Page 34 of Out of Time (Undaunted Courage #3)

NINETEEN

brAD CAME TO AN AbrUPT HALT on the path that led from Natalie’s house to the guest cottage.

Watching Cara and Steven laugh together as they emerged from the woods on the trail behind the structure didn’t make this a candidate for his best-Friday-ever list.

On the contrary.

The cozy scene pushed it down darn near the bottom.

But he had canceled their date last night, and if she wanted to take a hike with Natalie’s cousin, he had no right to be upset.

Heck, he ought to be glad she’d found someone to go with instead of striking out on her own.

Except he wasn’t.

Which made no sense, if he cared about her safety.

Unless...

Could he be ... jealous?

That unexpected notion smacked him in the face.

Jealousy wasn’t an emotion that had raised its ugly head in his life for more years than he could remember, yet the unpleasant sensation was as fresh as if he’d experienced it yesterday.

Yeah, he was jealous. The man who’d never expected to get involved with another woman was face-to-face with the green-eyed monster.

And it didn’t feel good.

“Brad!” Cara caught sight of him and waved.

He hoisted up the corners of his mouth and lifted a hand in response.

The smile she’d been sharing with Steven warmed significantly as she beamed it toward him, and the tightness in his shoulders eased.

Maybe he didn’t have anything to be jealous about after all.

“Were you looking for me?” She continued toward him, Steven half a step behind her.

“Yes. I got your voicemail. I was tied up with the state patrol when you called.”

Her expression sobered. “Did you find the missing children?”

“Yes. Their father took them to get back at his ex-wife for having a restraining order issued against him. The kids are safe. He’s locked up.”

“I’m glad the outcome was positive.”

“Me too. It could have gone downhill fast. I’ve seen that happen.” He transferred his attention to her companion. “Hello, Steven. If you’ll be available in a few minutes, I’d like to talk with you.”

“Sure. Just knock on the back door. I’ll be working in the kitchen.” He turned to Cara. “Have a safe drive back to Cape, and enjoy your weekend.”

“Thanks.”

He circled around them and strolled down the path toward the house.

Brad shifted his attention to Cara. “Sorry to interrupt, but I’m glad I caught you before you left. It sounded as if you had something important to tell me, and since I had other business in this area anyway, I swung by.”

“I do have news. But first, in case you were wondering, there was nothing to interrupt. I’ve been heeding your advice about sticking close to the house instead of taking my daily walks around the lake.

When Steven offered to go with me today, I jumped at the chance to stretch my legs.

It was all about safety in numbers, nothing more. ”

Her people-reading skills were remarkable.

“Can I admit that relieves my mind, without sounding too possessive?”

“You can. And you can also put any worries to rest. There’s only one man on this property who interests me in anything beyond friendship.”

“Nice to know.”

“Now that we’ve cleared up your concern, what’s in the bag?” She motioned to the white sack in his hand.

“A peace offering for the canceled date.” He lifted it. “There’s a Mennonite bakery not far from here that has the best chocolate chip cookies on the planet, baked fresh every day. I picked some up en route. I thought we could share them while you tell me why you called.”

“Mm. Much tastier than my usual fruit-and-yogurt lunch. Let me get a couple of waters.” She pivoted and jogged toward the door.

As she disappeared inside, he took the same chair he’d claimed for their previous chat in front of the cottage.

She reappeared less than a minute later.

“That was quick.” He took the bottle she handed him.

“I move fast if homemade chocolate chip cookies are in the offing.” She sank into the other chair. “I don’t bake often, so this will be a treat.”

“No time, or no inclination?”

“Both.” She twisted off the cap of her water. Studied him for a moment. Sighed. “If the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, I’m not certain I should tell you this yet ... but in the interest of full disclosure, I’m not much of a cook. Jack’s the chef among the siblings.”

“A culinary degree isn’t a top priority for me in a relationship.”

Her lips scrunched into a rueful twist. “I don’t even do the basics well. Cooking Chuck’s simple fare at the diner would be gourmet for me.”

“So what do you eat?”

“A lot of salad. But I do make a mean omelet and a great potato casserole. Ever since Jack claimed he almost broke a tooth on my barbecued ribs, my siblings always request those two items when it’s my turn to host our monthly meal.”

