The Summer Escape

Chapter 15

Owen was yanked from an erotic dream involving a moonlit night on the lake and a naked Anna when his phone began buzzing its way across his nightstand. It was 6:00 a.m., and the caller was the woman in his dream.

“Sorry if I woke you,” Anna said.

He scrubbed a hand down his face, trying to shrug off the sensual fog. Turbo helped by climbing up his body to lick his face. “You okay?” he asked Anna, not the dog, who he gently pushed away.

“I’ve... got a question,” she said.

In his dream she’d had a question too, involving kissing her way down his body and asking him after each brush of her lips if he liked what she was doing...

“So?” she asked.

He’d missed her question and did his best to shove the dream away.

“I’m not sure you understand how this phone thing works,” she said. “You have to actually use words.”

“Maybe I’d rather use my words on other things.”

“Ah, so you do have an allocated number of words per day. I knew it.” There was amusement in her voice now. “What is it? One hundred? Two hundred?”

He smiled. “Anna.”

“One.”

He laughed.

“Oh, crap,” she said. “I gotta go, my other line’s going off.”

“Your question—”

But she was gone.

He was still thinking about her a few hours later at work out on the lake, when a hard gust of wind came out of nowhere, knocking him right off his paddleboard and face-first into the water.

When he surfaced, Ky was laughing so hard he nearly fell off his own board. “You okay, princess? Need a hand?”

He offered Ky his middle finger and climbed back on his board, eyeing the wild whitecaps that had appeared across the water as far as the eye could see. Had to be fifteen knots, which certainly hadn’t been in his daily weather memo. But that was Tahoe for you—in regards to the weather, the only thing you could predict was that it would be unpredictable.

They’d given a kayaking class that had ended an hour ago and were now trying out some new boards. “Someone wasn’t thinking about what he was doing,” Ky said. “Someone’s mind was far away. Probably on the woman who’s turned him upside down and inside out—just like that last gust of wind.”

Owen rolled his eyes. “I was thinking about how I’m going to kick my partner’s ass back to shore so that he has to buy lunch.”

“You’re on. Three, two...” And Ky took off.

“Cheater!” Owen yelled.

As they’d done a thousand times, they raced for the beach, dogging the crazy swells the best they could. When Ky, ahead of Owen by one length of a board, turned to look back and eye him smugly, Owen grinned. Ky’s smug smile faded as he whipped back around, but it was too late.

He took a huge swell right in the face and was launched.

Owen laughed so hard, he had to drop to his knees to hold on.

Ky surfaced, sputtering. “I meant to do that,” he said as Owen stood back up and passed right on by him.

“Hey, what about the bro code!” Ky yelled at his back. “You stop when your bro is down!”

“Not if your ‘bro’ is a cheater!” He was grinning as he got closer to shore. Lunch always tasted better when Ky had to buy—

Ky came up alongside him and launched off his board to take Owen out in a flying tackle. They then spent a good ten minutes trying to drown each other, made all the easier by their laughter because they each kept getting caught under a swell with their mouth open. Luckily, Owen was a slightly better swimmer and was able to shove clear and get back on his board just as the winds...

Died.

“Seriously?”

Ky grinned as he came up on him, and Owen started paddling like his life depended on it. He hit the beach half a second before Ky. They lay there huffing and puffing beneath a gorgeous summer sun.

“Sheer luck,” Ky claimed.

“Keep telling yourself that.”

They dried off and locked up the boards, then sat on the beach a moment to catch their breath. “With a bottle of something sparkly, this could be a date,” Ky said.

“You’re not my type.”

“Because I don’t have auburn hair and pretty brown eyes?” Ky asked with a smirk.

“Because you’re a dumbass.” But now he was thinking about Anna, remembering of all things the look on her face when she’d told him about Will’s visit. Her voice had been calm, though her body language had been anything but. Will had spooked her. “I’m thinking about dropping this whole thing with the missing coins and necklace,” he said. “It’s starting to feel dangerous for Anna.”

Ky looked surprised. “I don’t know her like you do, but I do know she’d hate that, man.” He studied Owen. “And maybe it’s not so much for her sake as it is for yours?”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“It means,” Ky said in such a reasonable tone that Owen wanted to punch him, “that I think you’d feel safer backing off because then you don’t have to decide whether or not to keep her in your life. Which we both know you want to.”

“You know nothing.”

Ky smiled, but it faded quick. “Look, we’ve both been alone a long time. We’re used to having no one care. She’s good for you.”

