"I didn't realize he was your brother, but I've seen him in the laundry room."
"One of our most popular meeting places."
“And your younger sibling?”
"Aiden runs a wine bar in New York."
"He didn't go into public service like you and your brother?"
"He had no interest in that. It was a little surprising because service has been a big part of our family life. My father was career military until he retired two years ago."
"And your mother?"
She felt a familiar knot enter her throat when he asked the one question she really didn't like to answer. But she'd put herself in this situation, so she had to say something. "My mom died when I was eleven."
His gaze softened. "I'm sorry."
"Thanks. My dad raised us after that, but he was gone a lot, so we'd go back and forth between his house and my aunt's. I preferred living with her, because when it was just me, my dad, and two brothers, I felt like the odd one out. He didn't know what to do with a girl, so he raised me like my brothers, which means I can change a tire, mow a lawn, and throw a right hook."
"That's good to know. Just in case I need to duck at some point," he said with a smile.
"I've got other tricks up my sleeve, too. They've come in handy a few times on the job when I have to deal with someone who is out of their mind for whatever reason. Anyway, that's my story." She paused, taking a moment to finish her gelato, then added, "Josie says you're a good guy. That she wouldn't have rented to you if you weren't."
"Really?" A wary note entered his voice. "You asked Josie about me?"
"No. I asked Lexie, Josie's niece, and she told me what Josie said." She gave him a thoughtful look. "Are you a good guy, Jax?"
He didn't answer right away, then said, "Not everyone thinks so."
"I didn't ask what everyone thinks. What do you think?"
"Sometimes what looks right to me looks wrong to others."
"Well, that's cryptic."
"Let's get back to you. Why are you so interested in Walter? I get that you've helped him a few times, and you're concerned about him, but it feels more personal."
"He reminds me of my father. My dad has had issues after his service, and I don't think he has gotten the best care for some of those problems. That might be his fault. He doesn't share his feelings, and he doesn't like help. But sometimes he needs it. And I think Walter is the same way. He's stubbornly proud and independent, but he's dealing with diabetes and maybe some cognitive problems, and I want to help him, even if he doesn't want me to."
"Even if we establish that the basement of the bookstore is the club he remembers, I'm not sure how that helps him, Kaia."
"It might just close a question in his mind; something that's making him wander the streets at night and taking his focus away from his health."
"Or it could raise more questions. And if he knows where the club used to be, and he thinks there's some message there…"
She let out a sigh. "I get it. Let's just take it one step at a time. We'll come back tomorrow, talk to the owner. Maybe she can confirm it was a club, even show us the basement. Then we can decide what we want to tell Walter. The bookstore opens at ten. I'm free until the afternoon."
"That doesn't sound like a job for two people."
"You're jumping ship?" she asked, feeling more disappointed than she probably should. "Don't you want to see the basement? Isn't that why we've come this far?"
He didn't answer right away, and she could see the conflict in his eyes. "Okay. I guess I can check it out with you. Are you ready to go back to Ocean Shores now?"
She wasn't, but she'd run out of reasons to hang out with him, so she got up and walked back to his car, thinking she really hadn't found out much of anything. She'd thought this little jaunt would provide answers, but it had just created more questions in her mind, and she wasn't really thinking about the nightclub, but about Jax.
Kaia was too much: too pretty, too sexy, too smart, too sharp, and far too perceptive.
Jax's grip tightened on the wheel as he drove them home, and just thinking about Ocean Shores as home for both of them made him even more uncomfortable. He was supposed to be figuring out his life, his next chapter, his future, and that didn't include chasing down an old mystery with a woman who couldn't take no for an answer, a woman who intrigued him and attracted him more than he wanted to admit.