“I like salad, and my meatloaf and chili are decent. I’m also proficient on the grill. If I want fancier food, I go to a restaurant. In terms of dessert, it’s hard to beat these.” He lifted the bag again. “Besides, it isn’t fair to expect a woman to handle all the cooking chores.”

She grinned. “I like how you think. And I’m ready to try one of those cookies whenever you are.”

He set his water down, opened the bag, and held it out.

Cara reached in and took a cookie. Bit into it while he pulled one out for himself. Closed her eyes.

“See what I mean?” He started on his.

“These are incredible.” She chewed slowly, as if savoring every burst of flavor from the crumbly goodness.

“Help yourself to another one.” He picked up the bag again.

She didn’t hesitate to accept the invitation. “You can ply me with these anytime.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He finished off his cookie and swigged his water. “Now tell me why you called earlier.”

As soon as she finished chewing, she launched into her story.

He listened without interrupting, the red flags that had continued to flutter in his mind about Micah’s death waving harder with every sentence.

The groundskeeper’s dislike of the dark, along with the fact that someone had been wandering about on Natalie’s property at odd hours, helped justify further investigation.

“So what do you think?” Cara moved on to her second cookie.

“I think I’m going to take a walk around the property in the vicinity of where you think you saw the lights last night.”

“It would be hard to pinpoint the spot. I couldn’t gauge distance very well.”

“I’m still going to walk around the general area.”

“What happens if you don’t find anything suspicious?”

Excellent question, given that was the probable outcome without an exact location to search.

“It would be helpful to have eyes on the place at night, but we don’t have the manpower for that, and I doubt Natalie would want to incur the cost of private security. The lights you’ve seen in the past—were they all in the same vicinity?”

She stopped chewing. “Now that you mention it, yes.”

“A few security cameras in that area would be helpful. I’ll see if I can get her to spring for those. Has there been any pattern to your sightings?”

“Not that I can remember, except they’ve usually been later at night. After ten for sure, sometimes later.”

“You’re a night owl.”

“Guilty as charged.”

“What about days of the week?”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I can’t remember what days I saw the others. I’ve only noticed the lights three or four times.”

“No worries. There wasn’t any reason you should have committed that information to memory.” He brushed off his hands. “I’m going to walk down the path a ways and poke around before I talk to Steven and Natalie. But first—can we reschedule our dinner?”

The corners of her mouth rose. “I thought you’d never ask.”

“Why don’t we try for Wednesday next week?”

“I’ll pencil it in.”

“Write it in ink.” He stood and held out the cookies. “You keep the rest.”

She took the bag without argument. “Trust me, they won’t go to waste. Or rather, they will. To my waist.”

“An occasional indulgence never hurt anyone. And you look great to me.” He gave her a slow, appreciative once-over that heightened her color.

A sudden urge to kiss her surged through him, too strong to resist. And since she’d initiated the last lip-lock, how risky could it be to take the lead today?

Without giving himself a chance to get cold feet or weigh pros and cons, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. Lingered. Pulled back at her sweet response before he overstepped.

“I’ll call you this weekend.” The promise came out hoarse, and he cleared his throat.

“Please do.”

At her breathy encouragement, he almost succumbed to the temptation to claim another, more intense kiss. But somehow he managed to resist. Rushing this relationship would be a mistake, in light of their backgrounds.

He backed away, then turned and strode down the path toward the lake, glancing over his shoulder at the edge of the woods.

Cara was standing by the chairs, cookie bag clutched in her hand, fingers pressed to her lips. As if she was relishing the kiss as much as she had the other sweet treat he’d given her today.

The feeling was mutual.

But as Brad continued down the path, in the direction of Cara’s mysterious sightings, he switched mental gears. His focus for the remainder of his visit had to be on the death of an innocent man.

Because all the troubling evidence that continued to accumulate was more and more suggesting that while the cause of Micah’s death had been drowning, the manner may have been murder.

WHY COULDN’T HIS GRANDFATHER have been more clear about the location of the treasure?

Steven tossed back the dregs of his scotch, pulled out the bottle he’d tucked into his overnight bag for this weekend visit with Natalie, and refilled the glass.

A map would have been far more helpful than the reference to “tucked somewhere safe, down in the dark” that had led him on a fruitless, weeks-long search of Natalie’s basement, poking into every nook and cranny and box and chest filled with decades of junk while his cousin slept at night.

Until the lightbulb had gone off in his head the day he’d shown Cara the hiking trail.