Blurb:

She built a peaceful life. But something dangerous slipped inside.

Emily Harper thought she’d left the chaos behind when she opened Serenity Spa in quiet Beaver Creek. But her sense of safety unravels the night she finds a woman’s body in the locker room. The death isn’t random—and someone brought darkness into her world with purpose.

Deputy Sheriff Adam Sadler never planned on staying tangled in anyone’s life, but protecting Emily becomes more than just part of the job. She’s strong, guarded, and caught in something far more calculated than it seems.

As suspicion spreads and the danger creeps closer, Adam must decide if he’s willing to risk everything—including his heart—for a woman who may already be in the crosshairs.

Chapter 1

The comforting scent of lavender and eucalyptus greeted Emily Harper as she unlocked the front door of Serenity Spa. The polished wooden floors gleamed in the early morning light. Soft harp music played in the background. Everything looked just the way it should.

Peaceful. Welcoming. Safe.

She needed that illusion of calm almost as much as her clients did.

Emily let out a long sigh, rolled her shoulders and smiled. For once, things were almost going her way. The spa was hers. Business was steady.

And she had a boyfriend.

Emily laughed to herself. Boyfriend. Was that even a word adults even used today? What else could she call Adam Sadler? Deputy Dreamboat? Lover extraordinaire? Her significant other? Boy toy?

Nah, now she was just being silly.

Boyfriend would have to do.

“Morning, Emily,” called out Morgan Tate, her bubbly receptionist and one of the few original team members who hadn’t jumped ship—yet. She leaned over the front desk, holding a smoothie in one hand. “It’s your lucky day. Yoga this morning and afternoon plus back-to-back massages in between.”

Emily placed her tote bag down and took the offered drink. “I’ll take lucky any day. Did the towels finish drying?”

“Folded, fluffed and put away.”

Emily grinned. “Thanks. You’re a lifesaver. One less thing I must worry about.”

She unlocked her office and the drawer she kept her purse in. Then ducked into the staff locker room they’d added last winter. It wasn’t fancy, just a row of full-size lockers, a bench and a full-length mirror.

She opened her locker and traded her boots for the comfortable pair of slip-ons she kept inside. On the shelf was a soft headband and a protein bar she kept forgetting to eat. On the hook hung a spare zip-up hoodie and a tote bag. The lockers were deep enough for a small duffel or winter coat. At the time, she’d wanted her staff to feel like they had space, not just a cubby. Now it just felt like one more thing she had to clean.

The first hour passed calmly just the way she liked it. Morning yoga classes were her favorite. Time to stretch out the kinks, breathe deeply and ease into the day.

Then, the first client arrived. Then another. Both left in that post-massage daze she loved watching. The steady flow of business settled her nerves, and she was in her element. The spa was humming. The schedule was full. She should have felt grateful.

But it didn’t quite smooth out the nagging worry she hadn’t managed to shake.

After checking in with her last client, Emily ducked into the break room to refill her water bottle and paused. Two of her newer massage therapists, Lauren and Megan, huddled over their phones whispering.

Like she couldn’t hear them. Like she didn’t know that Aspire Salon & Spa was offering new sign-on bonuses.

Like she didn’t know they were about to jump ship.

As if she hadn’t already lost her cleaning person and three staff members in the past three months to them.

“Everything okay over there?” she asked, keeping her tone light.

Lauren glanced up too quickly. “Oh, hey. We were just checking the weather. Supposed to be heavy rain later.”

“Well, that’s Vermont in the fall for you,” Emily said with a tight smile. “Sunshine in the morning, rain by dinner.”

They laughed a little too quickly, then left the room.

Emily stood alone in the silence.

Aspire had sleek branding, an aggressive social media campaign, a juice bar in the lobby and now bonuses big enough to lure even her most loyal employees.

It wasn’t personal she told herself.

People came and went. Careers changed. Priorities shifted.

Still, she couldn’t compete with places that looked like a luxury resort instead of rural Vermont. Serenity Spa was in an old Victorian house nestled downtown just past the firehouse and Harvest Moon Diner. Quaint, homey and now, maybe a little too quiet.

Although Beaver Creek had been seeing a lot of out-of-towners lately. People who came for the foliage, the art galleries, the small-batch cider and beer, and the farm-to-table dinners.

