Caelyn pulled into a spot at the back of the parking lot, but I paused before climbing out. “Call Parker and then me if anything out of the ordinary happens. Anything at all. Better to be too cautious.”

“I will, oh overprotective giant.”

My eyes narrowed on her. “I think the term giant is reserved for Mia.”

Caelyn grinned. “Fair enough. I’ll see you a little after five.”

“See you then.”

We climbed out of the SUV, and I waited until she was safely inside the store before heading for my truck. I stopped just shy of the driver’s side door and glanced across the street. My gaze caught on Ford and his friend, Crosby. I made a split-second decision and crossed to them.

Crosby wore a wide grin. “Did you just get out of Caelyn’s SUV? At eight in the morning?”

It took me a second to get the insinuation. But Ford beat me to any retort. He slapped Crosby on the back of the head. “Not cool, man.”

“It’s not what you think.” The back of my neck itched, and I fought the urge to rub it. “Caelyn ran into some trouble yesterday. I was just looking out for her and the kids.”

All traces of humor fled from Crosby’s face. “What kind of trouble?”

I knew that Caelyn hadn’t had time to fill in her friends regarding what had happened, but I also knew that when she did, she’d likely downplay the entire thing. I wanted the people around her, especially those who worked nearby, to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. “Someone left a threatening note on her SUV yesterday.”

“What the hell?” Ford muttered.

“Her mom just got paroled, so Parker thinks it might be her. But unless fingerprints come back on the note, we won’t know for sure.”

Ford’s eyes widened. “Chrissy got paroled? She was supposed to have years left on her sentence.”

I grimaced, thinking of how much it had hurt Caelyn and Will to know she wasn’t serving her full sentence. “Overcrowding and good behavior, I guess.”

Crosby let out a low whistle. “What can we do?”

“You’re both close. Keep an eye out. Maybe find reasons to drop by the store more than usual?” Ford’s bar was just across the street from the store, and Crosby’s law office was right next door, so it wasn’t out of the norm for either of them to frequent the shop. I could only hope that Caelyn wouldn’t catch on to being looked after. I glanced at the empty parking lot across Main Street. “I hate that she’s there alone for most of the day right now.”

Ford nodded. “That’ll change in a couple of weeks. Tourist season is already picking up. Old Man Walters will get her some help soon.”