I reached up and plucked the straw from her blonde locks.
Those stormy gray eyes met mine. My amusement at the chickens faded away as need grabbed hold. I had the sudden, sharp urge to kiss her.
I didn’t. If I did, I wouldn’t want to stop, and sleeping with her again would only muddle the waters.
So, I stepped back and cleared my throat. “Thank you.” My voice came out rough, so I cleared my throat once more and tried again. “For helping with the chickens. And for the food.”
Something flickered across her face. She’d felt the need too.
“Anytime.” She stepped back, and the moment let go of us both. “Come on. It’s getting chilly out here, and you’ve probably been on that foot long enough.”
We went back inside. She made coffee, and we sat down for that small talk we always had when she brought me groceries. There were no awkward or charged moments this time. Lana was good at filling silence, so I sat and listened to her update me on Tina and Dustin’s wedding as well as the progress on the inn.
When my phone buzzed on the table, I almost didn’t answer it.
But a quick glance at the screen showed Jesse Wakefield’s name.
“I should take this,” I said. I’d called him yesterday asking for an update on the case but got his voicemail.
Lana waved a hand and got up to rinse the mugs.
“McCrae,” I answered.
“Hey, Toren. I got your message.”
“Oh, great. So, is there anything new happening?”
“Not really. Toby’s still cooperating. Singing for his supper. We’re building a hell of a case.” Papers shuffled in the background. “So far, we know they operated for the last three seasons, and they were running the illegal animals through a contact in Ketchikan. That person’s been detained.”
My mouth flattened. Three seasons. Damn. That was a lot of animals harvested. “Good. What about Deke? And Vic?”
Across the kitchen, Lana went still. I pulled the phone away from my ear and put it on speaker. She wandered closer.
“Nothing,” Jesse said. “No sign of either of them. We swept the camp and the country around it both by land and by air. We found enough to bury the operation ten times over, but the men are gone. Toby doesn’t know where they’d run. He says Deke never told him or Vic more than they needed to know.”
I gave a quick huff of breath. “That’s not surprising. They didn’t seem like best buddies.”
“My gut says they’re both long gone,” Jesse continued. “With their operation blown and one of their own talking, there’s no reason to stick around. A man like Deke cuts his losses and disappears. Starts over under a new name.”
“Maybe.” I wanted to believe it, but that last look he gave me before he ran into the trees didn’t sit right. It had promised it wouldn’t be the last time I saw him. “You’ll let me know if that changes.” It wasn’t a question. I wanted information on any news of either man.
“You bet. Watch yourself, Toren. You’re remote out there. If I’m wrong about him running?—”
“I’ve got a rifle and I know how to use it.”
“I know, but that doesn’t mean I want you to need it.”
I didn’t want to need it, either. “I’ll keep an eye out.”
“Sounds good. Stay safe.” He hung up.
I glanced at Lana, who stared off into space through the window, wiping her already dry hands on a dish towel.
Finally, she spoke. “Ozzie thinks they ran too.” Her gaze dropped to mine, and I watched her chew the inside of her cheek as she thought. “Do you believe it?” she asked.
I pushed my tongue into my cheek, glancing away as I considered that. “I don’t know,” I said honestly.
My eyes landed on my rifle leaning by the door.
