Maddie was absolutely dumbfounded. “I don’t understand.”
Hannah took pity on her new friend. It was obvious she was completely out of her depth. If Alicia was trying to test her and see if she was running her own hype, she had her answer. That didn’t mean Hannah would continue to let her browbeat Maddie. “Can you show us this forum?”
Alicia bobbed her head. “Absolutely. I have it bookmarked.” She pulled her tablet out of her bag. With a few deft finger movements, she pulled up a website and handed over the tablet.
Nick accepted the device and started reading. He was convinced that there had to be some sort of explanation, maybe a mistake, but he was barely two paragraphs in when he realized Alicia was right. “Um, Mad ... .”
“No way.” Maddie’s cheeks flushed with color as she snagged the tablet and looked for herself. She furrowed her brow as she scanned the text. “It doesn’t mention my name.”
“No,” Alicia agreed. “It does call you the ‘Blonde Avenger’ and ‘the most fearsome psychic to ever roam the land,’ though. It also mentions your hunky husband, although it refers to him as your fiancé on the page, so that makes me think you weren’t married when it was last updated.”
“Listen to this,” Cooper supplied, reading over Maddie’s shoulder. “The devastatingly beautiful Blackstone Bay Avenger has saved the lives of everyone in town ten times over. She has a heart of gold, a stiff spine, and strength that makes mere mortals envious.”
“That is a load of crap,” Maddie huffed. “I ... that ... I can’t even.”
Cooper continued reading. Surprisingly, he found he was enjoying himself. “With her trusty assortment of sidekicks — the best being her grandmother, who should be a superhero in her own right — the Blackstone Bay Avenger makes sure that crime really doesn’t pay. Be very afraid.”
Maddie froze, her eyes zooming back to the tablet. “Wait ... .”
“Oh, geez.” Nick reclaimed the tablet before Maddie could start reading. “It’s Maude. She’s the one who started the forum.”
Hannah’s eyes went wide. “Your grandmother did that?”
Frustration bubbled up and grabbed Maddie by the throat. “I can’t believe she did this. She knows I don’t want ... this. Why would she do this?”
“Calm down,” Nick chided. He was more resigned now than furious. “She probably thought nobody would read it. It’s not as if she named you.”
“The grandmother thing is a dead giveaway,” Maddie snapped. “Anyone who knows her will realize who she’s talking about.”
“Yes, but anybody who knows her will most likely realize she’s also full of crap ... or bourbon,” Nick countered. “Everybody in Blackstone Bay is well aware that Maude and her Pink Ladies spend their afternoons drinking tea — which is basically bourbon with a teabag dunked in to make it look good — and terrorizing Harriet. Nobody is going to believe this.”
“She did.” Maddie jabbed her finger in Alicia’s direction. “She obviously thinks it’s true.”
“To be fair, I assumed you sanctioned this page,” Alicia admitted. She was much more relaxed now, which Cooper found interesting. “I figured you were another attention seeker like Velma. Now I realize you’re not.”
“No, she’s not,” Nick agreed on a sigh. “Her grandmother, however, is ... something else.”
“She’s a pain in the butt,” Maddie hissed. “I’m totally going to take her computer away when we get home.”
“Yeah. That should work.” Nick rolled his eyes. “I’ll talk to her.”
“Oh, because that will work.” Maddie was beside herself as she flicked her eyes to the window. She was so angry, she was convinced she actually saw her grandmother on the other side of the glass, shading her eyes so she could look inside the building. “I’m just so ... furious. I’m even seeing her.”
“You’re seeing her?” Nick, amused despite himself, turned to stare in the direction Maddie was fixated ... and his mouth dropped open. “Oh, crap. I’m seeing her, too.”
“That old woman?” Cooper pointed. “I think everybody sees her.”
“Oh, geez.” Maddie hopped to shaky feet and screeched. “Granny!”
MAUDE WAS INDEED IN CASPER CREEK. She explained that she hopped on the first flight out of Traverse City when she realized her granddaughter needed her. Since she had plenty in savings — it’s not as if she paid rent since she lived in Maddie’s house — the cost of a last-minute flight wasn’t prohibitive.
“I need a drink,” she announced as she dropped her oversized duffle bag on the saloon floor and surveyed her surroundings.
“Absolutely.” Hannah automatically climbed to her feet. “What can I get you?”
“Um ... I’ll take an iced tea, and if a bit of your best bourbon made its way in I wouldn’t argue.”
Maddie scalded her grandmother with a dark glare. “Don’t even think about it,” she hissed, furious.
Maude rolled her eyes. “I’m on vacation. It’s perfectly okay to day drink when you’re on vacation.”
“What’s your excuse the other three hundred and fifty days a year?” Nick queried.
Maude pinned him with a quelling look. “What’s your problem? I would think you’d be in a good mood. You’ve had Maddie to yourself for days at this point.”
“And now you’re here,” Nick grumbled.
“Oh, knock it off.” Maude lightly cuffed the back of his head. She was fond of the boy, and then some, but he was morose at times and it drove her crazy. “It’s not as if I’m staying with you guys. I already booked my room and it’s nowhere near where you’re staying.”
“But it’s at the same hotel, right?” Nick’s agitation was obvious. “I would feel better if we were at least close so you don’t ... do what you normally do.”
“Whatever.” Maude wasn’t about to let anyone dampen her enthusiasm. “So ... when can I fire a gun?”
Cooper choked on the iced tea he was drinking. “Excuse me?” he sputtered.
“A gun.” Maude refused to be deterred. “This is a town
