Chapter Ten
The workday had long finished when they returned to Genesis Valley, so Laurel asked Huck to drop her off again at her mother’s home. There were two other trucks and an older SUV already parked in the driveway. Family dinner? After seeing the remains of young women while meeting with Dr. Ortega, she wasn’t in the mood. “I’ll get my own car sometime tomorrow,” she said, opening the passenger side door to jump out.
“No problem,” Huck said, sounding as weary as she felt.
She paused. “Are you going back up the mountain?”
“Not tonight. Another storm is coming in, and we’ve halted the search. Maybe tomorrow.”
Laurel fought her desires versus good manners. Good manners won. “It looks like my mom may be having a family dinner. Would you like to join us?” It was the least she could do, considering he’d driven her around all day.
“No.” He softened the refusal with a slight smile. “I’ve had enough of people today and want to go home with my dog. Thank you for the invite.”
Her disappointment that he’d refused was a surprise. “All right. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She shut the door and half bent to counter the wind on the way to the porch. He was already pulling out of the drive when she opened the front door to the bustle of a good-sized gathering and the smell of home-cooked chicken casserole. The good kind with potato chips on top.
“There’s my girl.” Uncle Blake rushed in from the kitchen and swept her up, hugging her with his strong farmer’s arms. “You got even shorter. How is that possible?” He plunked her down on her feet, sending a jolt through her spine.
She slapped his chest, knowing he’d say those very words. “I’m taller than ever. Let me look at you. Mom says that Aunt Betty has you on a cleansing diet.” Her mother was always thorough in her weekly emails.
Blake sighed. “It’s true. I spend most of my time in the bathroom, but tonight I get to splurge and have real food.” In his late fifties, Blake Snow looked like the farmer he’d been for decades. Brown hair tinged with gray, green eyes like his siblings, and a logger’s chest, wide as a barrel. He still had a slight belly, but the cleanse was definitely working. Like Deidre, he was tall, looming over Laurel at six foot six. And a half. That half had always given him an edge over his brother, and he was quick to add it when talking about height. “I heard you’re home for a good while.”
“Hopefully not,” Laurel said. “Wait. I mean I like being home, but I want to find this killer soon and then relax for the holidays.” Instinct as well as experience whispered that the killer wasn’t going to be found easily.
Blake slung a heavy arm around Laurel’s shoulders. “If anybody can find this douchebag, it’s my girl.”
“Laurel!” Aunt Betty bustled out of the kitchen, her brown hair down around her shoulders, chunky turquoise jewelry at her neck and ears. Her dark brown eyes sparkled, and she looked curvy in a tiered, forest-green gauze maxi skirt beneath a flowered blouse and long gray cardigan. “Did you shrink?” At just under six feet tall, her aunt grinned.
“Don’t encourage Blake,” Laurel chided, letting her aunt swallow her in a lavender-scented hug. “I think I might be growing.”
“Right.” Her aunt leaned back to study her. “You look tired. Come in and have some tea.”
It was fortunate that most of life’s ailments could be solved with a good cup of tea, at least according to her family. She let her aunt pull her into the kitchen, where the mixture of aromas made her stomach growl.
Her mom looked up from tossing a salad. “Did Huck Rivers drop you off again?”
Laurel allowed her aunt to push her onto a chair at the round table already set for four. “Yes.”
Aunt Betty frowned. “Huck Rivers?”
Laurel fought the urge to groan. “We’re working a case together, although he doesn’t like FBI agents. He has tolerated me so far because the working relationship is mutually beneficial, but he has strongly suggested I return to DC and let his department handle the case.”
Betty poured two cups of tea and handed one over, taking a seat. “He’s an enigma. In town, the guy is curt to the point of being rude, but the second anybody goes lost, he’s the first to climb the mountain or dive into the river.”
Laurel watched steam rise from her mug. “He’s on the dive team, too?”
“Yes.” Betty nodded. “I believe he has some demons, and that’s being kind. I’m sorry you have to work with him.”
“Agreed,” Blake said, leaning over Deidre to snatch a piece of chicken. “Rivers also has a nasty temper when it blows. I saw him nearly take a man’s head off last year. Of course, the man had shot a deer out of season, but even so. Huck is better off in the wilds doing his job.”
Betty leaned forward, her eyes alight with the thrill of gossip. “He’s always up on the mountain by himself. I don’t like you being alone with him.”
Laurel took a sip of her tea, and citrus exploded down her throat. Warm and delicious. “I have a gun, Aunt Betty.”
Deidre brought the plates to the table. “Knock it off, you two. I’ve never met him, but I heard that Huck was a sniper in the military.”
Blake smoothed back his thick hair with one hand. “Yeah, and sometimes that type of strategic mindset needs to find another outlet. For now, he doesn’t need to drive you any longer, Laurel. We brought your aunt’s Volkswagen Tiguan for you to drive. It’s a 2010 model, but they last forever, and it’s in much better shape than the truck your mom keeps in the garage but never drives.”
Laurel paused. “You didn’t have to do that.” Although it would be nice to have a car she trusted, and Blake was an excellent mechanic.
