by Gina Wilkins
In only one dinnertime conversation, she had learned more about the Walker family than in the almost two weeks she’d known Andrew last year. And she found it fascinating. “No wonder Andrew considers private investigation to be an average, everyday-type career. With your family history, adventure and the unexpected are just ordinary occurrences!”
“Yeah,” he conceded. “Our background is a little offbeat. But you have to admit yours isn’t all that average, either. Not everyone grows up in a resort.”
“That’s true. I’m not complaining about my life—it’s been great. I don’t really want to do anything else. But I can see how some people would think it’s too restrictive and stifling.” Pete, for example.
“Like your ex?” Aaron asked, eerily echoing her thought.
She shrugged. “I guess you understand. Since you work for your family, too.”
He cleared his throat. “Um—actually, I don’t work for the agency.”
“You don’t?”
“No.” Taking a deep breath, as though he wasn’t quite sure how she would respond, he gave her a succinct summary of his current state of unemployment. “I was doing pretty well in commercial real estate, but I hated it,” he concluded. “I figure there’s got to be something better suited to me, even if I haven’t found it yet.”
“Oh.”
“But I’m still keeping an eye on you-know-who for you,” he assured her with a glance in the direction of Cabin Seven. “And I’ve got Andrew looking into him. To a point, of course. We’re skirting the line as it is without more to go on than your feeling that something is hinky.”
She nodded slowly. “I know. Like I said, it was just a hunch. I wouldn’t want to get you or Andrew into any trouble. So, you aren’t going to work for the agency now?”
“No.” As uncertain as he’d been about his next career pursuit, he sounded adamant enough on that point. “Working for family just isn’t my thing. Way too many people around who feel free to observe and comment on everything I do.”
She wondered if Aaron’s confession explained some of the tension she’d sensed between him and Andrew. Was Andrew pressuring Aaron to work for the agency? Or otherwise criticizing his brother’s choices? She wouldn’t ask, of course, but she was definitely curious.
As if he’d grown tired of this line of conversation, Aaron started gathering the remains of their dinner. “How about a walk along the riverbank to work off our dinner before we dive into dessert?”
She rose with a smile, pushing any more questions to the back of her mind. “That sounds nice.”
Aaron held out his hand to her and she hesitated only a split second before placing hers into it.
Just playing his part, she reminded herself as his long fingers curled warmly around hers. And he certainly played it well.
* * *
Daylight was fading, clouds beginning to gather in preparation for the rain that was predicted for later that night. But for now it was dry and comfortable, with a steady breeze from the emptying lake. Aaron could feel the promise of rain in the air. Still holding Shelby’s hand in his right, he pushed his left hand through his wind-tossed hair, picking his way carefully down the rocky bank from the cabin to the water. Waves generated by a passing motorboat lapped lightly against the shore, licking at the soles of his sneakers.
Shelby turned her face to the breeze, not even trying to restrain the curls that danced around her shoulders. “It’s getting cooler,” she murmured.
“Wind’s blowing the rain this way.”
“We can use the rain. It keeps the fire risk down.”
He chuckled. “As long as it’s not stormy. A light rain isn’t bad when you’re sleeping in a tent, but it can get pretty damp in a downpour.”
“That sounds like the voice of experience.”
“I’ve spent a few soggy nights shivering in a wet sleeping bag.”
“Even though I’ve lived my entire life here in the resort, I don’t think I’ve ever spent the night in a wet sleeping bag. Sounds miserable.”
“Oh, I usually managed to have a good time, anyway.”
“I’ll just bet you did,” Shelby murmured.
He winked at her. Unbidden, an image came to his mind—himself snuggled in a tent with Shelby while rain fell gently on the canvas above them. Flickering lantern light would play beautifully over her pretty face, and bring out the gold in her blond curls. Her tanned shoulders would gleam softly—as would the rest of her when he took his time exploring every inch.
She wiggled her fingers in his. “Ouch.”
Immediately he loosened his grip. “Sorry,” he said gruffly. “Guess I let my attention wander.”
She bent to pick up a small, flat rock. “Steven and I spent hours skipping rocks when we were kids, seeing who could achieve the most skips or the farthest distance. Everything was a competition between us, and there were always prizes for the winners—I’d have to take his turn doing dishes or he’d have to take mine folding clothes.”
“And did you honor those agreements?”
“Of course,” she said with a lift of her chin. “We didn’t welsh on bets.”
Spotting a good skipping rock near his foot, Aaron scooped it up. “Bet I can skip farther than you.”
She giggled. “Didn’t you hear me say I spent my entire childhood practicing?”
“I’ve tossed a few rocks in my time, too.”
Her skeptical snort made him laugh. “Bring it on, city boy.”
He caught her wrist when she started to draw back for her throw. “Hang on. We haven’t determined the prize yet.”
“If you win I’ll wash the dinner dishes?” she suggested.
He shook his head. “I clean as I go. There’s little left to wash.”
“Oh. Then whoever loses has to cook dinner tomorrow evening?”
