Again, she fiddled with the button on his shirt. She couldn’t look at him. She just couldn’t. When he was sweet and romantic, it was almost her undoing.

  “I think I might stand out.”

  “Well, who knows? It is a country club.”

  “Uh-huh, sure, in this small town. Plus, it might get me recognized. I’m thinking I should dress down, take my hair down, muse it a little, and smear some dirt on my face.”

  He laughed and scratched a spot above his eyebrow. “Dirt, huh?”

  She pinched her fingers together. “Just a little.”

  “Nah. But I think I could muse your hair.” His hand came behind her neck as he lowered his head. His lips touched hers. Heat pooled in her belly as he deepened the kiss.

  The kiss seemed to go on and on. Until someone cleared their throat. He pulled away and placed his forehead against hers.

  “We are definitely going camping and fishing. We’re going far into the woods. Really far.”

  Ericka would have laughed, but she kept it in. Being with him alone in the woods might be more than she could handle. They hadn’t spoken of the future. What did he want from their relationship? She couldn’t see him interested in a fling, but he was a man like any other.

  Soon, they would need to have the conversation. But not tonight. Tonight, they had other things to take care of.

  Her stomach growled.

  “Oh, the princess has spoken. We should go.”

  “Yes.”

  “You want to change?”

  She looked down at her baggy clothes and almost decided to wear that but thought better of it.

  “I think so. Can you give me a few minutes and I’ll meet you downstairs?”

  “Of course.” He lifted her hand and kissed the back. “I look forward to it.” His smile seemed to light up the room.

  She hated seeing him close the door on it. She fell on the bed and stared at the ceiling. If this was what being in love felt like she wasn’t sure how she was going to make it. It felt almost too good to be true.

  ****

  Greg needed to wipe the smile off his face before it froze that way. But he couldn’t stop the happiness. He’d known admitting his feelings for Ericka would change things, but he couldn’t believe how well things had changed. He was in love with a wonderful, kind, caring woman. Nothing was going to change that.

  He grabbed his sport coat from his room before continuing downstairs. The others were gathered around the door. Quinn had donned a pair of sunglasses and a fedora. Fanny was messing with it. She wanted it sideways, apparently, Quinn didn’t.

  The stairs creaked. Greg turned. Ericka descended the stairs. She wore a pair of tight jeans with high heels. The shirt was a little purple button up. Her hair had been let down to lay around her shoulders. The corner of her lips teased upward.

  He held out his arm and she wrapped hers in his. “Your chariot awaits.”

  “Good to know.”

  “So, we ready to go? I think the country club is only open for a few more hours.” Tristan expressed an impatience that Greg found unusual and out of character.

  Maggie leaned forward. “He’s hoping they have a piano.”

  “Oh.” Greg guessed that made sense.

  They got in the car. Tristan and Maggie rode with Greg and Ericka. Greg reached over and grabbed Ericka’s hand. She didn’t let go and he allowed the feeling of contentment to surround him.

  There wasn’t a lot of conversation. Maggie kept leaning over looking at Tristan’s phone and whispering. Once they parked in the lot, the two of them jumped from opposite doors.

  “What’s up with them?”

  “I think that Tristan is hoping to get a piano gig. I heard him talking to Fanny about needing to do something with his time besides writing songs.”

  “I see.”

  Greg felt for the guy. Fanny could do her job anywhere, and Tristan could as well, but he didn’t seem to like traveling gigs.

  They entered the room and stopped. Tristan was behind a grand piano. He was singing Benson Boone’s, “Beautiful Things”.

  Ericka paused.

  She swallowed.

  There were a lot of beautiful things that she’d lost in her short life. He hoped to make things different for her. He wanted to give her the family that she’d never had. Maybe his parents visiting was a good idea. They were physically closer at the moment. He wanted to see them. They liked Ericka. He loved Ericka.

  He had yet to tell them he was dating Ericka. But seriously, what could go wrong?

  Tristan finished that song and went into another slow song. Maggie looked at them and made some kind of weird hand motions.

  “I think she wants us to dance.”

  “Here?” There wasn’t a floor. It was the lobby of what looked like a hotel. The doors to the restaurant were open. The aromas filtering through made his mouth water. And Maggie wanted them to burst out in dance?

  “Come on. Let’s just slow dance one time. Then we can eat.”

  He looked up and to the side like he was put out, but he wasn’t really. Any chance to get Ericka into his arms was a dream come true.

  He put his one hand on her waist and the other in her hand. He tugged until their bodies touched. He swayed around the floor, he twirled her out and in, then swayed more. When the song ended, he dipped her. The crowd erupted into impromptu applause. They bowed.

  Maggie rolled her eyes.

  “I think we stole Tristan’s thunder.”

  Greg groaned. How could he constantly try to help this guy out yet mess it up every time.

  “Come on, let’s eat. He can play and get his own attention.”

  Greg gladly agreed with that idea. They entered the dark restaurant and settled at a table near Fanny and Quinn. Then Quinn waved them over. Greg could have said them sitting together would make them more recognizable just because he wanted some alone time with Ericka, but he kept his mouth shut.

