“I don’t know. He didn’t share any details with me.”
Steven sipped his coffee, his expression dubious. “It’s hard to imagine anyone targeting Micah. I can’t believe he had any enemies.”
“I know. It’s strange.”
“Well, if there’s anything dangerous happening around here, you may want to forgo your solo treks around the property.”
She sent him a rueful grin. “The sheriff gave me the same advice, so I’ve confined my walks to this area and the driveway. But I miss hiking around the lake.”
“Whenever I’m here, we can hike around the lake together. Safety in numbers, as they say.”
“That would be great.”
“Shall we meet up today after you finish with Natalie?”
“Yes. I’ll drop my laptop off at the cottage, change shoes, and wait for you by the path. Eleven fifteen?”
“I’ll be there.” He winked and raised his mug.
She smiled, then headed back to the study, a mug in each hand.
But as she walked down the hall, her lips flattened.
Since neither Natalie or Steven could think of any legitimate explanation for someone to be on the property at night, it appeared that whoever was wandering about was here for illicit purposes.
Whether their presence had anything to do with Micah’s death remained a question. One Brad would want to address.
She’d have to let him know about this new development ASAP.
So the minute she and Natalie finished for the day, she’d head back to the cottage and call him while she waited for Steven to come by for their walk.
And with warnings from both of the men who’d entered her life echoing in her mind, she was definitely going to avoid the path that led to the lake in the future unless she had company.
Because with compromised hearing, she was an easy target for someone who wanted to sneak up on her undetected. While her implants were a godsend, it wasn’t always possible to distinguish and identify stray noises.
Besides, the sounds of nature during her walks often resulted in a cacophony of clatter unless she turned down the volume on her processors, and if she did that, she’d be even more vulnerable.
So this girl was playing it safe from here on out.
Until Brad found all the pieces to Micah’s puzzle, she’d hunker down in the house or her cottage and confine her walks to circuits of the yard or treks with Steven whenever he was around.
And as long as she followed that prudent plan, what could possibly go wrong?
NINETEEN
BRAD CAME TO AN ABRUPT HALTon the path that led from Natalie’s house to the guest cottage.
Watching Cara and Steven laugh together as they emerged from the woods on the trail behind the structure didn’t make this a candidate for his best-Friday-ever list.
On the contrary.
The cozy scene pushed it down darn near the bottom.
But hehadcanceled their date last night, and if she wanted to take a hike with Natalie’s cousin, he had no right to be upset.
Heck, he ought to be glad she’d found someone to go with instead of striking out on her own.
Except he wasn’t.
