“Rough night?”
Carson nodded. “CJ’s got his hours switched around. Layne took the first shift. I took the second, which means I’ve been up since…” He glanced at his phone on the desk. “Three o’clock.”
“Doesn’t sound like there’s enough coffee for a night like that.”
He smiled as he shook his head. Reminded of the drink at his elbow, he lifted the mug and sipped. When he set it down, he looked over Gabe. “Tell me what’s going on at Felicity’s house.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Nothing. Ran the footage from her doorbell cam and two others that Gray set up when Honor’s ex was stalking her.”
Carson’s lips tightened. “Good thing they were already in place.”
“Yeah. There wasn’t a single sign of anyone trying to force the lock or enter through a window. No weird vehicles caught either. Just a notification that someone was at the door, then video that they ran off when she spoke to them through the intercom.”
Carson grunted. “Clean.”
“Too clean.” That was what bothered him. Whoever had broken into Felicity’s shop left a mess. Whoever walked up on her porch had been careful. “If they were testing her security, they did a damn good job staying off the radar till the last minute.”
Carson rocked a little in his seat like the motion would help him think. “House was secure when you went through it?”
“Every lock engaged. Doors solid.” He’d checked each one twice because the idea of someone invading her privacy that way—trashing her home—wasn’t going to happen on his watch.
“Willow told me she stayed the night in the library.”
“Yeah. I just came from there.” His mind flashed to the tray of food and her tucked on the floor, her eyes hazy with sleep and grief and the occasional quick spark of humor. “What’s bothering me is she opened a box of old books. Rare stuff. One of them was from an older guy she was friends with.”
“Was?”
“She thinks he’s dead.”
“Interesting. What makes her think that?”
“One of the books he sent was special to them.” He thought of her clinging to it. “She said he never would have sent it unless he was gone. Plus, he sent a letter and a journal with it.”
Carson expelled a breath through his nose. “I’ll ask to see it.”
“No need. I photographed everything and forwarded the photos to you.”
Carson bobbed his head. “Good instinct.”
He didn’t respond to the praise. To him, he was just doing what any man would do.
“She had her shop wrecked, some unknown jackass on her porch, and she just opened goodbye mail. It’s a lot. So if youdon’t need me today, I’d like to help her clean up the shop again. She shouldn’t be alone there.”
Carson’s eyes gleamed. “I’m sure your intentions are strictly professional.”
Gabe cocked a brow at him.
“Just observing that I saw the way you looked at her at the bonfire.”
“Like a concerned friend.” He set the record straight even though he knew it was all a lie.
“Or a man who’d leap through the flames for her.”
“I’m here. I should help.”
“Last people I’d leap through the flames for were brothers-in arms, and Layne. And Felicity sure doesn’t look like your brother.”
Gabe opened his mouth and shut it again. Turning his head toward the window, he watched Crew lead a horse past the barn.