  Fanny looked over the menu. She bit her lower lip in concentration. Quinn had his eyes riveted to her. Obviously, he would have like some alone time too.

  “What are we ordering?” Ericka was looking at the menu as well, but without biting her lip.

  “Wait.”

  Ericka looked up. “What?”

  “Do you remember looking at Ann Marie’s lips?”

  Ericka narrowed her eyes. “Not particularly, why?”

  “I think they looked like they’d been bitten.”

  “Like she’d been biting them…”

  “Or like someone else had.” Greg lifted his phone to his ear right after dialing Bagger. He moved from the booth and stepped to a quieter place in the restaurant.

  “Detective Emmett Bagger.”

  “Detective Bagger it’s Greg Kane.”

  “Kane. What can I do for you?”

  “I just wanted to ask if the medical examiner took a swab of Ann Marie’s lips.”

  “I don’t follow.”

  “I think that before she died, she was kissing someone, in fact I think they bit her.”

  “Bit her?”

  “You know, like a love bite.”

  “No, I don’t know. But I’ll call the ME and draw his attention to it.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. Now enjoy your dinner. Order the steak, it’s the best in town.”

  Greg drew in a swift breath. How had Bagger known where they were eating? He looked around and didn’t see Bagger at any of the tables or anywhere in the vicinity.

  This place was starting to give him the creeps.

  ****

  Russ Thomas shivered. The morgue was cold, aside from other things.

  “So, this out-of-town detective is dictating what you guys do? I think you guys were doing just fine on your own.” The medical examiner, Dr. Miles Rose, tugged out the drawer then placed a swab on Ann Marie’s lips.

  While he was over here talking about how good they were doing, he hadn’t done the thing that Sergeant Greg Kane had suggested. Figured.

  Russ had seen Ann Marie a couple of times at the dry cleaners. He’d been going in there to find out what scheme the new owners were up to. And because Tyson had asked him to.

  But he hadn’t minded looking at the young girl. She had been too young for him, but he was just looking. One day, one day soon, she would have been old enough.

  Whether anything had ever come of that or not didn’t matter. The fact was that Ann Marie was a member of their town and her life had been taken. They had an obligation to figure out who had done it. And here the guy with all the answers at his fingertips was just blowing it off. That didn’t sit well.

  “I’ll send this to the lab. Should be back in a few weeks.”

  “Weeks?”

  “Yeah. We don’t have a lab here, you know. And they have to pull the DNA if there is any and put it into the database and then find a match and all that computer type stuff.”

  “I see.” He knew that Rose didn’t care for technology.

  “I’ll just put this in the fridge and take it over to the post office tomorrow. The sample will only be good for so long.”

  “Shouldn’t someone deliver it in a cooler or something?”

  “Are you volunteering?”

  “Well, no, but I thought that was your job.”

  Dr. Rose reared his head back and laughed. “I am not a delivery boy.”

  The voice had deepened expressing an anger that surprised Russ. He scratched his brow to hide his surprise. But he wouldn’t let the sample be contaminated and thereby let a killer escape.

  “I’ll take the sample. Package it up.”

  “You’re going to drive it now?”

  “Yeah. I’m going to drive it now.”

  “All right then. I’ll tell them you’re coming.”

  “Thank you.”

  Russ had no idea where he was going, or what he’d committed to. But he took the cooler to his car and strapped it into the front seat. He plugged the address Rose gave him into the GPS and sighed when he realized it was a few hours away.

  It could have been so much worse.

  Maybe after this they would have some answers. In fact, maybe he’d be the one to solve the case. That would help the big wigs know that they didn’t need no city slickers telling them what to do in their town.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Ericka used the serrated edge of the steak knife and sawed the steak. Greg had heard from someone that it was the best steak in town. It was also the toughest steak in town. She thought they’d cooked it hours ago and heated it up after her order. In fact, the only thing on her plate she could really bite into was the potatoes. They were broiled with butter and a little salt and pepper.

  “This isn’t that good.”

  “It’s not. But I didn’t want to say anything.”

  Greg reached under the table and squeezed her hand. “You can always be honest with me.”

  She wasn’t sure about that, but it was a nice thought. Sometimes he was so nice that it was almost painful. At times she wished that things were like they were before they started dating.

  The bickering back and forth.

  The heat.

  His sweetness was great. But like the “Beautiful Things” song she couldn’t stop worrying about losing it all.

  She wasn’t the type of person who got a happy ending. It didn’t happen for her.

  “Do you think they got the sample we asked for?” She would redirected attention to work. At least she understood that.

  He used his fork to punctuate his words. “Good question. If I had a guess, they didn’t do it until we suggested it.”

  Ericka nodded. They hadn’t been sent to train the officers in the area, just to help them. The three cases they’d been given upon showing up were nothing cases. The locals should have been able to do those in their sleep. If it was to be believed the death of Ann Marie was something that never happened in the sleepy town. Maybe if they just had more training then Ericka and her team could leave. It was a nice thought.

