Willow in Bloom by Victoria Pade

stranger, even if the stranger was the person who had set fire to the town hall and broken into the newspaper office.
    But what could she say?
    â€œI guess there doesn’t seem to be any way out of it,” she said in an unenthusiastic voice.
    Bram waited for them to come to him, standing beside his patrol car, one fist on each hip and his eyes narrowing on Tyler as they approached.
    â€œHi.” Willow greeted him without enthusiasm.
    â€œHey, Will,” her brother answered, suspicion ringing in his tone as he looked from Tyler to her and back again.
    â€œTyler, this is my oldest brother, Bram. Bram, thisis Tyler Chadwick. He just moved into the old Harris place.”
    Tyler held out his hand.
    But Bram didn’t rush to take it.
    Willow had seen the tactic before. It was a way her brothers let someone she introduced to them know they weren’t being immediately accepted, and that they’d better realize the fact.
    Not until Tyler might have been considering withdrawing his hand, did Bram actually shake it.
    â€œTyler,” he said.
    â€œNice to meet you,” Tyler responded, in what surely must have been a lie.
    â€œBeen to the carnival?” Bram asked then, the question sounding as if it were for Willow, though his eyes were still leveled on Tyler.
    â€œAs a matter of fact, we were,” Willow said, biting back a Sherlock Holmes gibe because she didn’t want to make this situation worse than it was.
    In fact, in an attempt to ease some of the tension in any way she could, she said, “That guy you were just with looked like the man you were talking about earlier. The one who’s asking about us. Was that him?”
    After another long moment, Bram finally took his sights off Tyler. But then, as if he were really seeing Willow for the first time, he didn’t answer her question. Instead, surprise registered in the arch of his brows and the widening of his eyes.
    â€œWell, look at you,” he said, without any approval whatsoever in his tone.
    And Willow suddenly felt as if she’d forgotten to put on any clothes at all.
    But she wasn’t about to let that show, so she said, “Thanks,” purposely misconstruing the comment as a compliment, and pretending to take it in stride. She hoped Tyler wouldn’t realize her brother couldn’t believe she was dressed differently than Bram had ever seen her before. Plus she’d learned from experience that not making a big deal out of something one of her brothers was trying to goad her about was the best way to handle it.
    Bram gave her the same hard stare he’d given Tyler, but Willow ignored it and reminded him of what she’d asked before. “The guy you had pulled over? Is he the stranger in town?”
    Bram shot Tyler another sideways glance. “Apparently not the only one.”
    â€œTyler isn’t a stranger in town. He’s a new resident. And the only thing he’s been asking about is opening an account at the store.”
    â€œSo you’re the one Carl told me about. You and Willow had dinner last night, didn’t you?”
    â€œWe did,” Tyler confirmed readily. And to Willow’s amazement he only sounded amused by this whole thing. He was completely undaunted by her brother. He stood his ground like a rock.
    Which might or might not make things harder for him, Willow knew.
    So once more she attempted to get her brother’sattention refocused. “The other guy, Bram,” she reminded him a second time. “Who was he?”
    After another pause, Bram slid his gaze back to her. “His name is Kenny Randolph. I was out looking for the trailer I’d heard someone was staying in, like I told you, and I spotted the rental car, too. He was just getting in it, so I thought I’d follow him, see what he was up to.”
    â€œAnd what was he up to?”
    â€œNothing much. He drove around awhile, then went to the carnival. I pulled him over when