Leif responded by flicking paint at him. “Fine, you big jerk.”
Callie couldn’t help but laugh at their good-natured sniping. “I’m going to make a run into town. Do either of you need anything from the store?”
Leif went back to his painting. “I could use another twelve-pack of root beer. Nick, how about you? Need anything?”
For the first time all day Nick looked directly at her. She truly hoped that it wasn’t a desire for beer that put that hint of heat in his dark eyes. Her skin flushed hot as she waited for him to answer.
“I’m good.”
Yes, he was, even if she was thinking of something completely different than he was. He was way better than just good, but she kept that to herself. After all, they weren’t going there again. More’s the pity.
“Any preference about what I fix for dinner tonight?”
Nick stepped down off the ladder he’d been working on. “Let’s keep it simple. Maybe grill something.”
That sounded good to her, too. “I could pick up some salmon while I’m in town. How does that sound?”
It was Leif who answered. “Perfect. I haven’t had fresh seafood in a while.”
Before leaving, she walked over to where he was sitting. “Give me the brush. You missed a spot.”
When he handed it over, she dabbed it on his nose and then danced back out of reach.
“Hey, what was that for?”
She giggled and surrendered the brush. “You have that stuff splashed on your forehead and both cheeks. I wanted to complete the look.”
Leif rolled his eyes and used a rag to swipe at his face. All he succeeded in doing was smearing the paint even more. He tried to look fierce but couldn’t quite hide his grin.
“You’d better get going, woman. I might not move as fast as Nick, but I’m sneakier. There will be retribution.”
He waggled his eyebrows in a halfhearted attempt to look evil; instead he only looked playful. She offered him a deal.
“Forgive me, and I’ll also pick up something for dessert.”
“It’s a deal.”
“I won’t be gone long.”
As she spoke, she happened to look at Nick. He was watching the two of them with the oddest look on his face, a little fierce mixed with a touch of temper. When he realized she was watching him, his expression changed, once again the amiable guy she liked so much.
It took too much effort to keep track of his shifting moods, so she left. She had enough on her plate at the moment without burning up all her energy on figuring out Nick.
• • •
Callie slid a ten-dollar bill across the counter. “I’ll take those pastries and my iced coffee to go.”
Bridey bagged up Callie’s choices and mixed her drink. As she made change, she asked, “You still have those hunky soldiers hanging out at your place?”
“Yep, both of them.”
“And keeping them both all to yourself? Doesn’t seem fair.” She handed over the goodies. “I’m just saying.”
Callie could take a hint even when hit over the head with a sledgehammer. “I’m going to grill salmon for dinner tonight. I’m aiming for easy, so I’ll fix a tossed salad and roast some corn on the grill. Would you like to join us?”
Then she held up the bag. “And if you say yes, I’ll be needing another one of these.”
Bridey immediately picked up another raspberry turnover with her tongs and dropped it into the bag. “I’ll tell you what: Save those for tomorrow’s breakfast, and I’ll bring a cheesecake. I’ve been experimenting with a new recipe that’s topped with a blackberry compote. I’d love a chance to try it out.”
Callie licked her lips. “Whoa, that sounds decadent. I’d be a fool to turn down an offer like that, and both of the guys have a serious sweet tooth.”
Bridey frowned. “The only problem is that I can’t be there until seven. I hope that’s not too late. I’ve got to make the bank deposit on the way home, and I’ll need time to shower and change clothes. I’d just as soon not show up smelling like yeast and coffee.”
“Seven will be fine.” Then Callie added, “But seriously, I’m thinking if you could bottle that scent as a perfume, men would be following you in droves.”
Bridey wasn’t buying it. “It hasn’t worked so far. Besides, I don’t need droves. I’d settle for one decent prospect. See you at seven.”
• • •
Ten minutes later Callie paused outside Gage’s office to take a deep breath. Now that she was there, she wished she’d gone straight to the store. She felt foolish taking up so much of the police chief’s time. It wasn’t like he could do anything about empty circles in the dust.
Maybe there’d been nothing there in the first place and she was imagining things. No, the empty marks in the dust spoke for themselves. Heck, as far as she knew, the missing objects were probably worthless, the kind of things people held on to only because of the memories they evoked.
Yeah, this was silly. Time to go. Before she could retreat, Gage opened his office door. Callie froze, caught between the need to tell him what had happened and feeling foolish for talking about a phantom stealing unknown objects.
“Callie? Did you need to see me?”
There was no way he’d let her walk away without an answer. “Yes, if you’ve got a few minutes.”
“Always.” He stepped back into his office and motioned her toward one of the two chairs in front of his desk. “I was on my way to get a cup of coffee. Want one?”
“Sure. Cream and sugar.”
He wasn’t gone long. While he settled back in at his desk, she wrapped her hands around the mug he’d handed her, taking comfort from the warmth. When she forced herself to look at Gage, he was watching her with the same kind of patience a cat had when stalking its prey. She didn’t feel threatened by him but recognized that he was a hunter on the trail.
