She slipped the whistle into her pocket and kept moving. As soon as she finished her walk, she’d clean her studio and start planning her first canvas. And maybe, if Gabe forgot about being grumpy, he might tell her why he was here, too.
* * *
Gabe closed his laptop.After three hours of non-stop writing he’d finally reached the point where Zac had found the dead body in his orchard. Now all Gabe had to do was introduce Zac to the medical examiner and watch the sparks fly.
Sherlock whined and scratched the back door.
Gabe let him outside, then walked across to the kitchen. When Sherlock still hadn’t returned fifteen minutes later, he went looking for him.
It would be just like Sherlock to be rolling around in something he’d found under the trees or digging another enormous hole in the backyard.
He whistled, hoping the short, sharp burst distracted his dog from whatever he was doing.
Sherlock woofed and ran around the corner of the cottage.
“Where have you been?” Gabe sniffed. Sherlock didn’t smell bad, so at least that was one bonus for the day.
Natalie stepped around the edge of the building. With a big floppy sun hat perched on her head and a tote bag slung over her shoulder, she looked like she was heading out for the day.
She smiled and an odd feeling of protectiveness snuck up on him.
“Sherlock wants to stay with me, but I’m going into town. Is there anything you need?”
Gabe shook his head. “We’re fine, but thanks for asking.”
Natalie’s eyebrows rose. “You seem a lot happier than you were this morning.”
Telling her that a person with serious mental health issues was stalking him wouldn’t make her feel safe. Telling her the same person was recreating the scenes in his books would be even worse. So he settled on something resembling the truth and hoped he never had to tell her what was really happening.
“I’m a writer. When you saw me, I was trying to figure out how my hero would find a dead body in his orchard.”
“I take it you don’t write romance novels?”
It was Gabe’s turn to smile. “Thrillers.”
“Has your hero found the dead body?”
“His dog found it.”
Natalie looked at Sherlock and grinned. “Now I know why you have a dog called Sherlock. Has he helped you find other dead bodies?”
“Not yet. This was his first.” Gabe could have kicked himself. He’d told her too much. “I’d appreciate you not telling anyone I’m a writer.”
“You don’t want everyone to know you kill people for a living?”
Gabe forced a smile. “Something like that. I have to finish my latest book and there are fewer distractions here.”
The smile on Natalie’s face disappeared. “That must be my cue to leave.”
“I don’t mean you’re a distraction.” Gabe stumbled over his apology. “I meant in general terms. At least here, no one knows me.” That didn’t sound any better than telling Natalie she wasn’t a distraction.
She must have realized he was digging an even deeper hole for himself. “That’s okay, I know what you mean.” She adjusted the strap on her bag and patted Sherlock’s head. “I’ll be gone for about an hour.”
As Gabe moved out of her way, his cell phone rang.
Natalie looked over her shoulder and grinned. “It sounds as though civilization has caught up with you.”
He looked at the number of the person calling him and frowned. “You’re right. I’ll see you when you get back.”
