by Jody Holford
He grabbed the salt and her hand, pulling her out of the kitchen. “Maybe I shouldn’t let you out of my sight at all.”
She laughed at his gruff tone, pushing down the swoony feeling his words inspired. “Maybe you shouldn’t.”
He spun, backing her up to the wall, pressing against her, one hand coming to her hip. He dipped his head, kissed her. Hard. She gripped his shirt, clenching her fingers in the fabric. When he pulled back, his gaze was dark.
“I wouldn’t be okay if something happened to you.”
Touching her hand to his jaw, she stared at him, waited for his heartbeat to settle under her other palm. “I’m okay. We need to get back.”
When they rejoined the group, the conversation stalled momentarily, but Alicia was oblivious to any tension. She batted her false eyelashes at Sam, and Molly hated the jealousy that prickled her skin.
“Sam, what do you do?” Alicia asked.
“I own an auto shop.” He gave Alicia a brief glance, then focused on his dinner.
Molly was still looking at Alicia, so she saw the way the woman’s nose scrunched up.
“Oh. That’s…um…that’s hard work,” she said.
Katherine smothered a laugh by picking up her water and taking a drink.
“Molly, you said you spoke to the police?” Ed asked, his tone sharp.
She stared at him, shocked he’d bring it up again. Sam glared at him, and she put a hand over his. “I did. I’ve got a formal statement I can share with you, but they don’t have any solid leads yet.”
Ed thumped his hand on the table, startling everyone.
Sam sat straighter and glared at him. “You’re going to want to cool your temper. Or you’ll have a serious problem. Thought I’d made that clear.”
Ed glared at Sam, neither of them breaking eye contact, but after a few seconds the reporter’s hand relaxed, and he offered a stiff smile. “Sorry. I just get so angry when these fantastic small-town police stations don’t have the resources to solve crimes. It’s a shame, really. Because I’m sure that top-notch police officers are just flocking to this little mecca of happiness. With all that brain power, you’d think they’d be able to find a killer prancing around right in front of them.” He swung an arm out as he spoke, his volume raising.
Sam set his fork and knife down, pushed his plate forward, and folded his forearms on the table. “You either check your attitude now and assure me you can do so for the foreseeable future, or I’ll introduce you to the Britton Bay Police Department personally. I’m more than happy to have Detective Beatty drop by and show you how smart he is. How capable he is of spotting a bad apple when he sees one.”
Molly slipped a hand onto Sam’s thigh under the table, giving him a reassuring squeeze. She didn’t blame him for being upset or protective. Katherine was staying in the house alone with these people. For the first time, Molly wondered what kind of background checks she did on her guests.
“Eddie, calm down,” Amber whispered.
“I wouldn’t mind meeting a detective. That job sounds exciting,” Alicia said. She tore a bun in two pieces and took a tiny bite.
Ed set both hands on the table. “I apologize.” He looked at Katherine. “Amber has been my closest friend since we were children. I guess I’m not handling things as well as I should be. I’m worried about my friend. I just want her to have closure and be able to move on with her life.”
Molly had a few guesses about how he hoped Amber did just that.
Katherine nodded. “While I can understand and appreciate how you feel, for your friend and about the situation, that’ll be the last outburst you have in my home or I will personally escort you out of it.”
A grin so wide it made Molly’s cheeks ache bloomed. She loved Sam’s mom. Sam smiled, pleased with his mom.
Ed pushed back from the table. “I assure you, there’ll be nothing to worry about. I’m going to retire to my room. Molly. Sam. Thank you for dinner, Katherine,” he said, even though he’d hardly eaten any.
He tossed his napkin on the table and walked out of the room. Amber stared after him. “He really loved Jet, too. They got along great. I didn’t realize he was hurting so bad.” She stood up, crumpling her napkin and tossing it on her plate. “Thanks for dinner. I’m just going to go check on him.”
Alicia sighed and leaned back in her seat as Amber rushed off. “My sister is never boring. I’ll give her that. So, Sam, do you have any single friends? From the sound of things, I’m going to be in town longer than I’d like.”
The three of them stared at Alicia until she grinned sheepishly and excused herself from the table.
Sam rose, collected the plates, took them into the kitchen, and came back a minute later.
He leaned over the table, pressing his palms flat, looking at his mom. “I don’t like you staying here with them.”
Katherine smiled, patted her son’s hand. “I’m a big girl, honey.”
“That guy could be a killer. So could the widow. You don’t know them. And I don’t trust him.” He rose up and pointed after him, his mouth angry. It was strange to see him like this when he was always so even-tempered.
Love, affection, and loyalty pushed people to behave in ways that weren’t necessarily typical. Not everyone, but a lot of people would go to great lengths to do something in the name of love or protection.
“I promise, Sam. I’m fine.”
“He might be right, Katherine. I really don’t trust Ed.”
Sam gave her a smile of appreciation. “See?”
Katherine rose from her chair and looked down at the table. Taking a deep breath, she looked at Sam. “You really don’t need to worry. Turns out you and Brandon have something in common. Neither of you want me alone with unknown guests. He’s been staying here, and he’ll be back in about an hour to do so again tonight.”
