“I appreciate that,” he said instead. “But I’ll be okay.”
Isabel nodded, though he could tell she wasn’t entirely satisfied with his answer. “Well, just know that if you need anything—even just someone to listen—I’m not far away.”
Frank watched her walk back to her friends. Her offer of help touched something in him that had been dormant for a long time. Since he’d moved to Sapphire Bay, he’d made friends but kept his personal life to himself. But Dave’s appearance had shattered the peace he’d found.
One thing was certain: Dave Winters hadn’t come all this way for a reconciliation. And Frank needed to figure out his next move before Sterling Industries discredited him and the evidence he’d risked everything to expose.
CHAPTER 14
Isabel dabbed another swatch of ‘Tranquil Sea’ blue onto Kathleen’s living room wall. Stepping back, she imagined how the room would look if they painted all the walls the same color. With the afternoon light streaming through the bay windows, it would look gorgeous.
The old Victorian home Kathleen had purchased had good bones but desperately needed updating, starting with the dingy cream walls that hadn’t seen fresh paint in at least a decade.
“What do you think?” Kathleen asked, examining the light blue sample next to three shades of warm gray. “Too coastal cliché for Montana?”
Isabel tilted her head, considering the options. “I like it. It’s peaceful without being too obvious. And it works with the lake view.”
Kathleen’s new house sat on a picturesque point about ten minutes out of Sapphire Bay. Each time Isabel was here, the panoramic view of Flathead Lake took her breath away. The house needed work, but Isabel and her friends had fallen in love with it when they were teenagers.
It was that potential that made Kathleen make an offer the owner couldn’t refuse.
“You’re right,” Kathleen said, setting down her paintbrush. “Now, hand me that ‘Rainy Afternoon Gray.’ I want to see it in the corner where the light’s different.”
Isabel passed the small container to Kathleen. Her friend’s gaze lingered on her for a moment too long. There was something in her expression—curiosity mixed with concern—that Isabel had seen flickering across her friends’ faces ever since Bernie’s Diner yesterday.
“Out with it,” Isabel said with a gentle smile. “You’ve been dancing around something all day.”
Kathleen had the grace to look slightly chagrined. “Was I that obvious?”
“Painfully so.”
Kathleen dipped her brush in the gray paint and applied it carefully to the wall. “We watched Frank as you were talking to him at the diner yesterday. After the man in the suit left.”
“His name is Dave,” Isabel supplied. “Apparently, he’s an old colleague of Frank’s from his corporate law days.”
“Susan and Lynda are worried,” Kathleen said, keeping her eyes fixed on her paintbrush. “They think Frank might not be... well, what he seems.”
Isabel set down her brush, suddenly feeling defensive, though she wasn’t entirely sure why. In the time she’d known Frank, he’d been nothing but kind, helpful, and refreshingly straightforward. And the way her heart quickened when he walked into a room was something she was still coming to terms with.
“What do they think he seems like?” Isabel asked, working to keep her tone neutral.
Kathleen sighed. “Susan did some Googling. She found articles about a whistleblower scandal at Sterling Industries. It mentioned a senior lawyer who exposed corruption and thendisappeared.” She glanced at Isabel. “The timing matches when Frank arrived in Sapphire Bay.”
Isabel wasn’t surprised. Frank had told her he’d left a corporate legal career. “Being a whistleblower is hardly a character flaw, Kathleen.”
“No, but having someone from your past track you down in a small town might mean trouble.” Kathleen applied another stroke of gray. “That man looked... intense.”
Isabel thought back to Dave’s expensive suit and cold smile. There’d been something predatory in his body language when he’d spoken to Frank, something that had made her instinctively wary.
“Frank seemed rattled,” Isabel admitted. “But he’s entitled to his privacy.”
“Of course he is,” Kathleen said. “But Lynda pointed out that we don’t really know much about him. He moved here, bought a cottage on the north shore, and keeps to himself except for volunteering at the community center and fishing. And apparently, helping a certain bookstore owner with legal paperwork.”
Isabel felt her cheeks warm. Frank had helped with the ongoing negotiations with the owners of the cottage she wanted to buy. Even though they’d come to a stalemate, Frank had been thorough and patient and had asked for nothing in return.
“He’s a good man, Kathleen. I’m sure of it.”
“Your husband was a police officer for thirty years,” Kathleen reminded her. “You’ve seen what happens when powerful people feel threatened. Frank could be in trouble if he exposed something serious at Sterling Industries.”
