Chapter 12
CHAPTER
TWELVE
The rain had stopped just before sunset, leaving the air heavy and the deck slick under his boots.
Brian leaned against the railing, scanning the tree line.
From here, the lake was a darker blue than the sky, the water barely moving.
Quiet. Too quiet, given the fresh prints he’d seen along the fence that morning.
The motion light he’d installed yesterday sat high on the back post, angled to catch anyone stepping too close. He’d tested it twice. No glitches. No shadows tripping it.
So when it blinked on now, spilling pale light into the wet sand, his chest tightened.
He set his coffee down without a sound and moved to the edge of the deck, eyes narrowing. A figure stood just beyond the fence line, half-shadowed by the pines. Not moving. Watching.
Brian stepped off the deck, keeping low. The boards creaked under his weight, but he doubted the figure could hear over the cicadas. His boots sank into the damp sand as he crossed to the gate.
The man didn’t flinch until Brian was ten feet away. Then, like a deer deciding too late which way to run, he shifted back a step — and the light hit his face.
Same man. Pier. Market. Fair.
“Hey!” Brian’s voice was sharp enough to cut through the night. “You’ve got business here?”
The man didn’t answer. Instead, he turned, vanishing into the narrow strip of trees that bordered the lane. Brian followed three steps in before the branches closed around him and the undergrowth swallowed the sound of retreating footsteps.
He stopped, listening hard. Nothing but the drip of water from the leaves.
When he came back through the gate, Tessa was standing on the deck, sweater pulled tight, eyes fixed on him. “That was him,” she said. It wasn’t a question.
“Yeah.”
She swallowed. “You saw his face?”
“Clear enough.” He picked up his coffee cup. “It’s the same guy from the pier.”
Her hands tightened on the railing. “What does he want?”
“I don’t know yet. But I’m going to find out.” He met her eyes. “You’re not walking anywhere alone.”
She nodded, no pushback this time. The motion light clicked off, leaving them in the dim wash of the porch lamp. He could still feel the weight of the man’s stare out there in the trees, like it had sunk into the air between them.
He put his arm around Tessa's shoulders and pulled her tightly to his side.
Wordlessly, they went inside, and he locked the doors behind them.
Inside they stood together, staring out at the nameless man, and Brian decided it was time to let the police in on what had been happening so they could be on the lookout. He'd call them in the morning.
They turned from the window, his arm still around her shoulders, and she angled her head to look up at him.
He saw her fear. It made him angry that she was afraid.
It pissed him off that this little piece of heaven was being sullied by some bullshit man for no reason whatsoever.
If he were a real man at all and had an issue, he'd address it and move on.
Inside, he dried his boots, mind already working the angles — who in town might know him, where he could ask questions without spooking him. But another thought kept slipping in, uninvited: the way Tessa had looked on the deck, pale in the half-light, but steady.
Not running. Not hiding. Waiting for him to come back. Had anyone ever trusted him so much with their life? And the way he felt knowing she trusted him. His chest swelled with the feeling of her trust. He'd never known that before.
He bent down and touched his lips to hers. Soft, pliable lips kissed him back. He turned and deepened the kiss, his body tingling as the thrill of that first kiss swirled around him. Her arms circled his waist, and his heartbeat increased.
He pulled back slightly, watching her eyes. The prettiest green he'd ever seen stared back at him. Her lips, now pink from his kisses, turned up in a smile. "You're a good kisser."
"I was thinking the same thing about you."
She chuckled. "I've never been told that."
"That's too bad. You should have been. I think you're a good kisser."
Her cheeks turned pink, and he enjoyed the look on her.