“I’ve been working on my inventory of Spence’s house again. I started off on the first floor, but today I moved upstairs. Once I finished two of the bedrooms, I headed up to the third floor.”
“And,” he prompted when she fell silent.
“As soon as I walked into the front bedroom, I noticed marks in the dust.” She paused for a long drink, her throat as dry as that dust. “I know this sounds crazy, but it looks as if something has been taken or maybe moved. But here’s the problem: it’s been years since I spent much time in Spence’s house. Even then, I didn’t go up to the third floor much at all.”
He’d started to fill out a form but stopped and laid down his pen. “So you don’t know what belonged in those rooms.”
Good, he did understand. “That’s right, I don’t, which is why I started the inventory in the first place. I can’t even tell you when the last time was that anyone cleaned those rooms. The dust was pretty thick, so I’m thinking it was at least sometime before Spence was deployed, maybe a year or even longer. That’s why the marks were so clear.”
She pulled out her digital camera and brought up the snapshot she’d taken of the marks. “This is what I saw.”
Gage studied the picture for several seconds before handing the camera back. He leaned back in his chair, its springs creaking in protest. “Well, obviously we can’t do much with what you’ve told me or that picture. Even so, I don’t like the idea that someone has been in and out of that house on multiple occasions.”
He linked his hands behind his head and stared at a spot over Callie’s head. “It could have been teenagers making use of an empty house. That’s what I told Nick when he came to talk to me last week after the night he and that dog of his thought someone was prowling out in the woods.”
Then he looked straight at her. “But my gut doesn’t buy that, and neither does his. For one thing, kids leave more in the way of evidence. Beer cans, trash, stuff like that. No, I think it’s much more li
kely that someone was looking to make a quick score off stuff no one will miss.”
He paused, maybe waiting for her to respond. At the moment, it was all she could do to get her head around the idea that Nick had been talking to Gage about prowlers on her property without telling her. The idea had her fuming. What was he thinking? He should have come to her first, or at the very least told her what he’d done. Nick would get an earful when she got back home.
After several seconds, Gage sat up straight. “Here’s what I’m going to do. First, I’ll check with the neighboring towns to see if they’ve had anything similar reported. If it’s a pro working the area, there’s bound to be other similar instances. Right after that, I’m going to track down Spence’s uncle or his son and have a talk with him.”
At least Gage was taking her seriously and even had an immediate plan of action. “I appreciate this, Gage. It may turn out to be nothing, and I have to admit that wouldn’t upset me. But after the incident with the rock and Leif getting hurt, I thought it best to let you know.”
She wished she felt better about it, though.
“You did the right thing by coming to see me, Callie. I know you’re hoping that it wasn’t Vince or his son. However, they seem to me to be the most likely culprits. When the news hit town about Spence, they both made it abundantly clear they thought they should’ve been entitled to a little something from the estate or, better yet, all of it. Considering what I’ve heard about the way Vince treated Spence, though, it came as no surprise that he cut them out of not just his will but also his life.”
Memories of how truly bad it had been for Spence had her wanting to kick his uncle even after all these years. “Austin was just a kid when Spence’s folks died, but Vince was already a mean drunk. He hated everything about Spence. It’s hard to imagine how he and Spence’s mom came out of the same family. She was so warm and loving. The only thing Vince has ever loved is a bottle of cheap booze.”
Her eyes burned, but she blinked until the sting of tears faded. “Sorry, Gage. Guess I’m still not dealing with losing Spence all that well.”
“Not a problem, Callie. His death should be hard to deal with, not just for you but for all of us. He wasn’t only your friend. He was a real hero.”
The sincerity in Gage’s voice eased Callie’s pain enough that she could breathe. It was time to go.
“Thanks again for listening. I’ve taken up enough of your time, and I still have errands to run.”
Gage walked her to the front door of the police department. “I like your friends, Callie. They’ve been dealt a tough hand, but they’re both good men. The town could use a few more just like them.”
“That’s true.”
And if the thought of Nick settling down in Snowberry Creek caused her pulse to race, well, that was her own little secret.
Chapter 23
Callie was glad Bridey arrived before the guys came over. Nick had called to say he and Leif were making a beer run and to see if she needed anything from the store. Then he’d lowered his voice to admit that it was really his way to save wear and tear on Leif’s leg by driving him over to Callie’s.
She was still aggravated about him keeping secrets from her, but it was hard to stay mad at a man who went out of his way to protect his friend’s pride.
Bridey helped set the picnic table. “Are you sure the guys won’t mind me being here? Especially Leif?”
Callie had been checking the coals in the grill. “Why Leif?”
Her friend looked a little uncomfortable. “I didn’t think about it until after I’d already agreed to come, but it feels kind of like a fix-up. You’ve made it clear that you have your sights set on Nick, so that leaves Leif and me unattached. I wouldn’t want him to think I was expecting to be paired up with him.”
Callie hadn’t thought that far ahead. “To be honest, I’m not sure what’s going on between me and Nick these days. I wasn’t thinking about this like a date night for any of us.”
