Page 22 of Valentine's Day Treasure

“Heck yeah, I do.”

Beckett kissed her on the lips, softly and thoroughly. Cerise leaned into it.

Crew shook his head, stood and headed for the front door. “I’ll meet you two there. You have five minutes.”

***

Half an hour later, Crew was perched on a stack of police barricades in the cold shed, reading his book, while Beckett and Cerise checked belts and changed fluids or some shit.

Crew,Trevor barked in his mind.Where are you? What have you come up with?

In the shed, Crew replied, eyes on his book.Getting out Beckett’s snowmobiles. We’re going to—He looked up and saw Beckett and Cerise sitting on the same snowmobile, facing each other, with Cerise on Beckett’s lap. They were kissing like teenagers at a drive-in, and Beckett had his hands up under Cerise’s sweatshirt.

Crew cleared his throat loudly. “A-hem.”

Beckett broke the kiss, then straightened Cerise’s clothes, a grin on his face. “Shit,” he said. “Guess we kind of forgot where we were.”

“And what you were doing. Trevor’s calling me and he ain’t happy.”

“Trevor can hold his fucking horses. Shit takes time.”

“Sure does,” Crew said, rolling his eyes.

—Going to what?Trevor demanded.

Ah, going to snowmobile out to Serenity Falls Resort to see if they’re still open. It’s only three miles through the neighboring corn fields. The resort has a buffet and entertainment.

Trevor didn’t say anything for a minute, then he growled in Crew’s head and said,When?

“How long?” Crew asked Beckett, who was back to work on the snowmobile.

“Thirty minutes,” Beckett said.

Two hours,Crew told Trevor, buying them a little more time.

Got it. Report back to me ASAP.

Will do.

***

One hour later, Crew sat astride one of two snowmobiles in front of Beckett and Cerise’s place, fully dressed in snow gear, laying on the snowmobile horn, with snowflakes collecting in his hair and on his jacket.

HONK! HONNNK!

“What’s taking you so long!?” he shouted, honking again.

Crew had already checked on Dahlia, eaten some tasty Ten Meat Stew, gotten Dahlia a guard of Trent and Troy, procured Trevor’s credit card, checked on Dahlia one more time, then dressed for snowmobiling, and he was still waiting on Beckett’s slow ass.

He climbed off his snowmobile and headed for the front door, grumbling, “I’d better not find them horizontal.”

They didn’t answer the door, but as he was starting to get really irritated, they appeared from around the back of the house, dressed in matching yellow snowmobile suits and holding hands.

Beckett hooked a thumb back the way they had come, in the direction of the barn and pasture. “We were feeding the horse.”

“Don’t you look cute,” Crew said.

“Yeah we do,” Beckett agreed. “Like two corn niblets.” He winked at Cerise and she kissed him on the cheek. “Ok, sugar,” he told her, fishing a key out of his pocket. “Are you ready for more fun?”

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