Page 40 of Haystacks and Hoaxes

Bro! You’re obsessed. Tried to warn you.

Hearing footsteps behind him, Rock hastily shoved his phone in the back pocket of his jeans. The two of them could continue their bickering later. He spun around, wondering why the sound of footsteps had stopped, and found Mila trying to sneak up on him.

“Boo!” She wiggled her fingers in the air, creeping closer like the bogeyman.

“Nice try.” He arched a single eyebrow at her. “Wrong holiday.”

“Oo! Somebody’s cranky!” She lowered her hands with a chuckle.

It was a beautiful sound. He wasn’t sure what had gotten into her this evening, but he liked it. She hadn’t done much laughing or smiling since finding out about the arrest warrant for her mother. None, in fact. The smile she was currently wearing was the first one he’d seen since her weep fest in the medical center.

She was still too thin and pale. The baggy pink sweatshirt she’d pulled over a pair of gray sweatpants this evening didn’t hide the pounds she’d lost, not from a forensic expert like himself with an eye for details. The poisoned fruit had really taken the punch out of her.

“Quit looking at me like that.” She made a face at him.

“Like what?” He thumped around her with his cane, playfully bumping shoulders with her on his way to the sofa.

“Like you wish you’d been saddled with a different partner than me.” She sounded so forlorn that he scrambled for something to say that would convince her otherwise as he took a seat on the sofa.

“You really think I’ve been spending hours everyevening debriefing someone I don’t want to work with?” He hoped she heard how ludicrous that sounded.

“Instead of kicking back, watching football, and relaxing with the brother you rarely see anymore because of me? Yeah!” She flopped down on the other end of the sofa, emitting a gusty sigh. “That about sums it up.”

“There’s just no pleasing any of you!” He snorted as he laid his cane on the floor beside the sofa. That way, if Gwen came racing through, she wouldn’t knock it over like she had last time. “You insist I don’t want you around, while Gage insists I’m downright obsessed with you.”

Her hazel eyes rounded with astonishment, making him wish he hadn’t volunteered that last bit of information. “So, which is it?” She picked up a throw pillow from the middle of the sofa and hugged it tightly.

There was no way he was admitting the truth out loud. “I’m obsessed with your art,” he drawled, reaching for the duffle bag he’d tossed at the foot of the sofa upon entering the room. Pulling out the sketchpad he’d borrowed from her during her interview, he riffled through the pages until he came to the one she’d drawn of her brother. “If you framed this and gave it to your sister-in-law for Christmas, she’d consider it a family heirloom.”

Mila narrowed her gaze at him. “You completely dodged the question, which means there’s at least a little truth to your brother’s claim. Forensics 101.”

“Whatever.” He tossed her sketchpad back in his duffle bag. Though he’d photocopied the sketches she’d made of Chester Farm to keep as evidence, he still wasn’t ready to give back the originals. Like she’d pointed out on a number of occasions, originals were always better than copies.

“Prove me wrong,” she taunted, sending him a mischievous look.

“How?” Whatever came next was probably going to take his finest acting skills, but he’d promised himself he’d keep things professional between them.

“Take off your boot, and give me your leg,” she ordered softly. “The injured one,” she clarified.

He gaped at her, worried they were about to cross a line.

She rubbed her hands together expectantly. “What I’m about to do is something I learned from a friend in high school, who ran track and eventually became a physical therapist.”

“Should I be worried?” He eyed her cautiously.

“About a simple leg massage? Hardly.” She waved a warning finger at him. “Before you jump the gun and rain all over the idea, I’m going to bring you up to speed on a crucial piece of Heart Lake High football history. This gal,” she pointed two fingers at herself, “is the person they called to the field during our most talked about homecoming game ever.” She smiled for the second time that evening, making his resolve waver. “The score was tied with only fourteen seconds left to go. Coach called a timeout, because our star running back was nursing a strained muscle. Doc was trying to decide whether to pull him from the game.”

She paused and wiggled her fingers expressively at him.

He couldn’t believe she’d left him hanging. “Are you gonna finish the story, or what?” He hadn’t been living in Heart Lake long enough to know the ending to any of their football games, famous or not.

“After I finished working my magic, they put him back in the game and we won!” She gestured at his leg. “Every time I see you limping, I can’t help wondering if the Mila touch would be just as effective on a wounded soldier.”

“Your modesty knows no bounds.” He couldn’t resist teasing her, though he wasn’t about to accept her offer. Thethought of her brother walking in on them almost made him blush.

“Really, Rock?” Irritation brought a bit of color to her pale cheeks. “You can pull extra guard shifts for a week straight, probably without being paid, but I can’t test out a measly little theory on your leg?”

He shrugged. “I’m already in physical therapy. Probably be there for the rest of my life.” He was starting to lose hope that he’d ever again walk without the help of a cane.

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