3 Men and a Body by Stephanie Bond Page A

found out.”
    “You haven’t exactly been home for me to tel ,” she
    retorted.
    “What do you think this means?” Wesley asked. “Do you
    think he’s watching us? That he’s going to come home?”
    “Who knows?” she said with a shrug. “I think it would be
    foolish to try to predict his next move. We might not hear
    from him again for another ten years.” She turned back
    around and pushed her finger under the edge of her cast
    to scratch as far as she could reach, her stomach churning
    over whether to tell them about the fingerprints found at
    the hotel in Daytona.
    “He’s proud of me,” Wesley said in wonderment.
    The awe in his voice made her heart ache. No, she
    wouldn’t mention the hotel robbery, she decided. If she
    told Wesley, he’d only want to tag along and complicate
    things. This way she could slip away, and Wesley and Coop
    could entertain each other while she poked around.
    “Of course he’s proud of you,” Coop said, glancing in the
    rearview mirror, then over to her. “Proud of both of you,
    of the way you stuck together. And at least you know he’s
    alive.”
    She smiled and nodded, then looked away. Knowing he
    was alive somehow made the pain sharper. He could’ve
    come back if he’d wanted to. All those years struggling,
    crying, hating…
    Her phone rang again and she rol ed her eyes, thinking it
    was probably Hannah, reminding her that she was being
    ignored. But when she glanced at the display, her stomach
    clenched. P. Ashford. She didn’t feel like answering, but
    considering that Peter had brought Wesley home the
    other night—not to mention the fact that he’d paid for the
    very phone she was holding—taking his call was the least
    she could do.
    “Excuse me,” she murmured, then angled herself away
    from Coop slightly and flipped open the phone. “Hel o?”
    “Carly, it’s Peter.”
    “Hi,” she said brightly, but her voice sounded forced even
    to her own ears. “What’s up?”
    “I cal ed to see how you were feeling.”
    “Oh, I’m fine. Really…fine.”
    “And Wesley?”
    “Fine. He’s fine. We’re both…fine.”
    “It sounds like you’re in a car.”
    She glanced sideways at Coop, then back. “I am.”
    “You’re not driving, are you?”
    “No.” She wet her lips. “Actually, I’m with Dr. Craft.”
    “Who?”
    “Cooper Craft. You’ve met.”
    “The body mover is a doctor?”
    “Yes. He, um, knew I was bored out of my mind, so he, um,
    asked me to ride along…on a business trip.”
    “To pick up a body?”
    “Yes.”
    “He has a weird idea of what constitutes entertainment, in
    my opinion. When wil you be home?”
    “Sunday.”
    “You’re going away with this guy for the entire weekend?”
    “It’s an out-of-state pickup,” she said. “And Wesley’s with
    us.” She felt perturbed at him for asking and even more
    perturbed at herself for trying to make the trip look
    innocent. She sensed Coop straining to decipher the
    conversation.
    “Oh,” Peter said, sounding relieved. “Wel , in that case…”
    He cleared his throat. “I was calling to ask you to go to
    New York with me for the weekend, but I guess I’m too
    late.”
    “New York would’ve been fun,” she said. “Are you going
    up on business?”
    “Yes. I’l be back Monday.”
    “Okay, we’l talk then. Have fun.”
    “I’l be thinking of you,” he said. “Goodbye.”
    “Goodbye.” She disconnected the call, her chest tight with
    worry and confusion. She had feelings for Peter. She’d
    been heartbroken after he’d ended their engagement
    when she’d needed him most. There had been days when
    she thought she might die from missing him. And yet, now
    that he was back in her life and offering her everything she
    thought she’d ever wanted, something held her back. Was
    she stalling simply to make him pay for leaving her all
    those years ago? She glanced sideways at Coop. Or was
    her heart being led down another path?
    “I take it that wasn’t