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Gas or oil. Blake’s gaze swept the surrounding area, and he noted things he’d never consciously picked out in his walks around the property.

How had he never noticed the terrain before? He turned his attention back to Nicole.

“Who sent you?” he demanded. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize whoever had discovered this possible windfall might

be behind what had been going on with The Sanctuary.

“No one. I’m a geological student, and the terrain caught my attention. I took pictures and wanted a coal sample to write

an essay about it for my class. I didn’t mean any harm.”

Paradise hovered nearby to his right. “That makes no sense, Nicole. You came prepared with a shovel in your backpack.”

The girl’s chin tipped up, and she stared back with defiant green eyes. “I always carry a foldable camping shovel in case

I notice something interesting.”

Should he believe her? The words didn’t ring true to Blake. “You took off without telling me where you were going, and I find

you in an area that’s clearly marked Do Not Enter . What do you think I should make of that?”

She shrugged. “I’m telling you the truth. It’s a school project, nothing more.”

“Where do you go to school?”

“TGU.”

Tupelo Grove University was down the road. Maybe she was telling the truth, but something smelled off about it. “Hop aboard

the Gator and we’ll run you back to the parking lot.”

Nicole grabbed her backpack and shouldered it before shuffling to the utility vehicle. Blake motioned for her to take the

passenger seat while he hopped in the back for Paradise to drive them. His thoughts jumbled in a tangle of questions. If oil

or natural gas was out there, did someone want to force them to sell before they discovered it? And what if they had it surveyed

for their own purposes? The funds might help his mother immensely. But if they went that route, the expansion dream out here

would be dead. It would have to be his mother’s decision.

They reached the parking lot, and Paradise braked to let Nicole disembark. The girl glanced at Blake as if to see if he planned

to detain her, but he shrugged and she scurried off to her car, a rusting green Subaru that matched her hair.

He took a quick snapshot of the license plate as she pulled away. He didn’t know her last name, but he would. And Rod might

find it interesting. He didn’t see any reason to inform Creed Greene of the encounter. The detective wouldn’t let facts interfere

with his quest to pin everything on Blake, but the sergeant might be able to rein him in.

He settled in the passenger seat. “Let’s take this back to the barn and head for the house. I need to tell Mom what we found.”

“This could be good news, right?”

“I don’t know yet.” He told her his thoughts about how it might go. “If Mom doesn’t want to give up her dream of yurts and glamping, we might still be dealing with someone trying to push us out so they can pick up the property for a bargain.”

Her brow knitted. “It’s so hard to know what’s happening. Finances are still pretty dicey?”

He shrugged as she drove toward the barn. “I’m considering running some ads. Our visitor count is down compared to a month

ago, so the negative publicity is having an adverse effect.”

“What about social media? I’m pretty good at it. I know you shut it down because of the haters, but it’s time to work on it

again. I was thinking about it last night, and we could do funny memes of what the animals might be saying. Tourists would

love that. Show the keepers interacting with the animals. What’s the status of the zip line?”

“Nearly ready to go. Thrill seekers will love it, but I’m having an engineer take a final survey to make sure it can’t dump

a visitor in an unexpected place. With the way things have gone lately, I’ll have to keep a close eye on things.”

“Good call. If you don’t mind, I’ll take pictures and create some memes to use on our socials. We do still have the accounts,

right?”

“Yeah, I just locked them down. I can get you the logins and passwords.”

She pulled into the barn and turned off the vehicle in its corner spot. “Your mom is awesome. I want to help however I can.”

He sneezed at the straw dust motes kicked up by the wheels. “You’ve been great. I’m glad you’re here. In more ways than you

know.”

He longed to tell her how he really felt. To hold her and talk about the future. It was smart to stay focused on the gargantuan task facing them—especially since today had shown previously unknown obstacles—but now that she was back in his life, he wanted her to know he didn’t take it for granted.

She turned off the vehicle and got out. He got out too and took her hand. “I’m late, so let’s grab the boys from the employee

meeting Mom has started by now. We could run into town and get pizza with them. Bring some back for Mom.”

Her amber eyes smiled up at him with a promise he had no trouble deciphering. Patience , they said. It would be worth it in the end.

***

Light traffic dotted the streets of Pelican Harbor. Paradise had kept the boys entertained on the way to town by playing the

license plate game, but they’d begun clamoring for pizza by the time Blake parked his truck in the parking lot. Pelican Pizza

had been around since she was a teenager, and the aroma of garlic, cheese, and pepperoni made her mouth water when they entered.

The iconic statue of a pelican guarded the entrance with a slice of pizza in its mouth, and the boys had to stop to touch

it.

