Maddie got the information she needed about the ferry, but it hadn’t been easy with Connor standing there. As promised, he didn’t talk much but that made it worse. The North kid, her contact in the ferry office, barely twenty and the paranoid type, kept glancing at Connor while they talked. She finally gave up and said he was her bodyguard, which was only a little lie. She feared Connor would take that role seriously and she’d never have a minute of peace on Whitaker again.

Now they were inside, where it was warm. Late breakfast patrons sat in tables around the Lodge’s dining room. It looked like a lot of people got a late start today, but Maddie knew better. She didn’t venture out often, or hadn’t until recently, but every time she did this happened.

This was the eavesdropping crowd. They lingered and pretended to eat, all while watching every move Connor made. An unsettling amount of staring.

Sylvia stood on the other side of the bar at one end of the dining room. Her gaze traveled from Connor to Maddie, who both sat on stools, not saying a word.

“You two are glaring at each other.” Sylvia put two cups of coffee on the bar, one in front of each of them. “Keep that up and people will think you ran off and got married.”

Maddie ignored the comment as she reached for the sugar packets and decided she needed two to get through this morning. The paper ripped and she searched for a spoon, which ended when Connor held one in front of her face. He even managed to make that seem snotty.

“I’m trying to think of a nice way of telling Connor to back off.” She stirred, then clanged the spoon against the side of her mug for emphasis.

Connor didn’t seem upset by her words. He stayed slouched over his mug with his elbows resting on the edge of the bar. “She means—”

“The notes. I get it. Those would make anyone twitchy.” Sylvia sighed as she poured herself a cup of coffee to match theirs. “My guess is you’re suffocating her with much-needed, but likely a bit stifling, protection duty.”

“Wait.” Maddie lost hold of the spoon and it thudded against the counter. “How do you know about the notes?”

“Oh, that.” Sylvia drew out the answer by taking a sip first. “Ben.”

For a guy everyone trusted, he sure did like to chat about secrets. Good to know. “Did he put it in the paper?”