Page 58 of Summer Ever After

Chapter Twenty

For the next few hours after breakfast, Beth worked on the spreadsheet up in her office while he went through his normal chore list.

To be honest, he was really enjoying being at home so much. In the past few years, he’d taken on more hours at the camp than he should have. If he was being honest with himself, it was because he’d wanted to be around Beth more, and to make sure she was safe.

Lunchtime came and he carried a turkey sandwich, chips, and baby carrots with hummus up to her room with a glass of strawberry lemonade. When he knocked on the door to her office, she called out for him to come in. She took her eyes off the screen as he set the food down next to her.

“Wow, you didn’t have to do this. I was going to come down and take a break.” She picked up the drink and took a sip. “Are these fresh strawberries?” She looked at the glass.

“Yeah, I picked them earlier.” He smiled and sat down in the chair next to her.

“Did you already eat?” she asked, taking a bite of her sandwich.

“Yeah, a while ago. I figured you were engrossed in your numbers.”

“I’ve only been gone for a few days, and they’ve managed to mess everything up.” She waved to the screen.

“I guess it’s a good thing you like working from home.” He shifted slightly. “Why don’t you do it more often?”

She shrugged and took another bite of the sandwich. “They need me at the front desk. Besides, I like greeting the guests.” She was quite for a heartbeat before asking. “You like working at the camp, right?”

“Love it,” he admitted quickly.

“You left the precinct to work at the camp?”

He nodded. “Brett and I go way back. When he called, I’d been looking for an out. Being a cop was…” His eyes met hers. “Disappointing. There were a handful of bad apples that ruined it for me.”

“Like Ian?” she asked and he nodded.

“After what happened to Lea…” He dropped off. She was looking down at her sandwich and nodded. “That was terrible. Knowing that so many people were corrupt.”

“I couldn’t, with a clear conscience, continue to fight the system while being shoved in the background. Like I said, I was looking for an out.” He shifted. “The camp is the relaxed atmosphere I was looking for. Besides, I got to be around you.” He smiled.

When a message popped up on her screen, he motioned. “I’ll let you get back to it. Let me know if you need a refill.” He stood up and walked out.

After he left her, he when into his own office to manage his bills. His parents hadn’t been rich by any means, but his inheritance had left him cushioned for the rest of his life. He’d paid off the land and his truck and then had invested the rest in a couple of very smart choices, which had paid off more than he could have dreamed.

Working at the camp wasn’t a necessity. It was as much a hobby as him playing guitar and tinkering with the furniture. Without it, he probably would have slowly gone insane and been lonely. Besides, he enjoyed hanging out with his friends and being around Beth all the time.

When he finished up with his budget and bills, he went into the living room and snuggled on the sofa with Nutmeg to watch the news.

A few minutes later, the anchor’s calm voice cut into his thoughts.

“We have new developments in the fire that destroyed a second-floor apartment and a beloved local bookstore in Pelican Point last week.”

Aaron’s body went rigid. His eyes locked on the TV, Nutmeg shifting against his leg when he sat forward. So far they had yet to hear anything more from the police about the fire. He hadn’t thought much of it, since he figured it was taking a while for them to determine just how the fire started.

The screen flickered to a still image of Beth’s old building, charred windows gaping like empty eyes, next to an image of the building before. A banner rolled across the bottom: Investigation Continues Into Suspicious Fire.

The anchor went on, “Authorities released surveillance footage recovered from the bookstore’s security system. Though the video quality is grainy, it may provide critical leads.”

Aaron’s jaw tightened. He knew before the video even started who he was about to see.

The footage began. The angle was high in the outside corner of the bookstore, showing the staircase that led up to Beth’s apartment. The timestamp in the corner ticked away.

For a long moment, the space was quiet, nothing but the faint outline of bookshelves in the shadows. Then, movement.

A tall figure entered the frame. Even blurred by the camera, Aaron would have recognized the shape of Ian anywhere. Broad shoulders, square build, beefy no-neck with arms like a gorilla. That cocky, self-assured gait of his was a dead giveaway as well. But what sealed it was the way he paused at the base of the stairs, glancing around as if checking for witnesses.