”

  “I hope so.” Jess didn’t seem so sure. “I mean, not that that would make it any better, he’d still be dead. But at least it wouldn’t mean….”

  They both let that statement hang in the air.

  “Hey, what are you doing right now?” Noelle asked brightly. “You want to meet at the Dilly for a drink?”

  “Uh…sure!” Jess sniffed again, but her voice seemed lighter as she accepted the invitation. “Just let me fix my face a little. Twenty minutes?”

  “See you then.”

  Chapter 4

  Noelle

  “Ugh,” Noelle said, putting a hand to her head. “I should not have had that third beer last night.” What started out as a drink with Jess and some girl time had turned into an entire evening of bad pool playing, lots of fried food, and plenty of chatting. Though Noelle had repeatedly tried to turn the conversation to Jess to learn more about her new friend, Jess had kept finding ways to focus on Noelle. She’d even gone so far as to suggest her moving back to town might mean another chance for her and Jackson. After three beers, Noelle had been just tipsy enough to regale Jess with her recollection of the fateful prom night ten years before.

  “There is no way on God’s green earth I would ever subject myself to that again,” she clearly recalled saying to Jess, her hand on her heart. She cringed at the spectacle she must have made of her herself. I definitely need to lay off the Bootstrap.

  Kellen, who had been pacing the bookstore trying to get some remodeling inspiration, gave her a wide grin. “Lightweight. I would have thought the big city had increased your tolerance, not the other way around.”

  “I’m just not used to drinking three beers on a Sunday night,” Noelle told him. “Besides, I think there’s something about Jackson’s IPAs that isn’t normal.”

  “You mean other than the nine percent alcohol content?” Kellen asked innocently.

  “Nine percent? Well no wonder I feel like crap!” A normal beer hovered around the three or four percent mark, which means she’d effectively downed the equivalent of a six pack.

  “Yep, he’s not messing around with that one.” Kellen had stopped in the second room and was looking around at the walls. “Do you think this room is kind of wasted? I mean, you’re in the reading room. The first room is where customers are greeted. But this room…well it’s just a lot of books.”

  Noelle joined him. “It’s a bookstore, Kel. A room full of books is kind of the whole point.”

  “Yeah, but it’s boring,” he said. “What if we brought in food? We could make this room the dining area. Or a bunch of games? We could have poker tournaments?”

  Noelle sighed. “We don’t have a kitchen, so I don’t think the food idea will work. And doesn’t the Dilly have poker tournaments every week? Why would people come here to play when they can have food and drinks there?”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Kellen looked deflated. “We have to do something, NoNo. This place is…tired.”

  “Well, hello there Kane siblings!”

  Noelle turned at the sound of Jackson’s voice. Why did he feel like he had the right to barge in on them whenever he felt like it? He obviously hadn’t changed at all since his high school days when he thought he was king of the world.

  “Come to buy a book?” Noelle asked drily. “I believe there’s a Danielle Steel in the back with your name on it.”

  “No romance for me, Ms. Kane,” he said with a wink. “I’m more of an adventure man.”

  “My dad was a huge Tom Clancy fan,” Kellen said, pointing to one of the bookshelves. “He made my mom carry every single book the man wrote.”

  “Hmmm, interesting.” Jackson ran his fingers over the spines of the novels before pulling out The Hunt for Red October. “I’ve seen this movie. Is the book better?” He looked up and met Noelle’s eyes.

  How can those eyes still make my heart skip a beat? She thought angrily. The last thing in the world she needed was for Jackson Blackwell to come back into her life. “I haven’t read it,” she told him. “A little too…hyper-masculine for my tastes. But I’m sure it would be perfect for you.”

  Clearly sensing the tension, Kellen grabbed the book out of Jackson’s hands and said, “I’ll wrap it up for you, on the house, okay? Just make sure you tell lots of people that Manchester Books is going to be remodeling and offering new services and that they should check us out.”

  “What kind of new services?” Jackson asked.

  “We’re still trying to decide,” Noelle told him. “I’m sure we’ll come up with something soon.”

  “You know I’ve been looking for a place for my tasting room, right?” Jackson asked, accepting the bag with the novel in it from Kellen. “What would you think about putting that in here?”

  “I thought you couldn’t get it by the city council?” Noelle asked, then realized that Mark Dingwell’s death could have changed all of that. How convenient for Jackson, she couldn’t help but think. The only thing standing in the way of his new venture is found dead in the woods.

  “I bet it goes through now,” Kellen said, his face breaking into a smile. “The rest of the council seemed to be for it and now that….” His smile faded. “I mean, not that anyone is glad Mark is dead or anything.” He gave Noelle a look that clearly said I’m sure plenty of people are glad he’s dead and one of them is standing right in front of us.

  Jackson cleared his throat. “Well, I’ll wait a respectable amount of time, of course, before I approach the council again. But I think my odds are much better now. Why don’t you think about it, okay?” He held up the bag. “I’ll come back in after I finish this and maybe we can talk?”

