Sloan had no idea where this was going. “Good brownies are important.”
“So if you want to love her, you can. Then you can kiss, and she can make you brownies whenever you want.”
Sloan nearly choked. He finished chewing and forced down his food. “Is that what love is about? Kissing and making brownies?”
“You’d have to take out the trash, because that’s what the guy does.”
“I like to cook. Can I be the cook?”
“Sure. She burns stuff sometimes, so I don’t think she’ll mind.” Lucas drained his milk and looked around for a place to put the glass.
“Here.” Sloan held out his hand and returned the glass to the kitchen. “Get some sleep, knucklehead.” He turned to go back to his own bed, when a flash of light outside the window caught his eye. Instinctively, he dropped into a squat, leaving just enough of himself exposed to peer out the tiny window, but it was too dark to see anything. He thought of the night vision goggles and weapons he’d packed in the storage area of the camper, which could be accessed from the master bedroom. “Lucas, stay in your bed. Don’t get up, okay? I’ll be back in a minute.”
14
Joanne awoke to a rustling noise behind her head and sat up, trying to get her bearings.
The camper.
The missing money.
David’s death.
The kiss she’d shared with Sloan.
Oh, God.
More rustling, and she turned, looking at the sleeping Fiona curled up beside her before leaning over the side of the bed to see where the noise was coming from.
Sloan sat up at the same time. “Sorry I woke you. I need to find my night vision goggles.”
He went back into the storage cabinet hidden behind her bed, her eyes focusing on the dark shape outlined by the light vinyl flooring. She gasped. “Is that a gun?”
“Yeah. I saw something outside. I want to check it out.”
Fear shot adrenaline into her bloodstream. “Is somebody out there?”
“I don’t know yet.” He huffed. “I packed my gear so I’d have easy access. How much stuff did you put in here after that?”
“Just what we needed. There isn’t that much.”
“This is more than I pack for a month.”
“A bachelor and a family of four require a very different amount of stuff. Besides, you’d probably wear one pair of cargo shorts the entire time.”
His voice was muffled. “That’s called efficiency.” The sound of something falling down rumbled from inside the cabinet, then he backed out butt first. “Got it.” He stood. “You stay here. Lucas is awake. I’m going to send him back to you on my way out.”
“You’re going out there?”
“I’ll check out the windows first, but yes. It’s probably just an animal.”
“Really?”
“Not unless that animal has a cell phone. I saw a light.”
She balled her hands into fists. “Then why are you telling me it’s an animal?”
“Because I don’t want you to worry.”
