She laughed softly, directed her attention forward just to keep him guessing. “I have my ways, Conner. Secrets are actually only secret if no one knows them but you. You are the only person you can really trust.”
Silence.
Next he would ask the question, no doubt pushing the limits of his well-ingrained sense of propriety. She’d give him another minute, tops.
Through the intersection of High and Main.
Past Bay View Cemetery.
A right up the twisty, steep drive that ascended the cliffside to the inn. Home sweet home. She expected to find snakes in her bed before this was over.
The Jeep rolled to a stop, he shifted into park, propped both hands on the steering wheel, then stared out at the ocean. “Does this mean you’re leaving?”
Forty-five seconds.
Not bad for a guy who no doubt wanted his life back. The commercial aspects of the whodunit mystery had been solved. There was no need for the debunking lady to hang around. Time for him to go back to being plain old fisherman Kale Conner. No more babysitting the crazy woman from New York.
Nothing was ever that simple.
Not for Sarah Newton.
Things had a way of dragging her deeper into the current.
She watched the seagulls float over the harbor, the occasional one or two skimming close to the cold water.Nowould be the simplest answer to his question, but that wasn’t completely accurate, and there wasn’t any reason not to tell him the truth. She would leave when her instincts told her it was time to go.
Not when the chief or any damned body else suggested she do so.
“I could,” she admitted, which she didn’t usually do, particularly when in the presence of the other side. “Probably should, but I’m not ready to go yet.” Maybe it was her visit with Rachel Appleton. Whatever it was, something about this place wasn’t ready to let her go.
That was as close to the truth as she understood herself at the moment.
No comment.
Interesting. She’d expected a “Why not?” Definitely a disappointed sigh.
“Lunch sounds good to me right now.” He shifted that dark, dark gaze back to her. “You want to join me? Or did you have more names on that interview list? We can move on to the next name if you like.”
Her lips itched to stretch into a smile. He’d done something few people were able to. He’d surprised her a second time. Rather than question her decision, he’d accepted it and moved on to the next point: keeping up with her every move.
As for her list, she had lots more names. For now, she needed to work alone. He’d answered her call for help last night. Taken her to his place and cared for her when he could have dropped her off here to fend for herself. She appreciated his hospitality, but he was still one of them.
And she was the enemy. Pure and simple.
That didn’t even cover the aspect that should actually have been at the top of her list. He was a distraction. Too good-looking. Too earnest. Too damned tempting.
“I have to check in with my editor,” she lied. “He’s called about ten times already.” That much was true. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
His hesitation warned that he wasn’t sure leaving her to her own devices was a good idea, but he had no socially acceptable or otherwise logical excuse for arguing.
He rearranged his face into an agreeable expression. “I guess I’ll see you later, then.”
“Yeah.” She climbed out of the Jeep.
“Don’t go out in the middle of the night without me,” he suggested when she reached for the door.
“Right.” She gave the door a shove and trudged across the parking area. He didn’t leave right away. She didn’t dismiss immediately, as she should have, the thought that lunch might have been nice. Resisting the urge to look back, she twisted the doorknob and pushed into the lobby. She didn’t need Kale Conner to do her work.
She always worked alone.
