Page 33 of Serial Love

“Thank you. Was everything here all right?”

“Cabins and folks are fine. Sally’s got Ms. Ann settled in for a nap and I’m just working on some of the little repairs. I noticed you got a lock on the tool shed now.”

“Oh, my goodness, yes. I completely forgot to give you a key.” He followed her into the lodge, where she went around the check-in counter and opened a drawer. “Here, you can just keep this one. Right now, you and I will have the only keys and I’ll keep a spare in here in case you forget yours.”

Fingering the key that she gave him, he nodded. “Sounds good miss.” With that, he turned and headed back out to work.

She bounded up the stairs and saw Sally in the small kitchen. “Hey,” she whispered. “How was everything?”

Sally returned her hug, answering, “We mostly stayed in and watched TV. She didn’t seem to want to go outside and since it was humid, I didn’t force a walk today.”

She then held Bethany at arm’s length and said, “Idon’t have to ask you how your day was. You are gorgeous!”

Smiling, Bethany replied, “It felt so good to get pampered and know that at the end will be a hot date with a hot guy…that I already know likes me!”

“And what about you? Do you already know you like him?” Sally teased.

“Oh, yeah.” The smile on Bethany’s face had Sally laughing.

“Girl, you are so ready for this man to get back into town and I can’t wait to hear what he says when he lays eyes on you.”

“Well, come around tomorrow and you’ll be able to do just that,” she invited.

Saying goodbye, she closed the door behind Sally and checked in on her grandmother, still sleeping peacefully. Kneeling by the bed, she whispered, “Oh, Gram. You’ve always listened to my secrets and plans. I like him, Gram. Really, really like him. I haven’t been around any man that actually made my heart beat faster. Or one who wants me protected. Or who makes me feel like our crazy lives could mesh.”

Reaching out, she barely touched her grandmother’s hand, not wanting to wake her, but needing that contact. “I wish you were still here with me, Gram. Not just in body, but here with me the way you always were.”

Sighing deeply, she rose and tiptoed out of the room, closing the door behind her. Walking to her purse, she pulled out her cell phone.Come on Jack, call me.

The drive home from Charlestown was not long, but Jack’s musings were filled with dark thoughts. The men in the back seat were beginning to joke, a natural defense mechanism when their jobs were stressful, but this time Jack was not joining in. His mind was on the case, how to stop a murderer that they could not find, and a beautiful blonde that would be home waiting for him.

Rubbing his hand over his face, he wondered how he was going to do this. Or not do this.Damn!Before he could ponder the situations anymore, they pulled into the driveway. As the men disembarked from the vehicles, he looked over at them.

Every one of them would volunteer to stay and keep working the case instead of going to their homes if he asked. But he knew they needed their down time. Just like he did.

“Go on home. We’ll reconvene here at eight a.m. Monday morning. We’ve got a lot of data to process and for the weekend, we’ll let the FBI do their jobs. Monty, be ready to give us their info then. Luke, we need whatever you can data-mine for us at that time.” He held their stares for a moment, then added, “We’ve got other contracts that I’m working on, to see what we can fulfill, but I don’t need to tell you that we have to stop this man.”

The others nodded solemnly as they began to head to their trucks.

“Have a great weekend date with the beautiful Ms.Bridwell,” Cam called out. The others smiled and threw out their encouragements as well.

Throwing up a half-hearted wave, he just nodded and headed into his house. He watched them drive away before walking into his kitchen and pulling out a beer. He moved to his living room and stood in front of the bank of windows offering the majestic view. Taking a swig, he pulled out his phone. This was going to be a long-ass weekend.

Deep in a romance novel, Bethany jumped when her cell phone rang. Looking down, she could not keep the grin off her face. Jack.Yes! Finally!

“Hey, Jack,” she answered. “How are you? I’ve been listening to the news and figured you’ve been super busy. Are you okay?”

There was a second of silence before his rough voice came through. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“I know you must be exhausted,” she continued to blab. “Are you back home or still on the road?”

“I’m home now.”

Pulling her lips in, she wondered at his straightforward answers and assumed he must be tired. “Well, I’m glad you’re home. I hope you can rest tonight.”

“Yeah, that’s the plan.”

Twisting the sheet in her hand, she was confused about his lack of enthusiasm. A hollow feeling developed in the pit of her stomach, and she felt her heartbegin to beat a loud rhythm. Sucking in a deep breath, she plunged on.

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