Page 10 of Out of Time (Undaunted Courage #3)

FIVE

AT THE SUMMONS FROM HER DOORBELL, Cara smiled, set her oven mitts on the counter, and headed down the hall.

Her siblings were punctual, as usual.

When she opened the door, Jack held up a plastic-wrap-covered plate. “We come bearing gifts.”

Cara reached for the offering. “You made Mom’s mint squares! I’m drooling already.”

“I promised to bring dessert, and what can top these? But they can’t compete with Bri’s gift. From Paris, no less.” He shifted toward their sister. “Let me tell you, your new husband set a high standard for honeymoons. And my fiancée noticed.”

“You’ll come up with a location Lindsey will like. Just think romantic—if you have it in you.” Bri smirked and shoulder-butted him.

He put on his innocent face. “Would Branson qualify?”

Bri rolled her eyes. “Branson and the City of Lights aren’t even in the same galaxy. But speaking of Paris...” She lifted her hand and dangled a gift bag. “I did pick up a little present for my favorite sister while Marc and I were strolling down the Champs-élysées.”

“A gift from Paris will be the highlight of my day—aside from a visit with my favorite siblings, of course. Come in, both of you.” Cara pulled the door wide. “Let me put the dessert in the kitchen before I dig into that bag.”

They followed her to the back of her condo and made themselves at home. As usual.

While Jack slid onto a stool at the small island, Bri propped a hip against the counter and folded her arms. “I wanted to bring you macarons from Ladurée, which were to die for, but Marc convinced me they were too fragile to survive the trip home.”

Cara took the bag, pulled the tissue from the top, and removed a flat box of dark chocolate truffles from La Maison du Chocolat.

“I think I’m in heaven.” Cara hugged the box to her chest.

“Those happen to be from one of the premier chocolate shops in Paris. And I can vouch for the quality. Marc and I sampled them while we were in the store. One word: bliss.”

“Gee, it’s kind of hard for my mint squares to compete with those.” Jack arched his eyebrows at Bri.

“No, it’s not. I’m tucking these away for future consumption.” Cara set the box off to the side of the counter. “Your mint squares will take center stage after we eat.”

“You mean I don’t get to try one of those?” He motioned toward the box.

“No, you do not. Those are for Cara.” Bri walked over to the island and helped herself to a handful of peanuts from the small bowl. “You could always take Lindsey to Paris for your honeymoon and buy your own.”

“Let’s not get carried away.” He took a few peanuts too. “Speaking of food—what’s on the menu today?”

Cara plucked a nut from the bowl and popped it in her mouth. “Per your request, mushroom omelets and my cheesy potato casserole. I have salad too.”

“Works for me.” Jack gave her a thumbs-up. “Okay, Bri, we’ve been waiting with bated breath to hear all the details of your over-the-top honeymoon. Lay them on us.”

“I don’t intend to share all the details, but I’ll tell you about some of the incredible sights we saw.”

As Cara put the omelets together and they all sat down to enjoy their brunch, Bri kept them entertained with stories about Paris and the forays she and Marc had taken into the surrounding countryside. She didn’t wind down until the meal was almost over.

“It sounds magical.” Cara rested her elbow on the table and propped her chin in her palm.

“The perfect word.”

“Are you sure Marc didn’t mind you taking off for most of a Sunday to come down here on the heels of your honeymoon?”

“No worries on that score. He knows our monthly sibling gatherings are sacrosanct. Lindsey’s on board with that too, right?” Bri directed the question to Marc.

“One hundred percent. And remember that when you meet Mr. Right, Cara. He gets a thumbs-down if he balks about you giving us one Sunday afternoon a month.”

“I’ll pass that on if Mr. Right ever comes along. A big if. There aren’t a lot of Marcs in the world—present company excepted.”

“True. But there are some hot guys in the fire investigation world, pardon the pun.” Bri grinned. “And while I may be biased, my ATF agent husband is a scorcher. Your day is coming, though.”

“Probably not anytime soon.” Jack finished the last bite of his potatoes. “I doubt she’ll meet any eligible men while she’s holed up in the middle of nowhere with an older woman who speaks a dying language.”

As an image of Brad Mitchell flashed through her mind, Cara picked up her glass. Took a sip of the cold water.

While his eligibility was a question mark, he could hold his own with Bri’s new husband in the hot category.

“Or maybe she has.”

At her sister’s comment, Cara refocused on her siblings.

Jack stopped chewing. “What do you mean?”

“She disappeared into la-la land for a minute.”

As her brother and sister scrutinized her, she squirmed. “You guys are nuts. Like Jack said, I’m living off the beaten path this semester.”

“Yeah?” He studied her. “You look funny.”

“Put away your police detective badge, dear brother. If I ever meet anyone with serious potential, you will both be the first to know.”

“Is that a promise?” Bri collected their empty plates and stood.

“Cross my heart.”

“So how goes it out in the hinterland?” Jack lifted a corner of the plastic wrap on the plate of mint squares and took one.

“Natalie’s place isn’t that far from town. It’s not like I’ve left civilization behind.”

“Have you seen a Starbucks since you’ve been there?” Jack bit into the rich dessert.

“No.”

“I rest my case.”

“Starbucks isn’t the defining element of civilization.” Bri sat back down and took a mint square too. “So how is the project going?”

Cara gave them a quick rundown, including Natalie’s mention of the mystery surrounding Marie’s death. That would be of far more interest to the investigative duo at her table than the picture of daily life beginning to emerge from the journals.

“Sounds like a cold case waiting to happen.” Jack took a second mint square.