Owen shook his head. That wasn’t the point. The point was that he’d pushed her to solve this case—for his and his aunt’s sake. And now she had psycho Will on her ass. He’d let his emotions get in the way, and now she was in danger, he could feel it in his bones. “Do you love Sami?”

Ky’s head whipped around, and he stared at Owen like he’d grown a second head. With horns. “What?”

“I know you have feelings for her, and it’s okay. She has feelings for you too.”

Ky had gone deer in the headlights. “But you two—”

“Weren’t good for each other, and our feelings never went deeper than friends,” Owen said. “It’s okay. You’re good for her. Do you care about her?”

Ky blinked once, slow as an owl. “Are we seriously going to talk about this?”

“Yes.”

Ky sighed. “Fine. Yeah. I care about her.”

“And you’d protect her, right? Even if it meant walking away? Because you love her.”

“Are you saying you’re falling in love with Anna— Shit.” Ky ran his hands over his face, swearing beneath his breath. “Look, man, next time you decide to have an emotional meltdown, text me so I can call in sick.”

“It wasn’t a meltdown,” Owen said, but he was talking to himself because Ky had pushed to his feet and was walking away.

And hell, maybe it was a meltdown. Or as close to one as a man like him could get. He caught up with Ky just as they walked into the front door of headquarters. Turbo leapt off his bed in the entryway and ran toward Owen, his entire hind end wriggling, his tail whipping the air. Once he’d wagged his tail so hard in the doorway, catching it on the hard wood frame, that he’d actually broken it. It hadn’t dulled his enthusiasm any, he was just careful not to wag in entrances.

Owen hunkered down and opened his arms. Turbo ran right into them and licked him from chin to forehead. “Sorry I couldn’t take you out with me.” Turbo loved to paddleboard. He sat on the front of the board, the wind in his face, mouth grinning, tongue lolling. “The winds were too much. Tomorrow, maybe.”

This got him another lick of forgiveness.

Sami stood there watching this with a small smile. “I took him for a walk. Cooper scared him so badly that I had to pick him up.”

Cooper was eight pounds soaking wet, some mix of cockapoo and the devil. He lived at the boat mechanic’s place next door and loved to terrorize Turbo. It’d started last year, when Cooper had run circles around a frozen-in-place Turbo, nipping at the bigger dog’s heels. Finally Turbo had lifted a leg and peed on the little guy.

Who’d never forgotten. “He’s too heavy for you.”

“Excuse me,” Sami said, insulted. “I’ve been weight training. I can lift your dog. I can also kick your ass. Maybe not right now because I had to lift him a second time over the gutters when we crossed the street to come back.”

Turbo huffed a sigh.

“It’s okay,” Sami told him. “I still love you.” She turned to the guys. “The local Girl Scout troop is here for the rafting trip they set up a month ago, and no one’s on the schedule. Both Braden and Antonio are out with clients. Which of you two bozos are going to take it?”

Owen and Ky did ro-sham-bo, and Owen lost, making him groan. Business was great, and each client was important to them, but the idea of taking twelve sixth-grade girls on a two-hour trip down the river definitely leaned more toward work than fun.

His phone rang, and one glance had him groaning for another reason entirely. It was his aunt’s caregiver.

“Ruby’s having a rough day,” Nan said when he answered. “I’m sorry, but you wanted me to call you when this happened.”

“Don’t be sorry, I definitely wanted the call, so thank you. What’s going on?”

“Today at breakfast, she told everyone she came into contact with that Santa had been in her room stealing things.”

This was not the first time this had happened. Ruby didn’t have anything of value there, her things were all still at her house. He swiped a hand down his face.

“We’ve got it handled,” Nan said. “She’s safe, and nothing else is wrong. I just wanted to let you know.”

“I appreciate it.” He disconnected, then stood there a moment staring at his phone. He knew how lucky he was that Ruby was being taken care of by people who understood how to handle any issue that came up, but damn, it was still hard that he couldn’t do it himself, that he had to rely on others.

“What’s wrong?”

He looked up, and both Ky and Sami were still standing there, looking worried. The very last thing he wanted to do was talk about this. Not because it was hard for him, though it was. But his great-aunt had been such a proud woman, it felt like a betrayal to share what her life was like now. “Apparently it’s been a rough morning. She’s making up stories again. I’m going to have to go see her.”

“I get that,” Ky said, then sighed. “Fine. I’ll take the rafting trip. But you owe me.”

“I’ll get everything ready,” Sami told Ky. She hugged Owen and walked off.

Ky was watching him. “You okay, man?”