The hostess greeted Blake and led them to a back table near the arcade games. Levi and Isaac immediately asked to play, and

Blake got up to get them passes. An hour pass for each was ten dollars, and it would satisfy the kids. They ordered pepperoni

pizza and followed the boys from game to game until their food came.

Back at the table the boys dug into their slices, and Paradise nearly groaned when she bit into her first bite. “I’d forgotten

how we used to love this place.”

“We all still do,” Blake mumbled around his full mouth.

Paradise never ate the pizza crusts, and she couldn’t resist tossing a tiny piece at Blake like the old days. It hit him on the chin and left a tiny red smear. She wiped it off with her napkin and moved her crusts out of the way before he could retaliate.

The good feelings fell away when Creed Greene appeared next to him. “I’m surprised you’re out celebrating after a tiger nearly

took your brother.”

Blake set his glass of sweet tea on the table. “Please don’t talk about it in front of the boys.”

Eyes wide, Isaac glanced up. “Where was Tigey trying to take me?”

The detective scowled and didn’t answer. Maybe he’d allowed a little sense to enter his head.

Blake had said it wasn’t worth talking to Greene, but Paradise wasn’t so sure. His perpetual harassment had to end if he realized

someone out there had an agenda and it wasn’t Blake. “Detective Greene, we discovered something interesting today.” She glanced

at Blake. “Do you want to tell him?”

“I doubt it will do any good.” Blake took a sip of his tea and shook his head. “We discovered someone digging in our back

pasture a little while ago. From what I can gather, we might have natural gas or oil back there.”

“Anything to try to throw suspicion off you, right, Lawson? I’m onto your games.” He tipped his hat at Paradise. “Y’all enjoy

your dinner. The food isn’t nearly as good in prison.” He sauntered out the door.

“Sorry,” Paradise said. “I should have known he wouldn’t listen. I thought maybe hearing more evidence would finally get through

that thick head.”

“I’ve given up.”

“I haven’t. Today’s information is huge, Blake. How can we find out what’s under the ground?”

“An official survey is probably pricey. I’ve never had one done, but I can only imagine how much it costs.”

“What if we talk to some utility companies and see if they would sponsor the survey if you agree to let them put in the wells

and pay for the gas or oil?”

“It might work.” He straightened when his gaze landed on something over her shoulder. He rose and waved.

Paradise turned and saw Molly and her husband, Karson, waiting to be seated. She hadn’t seen Molly since the family dinner,

and her cousin’s face lifted in a welcome that warmed Paradise. She’d wondered how things would be when they met again.

Blake arranged for more chairs to be brought over. “Glad you could join us.”

Molly settled beside Paradise and hugged her. “What a treat to run into the four of you! Blake, your brothers are adorable.”

Karson pulled out a chair by Blake, and the two launched into a conversation about football.

Isaac preened and scooted his chair closer to Molly. “I’m Isaac. I’m five.”

“And a very cute five. I’m Paradise’s cousin Molly. I heard you decided to visit one of the tigers the other night.”

He nodded. “Tigey likes me.”

Molly exchanged an alarmed glance with Paradise. “But let’s not do it again, okay? Tigey might decide she wants you for lunch.”

“She eats meat. I’m a boy.” Isaac went back to eating his pizza.

Molly lowered her voice and leaned closer to Paradise. “Greene called Karson to ask about Blake this morning. He wanted to

know if Blake owned a hunting knife. A big blade was used to kill the Mason woman. Like a hunting knife.”

Karson’s sporting goods store would be the likely place to check first. “I would guess lots of men in town have hunting knives.”

“And Blake would have a military knife, right?”

“I don’t know.” But of course it was likely. He had been in the Marines. Wouldn’t he have been issued a knife?

“The town is abuzz with speculation about the preserve. Is it true visitor counts have fallen off?”

Paradise didn’t want to add to the speculation. “I don’t have anything to do with visitors, but the parking lot has seemed

full to me.” She would do everything she could to turn around the negative perceptions floating around the area.

The preserve catered not only to out-of-state visitors but to locals as well. Some people had annual passes and came frequently.

The ballooning issues would do serious damage to The Sanctuary’s reputation if they didn’t take steps to alter public opinion.

They finished their pizza over less controversial discussions and rounded up the boys to drive home. Paradise couldn’t decide

if Molly was concerned about The Sanctuary or trying to dig up dirt she could tell her friends. Her cousin seemed sincere,

but Paradise had been burned too many times over the years to trust Molly’s intentions. Paradise wanted to believe her family

was on her side, but they’d never come to her aid in the past.

She helped get the boys settled in the back seat, looked over their heads, and locked gazes with Blake. These little guys,

their mom, and Blake had quickly become more of a family to her than she’d ever experienced before.