  Noelle turned to her brother after Jackson had walked out the door, telling them he’d see them next week. “What was that? Why does he keep coming in here? I have serious doubts he’s a big reader, especially since Mom never mentioned once that he’d stopped into the shop over the years.”

  “Who cares why he came in?” Kellen asked, pacing around the room in excitement. “NoNo, can you imagine having the tasting room in here? It’s perfect! Everyone loves his beers and I hear people talk all the time about how they want a location in town! We could make money off the beer and we could sell them books while they’re here!”

  “Do you really think book readers and beer drinkers are the same people?” Noelle asked skeptically.

  “You are,” Kellen pointed out. “Dad was. And aren’t you always saying that if you could just get people exposed to the right books, you could turn them into readers? At least, that’s what you thought
before you went off to the big city.” He sidled up to her and poked her in the ribs. “C’mon, don’t tell me that your misadventures in KC took away your idealism.”

  That’s exactly what happened, Noelle thought. Nothing ruins your illusions about books like working for the publishing industry. “I don’t know, Kellen. It just seems like a…strange fit.”

  “Think about it, okay? I have to get back to the ranch. All those cows aren’t going to feed themselves.” He pulled on his jacket. “You going to be home for dinner? Rex was sad you didn’t make it for his feast last night and plans on making up for it.”

  Noelle put a hand to her stomach, which was still unsettled from her night out. “I’m hoping I’ll get my appetite back by then.”

  “Oh, just wait until you walk in the door! There’s something about sizzling grease and carbs that will get your stomach growling. I’ve probably gained ten pounds since Rex moved in.”

  “Yep, you’re seriously obese. Better watch it or all the girls will stop mooning over you wherever you go.”

  “Nah, not worried about that.” Kellen winked at her. “Dinner’s at six, okay? And why don’t you stop at the store and get a six-pack of Bootstrap?” He grinned when Noelle let out a groan of misery by way of reply.

  ***

  Knowing her brother as well as she did, Noelle showed up that evening with two six-packs instead of one. She’d decided to try out some different offerings from Bootstrap on the off chance that bringing a tasting room into the bookstore moved forward.

  “Sandhills Shandy and Lasso Lager,” Rex said appreciatively when she set them on the kitchen counter. “These will go perfect with my entrée.” He gave Noelle a hug and she couldn’t help but think how much he’d changed since high school.

  She remembered Rex as a clumsy kid with a bad case of acne. He’d always followed her brother around like a puppy, though, and in true Kellen fashion, her brother had never treated him with anything but respect.

  Now he’d grown into those long limbs and his skin had completely cleared. He was a solidly built six-footer with sandy hair and piercing blue eyes and his new career as a police officer had given him a level of confidence she never would have thought possible.

  “What’re we having, Rex?” Kellen asked, coming out of the bathroom in a puff of steam. Dressed only in his bathrobe, he rubbed his wet hair with a towel and whistled when he spotted the beer on the counter. “Nice choices, sis.” He grabbed a lager and popped the top, taking a big pull and letting out a sigh. “Now that’s good beer.”

  “I made tater tot casserole,” Rex said proudly, pulling a large glass dish out of the oven. “My mom’s special recipe!”

  Noelle chuckled. She didn’t know what she’d been picturing when her brother had said Rex was a great cook, but it sure hadn’t been tator tot casserole. However, considering that Rex was a small-town boy who had probably never heard of pate or braised Brussels sprouts, it made total sense.

  “I don’t think I’ve had a casserole since I graduated from high school,” Noelle told him.

  Rex looked a little hurt. “You don’t like them? I could make something else?”

  “Of course not,” she said, swatting his arm playfully. “I think tonight is the perfect night for a good casserole! I’ve missed them.”

  His face relaxed into its normal expression of an easy smile. “Good! I also made rolls and got some salad.” He grabbed a bag of iceberg lettuce—what passed for ‘salad’ in western Nebraska—and plopped it on the table. “Dorothy Lynch dressing okay with everyone?”

  After being persuaded by his sister to put on some pants and a t-shirt, Kellen joined them at the kitchen table and they passed around the food.

  “Anything new on the Dingwell case?” Kellen asked, taking three huge scoops of casserole and placing two rolls and a small portion of lettuce on his plate.

  Rex shook his head. “We’re all kind of baffled,” he admitted. “Some still think it might be a hunting accident. You know those happen enough around here, so it’s what everyone assumed in the beginning.”

  “Do you think otherwise?” Noelle asked, taking a small bite of casserole. When she tasted how good it was, she quickly took another. This was comfort food at its finest.

  “Well, he was wearing bright orange and we determined time of death was four pm, so it was broad daylight. Also, the wound was centered directly around his heart. Who accidentally shoots someone right in the heart? But stranger things have happened. Until we get more evidence that a crime has been committed, we have to treat it like an accidental death.”

