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When was the last time Blake had been to the old vet building in Nova Cambridge? Before his mom and Hank bought the preserve

three years ago, he had stopped in to bring them both lunch one day when he’d been on leave. Mom had been pregnant with Levi,

so it was over seven years ago.

He opened the door for Paradise and they stepped into the waiting room. The after-hours cleaning had left it smelling fresh

with only the faint odor of dog. “Owen said he’d be in the back and to come on in.”

They walked through the office to the door leading to the back kennel area where the vet held overnight patients. Owen was

a short, stocky man in his midforties with thick red hair and freckles.

When the door closed, he slid a food bowl into a dog crate before turning an open, friendly expression their direction. “Blake.”

He shook hands and Blake introduced Owen.

The two dogs in crates began to bark, and Owen gestured toward the door. “Let’s go into my office and let these two settle.”

They followed him into a crackerbox office barely large enough to hold a metal desk and two chairs. He perched on the corner of his desk and gestured for them to be seated in the chairs. “How can I help you?”

Blake launched into all that had happened in the past few weeks. “But it all started with Hank’s death. I wondered if you

heard anyone complain about him after you got back from your trip.”

“Complaints?” Owen shook his head. “Everyone knew and loved Hank. There was nothing to clean up after I got back other than

having to find a new vet tech. Lacey decided she couldn’t handle two jobs and had to quit one. She picked this one to torpedo

instead of The Sanctuary. She said Hank really needed her help.”

Lacey . Was there any connection? It didn’t seem likely. Lacey was all of five-two and 110 pounds soaking wet. She wouldn’t be able

to toss a big guy like Hank over the haymow. And someone had stabbed Danielle Mason to death and gotten her into the horse

trailer. Lacey didn’t have the strength.

“Would you mind if we went through your files?” Paradise asked. “There might be something that would jump out at us.”

Owen gestured to the front office. “They’re all in there. Help yourself and lock up when you leave. I need to get home for

supper and a play at school. My daughter has the lead role, and she’ll have my hide if I miss it.”

Blake stood when Owen did. “Thanks, Owen. It shouldn’t take long, and we’ll lock up.”

They filed out of the tiny office, and Owen exited through the back while they went to the front office. Paradise yanked on

the top drawer and took a handful of files. “You start with these, and I’ll grab another batch.”

Blake sat in front of the stack of files and began to go through them. Dry reports of cuts, kidney problems, sterilization

procedures. Nothing stood out.

Cross-legged, Paradise sat on the floor. “Here’s something.” She handed him a file. “It’s an employment file. I’m not sure Owen even knows this. It reads that Lacey was fired for cause. Hank caught her in a clinch in the back with Karson Asters.”

“Whoa. That’s not good.” He studied the statement. “Paradise, this was the day before Hank died. Could Karson have wanted

to keep the liaison under wraps? Maybe he went to see Hank and they argued in the barn and he killed him.”

“You don’t really know if he fell from the hayloft, right? He was found dead at the bottom of it with a broken neck.”

“Right.” Blake’s thoughts spun. “Karson is a quiet, congenial guy. It’s hard to imagine he’d be that violent.”

“It’s the best lead we’ve gotten though. I think we should talk to him. It won’t do any good to ask Greene to do it. He’ll

blow us off again.”

Blake glanced at his phone. “It’s five thirty. Karson’s outfitter store closes in half an hour. Let’s try to catch him. When

we’re done, I’ll take you to dinner. How’s Jesse’s Restaurant sound? You’ll have to behave there though. No throwing pizza

crusts. I told Mom not to wait on us because we’d be late, so we don’t have to be home early. Mom even said not to try to

be home for bedtime. I won’t know how to act if I stay out past nine.”

Her laugh always lit up her eyes and warmed her cheeks with color. He loved to hear the joy in it too. “I take it you’re down

with dinner alone?”

“Are you saying I have to behave? I mean, I’m not sure I can promise that.”

His grin widened, and he carried the stack of files back to the filing cabinet. “Would you settle for some spilled coffee

instead of flying pizza crusts?”

“As long as you replace it. Coffee is a precious commodity.” Her smile flashed, and she put her files away too.

He caught her hand and walked with her to the front door, where he pulled it shut and tested to make sure it was locked. Karson’s Sporting Goods was across the street, and the parking spots were all open. Maybe they’d catch Karson alone. They waited for a sports car to zip down the road and then jogged to the door of the business. Through the plate-glass windows he spotted Karson at the register. There were no customers Blake could see.

The door jingled as they entered, and Karson smiled when he saw them. “Blake, Paradise, what a nice surprise. What are you

searching for tonight?” He was a big guy, muscular with sun-streaked blond hair. He wore a purple polo shirt with the store

logo on the front.

