Lauren Nichols - On Deadly Ground

Sunday night? The same night someone vandalized Tim’s bulldozer? Could there be a connection? “Tammy, I’m more than a hundred yards off the highway. Unless someone drives down here, or I’m out walking the road, I rarely see anyone. Especially at night.”

“You’d tell me if you had?”

She couldn’t lie. She didn’t involve herself in other people’s business. It was tough enough to handle her own sometimes. “I don’t know.”

Tammy seemed to consider that, then nodded and moved toward her truck. “I checked the camp. Someone was definitely inside since I was there last. Things had been moved around. Maybe it was Joe. But I can’t get past the lie he—” She shook off the rest of it, then opened the door and changed the subject. “If you want pies again this year, give me a call.”

“I do,” Rachel replied. “Let’s go with last year’s weekly numbers—same kinds. Can you deliver them on the Thursday before Memorial Day weekend? I’m not sure what the date is.”

“Absolutely. I’ll make a note of it.” She sent Rachel an apologetic look. “And sorry. I didn’t mean to bother you with my problems.”

Rachel waited until Tammy was gone, then strode back inside to reheat her cold eggs and put Maggie’s on the floor. Her mind spun. Was it Joe Reston she’d seen Sunday night? And should she give that information to Chief Perris? She hadn’t heard that there’d been trouble between Joe and Tim Decker … but then, she hadn’t heard that Joe was wandering again either.

Something else occurred to her. What if she dragged Joe into this and he was innocent of the vandalism but guilty of something else? If he had to supply an alibi and that alibi was female, then Tammy would be hurt. Even though Tammy was an acquaintance, not a close friend, she didn’t want that to happen.

The microwave beeped, and Rachel removed her plate and carried it to the table. She couldn’t make this decision alone. She needed to discuss it with someone she could trust, someone who’d be discreet. She glanced at Maggie. Someone who wasn’t wearing a collar and a fur coat.

Just after five o’clock, Maggie jumped up from her dozing position on the bathhouse floor and bolted for the exit, whining to be let out. A second later, the sound of a familiar truck reached Rachel’s ears. She put down her paintbrush. Apparently, Jake had found the note she’d taped to the camp store telling him where they’d be.

“Okay, girl,” she said, opening the door. “Go to it. I’ll bet he missed you, too.”

The chuckles and yelping outside went on for a half minute while Rachel replaced the paint can’s lid and rinsed her brush. Then Jake came to the door, and she felt that tingle again. She liked the way his collarless knit shirt clung to his shoulders and biceps. Burgundy was definitely his color. It complemented his year-round tan.

“Hi. How did your meeting go?”

He smiled. “Like most of them. Some issues were resolved, others were tabled. Have you had dinner?”

“No, but Maggie and I were thinking about grilling hamburgers. I’m afraid she’s lost that loving feeling for her dog food.”

“No surprise there,” he said, grinning. “She thinks she’s human.” He paused. “Getting back to food, how about something easier than hamburgers?”

Rachel laughed. “Like what? Cold cereal?”

“No, you kept Maggie safe from the boogeyman last night, and I want to thank you with dinner. Nothing fancy, just chicken at the diner and maybe some ice cream for dessert.”

For a long, uneasy moment, Rachel stood silently, a lump in her throat. She wanted to say yes. She did. Jake was a good man, and everything about him lately seemed to make her … react. But somewhere in her mind and heart, the part of her that would always love David still ached when she considered moving on with that “other” aspect of her life.

She was saved from trying to explain when his expression darkened and he got the message.

“Then again,” he said coolly, “maybe dinner in town isn’t a good idea. After all, people would see us together, and they might make assumptions. The way gossip spreads around here, it would take weeks to set everyone straight.” He paused. “We wouldn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea.”

A tidal wave of remorse hit her. “Jake, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. It’s not—” How did she say this without sounding positively horrible? “It’s not as though I don’t want to be seen with you, if that’s what you’re thinking. We’re friends.” But while having coffee or lunch with a vital, good-looking man seemed incidental, having dinner was significant. “I haven’t been to dinner with a man since—” She stopped before she said David’s name and sighed.

She wasn’t totally clueless. She knew something was happening between them, but she also knew that she wasn’t ready yet. “Will you and Maggie stay for hamburgers and macaroni salad?” she asked gently. “I’d really like that. Besides, there’s something I’d like to talk over with you.”

He waited for her to go on.

“Tammy Reston came by to deliver a package this morning and said something that could be important. It might be connected to Tim’s trouble.”

It took Jake so long to reply that she thought he’d refuse. Finally, he nodded and said, “Sure. Maggie and I would like to stay.” But the warmth in his dark eyes seemed to have dimmed at the same rate as the joy in her heart.

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