“Eastern will find the asshole who killed her,” Kayden said quietly. He believed that wholeheartedly. It was taking him longer than Kayden would have thought, but he’d get there.
Elle just nodded, and he wasn’t sure if that meant she believed him or not.
When she popped the lid onto the Styrofoam cup and pushed it across the counter, he cleared his throat. “I spoke to Jace last night.”
The small smile that had been on her face slipped just a fraction, and to anyone else, it probably wouldn’t have been noticeable.
Fuck, he’d thought hearing about his brother would pick up her mood. Jace and Elle had been friends in high school. Good friends, to the point they’d stayed at each other’s houses regularly and been in contact with each other every day. They hadn’t dated, something Kayden never really understood, because he’d always thought they were great for each other. But they’d been close.
“Really?” she finally asked, voice unnaturally high and bright. “How’s he doing? Still chasing adventure?”
Like Kayden, Jace was in Air Force Special Warfare, but a different spec ops group. Combat controller.
“Always. Don’t think that will ever change.”
“No,” she said almost sadly. “I don’t suppose it will.”
He frowned. “Do you still keep in touch?”
“No. We did for a while, when he first left, but…you know, we live different lives. He’s off saving the world and I’m here, in this small town, serving coffee.”
“Every job, big or small, is important. In fact, I would argue caffeinating and feeding us SAR guys is top of the importance list here in Misty Peak.”
The small smile returned to her face. “Thanks, Kay.” She seemed to think about her next words for a moment before adding, “Tell him I say hi.”
“I will.”
Lifting his coffee, he turned to see Tilly still sitting opposite Harper, the two women talking in hushed tones. When Tilly’s eyes flashed up at him for the second time, he winked before heading out of the café.
The last week with her had been…fuck, he didn’t even have words. He craved their evenings together. Touching her. Talking and hearing her voice. The way she looked at him with her deep green eyes. He was addicted.
Back in the visitors center, Jake was leaning over the desk, talking to Pixie. He looked up, a smile curving his mouth. “Kayden, hey.”
“You’re back.”
“Well, I’m out of the hospital.” He straightened. “Not back to work just yet but hoping it won’t be long.”
Kayden stopped in front of the other man. “How are you feeling?”
He lifted a shoulder. “Not too bad, considering I was shot in the back.” He shook his head. “Sorry, dark humor.”
“Still no memory of what you found?”
“Actually, I’ve been getting small flashes of picking something up. A piece of jewelry, maybe?”
“Jewelry?”
“Yeah, I don’t know. I see something silver in my hand but it’s a blur.” He frowned, then shook his head. “I’m hoping more comes back to me.”
“I’m sure it won’t be long.”
Jake gripped Kayden’s shoulder. “Thanks again for your support while I was recovering, both the food deliveries and the visits. Really appreciate it.”
“Just glad to see you on your feet again.”
Kayden went into the office and grabbed the details for his next tour. Tilly had created cubes for each of them, and inKayden’s was his printed tour information. Another reason to be hooked on the woman—she was damn organized.
Before leaving, he jumped on her computer and logged into his emails, something Tilly had already said he was welcome to do whenever he needed. When he read a message he needed to take notes on, he opened a drawer and searched for something to write with. There was nothing in the top or second drawer.