  Kellen took a long drink of his beer, deep in thought. After a few minutes during which he shoveled in his entire helping of casserole and got seconds, he said, “There’s a lot of people in this town who didn’t like the guy. If this does end up being a murder, you sure have your work cut out for you.”

  Noelle’s mind immediately went to Jackson and she replayed their earlier conversation in her head. If there’s one person who would benefit the most from Mark’s death, it would probably be Jackson, she thought. But just because Jackson Blackwell was an arrogant jerk, that didn’t make him a killer. Or did it?

  Chapter 5

  Noelle

  “Did you hear the news?” Jess walked in the doors of Manchester Books, carrying a bag that clearly contained something delicious if the smell was any indication. It was almost a week after their impromptu drinking session at the Dilly, and Noelle hadn’t heard much from her since. She wondered if Jess had been tending to her own hangover all week.

  Noelle looked up from the book she was reading and blinked. “Oh, hi Jess!” After another fruitless morning of wondering how she could remodel the store, she’d given up and lost herself in Love in the Time of Cholera. It was one of the books she intended to display on her ‘new classics’ shelf after she’d finished it. She’d also decided to dedicate a wall to award-winners in the past five years and separate book cases to display featured famous authors. Choosing books to sell was the easy part. Figuring out how to get the people in to actually buy them was another matter altogether.

  Jess set the bag on the table. “I hope you don’t mind, but I grabbed lunch from the Dilly for both of us? I kind of needed someone to chat with and I thought you might’ve been so busy remodeling you’d forget to eat.” She looked around at the complete lack of remodeling that had been done, then down at the book that was still open in front of her. “Or something like that?” she added, looking embarrassed.

  Noelle glanced at her watch. It was 11:30 on a Saturday. She hadn’t forgotten to eat lunch. In fact, it was her habit to not even think about lunch until at least noon and, back in Kansas City, she often wouldn’t actually eat until two or three in the afternoon. “That’s really nice of you,” she said, marking her place in the book and closing it. “I was just starting to feel my stomach rumble!”

  Jess broke out in a relieved smile. She’d clearly taken a chance in coming without an invitation and Noelle knew that it probably wasn’t something the woman normally did. “I got you a burger and fries,” she said, pulling out a Styrofoam container and setting in on the table. “The usual for me.” She opened the second container to display a limp-looking salad. “The Dilly really needs to get some more appealing options for people on a diet.”

  “So what’s the news you were talking about?” Noelle asked as they both sat down at the table and started eating.

  Jess swallowed, took a sip of the diet soda she’d brought along, and said, “The city council held an impromptu meeting this morning to discuss the status of Jackson Blackwell’s application for a tasting room in town.”

  Noelle raised her eyebrows. “Well, that was quick,” she said, surprised. Mark had only been dead a week and the city council was already moving on?

  “Well, Nancy Finnegan is on the council,” Jess said, color starting to creep into her cheeks.

  “Who’s Nancy Finnegan?”

  “You don’t know?” Jess’s color deepen
ed. “She owns the antique store on Franklin Street. The Brass Ostrich? Sometimes my high school kids refer to it as the BO.” She giggled a little, then quickly shut it down when she saw the expectant look on Noelle’s face. She leaned closer and said in a half-whisper, “Lots of people think she has something going on with Jackson.”

  “Like what kind of something going on?” Noelle asked, but then immediately regretted her words when she saw Jess look away uncomfortably. “Oh. That sort of something.”

  Jess nodded. “It’s just a rumor, I’ve certainly never seen them together. But Nancy is married, so if they’re having a…fling…then I guess they wouldn’t be flaunting it in public.”

  Noelle tried to swallow her mouthful of burger, but it had turned gluey in her mouth. Really, Jackson? A married woman? Finally getting the bite down with the help of a sip of Diet Pepsi, she said, “So, what did the council decide?”

  “They’re giving it to him. Just one stipulation: he has to choose a location that’s zoned for bar use.”

  Well, there goes the idea of putting it in here, Noelle thought, then wondered why she was disappointed. Did you really want to see Jackson every day you walked in here?

  “Of course, that could mean anything,” Jess added. “Those zoning laws haven’t been touched since they were set in the early 1900s. Who knows how this town is zoned.”

  “Huh.” Noelle prevented herself from making any more comments by stuffing her mouth with burger.

  “I guess Jackson will figure it out?” Jess picked at her salad before finally taking a bite of chicken. When Noelle only replied with a nod, she cleared her throat and said, “So you’re still staying with Kellen?”

  Noelle swallowed and said, “Yep. I guess I should start looking for something soon. He’s moving into our parents’ house and I just don’t think I can stay there. You happen to know of anything for rent?”

  A sly smile spread over Jess’s face. “Well, funny you should ask…I was actually going to see if you might be interested in being roomies for a while? Just until you can find a place of your own? I’ve been rattling around in that house by myself for a while now and it would be nice to have company. I was thinking of putting the room up for rent in the paper, but I’d much rather you take it.”