Page 33 of Clumsy in Love

“Why not?”

She huffed. “In his eyes, that turns you into prey. And you willnotoutrun him.”

“Climb a tree?”

“Not unless you want to share it with a bear who can climb faster and higher than you can. He’ll follow you right on up. And then eat you right on up.”

“Clever.”

She leaned over, opened the glove box, pulled out a pamphlet, and thrust it at him. “Do not get out of the car again until you read this.”

“Bear Safety: How not to Get Killed in the Woods,” he read. “Catchy title.”

“I mean it.”

“So the bearcould’veturned on you. Don’t you ever get scared?”

“Packs of wolves make me nervous. Poisonous snakes and yellow jackets, I don’t care for. Wild pigs, hard pass. But bears, I kind of like. They just want food and get grumpy when they can’t have it. I can relate.”

They responded to another call—an injured hiker. And while Holly performed some minor first aid, Cole stayed in the car and called work to check in.

“Anything on Cruz?”

“Not a peep,” Flanigan said. “He’s either lying low or left town. Keep your eyes peeled.”

“Copy that. We went by Holly’s place earlier. No sign of him, but we’ll check back periodically. How’s the case coming? Any luck finding the gun?”

“No. Hopefully, we’ll find that when we find Cruz. One thing you should be aware of. The DA did a background check on our witness, and there’s an issue with the dad.”

That was the second time this morning he’d heard something about Holly’s father. Rick had mentioned it as one of the reasons he broke up. “Go ahead.”

“He’s serving a five-year sentence for fraud and tax evasion. It’s a white-collar crime, and Holly was ruled out as a co-conspirator, but you know how that stuff plays for a jury.”

“Yeah. I do. Guess the DA will have to work around it.”

They talked for a minute more, and Cole requested Flanigan email a photo of Cruz to the diner and the park’s office.

He hung up as Holly was getting back in the car.

“Just got off the phone with Detective Flanigan,” he said. “You know the DA does background checks on potential witnesses?”

“Sounds reasonable,” she said. “So?”

“So. Why didn’t you tell me your dad was doing a nickel at the state pen for fraud?”

CHAPTER TEN

Holly blinked. Of course her father’s jailbird status had come out. She figured it would have sooner or later. She’d just been banking on later. “I don’t tell anyone about that,” she said. “I’m sure you can understand why.”

“I get it, but you should have told us.”

“Does it really matter?Ididn’t do anything wrong.” Even so, she’d been the only one left to handle the fallout after he went away. Her dad’s scandal had rocked their close-knit town. Holly had been away at college, but there were still folks who held a grudge and refused to talk to her. Still the embarrassment and guilt. He’d kept most of his business out of town, and the few victims from Green Valley Falls had been reimbursed financially. But there were other kinds of wounds that a fat check couldn’t heal.

“What about your mom?” Cole asked.

Holly started the car and eased onto the road. Driving gave her an excuse not to look at him.

“What about her?” she snipped. “She couldn’t handle all the gossip and back-biting, so she divorced my dad and bailed. Moved cross-country to Washington State while I was away at school.”

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