She could still carve out a niche. Maybe there was still a market for something grounded. Something real.

She just had to hold on long enough to figure out how.

***

The interview for the cleaning position was the last thing Emily had to do before closing. Only one person had applied, and honestly, she was too tired of picking up the slack to be picky. Still, she gave a little prayer that this person would work out.

At six o’clock on the dot, a petite woman in her mid-forties stepped through the door. She wore tailored slacks and a soft gray sweater. Her gray hair was pulled into a tidy low bun.

“Celeste, welcome,” Emily said, offering a smile as she rose. “Thank you for coming in.”

“My pleasure,” the woman replied. “I saw your posting at the coop and took a chance the position was still open. I just moved into town.”

“Well, welcome.” Emily walked into her office and gestured to the chair opposite her desk. “Have a seat. Make yourself comfortable.”

Celeste Miller sat gracefully, folding her hands in her lap. There was something about her. She wasn’t cold. More like restrained, careful, maybe too careful. Emily couldn’t put her finger on it.

Emily ran through the job description, the pay, then asked about prior experience. Celeste answered each question succinctly. She slid a single sheet of paper across the desk with handwritten references from places that Emily didn’t recognize.

Nothing in Montpelier, Barre, Stowe, not even Burlingham or Middleton.

Instead, there were towns called Greenfield Heights and Ridge Hollow.

She frowned. Those didn’t ring any bells.

She glanced up. “Are these places in Vermont?”

Celeste tilted her head slightly. “Oh no. Mostly out of state.” She lifted her hands in a small shrug. “I’ve moved around a bit.”

“Military?”

There was a pause.

Celeste smiled. “Something like that.”

The answer was too smooth. But it wasn’t a deal-breaker. People relocated all the time for work, family, fresh starts. But something about the answer felt vague.

Emily pushed the thought aside. She needed help, and Celeste was the only one answering her ad.

“How long were at your last job?”

Celeste gave her a small smile. “Almost a year. But the owner sold the business. I’ve cleaned private homes and yoga studios before.”

“Good,” Emily nodded. “Then you know what has to be done. The job’s not hard. The hours are eleven to seven weekdays, and eleven to five on Saturday. During the week we close at six, so that gives you time to finish after the clients are gone. Laundry, bathrooms, floors, locker room, wiping down and disinfecting the treatment rooms. On Saturdays, you’ll be out the door at five, same as the rest of the staff.”

Emily leaned back in her chair. “You okay with essential oils? They tend to linger.”

“Scents don’t bother me,” Celeste said. “It’s noise I have trouble with.”

Emily blinked. “Noise?”

Celeste’s eyes met hers. “Big crowds. Busy places. Places where everyone is talking at once. Serenity Spa sounds like the perfect kind of quiet.”

Something about that answer bothered Emily although she couldn’t say why. The words were harmless enough.

Emily cleared her throat. “You’d be working alone most evenings. Well, alone in the spa. I live upstairs, so I’m close if anything comes up. I’ll be walking you through the sanitizing routine first, it’s kind of my thing.”

For a fraction of a second, Celeste’s smile faltered, her eyes flicked toward the ceiling than back at Emily. “I understand,” Celeste smiled. “I’m a bit of a clean freak myself.”

Emily nodded. The woman was polite and a little formal, but she seemed capable. And God only knew, she needed the help.

“Great,” Emily said, standing. “Meet me here tomorrow night at six, if that works for you. I’ll go over everything, and if it sounds like a good fit, you can start on Thursday.”

“I’ll be here.” Celeste rose. “Thank you for the opportunity.”

As Celeste left, Emily watched her get into an older model sedan and drive away. She let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

Please let this work out. Just once.

Still, as she turned and locked the front door, Emily couldn’t shake the unease that settled on her shoulders. She stepped into her office and pulled out the folded sheet of references and made a couple of quick calls. One woman rushed through a vague ‘great employee, she did fine work’ before hanging up. The second rang to voicemail.

It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t quite right, either.

Emily tapped her pen against her desk. Not exactly reassuring, but not bad enough to call the whole thing off. She shoved the paper into a drawer and told herself she’d circle back.

For now, she just needed someone who showed up.