Molly pulled her lip between her teeth and watched Sam process that information.
He ran a hand through his hair and held the back of his neck. “I don’t like that either.”
Katherine grinned, but Molly managed to bite down on her laugh.
“As I said, honey, I’m a big girl. Come help me dish up dessert. We don’t even have to share it now.”
Sam shook his head, sent Molly a frustrated glance, and followed his mom. While they were in the kitchen, Molly pushed the other chairs in around the table, gathered up the water glasses, and was about to carry them into the other room when her phone rang in her purse.
Setting the glasses down, she pulled her phone from the pocket of her hoodie. It was a text from Sarah. Molly frowned when she saw what it said.
Sarah
Paint spilled over one of the tables, rags used and in wash-up sink.
Molly tapped out a reply quickly.
Molly
Do you have cameras?
Sarah
No. I’ll look into it. Honestly, I didn’t think I’d need them.
Molly understood that thinking, but considering they were knee-deep in another murder, maybe more businesses should consider installing security cameras.
Molly
Did you talk to Chris?
Sarah sent the little monkey emoji with his eyes closed. Sighing, her thumbs hovering over her screen, she thought about how to convince her friend to talk to her police officer boyfriend, who would be very able to help.
Molly
What if you had something more concrete?
Sarah
Like what?
Sam and Katherine came back into the room. Molly glanced up and sent them a smile, but it must have fallen short because Sam asked if she was okay.
“Sorry. Just texting Sarah back.”
“No worries, dear.” Katherine set the dessert down in front of her, and Molly sat, finishing the text.
Molly
Like you saw someone? Could point the finger somewhere rather than just thinking things were getting moved around in the shop?
Sarah
…
I guess. Yes. I would.
Molly
Okay. I’ll text you later.
She set her phone down and smiled at Sam, who was watching her.
“Everything okay?”
She picked up her spoon and scooped up a bite of something delicious and full of chocolate.
“Oh, my. Put things like this in front of me, and I’m more than okay.”
Sam and Katherine laughed. The telephone on the buffet beside the dining table rang.
Katherine rose to answer it, and Molly stared, then looked at Sam. “I did not even notice that phone before. I didn’t think anyone still had house phones.”
He scooped up a bite of dessert. “It’s for the guests to contact her from their rooms.”
“Of course. I’ll bring that right up.” Katherine hung up and turned back to the table.
“I need to make some tea. Would you like any?” Her face gave away nothing.
Sam glanced at Molly, and she shook her head. “We’re good, Mom. We should probably get going after this anyway.”
“Okay. Back in a minute.”
“They’re really pushing things, huh?”
Sam’s eyes darkened as he stared down the hall where his mother had disappeared. “I still think this a lot for her. She’s doing too much.”
Slipping her hand over his, she waited until he looked into her eyes. “She probably thinks the same of you when you schedule too many brake jobs.”
Sam turned his hand over, linking their fingers. “You know I do more than brake jobs, right?”
Molly laughed. “Of course. Just don’t ask me to name anything.”
When he held her gaze, she leaned in and said, “Remember our first sort of date?”
His head tipped to one side, and his gaze shifted from enamored to wary. Definitely wary. “Uh-huh. We broke into Vernon’s car.”
Feigning hurt, she pressed a hand to her chest. “And we went hiking.”
He grinned. “Right. Forgot that part.”
Molly hadn’t been able to let go of the feeling that she was somehow responsible for Vernon’s death and had enlisted Sam’s help in finding clues surrounding his murder.
“What are you up to now?”
She couldn’t even pretend insult. Cupping his jaw, feeling the gentle brush of stubble against the soft skin of her palm, she lowered her lashes and looked up at him through them.
“How would you feel about a stakeout?”
Chapter Seventeen
Warmth lingered from the heated seat of Sam’s car’s passenger side even after he’d cut the engine. They were parked across the street from the back of Sarah’s shop.
Sam adjusted the driver’s seat so he was lying back a bit. “Too bad I don’t have a sunroof. We could look at the stars.”
Turning her head, she smiled at him through the darkness. The moonlight gave them enough of a glow to see each other, but anyone looking at the lone truck sitting there likely wouldn’t see them. Unless they were looking.
Molly reached across the console and took his hand. “You’re a good sport.”
He hadn’t asked a dozen questions about the why or the who. When she’d explained about Sarah’s supplies, he’d suggested telling Chris, but Molly shared Sarah’s thoughts on that, and it had been enough for Sam to agree.
She went with her gut on a lot of things. She was wrong more often than she’d like. But Molly couldn’t ignore the feeling that if someone was going into the shop, they were getting in through the back door.
“I like being with you. Whether we’re watching a movie at your place or mine. Hiking. Breaking and entering. You have a way of making things fun.”
She laughed, squeezed his fingers. He tugged his hand free and reached out to thread his fingers through the hair at the base of her neck.
“Though I can think of a way to make sitting in a parked, dark vehicle a lot more fun.”