“It would be hard to reconstruct what happened a hun dred years ago, though.” Bri scrubbed a smear of chocolate off her fingers with her napkin. “Does your hostess have any theories?”

“No. She said her father never wanted to talk about it.”

“And he’s gone too, so dead end. My turn for a pun.” Jack grinned and swigged his water. “Anyone else on the premises other than you two?”

“A housekeeper comes two days a week, and a groundskeeper lives on site.”

“So he’s close by to lend a hand if anything comes up.”

“In theory.”

Jack frowned. “What does that mean?”

Oops.

Leave it to her detective brother to home in on an ambiguous answer.

“I haven’t seen much of him.”

“Why not?”

“I guess he’s busy keeping the grounds. Natalie has a fair amount of land.

” No need to mention the sheriff’s comment about the man having issues.

That would only activate Jack’s overdeveloped protective instincts.

“So tell us when you’re leaving for the FBI National Academy.

I’m beyond thrilled you got one of the coveted spots after County nominated you. ”

“Me too. We start October 1. It’s going to be tough to be gone from Lindsey for ten weeks, but she knows it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and is fully on board.”

“Good woman.” Bri lifted her glass in salute.

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

They continued to chitchat for another hour after relocating to the living room, but finally Jack looked at his watch. “We have to drive back to St. Louis, and you have to drive back to the hinterland.” He nudged Bri’s shoulder as they sat side by side on the couch. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah. I suppose it’s time to break up this gab fest. We’ll miss you while you’re in Quantico.” Bri nudged him back.

“But think of all the great stories I’ll have to tell at our future get-togethers. We may have to schedule an extra one to catch up.”

“I’m game if the spouse and fiancée are.” Cara stood. “Let me get your plate.”

They were waiting for her at the door after her detour to the kitchen.

“Just because our brother here is taking off doesn’t mean we can’t meet up while he’s gone.” Bri hugged her.

“That’s true. And we have our every-Saturday-morning phone calls too.”

Jack gave her a squeeze. “It’s not like I can’t stay in touch. Watch for texts from me on a regular basis.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

“You may.”

She waited at the door until they drove off, then wandered back to the kitchen. As usual, they’d pitched in with cleanup after eating, leaving her with nothing to tidy up in the spotless space.

Meaning she had time to stop in at the studio for an hour before she drove back to Natalie’s.

After yesterday’s class, it was clear even a week off from her routine had a noticeable impact.

She’d have to clear a space in the cottage for a daily stretching session and build a strenuous walk into her schedule.

And hope Micah—or whoever had been lurking around her cottage on Friday—kept his distance in the future.

“HEY, LYDIA! When are you cooking dinner?”

As her brother banged on the door of her bedroom, Lydia tipped down the screen of her laptop. “I don’t know.”

“We always eat on Sundays at two.”

“Not today. I’m busy.”

“I’m hungry.”

“Why don’t you go over to Ashley’s? Let her feed you?”

A beat passed. “I’m going over later. But she doesn’t cook like you do. You could be a chef.”

Compliments would get him nowhere.

“Better get used to her food if you’re going to let her move in here.”

“Oh, come on.” He switched to a cajoling tone. “Make dinner for us.”

“Sorry. I’m working on a plan to get out of your house, like you asked.”

“You could take a break from that on Sunday.”

“Ashley might not appreciate me slacking off. She wants me gone, remember?”

“I’ll talk to her. So will you cook?”

“Nope.”

An aggravated sigh came through the door. “What are you going to do about dinner?”

“I may go out.”

“Since when has there been room in your budget for restaurant meals?”

She picked up her phone and called up the photos she’d taken at Natalie’s house on Friday. Smiled. “Everyone deserves to splurge once in a while.” Especially if there was a source of funding for indulgences on the horizon.

“Are you saying I’m on my own for food today?”

“Yep.”

He mumbled an ear-burning comment and stomped back down the hall.

Good riddance.

Yeah, he’d let her move back in two years ago, but it had always been about Randy and what was best for him.

He was the same self-centered little boy he’d once been, living in a grown-up body.

It had cost him nothing to offer her this empty room, and he’d gotten a cook and house cleaner in the bargain. Plus, she’d ended up paying rent.

Sweet deal for him.

One he was willing to forfeit for a flashy blonde who’d use him and lose him.

But that was his issue. She had her own future to think about.

She raised the laptop screen again and leaned closer to scan the new information she’d pulled up. Amazing how buyers could be found for almost anything. And now that she had photos to share of the merchandise, she ought to be able to get a bidding war going.

First things first, however. She had to get a handle on fair pricing. Otherwise, someone could cheat her. Meaning she had to learn more about the rare product she would soon be selling.

As for the second part of her plan—she reached into her pocket and fingered the keys to Natalie’s house.

The groundwork she was laying for moving in there was coming along too.

Not as fast as she’d like, thanks to that professor’s presence.

But Cara Tucker wasn’t there on weekends, and if Natalie needed assistance then, who would be around to help her?

A question she intended to pose to her client should any more .

.. problems ... arise at the house that could make her uncomfortable about being alone.

Because Micah Reeves couldn’t be relied upon to come to her aid.

That man was downright creepy. If trouble did arise, he’d probably vanish into the woods like he did whenever she spotted him on her treks to clean the cottage.

Yes, Natalie would benefit from a live-in housekeeper.

As would the housekeeper.

Lydia went back to scrolling through the internet and compiling her research. For both parts of her plan to succeed, she had to be buttoned up and thorough. Think through every contingency. Be ready to step in when opportunity presented itself.

And it wouldn’t hurt to make an effort to convince Cara Tucker that hanging around Natalie’s remote estate might not be in her best interest if she valued her safety.