“Yeah.” He shook his head. “She told everyone that Santa had gone into her room and stolen from her.”

Ky let out a low whistle of sympathy.

“Makes me wonder what else she’s made up.”

“You thinking you’re on the wrong side of the investigation?”

He was seriously beginning to wonder. Anna ran on facts and logic, which he appreciated more than he could possibly articulate. “Anna doesn’t think her dad had a hand in this, and I’m starting to believe the same.”

“She’s really got your attention, doesn’t she?”

Owen narrowed his eyes.

Ky lifted his hands. “Hey, man, any woman who can make you laugh and is as smart and hot as she is? You better hold on to that.”

“Not discussing this.”

“Oh, because you already had your emotional meltdown and now you’re fine?”

“Because I just remembered you’ve got a big mouth. You gossip like a sixth grader.”

Ky grinned. “Been a long time since you resorted to dumb insults as a misdirection.”

“This is about Ruby.”

“Uh-huh.”

Sami came back and pointed at Ky. “Stop poking at him.”

Ky laughed. “Come on, you know you want more info about him and Anna every bit as much as I do.”

“Well, duh,” she said. “But you know that the more you push, the more he’s going to shut up about her.” The office phone rang, and she sighed. “Take notes,” she told Ky, and left them alone.

Ky looked at Owen. “I’m not going to take notes, so if she kills me, it’s on you.”

“This isn’t about me and Anna. It’s about Ruby. I’ve got no idea how to tell truth from fiction with her anymore. And I don’t think she knows either. She’d never want this for herself.”

Ky’s expression went serious. He didn’t have family beyond Owen and Sami. At least not that he wanted to be associated with. “She’s rough on you, and outright cruel sometimes.”

Owen shook his head. “That’s the dementia.”

“Still, not many people would step up like you have. You got her into one of the best local assisted and memory care facilities around, and you continuously go to battle with her insurance company to pay what they owe. And what they don’t cover, you kick in the remaining balance. You also take care of her house. What more could you possibly do?”

He didn’t know, but it didn’t feel like enough. “When my dad cleaned my mom out and took off, Ruby took me and my mom in off the street, supporting us when we were completely broke and homeless. It forever changed the course of our lives for the better. I feel like I could never repay her.”

Ky looked stricken. “I know everything about you, but I didn’t know that—that your dad cleaned you guys out or that you ended up homeless.”

Owen shrugged. “Not something I like to think back on, much less talk about.”

“Sometimes talking helps,” someone said behind him.

Turbo leapt up to greet Anna, who crouched low and wrapped her arms around his dog like they were the best of friends. The relief Owen felt at the sight of her was shockingly powerful. He’d been battling a whole bunch of feelings that he’d tried to write off as sheer chemistry. He’d been so sure if they slept together, it would be gone.

But seeing her standing there, he knew he’d been wrong, very wrong. His attraction to her was stronger than ever, maybe because they’d been intimate.

She wore a pair of faded jeans, a tank top the exact color of Lake Tahoe, and beat-up sneaks. She held up a bag that smelled delicious, and his relief turned to a warmth that spread to every deeply buried corner of his soul. Somehow this woman, who wasn’t his usual type, who challenged him at every single turn... comforted him. More than that, for the first time in a long time he actually felt grounded.

Even if the “hey” she directed his way was a far more muted greeting than she’d given his dog. “Hey back,” he said inanely.

“Hey,” Ky also said, all chipper, grinning from ear to ear. “He was just thinking about you.”

Anna looked at Owen, then back to Ky. “How can you tell?”

“It’s the dopey expression, a dead giveaway.”

Anna laughed.

Owen didn’t take his eyes off her. “Ky.”

“Yeah?”

“Go away.”

Ky flashed a grin but went away.

Owen smiled at Anna. Then he realized Ky had been right. He could literally feel the dopey expression on his face. “Shit, it’s still there, isn’t it? I noticed it when I got home the other night, and it hasn’t gone away.”

She laughed again, and he loved the sound. He wondered if she’d replayed every second of what had happened on the roof as many times as he had. Hoping she had, he leaned in and kissed her softly.

She kissed him back, then stared at him, nibbling on her bottom lip.

Yeah. She was replaying it.

And then, because the two of them were both chronic idiots, they stood staring at each other for another moment.

“You had a question,” he finally said.

“I wanted to know if you were free for lunch. I came by on the off chance you were. I brought food.” She hesitated. “It’s an apology lunch for the things I said after we met with Will at the restaurant.”

Right. When they’d shared the world’s best kiss and then he’d gotten the kiss-off...