Unable to quell the flutter in her chest, she leaned into the kiss, her eyes drifting closed. In the silence of the cab, she could easily get lost in the scent of his cologne, the feel of his mouth on hers, and the pressure of his fingertips at the back of her head. The words she felt ran around inside her like toddlers on a sugar rush, but she held them back. Stop being so scared. Why was she so scared?
Sam’s low growl against her skin when his lips wandered down her neck sent shivers everywhere. Everything about him made her want more. And that’s why you’re scared. He pulled back, stared into her eyes.
“You drive me a little nuts. I don’t think I’ve made out in a car since I was seventeen.”
Her breath caught, and her chest felt tight. “Technically, we’re in a truck.”
“See? I don’t even know what vehicle I’m in.”
Laughing, she was secretly glad she wasn’t the only one feeling the crazy rush of falling. Who are you kidding? You fell the first time he broke into a vehicle for you.
“If it helps, you drive me crazy, too. This is the first time I can ever remember enjoying it so much.”
“Enjoying what? The making out?”
She laughed again, and they pulled away from each other, leaning back in their seats, faces angled toward one another. “Definitely that. But I mean, the…you know…the falling.”
Maybe it was a trick of the moonlight, but it seemed as if his eyes darkened. “Maybe that’s because the other…falling you did was just to prepare you for us. For something more than falling.”
Maybe. Her pulse picked up. She’d definitely never felt like this for any other man. There was no other man like Sam.
As if the air had been sucked out of the space between them, Molly’s chest tightened more. Sam leaned closer again.
“I think maybe the falling is done,” she whispered.
His smile did nothing to settle her pulse. “On my side, it’s definitely past the falling stage. Long past.”
Right. Who needs to breathe anyway? If he says it first, it’s not so scary.
He inhaled sharply. Exhaled and reached for her, his hand curving around her cheek. She leaned into it.
“Molly. I…I…wait, I think someone is coming,” he said, his gaze turning toward the windshield.
“I love you, too,” she breathed out, her voice about one octave from shrill.
Sam’s head whipped back in her direction. “What? Wait. You do?”
OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGodohmyGod. Please, earth, swallow me up whole and spit me out on the other side of the country. She pulled away, released her seat belt in such a rush she almost banged her head into his. What if that was not at all what he was trying to say? Oh my God. What have you done? Trying with everything in her to pretend she hadn’t spoken aloud, to pretend he wasn’t sitting right beside her, she reached down and grabbed the camera she’d brought.
“Molly,” Sam whispered through the darkness that she wished was darker.
“Shh,” she said, pulling the camera up and removing the lens. There was definitely someone moving toward the back of the shop.
“Molly,” he said again.
She pointed, clicked. “I can’t tell if it’s a guy or a girl.” She looked through the viewfinder and zoomed. The person was wearing a black wool hat, tugged down low on their forehead. They typed in the code Sarah had shared with them and Molly realized she was right—whoever was vandalizing the shop was getting in through the back. The person disappeared inside.
Molly opened the passenger side, still doing her best to convince herself the last five minutes had not happened. Sam was at her side instantly and wordlessly, and they walked across the quiet street and entered the back lot of the Art Shop. Other than some trees, a few shrubs, a
nd a large dumpster, it was empty. There were some weathered pallets leaning against the dumpster. Molly stood beside them, which would give her a view of whoever came out. Which they have to do eventually.
Sam was beside her, his arm brushing hers. “We should call Chris.” He pulled out his phone.
“But wait, we want to see who it is,” Molly said, the camera hanging heavily around her neck. She couldn’t look at him, and she had no idea why she was whispering.
“We want this why? It’s not like we can make an arrest,” Sam said. It was then she heard the hint of irritation in his voice.
It took courage to look at him, but she made herself do it. “They haven’t done anything yet. So far, Sarah said the person is just using supplies.”
Sam pointed at the door. “And breaking and entering. I agreed to come with you, Molly. I didn’t agree to putting you in danger. I’m calling Chris.”
Her heart squeezed painfully. “Are you mad?”
Should she apologize? Tell him she didn’t mean it? You do mean it. Sure, she meant it, but it was too soon. She’d been so scared of being scared that she’d probably scared him. Breathe.
Sam ran a hand through his hair but avoided her gaze. “No. I’m not mad. Let’s just…let’s just get this done.” He finished dialing, and before he spoke into the phone, he pointed at her. “Get ahold of Sarah.”
She nodded, tears burning her eyes. Please don’t cry. Don’t add that to your list of acts of idiocy tonight. She texted Sarah and asked if she was with Chris. When her friend said no, she explained what they were doing and told her to get down to the shop.
The fifteen minutes it took for Sarah and Chris to arrive separately were the only awkward moments Molly had spent with Sam since the second she met him. The thought of having possibly wrecked things by pushing too hard and too fast stole her breath, made her ribs ache with pressure, like they were poking into her heart.
Chris pulled up in his police cruiser, and Sarah pulled up a moment later. They both parked where Sam had and walked across the street to join them.
“I don’t get why you wouldn’t tell me,” Chris was saying as they approached.
“I didn’t want to bother you with something if it was nothing. You have enough going on,” Sarah said, her voice quiet.