“Was it Shuman?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t think to ask what the man looked like until after he left. I also didn’t ask where it was. He just said he was out scouting and came across the camp. I told him to go talk to Ozzie.”
“Probably a good move.” I looked over her shoulder, not really seeing my crew hard at work as I thought about what she said. The encounter this stranger had could have been nothing.Or it could be the break needed to find Walter Shuman and finally get some answers.
“Yeah. I just wish I’d asked more questions.” She sighed, sounding wistful.
I smiled down at her. “Hindsight is twenty-twenty, babe.”
She chuckled. “I know. But I still want to know more about Toren’s mystery encounter. I might take a quick walk around town and see if he’s still here.”
“Let Ozzie take care of it, please? Someone already thinks you know too much.” As much as I also wanted to know more about the man in the woods, I didn’t want her to draw more attention to herself.
Her mouth thinned. “Fine. I’ll go back to work.”
I pecked a quick kiss on the end of her nose. “Good girl.”
She shot me a heated look. “You wanna call me that later? I can stop at the grocery for that strawberry syrup.”
My blood heated. I pulled her in close. “You’re on.”
CHAPTER 28
Luke
Sawdust flew, raining over my hair in a fine golden confetti shower as I cut the last of the boards to frame out the storage closet Mina wanted in the kitchen area. As the scream of the saw died, I heard my name.
Turning, I saw Kado walking toward me. “What’s up?”
He held up a box. “We have any more of these screws?”
I took it from him, reading the label. “I’m not sure. The van’s empty?” In addition to the personal vehicles some of the crew drove to get here, we had a company van with tools and supplies that Kado drove.
“Yep. I checked all the drawers.”
“Let me check my truck.” Flipping off the power to the saw, I headed out back to where I parked and unlocked the bed box. I kept an array of miscellaneous items with me, so it wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities that I would have some of the screws Kado needed.
But a quick rummage through the box’s contents told me that was not the case today. “I don’t have any. If you want to take over finishing the framing for the storage closet, I’ll run over to Parker Supply and get some.”
Kado nodded once. “Works for me.”
“Come on. I’ll show you where I’m at.” Leading him inside, I quickly showed him where I left off, then left the building. Parker Supply was close, so I decided to walk.
The town crawled with summer tourists, making me happy I didn’t need to take my truck and fight for parking space. Skirting around a family with two young kids, I entered the store.
A maze of displays met me as I stepped in. The store carried all the necessities and a decent selection of gifts, but that meant it was stocked to the brim. Always.
Winding through the shelves and racks, I found the hardware section and quickly located the screws Kado needed. I grabbed two boxes and headed for the checkout counter.
“Hey there, Luke.” Kent Morrison, the store owner, greeted me as I stepped up.
A genuine smile crossed my face. The rotund, on the downside of sixty, bearded man reminded me of Santa Claus. He was also just as nice. “Hey, Kent.” Setting the boxes down, I reached into my pocket for my wallet.
“This all you need?”
“For now, yes. We ran out at the building site.”
“You’re working on Mina’s café, right?”
