“Hi, Steven.” She called out from several yards away to alert him to her presence so he wouldn’t be startled.
Didn’t help.
He jerked toward her, and the object in his hand flew her direction.
She jolted to a stop as it came to rest a few feet in front of her on top of the bright yellow leaves shed by a tall poplar tree beside the path.
Her jaw dropped as she stared at it.
Was that a diamond-and-emerald bracelet?
Before she could process what she was seeing, Steven swept in, snatched it up, and shoved it into his shirt pocket.
Several silent seconds crawled by as she tried to make sense of the scenario.
“You should see your face.” He smiled, but unless she was misreading him, he was seriously rattled. “Then again, I suppose it’s not every day you see a piece of fine jewelry lying in the woods.”
“So my eyes weren’t deceiving me.”
“Nope. It’s real.” He shifted his weight, his expression growing sheepish as he propped his hands on his hips. “This is a mite awkward. I guess I should have mentioned that I’m seeing a woman in St. Louis. The bracelet is for her. She has a birthday coming up. I hope I didn’t mislead you about my interest.”
“No. Not at all.” Truth be told, it was possible she’d misinterpreted the glint of attraction in his eyes early on. And once Brad had taken center stage, she hadn’t cared what, if any, romantic signals Steven had been sending. She certainly hadn’t senthimany, that much she knew. “She’s a lucky woman. That’s quite a gift.”
“I hope she agrees.”
She glanced down at his other hand.
Why was he carrying a flashlight in broad daylight?
He lifted it and spoke as if he’d read her mind. “I was thinking about exploring the cave. Spelunking has never been high on my radar, but since I know every inch of this property above ground, I thought I should take a peek into the cave.”
While carrying around an expensive piece of jewelry?
Why would he do that?
And what was the bracelet doing in his pocket, anyway? Shouldn’t it be in the elegant, protective case the jeweler must have provided?
Maybe Steven’s head injury was muddling his thinking.
Whatever was going on, however, it wasn’t giving her a warm and fuzzy feeling. Strange vibes were swirling through the air, and an alert began to beep in her mind.
“Well...” She took a step back. Forced up the cornersof her lips. “I’ll let you get to it. I was going to take a walk by the lake, but I think the weather is about to get nasty. I’d rather be inside if a storm is brewing.” She turned and began to walk away.
Fast.
“Cara.”
As he called out to her, she stopped. Looked back.
Sucked in a breath.
What in the world?
Steven was Natalie’s kind, caring cousin. The man who gave up his weekends to keep her company and watch over her. Who’d accompanied the visiting professor on hikes around the property and entertained her with witty banter as they’d laughed and chatted.
So who was this gun-toting stranger putting her heart in his crosshairs?
TWENTY-EIGHT