She seemed to be making the assumption that he would still be there tomorrow evening, and she was probably right. He was in no hurry to leave, and he’d been assured the cabin was available through the weekend. Might as well take advantage of it. “I guess we could do that, but it’s sort of a dull bet.”
She planted her hands on her hips and looked at him in challenge. “Okay, fine, you come up with the prize.”
“A date.”
Her eyebrows rose. “A date?”
“Yeah. I win, you take me out for an evening you plan. If you win, I’ll do the same for you.”
She frowned. “If you win, I have to take you out on a date,” she repeated. “Totally up to me what we do.”
“Right. And I’ll expect a good time. Within reason,” he added with a reassuring smile. “Doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive, but I’ll expect to be entertained.”
Her blue eyes sparkled with a hint of the competitive nature she’d nurtured in her youth. Her unpainted lips curved into an intrigued smile. “And if I win, you have to treat me to an evening of entertainment.”
“Exactly.”
“You’re on, city boy. But I warn you, I’m going to expect something more interesting than dinner and a movie. If it’s a bet, you’d better bring your A-game when it comes to creativity.”
“Same goes.”
She cocked an eyebrow at him. “Something tells me this isn’t the first time you’ve done this.”
“Skipped a rock?” He tossed the flat pebble into the air and caught it deftly.
“No. Did the date challenge thing.”
He thought of an interesting evening provided to him by a certain young woman who’d been confident she could beat him at Trivial Pursuit. She’d somehow scrounged up VIP seats for a Texas Rangers game, and dinner reservations at one of the hottest new restaurants in Dallas. Belinda had come from an oil dynasty, but he hadn’t been overly impressed by the money she’d spent. He’d had a g
reat time, they’d dated for another couple months before drifting apart, and they remained friends still.
“What makes you think that?” he asked Shelby blandly.
She studied him from beneath lowered brows, then turned toward the water again. “We’d better do this before it gets too dark to count skips.”
Aaron flipped and caught his stone again. One way or another, he and Shelby would be spending another evening together. Frankly, he didn’t care who achieved the greatest number of skips. As far as he was concerned, it was a win-win contest.
He won by one skip.
Shelby sighed gustily. “That boat wake took mine under.”
“Two out of three?” he offered.
“No.” She tossed her hair. “It was a fair bet. I’ll just have to think of something creative to do with you.”
He laughed and tugged at one of her curls. “There are just so many ways I could respond to that.”
Her cheeks might have darkened, but she looked away before he could be sure. “Behave yourself.”
“I guess I’d better,” he replied with mock regret. “I’d hate to have your dad, grandfather, uncle and brother show up at my door to defend your honor.”
“I beg your pardon?” She scooped up a sizable rock and juggled it from one hand to another. “I defend my own honor.”
Still grinning, Aaron lifted both palms toward her in a conciliatory gesture. “Message received.”
“Good.” She lobbed the rock into the water with a noisy splash. “So, tomorrow afternoon we’re going out on the water with Steven. How about Friday evening for our date? That will give me time to come up with something clever.”
“That works for me.”
She laughed softly. “You’re something else, Aaron Walker.”
He had no idea what that meant. The way she said it made it sound like a compliment, but with Shelby, there was no telling, really. He liked that about her.
Reaching out to her on impulse, he tugged her into his arms, his mouth hovering just above her smile. “I need to kiss you now,” he said.
Obligingly, she wrapped her arms around his neck, looking up at him with wide eyes. “Is Landon watching?”
“I have no idea.” Unable to resist a moment longer, he pressed his lips to hers.
The kiss warmed, deepened, lasted a long time. Aaron didn’t know if Terrence Landon or total strangers or Shelby’s entire family could see them, nor did he care at that moment. He’d thought about kissing her all through dinner. He might as well admit it—he’d been wanting to taste her again since that brief kiss in her car yesterday. And it had nothing to do with any part he was playing, any plot she had concocted. He liked her, enjoyed her...wanted her. Wanted her so badly that he had to fight an urge to tumble her onto the beach and show her exactly how desirable he found her.
Reluctantly lifting his mouth from hers, he remembered the code word they’d teasingly chosen for a warning of danger ahead. “Minnesota,” he murmured.
Looking a little dazed, she blinked. He didn’t give her a chance to respond, but drew back and took her hand in his again to head back up the bank to his cabin.
He reminded himself that he had several days yet to enjoy Shelby’s company. He was determined to do that without anyone getting hurt. She knew he was here only temporarily, and he knew there was nowhere else she wanted to be. It had even been her quirky idea to publicly send him away when it was time for him to go. There was no real peril to either of them—which didn’t explain why he was suddenly, uncharacteristically edgy. Maybe it was the uncertainty of his own future. Or maybe just a natural reluctance to say goodbye to this charming new friend who didn’t seem to think any less of him because of his situation.
He’d always tended to live in the present, enjoy the moment, seize the day. For the rest of this week, he’d stick with that practice. He’d worry about next week as the time drew nearer, he decided as Shelby looked up at him with a smile.
