Brock brushed her hair away from her angled face. “Go on.”
“Attacking a stranger would deviate from his usual pattern,” she said. “If there even is a pattern. Keep in mind, these are just allegations, and the authorities arrested somebody for the ex-girlfriend’s disappearance.”
Christian rolled his neck. “They did?”
“Yeah,” Ophelia said quietly, still reading the file. “It looks like they arrested her cousin, who ended up taking a plea. There was bad blood between them. Some family dispute.”
“That does sound reasonable,” Damian said.
The door opened again, letting in a streak of cold air and the faint scent of snowmelt from the mountains. Ace glanced up automatically.
May stood just inside the doorway, scanning the room. When she spotted the four Ospreys clustered at their table, she faltered for half a second.
Ace crooked his finger toward her.
She lowered her chin slightly, but she walked over anyway. “Yes?” she asked when she reached them.
He wanted to pull her down onto his lap, feel her settle there like she belonged, but they weren’t quite there yet. Instead, he stood. “My dinner date is here.”
Brock grinned along with Ophelia. Damian closed the file. Christian only watched.
“See you guys later,” Ace added, already taking her hand. He led her toward the bar, the scrape of chairs and the murmur of conversation filling in behind them.
“I’m your date?” she asked, smiling up at him.
He looked down at her pretty face. “I guess I should have asked properly. Would you like to have dinner with me?”
“Sure.”
They reached the bar, where Amka was shaking ice in a metal tin, lips pursed in concentration.
“When are you going to Fairbanks?” Ace asked May quietly.
“I don’t know. Probably Thursday is the earliest I can manage. We would have to fly in, find dresses, and come back that night. I already talked to Dirk Fredrickson and he said he would fly us.”
Dirk was solid. He flew mail and passengers between small towns when weather allowed, his old plane as familiar in the sky as the mountains themselves.
“What kind of dress do you want?” Ace asked. She’d be gorgeous in anything.
“I don’t know.” May turned slightly. “Amka, what color do you want us to wear?”
Amka paused mid-shake, considering. “How about blue? You and Olly have blue eyes, and Daisy’s are green. You all should be able to wear any shade of blue.”
“Blue would be nice,” May said.
“Okay, blue,” Amka decided.
May’s hand felt good in his. Right. “Long or short?” she asked.
“I don’t care,” Amka said easily. “Find dresses you like and can move in.”
May glanced up at Ace. “Are you wearing a tux?”
“It sounds like it.” He couldn’t remember the last time he wore one. Probably some formal event years ago that felt like it belonged to another lifetime.
“Or,” May added thoughtfully, “you all could wear your uniforms.”
They had all served honorably in the Navy, each in a different specialty. The idea carried weight.
