“If you’re from the area, that’s probably because it’s a familiar subject. Did you grow up around here?”
“Yes.”
“Do you still have a ton of family close by? Everyone seems to, from what I’ve gathered in my research.”
His stomach knotted. “Not anymore. My brother’s careertook him to upstate New York, and my parents retired to Florida a few years ago. Mom’s people are from Idaho, and Dad was an only child. What about you? Is your family close by?”
“My brother and sister live in St. Louis. Mom and Dad are both gone.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Me too. They were the salt of the earth.” Her voice rasped, and she motioned toward the cottage. “I should go in and let you be on your way. I bet it’s past your quitting time.”
“As a matter of fact, I’m not on duty today.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Then why did you come out here tonight?”
He frowned.
Good question.
There’d been no official obligation to respond to this callout, nor to instruct his deputies to let him know if another SOS came in from Natalie’s house.
So why had he?
As the explanation slammed into him, it drove the air from his lungs like a punch to the solar plexus.
He’d asked to be alerted for one simple reason. Another SOS would give him an opportunity to cross paths again with the woman standing in front of him.
And that was wrong, wrong, wrong.
It was also unfair to Elizabeth.
A tsunami of guilt crashed over him, but he fought it back. Cara was waiting for an answer, and he had to come up with a plausible excuse.
“My senior deputy alerted me to the call, and I decided to swing by. Natalie’s a fixture in the community, even if she keeps a low profile, and I was concerned about her.”
True. Just not the whole story.
Cara gave a slow nod. “I admire your dedication to your job.”
“It’s not a nine-to-five calling, that’s for sure. But itisgetting late. I should leave.” He backed off a few steps. “Let’s hope the crisis cluster has passed.”
“Amen to that. Thanks for walking me back to the cottage.”
“My pleasure. Good night.” He turned on his heel and escaped into the darkness.
Yet as he strode away—and despite the guilt pricking his conscience—he admitted the truth. From the moment Cara had appeared on his radar, the darkness he’d been living in for the past three years hadn’t felt quite as oppressive.
He’d have to deal with that ... and the implications.
But not tonight.
Instead, as he circled around to the front of Natalie’s house, he refocused on the events of the evening.
While the fire had done no lasting harm, Natalie’s insistence that she hadn’t used a potholder, let alone burned one, was troubling. Especially since this incident had come on the heels of her dizzy spells.
Yes, people who were older could be prone to health glitches. And yes, accidents like fires in trash cans happened. It was possible Natalie had had a memory lapse despite her insistence to the contrary.
