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I sigh. I miss her. She’s my only family. The one constant in my life besides Lynn. Having her go into assisted living was like accepting that she won’t be in my life at some point. I already ache for the loss I know will come. “Not anymore. Well, I still live in the same place, but Grandma insisted on moving into an assisted living place. Her health has been iffy for the last couple of years, and New York winters are hard on her. I didn’t want her to go, but I couldn’t care for her with all my traveling.”

Lynn laughs. “Grandma will outlive us all. No one can make her do anything she doesn’t want to.” She turns to Jake. “She moved to Florida, and the place she lives in is like a continuous, fancy vacation.”

“True. Trying to make Grandma do anything against her will is like trying to move the Great Wall of China.” A sweet ache nibbles at my chest like the bites of a tiny sharp-toothed puppy. I miss my grandma. “We spent just about every day together from my birth until I left for college.”

His head tilts my way. “You traveled with her? What about school? And your parents?” He doesn’t ask about my parents like most people do.

The memory brings a smile to my lips. “No parents. Just Grandma. I was homeschooled, except my homeschool was all over the world. And I had tutors to help out. Grandma is a big believer in a well-rounded education.”

He smiles. “You must miss her.” Something passes between us—a kinship brought by our love for a grandparent.

“I do. After graduating, I went back to working with Grandma until two years ago when she retired.” And now she left me with the only place I can call home. Time has not lessened the empty spot she left, even with my frequent visits.

I slow my pace and follow behind him, lost in thought and memories. He stops suddenly and pivots to face me. I trip on my own feet, trying not to smack into him. My hands come up, and I brace myself, preparing for a fall, but he’s faster than gravity and hauls me up by the elbows. My face smashes into his chest, and my hands grip his T-shirt and dig into his sides. His scent is a lure, and I inhale deeply. He smells like fresh, clean air after a rain shower, woods, and pine with a touch of citrus. I don’t know what kind of cologne this is, but I want to roll in it like a feline with catnip.

His obliques flex under my hands. My fingers open, letting go of the fabric and spreading over his stomach instead. He releases a breath with an almost inaudible moan. Holy crap, are his abs for real? There are ridges. Ridges! I’ve never touched ridges before.

His hands slide up my arms and squeeze, holding me in place for a second, and at that moment, I don’t think either of us knows if he’ll pull me in or push me away. His thumbs move back and forth in a tender caress. Gently but firmly, he nudges me back.

My brain catches up to whatever hormonal overload I just experienced.

Oh. My. God.

I’m feeling him up. I just molested him. With my hands. On his body. I swallow and take a deep breath, catching his scent again. It’s like being hit with a shot of an aphrodisiac. I’ll have to hold my breath for the rest of my life now.

I clear my throat, step back, and break the contact. My face flushes with heat. “T-thank you. That was a close one. I’m usually not this clumsy.” I can’t look at him, so I stare at the ground instead. My face burns.

Chapter13

Avalon

After ten thousand years,my face stops burning, and I look at him. His expression is bland behind his sunglasses. For once, I’m glad I can’t read his eyes. I couldn’t bear to see any kind of judgment directed at my unrequited attraction to him.

Jake points over his shoulder with a thumb, still watching me. “This is it.” A small silver sedan is parked a few yards behind him.

I gather my wits, regulate my breathing, and prepare to do what we came here for. “I’m ready.”

He fishes a small plastic bag from his pocket, and inside it, there’s a single key fob with a tag attached. Handwritten on the paper tag, the license plate, and another series of numbers.

He gives me the bag. “Not sure if you can pick up anything from the keys. A lot of hands have probably touched it by now. But the car was towed here, not driven.”

I remove the key fob from the bag. Faint images pop through my mind. Mundane things. “Nothing of value on the keys. Just regular stuff.”

He grabs his phone, taps a few times, and then shows me the screen. The recording app is ready to go. “I’ll record, anyway. You never know. What seems to be nothing could be a clue in disguise.”

I nod. Jake taps the red button on the screen.

I close my eyes. “The key doesn’t show me anything out of the ordinary. I see it placed in the cup tray in the car. It’s on a key chain with a green frog. Cartoony looking with big round eyes. And a few images of the same key on a wood desk or granite countertop. It has other keys attached too. The kind of keys for a house.” I wait, searching for more clues, but nothing comes to me. I open my eyes to show I’m done.

He taps the recording button and saves the file. “The fob was found by itself on the driver’s side floor mat. There was no key chain or other keys.”

“Do you think he took the key chain and the house key?”

He squeezes the back of his neck. “No way to be sure. Some criminals take souvenirs from their victims.”

Shit. This is not good. “If the keys are missing, the roommate may be at risk, too. We need to warn her. And tell her to change the locks.”

He taps away on his phone. “I’ll call the roommate after we’re done here. Perhaps we can stop by her house, and you can look around.”