“I meant to apologize the other night...” She gave a half smile. “But we got distracted.”

That they had. “I’d love to have lunch with you,” Owen said. “Unfortunately, I don’t have long, I’ve got to go see my aunt.”

“Understood.”

They headed outside, where Owen dutifully picked up Turbo to carry him across the street—and over the grates—to the lake. When he set the dog down, he found Anna shaking her head and smiling.

“I told you, he’s afraid of everything,” Owen said. “Especially small stuff, like little dogs. And cats. Oh, and fruit.” He shook his head when she laughed. “I’m not even kidding. Pull out a banana or an apple, and I’ll have to carry him all the way home.”

“No fruit, I promise,” she told Turbo as they all sat on the sand side by side and had a picnic with the now gentle wind cooling off the hot day. Anna had brought homemade burritos, and he moaned his way through them. “You’re a good cook.”

“I learned from Wendy. I don’t do it very often, it’s not as fun to cook for yourself.”

He smiled at her. “Feel free to cook for me anytime. I’ll even return the favor—if you don’t mind barbecue or mac and cheese. That’s about it for my culinary skills.”

“Mac and cheese is one of my favorite foods.” She put her hand to her mouth. “I just realized... I think I’m also wearing a stupid smile on my face.”

“Yeah, you are.” God, he adored her. “Only on you it’s cute.”

“Take that back,” she said on a laugh. “I’m not cute. I refuse to be cute.”

“Well, if it helps, you’re also hot as hell.”

“I mean, I’m not mad at that.” She looked at him for a long beat.

“What?”

“I’m trying to figure out a gentle way to ask you about your aunt and if you’re okay.”

His feels were way too close to the surface if that simple statement melted him. “I don’t need gentle,” he said.

“She means a lot to you,” she said. “And now I know why. I hate what your dad did to you. I’m so sorry you and your mom went through so much.”

“I really wasn’t even aware of most of it. That’s how good a mom she was.” He shook his head. “Hell, I never even knew we were so destitute. Not until I got older.”

“You must miss her so much.”

“Every day.”

Their gazes locked, and he knew that she, unlike most, understood. The high-altitude, hot sun warmed them from above, the sand beneath them keeping them cool. He turned his face to the sun, eyes closed, hearing the water lap at their feet and felt... at peace. He tried to keep his life as pressure free as possible, but as she’d pointed out, running the business had its stressors, especially because it wasn’t just him. Ky counted on him, and so did their employees. But sitting here with Anna, most of that faded away, leaving him relaxed. Happy.

“Your aunt sounds like an amazing person,” she said.

“She is. She deserves better than what she got out of life.”

“You’re her only relative?”

“Yeah. She married when she was sixteen, but her husband died only a few years later. Instead of sinking into a depression, she defied the times and got herself a job and a house and lived life the way she wanted.”

“She never remarried or had kids?”

“No, though she always treated me like her own. The kid she wanted but never had.”

“I’m so glad you have her in your life.”

“And I’m glad you have Wendy.” His eyes held hers. “We’ve both had a lot of loss. Maybe too much.”

“I always felt like it made me different from everyone else.”

“Which makes it hard to let people in.”

She stared at him. “Exactly.” She looked out at the water. “Actually, in my case, it’s more like I push them out.”

He shrugged. “Because it’s safer to be on your own than to stay too long and get hurt.”

“Yes.” She let out a short, sympathetic laugh. “A couple of weeks ago, I’d never have imagined we’d have something in common.”

“Me either.”

She drew a deep breath. “There’s something you should know.”

Well, shit. He should’ve known the day was too good to be true. “Uh-oh.”

She opened her mouth, then shut it. Twice. Turbo, clearly sensing her sudden nerves, climbed into her lap like he was a lapdog and licked her chin. “It’s okay,” she told his silly dog, wrapping her arms around him. “I just have to tell your owner that he turns me upside down and inside out. Do you think you could tell him for me?”

Turbo licked her chin again.

Owen’s heart pinched. “Your secret’s safe with both of us,” he said quietly. “And, Anna? Same.”

She met his gaze over Turbo’s big fat head. “My instincts keep telling me you’re dangerous.”

He pulled her into him, hugging her, enjoying the low, happy sound she made as she cuddled in. “And your heart?” he asked. “What does your heart tell you?”

“That’s the thing. It went silent on me.” Her hands tightened on him. “Now my body? My body has plenty to say—mostly ‘more, please.’” She smiled when he laughed. “I haven’t decided who to listen to yet.”

“Let me know when you decide.”