Blake released Paradise’s hand and approached Karson. “Just a little information. You’ve likely heard of the attacks at The

Sanctuary.” He waited for Karson to nod. “We realized we hadn’t considered Hank’s death as a possible link.”

Karson paled under his tan. “I thought Hank died in an accident.”

“Mom and I never believed that. It was very unlikely he was in the haymow. So we started poking into the weeks before his

death. Were you angry when he fired Lacey after he caught the two of you making out in the vet office?”

Karson grabbed the edge of the counter and gaped. “No. I mean, it wasn’t my business.” He shot a panicked glance at Paradise.

“Molly doesn’t know about this. Please, for the sake of our family, don’t say anything. I haven’t seen Lacey since that day.”

“Did you go see Hank? Maybe try to talk him into letting Lacey keep her job?”

“No, we never spoke of it again. Actually, I never talked to him after that confrontation. He died the next day.” He blinked and inhaled. “I mean, that sounds bad, doesn’t it? I didn’t mean it that way. I went home to Molly and my kids that night and never strayed again. You have to believe me.”

Blake wasn’t sure what to think, but he’d gotten all the information Karson was going to give out willingly.

***

Jesse’s Restaurant was busy as usual. Blake had opted for the newer location on the bay out on Fort Morgan Road, and it was

Paradise’s first visit there. Their legendary blue-crab-and-crawfish gumbo was the first thing she ordered for her appetizer.

She had been on plenty of dates over the years, but she couldn’t remember a time when she had more butterflies taking up residence

in her stomach. Maybe the first time the man across the table from her tonight had asked her out as a gangly teenage boy had

come close. But the Blake of today had erupted into the full potential she’d glimpsed in him all those years ago. And he was

too handsome for words with his shock of dark hair and eyes as blue as the water in the bay outside the window.

Blake set down his glass of iced tea. “You’re staring at me. Did I do something wrong?”

She shook her head. “Sorry. Just thinking about what Karson said.” Liar, liar. If she tried telling him the truth, what would he say? His humility wouldn’t let him accept any of the thoughts teeming in

her brain right now. “Did you believe him?”

“I don’t know. He’s strong enough to have killed Hank, and his panic at his affair getting back to Molly was very real. Would

that kind of raw fear be enough for him to kill to keep it quiet? Maybe so. But I’m not sure he has murder in him.”

His phone dinged with a message. “He couldn’t be sure no one else knew either. But we don’t have a better suspect right now.” He glanced at his phone. “The predator zip line is ready for testing. Mom will be excited. We got the report from the engineer, and that thing is strong enough to hold an elephant. I need to tinker with the lighting a bit, but I’ll do that in the next couple of days and we’ll be ready to fly.” He grinned. “Pun intended.”

“Visitors are going to love it.”

“We hope so. It’s been in the works a long time. We had to jump through all kinds of hoops to make sure it’s safe.” He reached

across the table and took her hand. “But enough about that. Have I told you lately how beautiful you are?”

Her cheeks heated and she found it impossible to think with his thumb rubbing lazy circles in her palm. “Not lately, no. You’re

a handsome guy, Blake. And smart and kind. Why are you still single?”

The light eked out of his eyes, but he kept possession of her hand. “I traveled with the Marines a lot, and there was a certain

amber-eyed girl whose memory stepped between me and any other woman I dated. Three or four dates and I was usually sent off

somewhere again. Anyone I dated soon vanished from my thoughts, and I realized I didn’t care enough to try managing a long-distance

romance.”

“I don’t think that’s all the story.”

“Maybe it’s not all the story, but it’s the most important part.”

His thumb continued to drive her crazy, but she didn’t want it to stop. “And the rest of it?”

“I had this sixth sense that Mom might need me. I can’t explain it, but it was enough to halt any interest in laying down

roots anywhere else. This place called to me: the tupelo trees and the Spanish moss, the gators and the pelicans. They all

tugged at my heart no matter where I went.”

“That makes a lot more sense than your carrying a torch for me.” Though every cell in her body wanted to believe that was the root of why he was still here for her.

His thumb stilled, and his fingers tightened around her hand. “Don’t discount that, Paradise. I know it’s hard to accept.

We were kids, but what we had was real. It wasn’t some stupid teenage crush. I’ve always seen you and known you inside. And

you have always seen me. You know it’s true.”

She gave a jerky nod. “I felt it too, but I tried to tell myself it was stupid and childish.” His thumb stilled, then resumed

its lazy circles. “Is there going to be a future for us?”

He opened his mouth, but the server came with their appetizers. Just as well. If she let herself think about the future, she

wouldn’t be able to keep her brainpower focused on who killed the Mason woman. And Hank.