“Are you sure Marc didn’t mind you taking off for most of a Sunday to come down here on the heels of your honeymoon?”
“No worries on that score. He knows our monthly sibling gatherings are sacrosanct. Lindsey’s on board with that too, right?” Bri directed the question to Marc.
“One hundred percent. And remember that when you meet Mr. Right, Cara. He gets a thumbs-down if he balks about you giving us one Sunday afternoon a month.”
“I’ll pass that on if Mr. Right ever comes along. A big if. There aren’t a lot of Marcs in the world—present company excepted.”
“True. But there are some hot guys in the fire investigation world, pardon the pun.” Bri grinned. “And while I may be biased, my ATF agent husband is a scorcher. Your day is coming, though.”
“Probably not anytime soon.” Jack finished the last bite of his potatoes. “I doubt she’ll meet any eligible men while she’s holed up in the middle of nowhere with an older woman who speaks a dying language.”
As an image of Brad Mitchell flashed through her mind, Cara picked up her glass. Took a sip of the cold water.
While his eligibility was a question mark, he could hold his own with Bri’s new husband in the hot category.
“Or maybe she has.”
At her sister’s comment, Cara refocused on her siblings.
Jack stopped chewing. “What do you mean?”
“She disappeared into la-la land for a minute.”
As her brother and sister scrutinized her, she squirmed. “You guys are nuts. Like Jack said, I’m living off the beaten path this semester.”
“Yeah?” He studied her. “You look funny.”
“Put away your police detective badge, dear brother. If I ever meet anyone with serious potential, you will both be the first to know.”
“Is that a promise?” Bri collected their empty plates and stood.
“Cross my heart.”
“So how goes it out in the hinterland?” Jack lifted a corner of the plastic wrap on the plate of mint squares and took one.
“Natalie’s place isn’tthatfar from town. It’s not like I’ve left civilization behind.”
“Have you seen a Starbucks since you’ve been there?” Jack bit into the rich dessert.
“No.”
“I rest my case.”
“Starbucks isn’t the defining element of civilization.” Bri sat back down and took a mint square too. “So how is the project going?”
Cara gave them a quick rundown, including Natalie’s mention of the mystery surrounding Marie’s death. That would be of far more interest to the investigative duo at her table than the picture of daily life beginning to emerge from the journals.
“Sounds like a cold case waiting to happen.” Jack took a second mint square.
“It would be hard to reconstruct what happened a hundredyears ago, though.” Bri scrubbed a smear of chocolate off her fingers with her napkin. “Does your hostess have any theories?”
“No. She said her father never wanted to talk about it.”
“And he’s gone too, so dead end. My turn for a pun.” Jack grinned and swigged his water. “Anyone else on the premises other than you two?”
“A housekeeper comes two days a week, and a groundskeeper lives on site.”
“So he’s close by to lend a hand if anything comes up.”