Her phone rang from her back pocket. Ignoring it, she didn’t take her hands off him. In fact, her fingers were exploring a bit, and he barely dared to breathe, afraid she’d stop.

When her phone kept ringing, he started to pull back and was surprised when she dug her fingers in, tightening her grip on him. “I’m not getting it,” she said.

He tipped up her chin and looked into her eyes, which suddenly were filled with stress. “What’s going on?”

She dropped her head to his chest. “Life.”

He palmed the back of her head and held her close to him. “Can you get more specific? And how do you know it’s not Wendy trying to reach you?”

“I have a special ringtone for her. And as for the calls and texts, they’re from Will.” She lifted her head when he tensed. “You sure you want to know?”

“Most definitely,” he said grimly.

“He’s been calling and texting, demanding to see the coin.”

It wasn’t often he felt furious to the core, but Will brought out that feeling in him. “I’ll talk to him.”

“No.” She took his hand. “I appreciate the offer, but I take care of myself.”

He wanted to argue the point, but he couldn’t. She was incredibly self-reliant, resilient, and strong. He wouldn’t let her think he didn’t believe in her. Which meant, much as he hated it, he had to wait until she asked for help. “You’re going to be very careful and let me know if you need me?”

She smiled. “I promise I won’t be the stupid chick who goes into the basement alone when an ax murderer is on the loose.” She stood and brushed off the seat of her jeans. “Well, that wasn’t too painful. Normally, I suck at apologies.”

Owen laughed. “You didn’t apologize.”

“Yes, I did.”

“No, you didn’t.”

She stilled, then clearly ran back their conversation through her mind. “I did. I said I was sorry for what I said the other day.”

“No, you said you came to apologize for that, but you didn’t actually get to it.”

“Oh. Well then.” She pulled him to his feet and then stepped into him, leaving zero space between them. “I’m...” She pulled his head down to hers. “So sorry...” She brushed her mouth to one corner of his. “For the things I said...” And then her mouth touched the other corner. “When I was hungry.”

With a hand tangled in her hair, he laughed roughly as he pulled her in closer, ghosting his lips over hers. “You’re teasing me.” He kissed her lightly, then not so lightly, his own version of teasing, smiling when she let out a soft moan.

“You did that on purpose.”

“You started it.”

“No, I clearly remember you coming into my personal space bubble and giving me that sexy look.”

He smiled. “And what, your lips fell onto mine by accident?”

She tossed up her hands. “See, this is why we can’t work. We can’t even agree on who kissed who. It’s a good thing we agreed that this thing ends when we solve the case.”

Was it? Not in his book.

“You’ve got to get to your aunt’s,” she said. “And I’ve got to get to work.”

He walked her to her car. “Thanks for lunch. And the kiss.”

She snorted and then gave him a reluctant smile. “Thanks for doing this with me, even if we are on opposite sides.”

“Are we?”

She paused. “Aren’t we?”

“We’re both passionate about fairness and justice. That’s what we’re trying to do here, right? Find the truth? No matter what that truth is?”

“Yes.” She nodded. “For you and Ruby.”

“Not me,” he said. “This is about Ruby, which makes it an emotional need, because I think having it back will bring her comfort. I just hate that someone took advantage of her.”

“I know. Me too.” She looked away for a beat, then met his gaze. “Wendy is still one hundred percent convinced our dad’s innocent.”

He saw the worry in every tight line of her body. “And you?”

She shook her head. “The evidence is circumstantial but seemingly mounting...”

Owen felt for her, he really did. Her good memories of her dad were starting to be tainted by this investigation. Just like his good memories of his aunt were starting to be dulled by the angry, agitated woman she was slowly becoming. “Don’t give up on your dad yet.”

She looked up at him, shook her head, then went up on tiptoes to brush a gentle kiss to his lips. “Thanks.”

“Sometimes it’s good to not be an island of one.”

“I don’t know if I’d go that far.”

“A skeptic,” he said.

She gave a rough laugh. “Takes one to know one.”

Hard to argue with that. Letting someone in often meant making promises, which were emotional strings he’d never wanted to pull.

“You’re friends with your exes,” she said. “You seem to part amicably with everyone; no harm, no foul, easy come, easy go, no jealousy or weirdness.”

“Okay, maybe I have a slight allergy,” he admitted.

“I fully understand that I’ve got a good chance of being devastated at the end of this,” she said. “But until then, I appreciate being in it together.”

It wasn’t until he was watching her taillights vanish around the curve in the road that he realized... he wouldn’t mind being in it together no matter the outcome.

And beyond.