Page 12 of The Secrets We Treasure

“Me neither,” Treasure answered.

A broad grin split his fleshy face. “Exactly,” he boomed. “Where’s the bacon?”

“No bacon for you, mister.” Helen wagged a finger. “Remember what Dr. Sawyer said about watching your cholesterol.” While Helen didn’t like ordering Treasure around, she certainly didn’t mind keeping Kevin on the straight and narrow.

“Oh, what does that windbag know,” Kevin mumbled. He pulled the band of his jeans up higher over his rotund belly. “I’ll bet Dr. Sawyer gets his bacon every morning.”

Helen giggled. “Probably. Soaking wet, the man can’t weigh over a hundred and twenty pounds. And he’s training for a marathon.”

Kevin grunted. “Show-off. I’m sure I’ve burned up enough calories mowing the grass to make up for a couple strips of bacon.”

“On a riding lawnmower?” Helen countered. “I doubt it.” She scooted back her chair and stood. “Here, you sit down,” she directed, patting Kevin’s arm. “I’ll make you a bowl of oatmeal.”

“Oatmeal?” Kevin stuck his finger in his mouth and made a gagging motion.

Treasure couldn’t help but laugh. Kevin was Mr. Personality with his jovial manner and quick smile. He never met a stranger and had no qualms about sharing his opinion. “How ya holding up?” he asked, his perceptive eyes sweeping over Treasure.

“Okay,” she said automatically, even though she was furiously treading water to stay afloat in swift rapids. It was only nine a.m., and she’d already responded to a dozen texts from people congratulating her. She’d thanked most of them with generic comments, realizing that Ethan was right. As much as she hated to admit it, the best course of action was to go along with the charade for a couple of months before announcing that the engagement was off. She couldn’t—wouldn’t—do that with family or her best friend, Laci. Treasure had missed a call from Laci last night. This morning, she received a congratulatory text from Laci asking, Why didn’t you tell me you and Ethan were dating? Treasure didn’t want to have to explain everything in a text, so she told Laci she’d call her later today. The one person that she’d not heard from was Greer.

“You don’t look okay.”

Treasure flinched as Kevin’s comment cut into her thoughts. “I’m just so frustrated at Ethan,” she seethed. “I haven’t dared open my computer to look at my social media accounts, but from the way my phone has been pinging, I’m sure things are blowing up. My social media team is probably going haywire.”

Kevin balled his fist. “I couldn’t believe it last night when that soulless woman questioned you about the break-in and the stalker.” His jaw clenched. “When she mentioned Tray’s name, I nearly lost it.”

Treasure raked both hands through her hair. “You and me both.”

“Didn’t you tell Alyssa’s people that those topics were off-limit?”

“Yes, I specifically instructed Ethan to tell them, and he assured me—” She stopped mid-sentence, a new, terrible thought entering her mind, sending scalding anger through her.

“Did Ethan follow through? Or did he sell you down the river?” Kevin continued.

Treasure was spinning in circles, unable to get her bearings. “Ethan said he spoke to Alyssa’s people. Surely he wouldn’t outright lie. He knows how important it is for me to preserve my privacy, especially about the stalker and Tray.”

“I don’t trust Ethan Roberts as far as I can throw him,” Kevin raged. “He’s way too domineering.” He glanced at Helen, who had turned away from the counter and was watching the two of them. Again, some sort of exchange passed between them.

“What is it that you’re not telling me?” Treasure demanded.

Helen came over and placed the bowl of oatmeal, a spoon, and napkin in front of him. As she moved away, he caught her hand. “Love, sit down so we can talk to Treasure together.”

Treasure’s insides laced up tight. Did one of them have a health scare? Or had they discovered something nefarious about Ethan? Helen took her seat as Treasure’s gaze swept from one to the other. “What’s going on?” She swallowed to clear her throat.

“You should eat your oatmeal before it gets cold,” Helen prompted.

Kevin pushed it aside. “It can wait.” He looked at Treasure. “You know the private investigator you hired to investigate Leo Clark?”

“Yes. Howard Michaels.” Her mind was spinning a mile a minute trying to figure out where this was going.

Kevin gave her a tentative look. “Don’t get upset, but Helen and I have been paying Howard monthly installments to keep tabs on Leo Clark.”

“What?” Treasure sputtered. “Why? If you wanted to keep track of the man, you should’ve just told me. I would’ve paid for it.” Before he retired, Kevin was a high school science teacher. Helen had never worked outside the home. The two of them managed their money well, but they weren’t in any way wealthy.

“We didn’t want to pile on extra stress,” Helen interjected. “Besides, you’re so good to us, the least we could do was pay the detective.”

Goosebumps rose over Treasure’s flesh. “Do you think that Leo is still a threat?” In her heart of hearts, she kept getting the sick feeling that the stalker thing wasn’t over. She lived in constant fear of everything starting up again. Maybe she was just being paranoid. Oh, how she hoped that was the case.

Kevin pinched his lips together. “We weren’t sure … at first. We just wanted to enlist Howard’s help as a precaution.”

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