Sandra Orchard - Fatal Inheritance

“I will. Thank you.”

After seeing his sister out, Josh lifted the lid from a pan of bacon and eggs on the table. “Shall we?”

“Farm-fresh eggs. Mmm. I haven’t had a breakfast like this since the last time I visited Gran and Gramps. Your sister outdid herself.”

Josh spooned out a plateful of scrambled eggs and bacon. “She likes to stay on my good side so I’ll keep her car running.”

“I think you’d do it anyway. You always loved to work on cars.”

“Shh, don’t let her hear you say that.” He raised a jug of OJ. “Juice?”

“Uh, sure.” Suddenly Becki’s insides felt as scrambled as her eggs. To think she was sharing breakfast with Joshua Rayne!

Not only was he more handsome than she remembered; he was as kind as ever. She bet the three-legged dog had been another rescue effort.

She fiddled with her silverware. Obviously the blow to her head had crippled her common sense for her to be thinking up more reasons to still have a crush on the guy. She stabbed at her eggs. It wasn’t as if she would ever be anything more to him than another needy stray.

Her mind flailed about for another topic of conversation. “Funny that I don’t remember you fussing over animals as a teen. That was more my domain.” She struggled to restrain the smile that suddenly tugged at her lips. “Seems to me you were more interested in fussing over my sister.”

He choked on his orange juice.

She batted her eyelashes ever so innocently. “Am I wrong?”

He tipped back his head and laughed. “Nothing got by you.”

Becki shrugged. “If not for you, I doubt Sarah could have stood being away from the malls for two whole months.”

“Not at all like you. You were a farm kid through and through.” Amusement danced in Josh’s green-brown eyes.

The color reminded her of the grassy meadows she’d loved to run through as a child. “No. Not like me.” She shoveled a forkful of eggs into her mouth and then focused on buttering her toast and the non-Joshua reasons she loved being in Serenity. “If Sarah had her way, I wouldn’t stay.”

“These old houses can be a lot of work to upkeep.”

Her butter knife halted midspread. “You don’t think I should stay, either?”

“Not at all. The Becki Graw I remember could do anything she set her mind to.”

“Thank you. That hasn’t changed. So why don’t you tell me about your plan to catch my prowler?”

“Finish up your breakfast, and I’ll show you.”

Becki finished before Josh and started on the dishes.

“Leave those,” he said, tossing the dog his last piece of bacon. “I’ll wash them later.”

“Nonsense. I’ve put you out enough.”

He reached around her and dropped his plate into the soapy water, his outdoorsy scent teasing her nostrils. “No imposition. I enjoyed the company.” He picked up a tea towel and began drying. The graze of his hand as he reached for the mug she’d just rinsed unleashed a flutter of butterflies in her stomach.

Oh, boy. She seriously needed to get over this schoolgirl crush. She’d seen enough failed marriages to know they never lasted.

Marriage? She shook her head. Clearly, no worries there. In Josh’s eyes, she was still little Becki. She let the water out of the sink and pictured her silly girlhood crush swirling down the drain.

Little Becki grew up a long time ago...the day her parents had announced their divorce.

“Okay, let’s go.” She dried her hands on the edge of his towel. “Show me what you plan to do with those cameras. I need to start unpacking.”

He tossed the towel on the back of the chair and reached over her head to hold open the door. Tripod raced past and out ahead of them. “I’ll carry your boxes into the house.”

“No need. I can handle them.”

“You heard what my sister said.” Josh’s stern tone dared her to argue. “No heavy lifting for a few days.” He led the way to the barn, where he stopped and scanned the nearby trees. “I’m going to set up a couple of motion-triggered cameras so if your car thief comes back, we’ll catch him in the act.”

“Then what?”

“I’ll arrest him for trespassing and attempted robbery and whatever else I can think of.”

“Hmm.” She grinned. “Pretty handy having a police officer for a neighbor.”

His expression sobered. “No telling what time of day or night this guy might show up. If I’m not around, call nine-one-one and stay locked in the house. Don’t try to confront him.”

“Don’t you think he’d run off if he realized he’d been spotted?”

“Some guys would just as soon shoot a witness as run away.”

She planted her hands on her hips. “Are you trying to scare me?”

“Prepare you.” Tripod bounded up to them, barking happily. “Maybe we should get you a dog.”

Her heart leaped at the suggestion. “What a great idea. I’ve always wanted one. Maybe a big lovable golden retriever who—”

“The idea is to get a dog that will scare a robber off, not show him to the silver.”

She laughed. “Oh, like Tripod here?”

“Yeah.” Josh tousled the scruff on the dog’s neck. “He’s not what you want.”

“I like him. He’s sweet.”

“Sweet won’t scare away a prowler.” Josh rolled open the barn’s big sliding door. “And you definitely have one. I found a couple of footprints.” He pointed to the dirt-crusted floor. “See those? Too big for your grandparents or you, and the tread pattern doesn’t match anything I wear.”

“You were already over here this morning?”

“The sun rises early.” He winked.

For the first time she noticed dark shadows under his eyes. Had he even gone to sleep last night?

An hour after she’d headed back up to bed the night before, she’d heard the screen door clap shut and figured he was doing another scan of her grandparents’ property. Her property. That trek probably hadn’t been the only one.

A cat bolted from the corner of the barn, and Tripod took off after it.

“Won’t see him for a while.” Josh strode toward the car, which sparkled in the sunlight beaming through the gaps in the boarded walls. “It looks like the guy gave the car a thorough going-over. Both the gear stick and emergency brake lever had been shifted. The toolbox under the seat had been rifled through. Looking for a key, maybe. Best-case scenario, it was a kid playing around.” His tone sounded grim.

“But you don’t think so?”

He shook his head. “I dusted for fingerprints on the door handles, gear shift and steering wheel. They were clean.”

“Clean? As in not even Gramps’s prints were on them?” She failed to keep the wobble out of her voice. No prints meant someone had wiped them away.

“Your grandfather was pretty meticulous about keeping it polished. But kids don’t usually think to wear gloves. Not in the middle of summer.”

She swallowed, forcing calm into her voice this time. “So worst case?” She opened the passenger door, and memories of riding proudly around town with her gramps flooded her thoughts.

“If it’s a professional, he’s got to realize he wouldn’t get far driving this thing out of here before being spotted. So I’m guessing next time, he’ll stash a trailer nearby to drive it into.”

“You really think someone would go to that much trouble?”

Josh raised an eyebrow. “The last Cadillac of this vintage I saw sell at auction went for eighty-five thousand dollars.”

“Are you serious?”

“Trust me.” He buffed a smudge from the hood with a fond smile. “If I could have afforded to buy this car from your grandfather, I would have made him an offer.”

Becki bit her lip. If Sarah found out what the car was worth, she’d demand it be sold for sure.