“That cranny in the rock. It seems the lighthouse keeper has a fondness for crevices.”
She stretched out her aching hand and shook it. “In the most difficult-to-get-to places.”
A smile played at the corners of Naki’s mouth.Good night.If that man ever gave her a full-out smile, Scout might keel right over in a dead faint. She shook off that thought. Sheer nonsense. She’d known him about a minute.
Fortunately, he had no idea what was running through her mind.
He folded the sack and placed it back into the box. He rose to his feet. “Let’s get down the mountain. The descent is usually easier than the ascent.”
The rain had stopped, and Naki moved ahead, steady and deliberate, but the slick ground kept Scout’s eyes right on the path ahead, step by step. She had to focus, though her mind was swirling with questions and she needed answers. When they descended to the part of the trail that led to the trailhead, she said, “What do you know about the lighthouse keeper that you didn’t want Chase to hear?” When he didn’t respond, she wondered if he didn’t hear her or if he was ignoring her.
But then Naki slowed and glanced back at her. “His death appears to be suspicious.”
Scout stopped in her tracks. “Suspicious?”
Naki nodded, then he started down the trail.
That only got her mind spinning with more questions. She hurried to catch up with him. “Do you think the murderer was in on it with him? Or do you think he knew that the keeper had turned off the light that stormy night and was blackmailin’ him?”
Naki stopped and turned to her. “I never said anything about murder.” He started down the trail again.
She hurried after him. “It makes sense that he might have been murdered, doesn’t it? Someone else wanted that gold.”
Naki pivoted so quickly Scout had to stop abruptly to keep from walking right into him. “Why do you think the lighthouse keeper took the gold in the first place?”
“Greed, I suppose. But he knew that if he suddenly showed up in town with gold coins, he’d be found out. So he hid the gold and waited. But he never got to find it because someone else found him first.”
“That’s one theory.” He started down the trail, his head turned slightly so she could hear him. “But here’s another. What if he didn’t care so much about taking the gold as he did about not wanting anyone else to get it?”
But that theory made no sense to Scout. She was just about to tell him so when her foot slipped on the slick path. She yelped, windmilling her arms for balance, but before she could hit the ground, Naki caught her.
He steadied her by holding her tightly against him and didn’t let go immediately. She couldn’t ignore the small jolts that ran through her body, nor could she stop her runaway thoughts. He smelled so good, a heady mix of cedar and rain-soaked earth that made her lightheaded.
“Got your footing?”
“Yes. Thank you, sir,” she said, looking down to break the spell.Be a professional, be a professional, be a professional, she repeated to herself, like a mantra. But a question burned in her throat, and before she could stop herself, she looked up and blurted it out. “That little boy ... the one who ran into the library for ice cream money, is he your son?”
For a long moment, Naki didn’t respond. His eyes moved over her face, landing on her lips. “I have many sons and daughters. When this is over, come to Penobscot Indian Island and pay us a visit.”
There it was. The confirmation settled in her chest, solid and undeniable. Now she knew for sure.Married, married, married.Probably to that gorgeous woman from the library talk—the one who hovered near him, eyes locked on his every move, like he was the center of her universe.
Naki released her, scooped up her hat, and handed it over. “Let’s keep moving.”
Scout adjusted it, frowning as she realized her pink ribbon was gone—must’ve slipped off in the fall. She cast a quickglance around, but it was nowhere in sight. Meanwhile, Naki was already several steps ahead, not waiting. With a sigh, she gave up the search and hurried after him.
When he reached the trailhead, he stopped to wait for her. “Before we get to the jeep, call Ranger Rivers to update him. Ask him how much he wants the reporter to know.”
“Right. Of course.” She should’ve been the one to think of calling the chief. But something about this man—his intensity, his presence—knocked her off balance.
Good night. Get it together, girl.She was aranger, after all.
Chase sprawled out along the back seat of the jeep, head and shoulders against one window, feet propped against the opposite window. The steady drum of rain on the roof had slowed to a quiettap-tap-tap, the kind of rhythm that could lull someone to sleep—if his brain wasn’t working overtime.
For a minute or two after Scout hurried away to catch up with Naki, he considered following her. He knew she’d left the jeep because she didn’t want to be alone with him. If there was any doubt that he’d botched things with her by taking Maisie’s envelope, it was now clear. He had. And he wanted to repair that damage, sooner rather than later.
But then he realized that her abrupt departure had provided him time. Precious, uninterrupted time. He flipped open his notebook and started writing in quick, urgent bursts. The skeleton of a story—something big, something real—was starting to take shape, and for the first time in months, Chase felt like there was hope for his newspaper. But still so many questions to find answers to.
He was so focused on writing that he nearly jumped out of his skin when the jeep door opened with a loud creak. Scout climbed in first, drenched and muddy, her hair plastered to hercheeks. Naki followed close behind, holding a small old brass box.
