Page 30 of Island Rescuer

She shook her head. “As you know, I haven’t been close to anyone in over a year.”

“Think about syntax, pacing, or phrases,” Jenna suggested. “I’ve run this against your other messages and didn’t find a pattern, but you might.”

Nothing jumped out at her right away. “Can you send the messages to my email?” she asked. “I’d like more time with this.” She had a meeting scheduled with Audrey in just a few minutes. Jenna agreed and a moment later, while the others continued to chat, her phone chimed.

“If anything pops,” Jenna said, “let Knox or me know.”

Harper read through the texts one more time, then put it aside while she and Audrey worked up a package deal for a fiftieth wedding anniversary party, complete with a five-day family reunion.

Once that was set, she asked about anything new going on. “We had a weird email come through earlier,” Audrey said. “It was a complaint, but pretty light on the details. It’s probably a mix-up, but I forwarded it to Bruce.”

“Send it to me, please.” The hair lifted on the back of her neck. Vague or not, the timing couldn’t be ignored.

Wrapping up her time with Audrey, Harper read the email with Jenna’s advice running in the back of her mind. Yes, it was vague and fake, she suspected. But the email resonated with the same pulsing hatred in the text messages.

She forwarded it to Jenna, apologizing for the likely duplication. Once Bruce saw this, he’d send it in as well. Then she sat quietly in the swirling morass of it all.

Who would do this? Had she really spent time with someone capable of this kind of vitriol? Forgoing business, she reviewed her calendars and the notes she kept online. A text document for personal, a spreadsheet for business. Surely there was a clue in here somewhere.

Her eyes were gritty, her stomach growling, and she had nothing enlightening to share. Sending Jenna a message confirming her uselessness, she closed her laptop and went to find Knox.

She needed a distraction. And food. In no particular order.

ChapterSeven

After the meeting,Knox had to do something to keep himself distracted through the afternoon. And evening. Harper had lost herself in the work. Not atypical, but he wanted to give her a break. Though she hadn’t uttered a single complaint, he knew she’d put herself through the wringer reviewing those texts.

What an awful way to spend a Friday. Although he couldn’t risk taking her out after the failed ransom drop, he decided they should have some semblance of a date. After, if she was still inclined, they could see where those sizzling, off-the-chart kisses finally led them.

He put in an extra order for groceries and flowers, requesting drop off at the back door so he wouldn’t interrupt her. He wasn’t surprised to see Travis make the delivery. They spoke for a few minutes and, reassured that no one sketchy had been lurking around or asking about Harper, Knox took everything inside.

“Holy cow. What’s all this?” she asked, wandering in as he was putting things away. “Don’t we have enough food?”

“Sure.” He pulled out the bouquet of flowers wrapped in lavender tissue printed with the Island Bloomers logo. “For you.”

“You’re giving me flowers?”

“I am.” He brushed a kiss over her cheek. “Just because we can’t go out, doesn’t mean we can’t make the most of staying in.”

A blush turned her cheeks rosy. “Okay.”

He felt as if he’d slayed a dragon. “Are you done for the day?”

“Yes.” She buried her nose in the blooms. “Do we have a vase?”

He pointed to the far end of the kitchen. “Try the butler’s pantry.”

Flowers in hand, she went looking and came back with a tall vase in a deep red glass. “Reminds me of my grandmother’s,” she said. “I used to love watching her arrange fresh-cut flowers from her garden.”

“You should take a picture and tell the owners.” The Hargrave sisters were all about hospitality, connection, and creating warm memories for guests. “I think they’d be happy to hear about it.”

She nodded and did just that. “So, what’s the rest of this?”

“An after-dinner surprise,” he said. “Since we have the place all to ourselves, I thought we should make the most of it.”

“Cryptic.”

“Maybe a little.” She needed a break for a little fun. They could both use the change of pace. Something light to focus on instead of all this mystery about who was after her and how they could stop him. Obviously the first step was finding the bastard, but Knox was confident his team would come through.

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