* * *
“It’s getting pretty dark. I could drive you around to your place,” Aaron offered a short while later, after they’d each had a lemon bar and he’d sampled one of her cookies.
Though she thought it was nice that he’d offered, Shelby shook her head with a smile. “That’s not necessary, but thanks. I could ride home from here blindfolded, but our security lighting is good enough to get me there safely.”
“I guess I forget this whole place is your front yard.”
“Exactly.” She threw a leg over her bike and kicked the stand out of the way. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Aaron. Thanks for the dinner.”
“Thank you for sharing it with me,” he returned. “I enjoyed the company.”
So polite, she mused as she turned her bike and began to pedal. Hard to believe the impeccably well-mannered gentleman who’d just seen her off had rocked her world with a steamy stolen kiss less than an hour earlier. She still got shivery inside when she remembered that kiss. She expected that reaction would last a while.
Passing the private drive sign, she bit her lip as she pedaled past her parents’ house. She was thinking about the word Aaron had murmured after he’d kissed her senseless. Minnesota, the joking code she’d given him for danger. Had he implied that their embrace had been dangerous for her—or for him? The latter seemed unlikely. Obviously, he’d been teasing. He did that a lot—which was yet another difference between him and Andrew, or at least the Andrew who’d spent almost two weeks here in the course of his job.
She had to chuckle when she remembered that rock-skipping contest. She blamed her loss on the effort she’d had to make to hide her foolish reactions to Aaron’s smiles, his touch. Just by holding her hand, he’d made her pulse race in a way that she’d hoped she concealed from him, though she’d been all too aware of it, herself. He’d winked at her just as she’d turned to release her stone, and while it probably hadn’t been intended as sabotage, that engaging wink had still scrambled her circuits. That was her story, and she was sticking to it, though she would keep the excuse to herself.
So now she owed him a date. And she was the one who’d loftily proclaimed that a dinner-and-movie outing wasn’t creative or adventurous enough. What was she going to do to entertain Aaron for an evening?
Her front tire wobbled a little when a few intriguing possibilities popped unbidden into her mind. She’d have to put a stop to that train of thought quickly or risk crashing her bike before she arrived at her door. Once she was safely inside—well, then she’d be free to fantasize all she wanted about sexy Aaron Walker.
Chapter Six
Even on vacations, Aaron didn’t tend to be a late sleeper. He was up with the sun the next morning, opening the blinds to let in the light. The brief rainfall during the night had been just enough to leave everything clean and fresh this morning, almost begging him to go outside and appreciate.
There was no movement from the cabin next door, and the blinds there were still tightly closed, he noted before heading for the shower. He wondered if Andrew had dug up anything interesting on Terrence Landon, because Aaron had noted nothing particularly remarkable.
After a quick shower and shave, he dressed in a worn gray T-shirt from a Springsteen concert seven summers earlier and a pair of charcoal shorts made of a quick-dry fabric for water sports. He zipped his wallet into a waterproof bag and shoved it in his back pocket, then buttoned his cell phone, which was already protected by a waterproof case, into the cargo pocket on his right thigh. Water sandals, sunglasses and his Rangers ball cap completed his ultracasual outfit.
Man, he thought, he could get used to dressing like this every day. No tie, no jacket, no socks, for that matter. Maybe his next job should be outdoors. He didn’t mind hard work, but he wouldn’t care if he never wore another necktie.
He ate a bagel with chocolate-hazelnut spread for breakfast
, then took out his phone and dialed his brother. “Have you found anything on Landon?” he asked as soon as he heard Andrew’s voice.
“I take it you’re still at the resort?”
“Yeah. Thought I’d hang around through the weekend while I do some internet searches for my next career plans. It’s a nice place. Nice people.”
“They are,” Andrew agreed.
Aaron thought of the brochure he’d found on the floor. “But you weren’t planning to come back here, were you?”
“Not anytime soon,” Andrew replied after a very brief hesitation. “I didn’t see any need to do so once the job ended.”
Aaron thought the Bell family would be disappointed if they heard that. They seemed to think Andrew had become a friend while he’d worked for them, whereas he kept referring to them as clients. Aaron knew his twin well enough to figure out that something else was going on here, but also well enough to know that Andrew would tell him what it was in his own good time. Prodding would get him nowhere.
He changed the subject. “So about Terrence Landon...”
“The license number you gave me belongs to a rental. It was leased in a woman’s name, Marie Jonas. Haven’t yet found anything to tell me who she is.”
“I haven’t seen a woman around. A man visited yesterday. I’ve got another license plate for you.”
“Did you notice anything suspicious about the guy’s visit?”
“Other than that both of them looked nervous and distrustful of me, not really. But to be honest, Landon could be jumpy because Shelby’s been spying on him, probably not quite as subtly as she thinks.”
Andrew gave a short bark of laughter. “You’d better tell her to back off before she gets charged with stalking.”
“Already have. She has reason to be suspicious, the guy seems downright weird. But other than peeking at me through his blinds, I haven’t seen him do anything over the top. Did you find anything on him?”