They stood on opposite sides and stared at each other briefly before he took a swig from his bottle. She set her purse and bag on a stool, then took a sip of her beer and set the bottle on the countertop.
“Taste good?” he asked.
“Huh?”
“The beer. Do you like the beer?”
She looked at the dark bottle to find her sip had been more of a swig. In one draw, she’d chugged down about a third of the contents.
She sighed a bit in frustration at his observation.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by that. It’s been a tough day, and I was just trying to make small talk.”
“It’s okay. I’m a little on edge.”
He nodded and took another swig of his beer.
The silence that followed was awkward, but not uncomfortable enough to flee.
She spun around to look at the living room behind her. It was nice. Inviting. Warm. Not the feel she’d expected from him. A big TV hung on the wall next to a stone fireplace. Two brown leather recliners faced the television, and a matching couch lined the divider between the kitchen and the living room, facing a wall of windows with a large sliding glass door. To her right was a hallway leading to the bedrooms and bathrooms, she presumed.
Both the kitchen and living room had dark hardwood floors, but the hallway had carpet. A couple of deer mounts hung high on the wall on either side of the fireplace. Other than that, there wasn’t a lot of wall art, but what there was had an outdoorsy theme.
“You have a beautiful home.”
“Thanks.”
“I take it you enjoy outdoor sporting activities.”
He arched a brow.
“I saw the kayak and camping stuff in the garage, and then the deer mounts,” she said as she pointed to them.
A smile stretched on his face.
“I do. My whole family does. My brother, sister, and I used to work as fishing, hiking, and hunting guides for my Uncle Lee, who owns Yooper Adventures. We still help him out sometimes when he needs us. It was the best job I ever had.”
“You didn’t want to stay in the U.P. and keep doing that?”
“It was a summer gig when I was in high school and college. Uncle Lee paid us pretty well, but it wasn’t the kind of wage you can make a living on, unless you own the place.”
“So, you went to school for law enforcement, but then found your way back to working outdoors?”
“Exactly. I was in law enforcement for almost fourteen years before I started charter fishing full-time. I did it part-time until I made the switch.”
She nodded and took a sip of her beer.
“Less stress?”
“Until today.”
Her gaze dropped to the countertop.
“I’m so sorry. I should have known something was wrong with Jonathan. I keep replaying everything, wondering how I missed it…seeing his true colors. Now, because of me…” she paused and swallowed hard, “Carly is missing.”
“Listen. This wasn’t your fault. You just got caught up in something beyond your control.”
She met his gaze and held her hand up.