Bridey looked only marginally happier as she pointed toward the top of the driveway, where Nick had just pulled in behind her car. “Well, either way, it’s too late now.”
Callie’s pulse sped up as the two men made their way to where she and Bridey were putting the finishing touches on the table. She was glad she’d taken a little more care with her appearance since both Nick and Leif were wearing something other than their usual T-shirts and jeans. She wasn’t sure brightly colored Hawaiian shirts could be considered dressing up, but both guys looked good in them.
“Love the shirts, guys.”
Leif looked down at the splash of red and white flowers on his. “They were Nick’s idea. What do you think?”
Bridey answered before Callie had a chance. “I think they look great.”
She stepped forward holding out her hand. “I’m Bridey, by the way.”
Leif shifted his cane to his other hand to shake hers. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Leif Brevik. And if my boy Nick here told you anything about me, I swear it was all lies.”
Then he winked at her. “Unless he said something good, of course. It would still be all lies, but I’ll stand by whatever he said.”
The exchange set the tone for most of the evening. Nick and Leif took turns entertaining them with hilarious stories about their exploits in the army. They included Spence’s contributions to the scrapes they’d gotten into, but for once the mention of his name brought more smiles than sorrow. Callie suspected they all needed a bit of that.
In return, she and Bridey shared a few memories from high school. One of her favorites was when Spence and the rest of the football team were ordered to perform a musical number in the high school talent show. The coach hadn’t been too happy when they’d dutifully shown up, all wearing dresses, makeup, and heels.
She smiled. “I’m sure I’ve got a picture somewhere. You’ve got to wonder where they found so many pairs of high heels for size thirteen feet.”
Nick laughed and shook his head. “Wish I could have been there. If we’d known such a picture existed, we would have given Wheels all kinds of grief over it.”
Nick looked more relaxed than he had in days. So did Leif, for that matter. Unfortunately, Bridey had started checking her watch.
“I hate to break up such a great party, but morning comes early for me. Nick, can you move your truck for me?”
“Sure thing.”
But when he started to get up, Leif stopped him. “Why don’t you give me the keys? I should be getting back to the house.”
Nick tossed him the key ring. “I’ll catch up with you soon.”
“See you in a few minutes, Sarge. Don’t keep me waiting too long. It’s past our bedtime.” Leif was already in motion. “Callie, thanks for dinner. The salmon was great.”
He fell into step with Bridey. “And that cheesecake was flat-out amazing. If I keep eating like this, I’m going to need bigger uniforms.”
Bridey paused. “Oh, that’s too bad. I left the rest of the cheesecake with Callie. Maybe I should take it back home with me.”
Leif caught Bridey by the hand before she could act on the threat. “No way, lady. I promise to share the leftovers with my man Nick and maybe Callie.”
“If you’re sure, Leif.”
The two of them kept up the discussion all the way to her car.
Nick watched as his friend climbed into the truck and then backed out of the driveway. “It’s good to see Leif acting more like himself.”
Callie sat down on the swing, careful to leave some space between her and Nick. “I think Bridey had a good time, too. The coffee shop keeps her pretty busy.”
Nick set the swing in motion, rocking it slowly back and forth. “That’s true for anyone who owns their own business.”
“I know.”
But that’s not what she wanted to talk about right now. “Nick, Gage told
me today that you’d talked to him last week about someone prowling in the woods. Why didn’t you tell me about it yourself?”
He went rock still. “I guess I should have, especially once I mentioned it to Gage.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? That seems like something I should have known about.” She fought to sound more curious than accusatory.
After several more seconds of silence, Nick finally turned in her direction. “Because all I heard was a vehicle starting up a couple of times. Because I searched the woods and couldn’t find evidence that anybody had really been there. And because sometimes I don’t know if I’m in Snowberry Creek or back in Afghanistan.”
He pushed himself up off the swing. “I’d rather not worry you needlessly if it turned out that I’m jumping at shadows that don’t exist.”
He stared out at the surrounding trees. “Thanks again for dinner, Callie. I had a great time.”
Right up until she’d ruined it all with all her questions. Even in the darkness, the pain and embarrassment he was feeling was all too clear. Rather than let him walk away, she started after him.
“Nick, wait.”
He kept going for another few steps before he finally stopped. “Did I forget to apologize? If so, I’m sorry I didn’t keep you in the loop, Callie. Now, I’d better get back to Leif in case he needs anything.”
“Damn it, Nick. I’m not mad, and I wasn’t fishing for an apology. Next time just tell me what’s going on even if it turns out to be a false alarm. That’s all I’m asking.”
She thought maybe he jerked his head in a quick nod, but she couldn’t be sure. “I had a great time, too, Nick. Thanks for sharing your memories of Spence with me.”
“Anytime.”
Then he was gone.
• • •
It had been two days since that awkward discussion in the dark. In the intervening time, Callie had acted as if it had been no big deal, so maybe she’d meant it when she said she wasn’t mad. At least he hadn’t totally freaked her out with his confession that sometimes he wasn’t sure which world he was in at any given moment.
A Time for Home: A Snowberry Creek Novel Page 20