  “Have you heard from Tito?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Where did they wind up?”

  “I think they are in Texas, somewhere around Houston.”

  “Oh. Going to be lots of crime there. They are probably needed.”

  “I’m sure.”

  He cocked his brow. “What gives? You’re normally all chatty at dinner.”

  She laid her fork on her plate then took the napkin from the table and wiped off her mouth. She placed it in a perfect fold next to the plate. Stalling, yes, she was totally stalling.

  “If you don’t want to answer, that’s fine too.” He dabbed his mouth then lowered his napkin in the same smooth move as he lifted his hand and called for the check.

  The waiter rushed over. “Yes?”

  “Can we get the check?”

  “For just you two?”

  Ericka looked at the other plates. Maggie and Tristan had disappeared and had not returned.

  “I guess everyone at the table.”

  “Of course, sir, I will be right back.”

  Ericka put her hands under her thighs so they wouldn’t move around so much and telegraph how nervous she was. They hadn’t been alone that much since starting the dating process. How could she not have anything to say?

  “Where do you think Maggie and Tristan went?”

  “I have no idea.”

  Greg signed the receipt when it came then pocketed his credit card. He shook his head and sighed the entire time. The other two hadn’t even come for their meal. Just left it on the table. Not that it could get any tougher or easier to eat by waiting.

  “I’ll text Maggie.” Ericka pulled out her phone. Within minutes she got a reply that they were on the balcony looking at the moon and that she and Greg were free to leave anytime.

  Greg leaned back and put his arm along an empty chair beside him. “They took off to be alone, didn’t they?”

  “Yup.”

  “I guess that means if we leave now, we’ll be alone at the bed and breakfast.”

  “Yup.”

  “Why don’t we go for a walk? There is a place that I’ve really been wanting to check out.”

  “Okay.” That seemed less worrisome, but she wasn’t sure. “Wait, where did Quinn and Fanny go? They were going to sit with us then poof, their gone too.”

  Greg rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone. He texted Quinn, waited, then texted again.

  “They’re walking the grounds. He said that Maggie and Tristan could ride back with them.” He lifted the keys and dangled them from his fingers. “Ready?”

  “I’m ready.” She didn’t feel ready on the inside. Her insides jittered like she was on vibrate. But she rose from the table, and he pushed in the chairs. Being the gentleman he was, he waited for her to take the first step toward the door before walking. He also opened the glass doors and before they reached the car pulled off his jacket and placed it on her shoulders.

  Ericka was getting used to the attention.

  She’d had all kind of unwanted attention in her years as an abandoned child then as a teen when she’d been put in the group home. Then in the military. Which was followed by all the attention from her job.

  And she’d dated.

  She wouldn’t lie about that. She’d gone on numerous dates with several different guys. Why then did the attention from Greg seem so different?

  So out of place?

  He drove through the town weaving through one lane streets and under two or three different one lane bridges. When they reached his planned destination, they were next to the river and beneath a large green metal bridge. A few streetlights lit the area, and the moon did the rest.

  Before she could open the door, he was there doing it for her.

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  She tugged his jacket tighter around her shoulders and held tightly to the lapels. His hands thrust into his pockets. Perhaps he wanted to do something different with them, but he didn’t push. She was sort of glad.

  For all her flirting in the past years and recently, now she felt vulnerable.

  “It’s a pretty place.”

  “It is.” He stared at her, then focused on the water that rippled in tiny waves before them.

  The wind moved ever so gently making her hair blow in her face and sending leaves raining down onto them. Summer seemed to have disappeared overnight, and fall was rearing its head.

  “I love fall. All the warm sweaters, the pumpkin spice, and the roaring fireplaces.”

  She cocked her brow. “Wow. I thought maybe it was because of the hunting.”

  “Oh, that too.”

  She chuckled.

  “My dad loves to hunt. I think in all his life he only brought home one deer. He wouldn’t take the shot unless he thought he could get it safely and not make the animal suffer. And of course we ate the meat.”

  “Of course.” She nodded.

  “What about you? Do you like to hunt?”

  “I’ve never been. I haven’t had the opportunity. But I wouldn’t mind trying it sometime.” If it was something he liked, she was willing to try it at least once.

  “My dad would love to hear you say that. Honestly, for him I think he just likes sitting in the tree stand in the woods enjoying the quiet. Now that he’s in Florida they don’t do that so much.”

  “Do they plan to visit you while you’re here?”

  “They mentioned it.”

  “What did you say?”

  ****

  If he thought about it, he hadn’t been very encouraging, more like he’d discouraged it. Maybe in the back of his mind he wasn’t ready for them to know about him and Ericka. It was too new, too fresh. They might scare her off or seal the deal to where he could never change his mind.

  Not that he wanted to.

  Even though sometimes he got the impression she wanted to.

  He said, “I told them to wait.”

  “Probably a good idea. With the murder and the uncertainty.”

  “Yes, the murder and uncertainty.”

  She kicked at loose rocks, then said, “What do you think we should start with tomorrow? I mean, we’ve got our irons in a few fires.”