Chapter 10
CHAPTER
TEN
The lake was calm, a sheet of gray-blue glass under a low sky. Brian stood at the end of the dock with his morning coffee, the steam curling in the cool air. He’d been out here since first light, partly to check the canoe line, partly to think.
Tessa’s walk into town yesterday had left a faint ripple in her. She’d come back saying “just town” in a way that made him think about the man they’d both seen. The way she’d looked a fraction too alert when she answered him.
He didn’t like guessing. Guessing got people hurt.
He set the mug on the dock rail and crouched to inspect the knot again, tugging until the line creaked against the post. Secure enough.
But he’d seen the footprints again this morning — same wide tread, pressed into the sand where the dew hadn’t burned off yet.
Whoever it was, they kept to the same path along the back fence.
But there wasn't any reason for anyone to be back here.
This path along the lake led nowhere. It was one of the things about the property he'd fallen in love with.
It was a dead end. Which meant, no traffic. No people.
By the time he stepped into the kitchen, Tessa was at the table with her laptop open. The screen glowed with a half-finished email, her fingers hovering over the keys.
“Morning,” he said.
She looked up, smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Morning.”
He poured another coffee, took the seat across from her. “You going into town today?”
“Maybe later. I thought I’d catch up on a few things first.” She closed the laptop, too quickly for it to be casual.
“Anything you need a hand with?”
“No,” she said, and then softer, “Thanks.”
They let the quiet sit for a while. He could push, but she’d just dig in. So instead, he said, “I’m heading to the hardware store. Need screws for the footings. I should have them finished today, so cement can be poured. If you want to come, we can swing by Mae’s.”
Her mouth tipped at the corner. “You’re just bribing me with lemon bars.”
“Maybe.”
In town, the air smelled of rain even though the forecast had promised sun. Main Street was quieter than usual — midweek lull — but Brian’s eyes tracked the gaps between buildings, the side alleys. Years of habit. Years of not trusting quiet to stay that way.
At Mae’s, Tessa went inside for coffee while he walked next door to pick up the screws. When he came back out, he spotted her standing just outside the bakery, cup in one hand, eyes fixed on something across the street.
He followed her gaze.
The man from the pier was there. Leaning against the corner of a closed ice cream shop, one foot braced on the wall, as casual as a man could look without actually being casual.
Brian felt his shoulders tighten.
“Same guy?” he asked quietly when he reached her side.
She nodded. “He’s been there since I came out.”
They watched as the man pushed off the wall, crossed the street without hurry, and disappeared around the next corner.
“Come on,” Brian said.
They cut across Main, but by the time they reached the corner, the man was gone. Same as before — like he’d stepped off the board entirely.
Tessa let out a slow breath. “It’s like he knows when we’re watching.”
“Maybe he does,” Brian said. “Which is why we’re going to stop making it easy for him.”
Her brows lifted. “Meaning?”
“Meaning you don’t walk into town alone until I figure out who he is.” He held her gaze. “No arguments.”
For a second, he thought she might push back, the way she had at the market. But she only said, “Okay.”
That landed harder than he expected. She wasn’t agreeing because she liked being told what to do — he’d seen her spine when she didn’t. She was agreeing because she felt the same off-note he did.
They quietly turned toward the cottage, and as they walked companionably, Brian reached down and took her hand in his. She turned her hand and laced their fingers together, and his heart beat a little faster. It felt - right.
Back at the cottage, he stowed the hardware, then walked the fence line, slow and deliberate. The sand showed the same tread he’d seen before, a faint path in and out through the trees.
Whoever was watching them — watching her — wasn’t done. And the question was why.
Tessa met him along the fence line, staring at the footprints. She swallowed and looked into his eyes.
Brian asked, "Do you have any idea why someone would be following you?"
"No. I didn't have any issues back in Chicago like this. I was trying so hard not to break down from work exhaustion, I would have been an easy target if someone were. But there was no indication of this."
He nodded and looked toward the woods. Her voice was soft when she asked, "What about you? Would someone want to follow you?"