Page 12 of Murder in Calusa Cove
Silas pointed to the sandwiches before turning toward Baily. “We came over to collect the food and water for the first responders. The firefighters are getting ready to head back to the station, and we wanted to make sure they got some grub before they left.”
“It’s ready.” Baily nodded. “Fletcher, can you go snag the cooler? It’s filled with water and soda. Let me run back upstairs. I’ve got a box of chips and cookies.”
“They’ll love that.” Dewey scratched the side of his face. “It wasn’t a bad fire, but I can tell it’s been a night. Add in the State Police and Feds showing up, something big must’ve gone down. Stacey’s salivating.”
“She’s always looking for that big story that’s going to elevate her and her so-called fans to the next level.” Fletcher rolled his eyes. “That woman’s a piece of work.”
“You can say that again.” Silas chuckled.
Keaton stared at his cell and groaned. “I hate to cut and run, but my future bride needs me. Something about wanting ice cream.” He laughed. “Of course, I’ll stop, get it, and then she’ll eat a big bowl, all while pointing her finger at me, scolding me that she’s not going to fit in her wedding dress. She’s pregnant. Her belly’s going to grow, and a cup of ice cream isn’t the problem. I can’t win.”
“At least you’re making an honest woman out of her.” Dewey leaned over and lifted the tray. “Perhaps now she’ll give up that job and stop trying to do everything on her own.”
“On that note, I’m out of here.” Keaton let out a long breath and turned to Chloe. “Ready?”
“I’m good to go.” She lifted her mug, downed the last few drops, and tossed it in the trash.
“You’re not heading back to the Crab Shack?” Dewey asked. “Aren’t you working the case?”
“I’ve got some other things to deal with.” She should’ve corrected him, but she didn’t feel like it. Not tonight. “I’ll see everyone later.”
Keaton opened the door for her, and she followed him toward his truck. “Dewey’s a strange man,” she said.
“A little.” Keaton raised his keys and pressed the button. His lights blinked. “He’s old-fashioned, rough around the edges, and doesn’t talk often. But when he does, he usually manages to stick his foot in his mouth. But he’s harmless. Kind of like Silas.”
She laughed. It had taken a while for her to warm up to Silas, but once she’d gotten to know him, she’d really enjoyed his company. She climbed up into the passenger side of the vehicle and stared down the road. People still milled about. The fire trucks, police cars, and news vans were still in the parking lot. It felt like someone had cut off her right arm because she wasn’t in the thick of things. Not knowing the details of what had been found—or not found—needled her brain. She figured she’d spend the night tossing and turning while she stared at her cell, waiting for updates.
Finally, they had a case that might lead her to her sister’s killer, and her hands were tied.
4
The following morning, Hayes found himself staring at his front door with a tray of fresh coffee, a bag of breakfast sandwiches, and a hefty dose of confusion milling about his brain. He hated being lied to by anyone, but especially by the woman sharing his bed. It didn’t matter that he and Chloe weren’t in a serious relationship, because he didn’t do those. He never allowed himself to get too close…too attached. The second his heart swelled with something more than a passing thought, he was out that door. If that made him an asshole, he proudly wore the badge.
He pinched the top of the bag between his thumb and forefinger as he carefully balanced the drink tray while he punched in the code to unlock his door.
There was no denying he liked Chloe. Pursuing her had rattled his carefully crafted life partly because she’d made it difficult for him to shrug his shoulders and walk away, like he’d done a million times before. She also had him tearing down large walls he wasn’t aware he’d built—and with his own team. Sure, he’d kept women and his family at arm’s length, but he hadn’t been aware he’d been doing that with Keaton, Fletcher, and Dawson until a few months ago when he’d found himself discussing his twin and his past love life.
His twin wasn’t a problem, and his brothers-in-arms knew about Max. They might not have known some of the details surrounding his death, but they knew about Hayes’s family and all the craziness that went with that. However, he hadn’t been prepared to unload the two women who had changed how he viewed his future. He’d never spoken of them before. They’d been tucked away in a vault in the corner of his brain, whispering to him about the lies, secrets, and traps women set for men. No matter how hard he tried to seal that box and shut off those voices, he couldn’t. He believed what happened with those two young women had controlled his future. He’d let them sabotage his relationship with Betsy. However, he wasn’t so sure about why he’d done that now. He wasn’t sure of anything except that Chloe wasn’t like those women. Chloe wasn’t like anyone else he’d ever met before, and he wanted to give whatever had been brewing a real shot to develop—and that utterly terrified him.
He hip-checked the door, nearly dropping the hot coffee as he entered his rental. He was the only man on the team who hadn’t bought a place. Dawson owned Harvey’s Cabins and now the Bed and Breakfast, which his soon-to-be wife ran. Fletcher had moved into his family’s old place…right next to the Marina, which pissed off Baily, but where else was that man supposed to go? That house had been in his family for three generations, and even though Fletcher had once thought he wanted nothing to do with the town that had helped raise him, he’d never been able to let go of the hold the community had over him—and that wasn’t a bad thing.
Keaton had bought a little house on the main drag by the marina, but that had recently burned down. It didn’t matter, though, since he’d moved into his fiancée’s, and they would live there. All Keaton had to do was rebuild on the lot near the marina and sell.
Hayes toyed with the idea he’d buy it, but then he’d get cold feet. Hayes had never owned anything other than a vehicle, and that was fitting because it meant Hayes could drive away anytime he wanted, something a few women had told him on more than one occasion.
“Good morning.” Chloe glanced over her shoulder, swiveling in the stool at the counter in the U-shaped kitchen. She cracked a slight smile. It was sweet, and it reminded him that he had a heart, and it beat in the center of his chest, pumping blood through his body.
“Sorry, this place was such a mess,” he said.
“You always say that, and it’s always the cleanest place ever.” She laughed. “Of course, you’re a minimalist, and this place is scantly decorated and barely has anything in it.”
“Dawson used to joke he was a minimalist, but then he and Audra would come into my place and call him a hoarder.” Hayes’s rental was located down the street from Dawson’s B&B, and Hayes could see the Everglades, but he wasn’t on the water, which was something he wanted. He considered living on a boat, but Baily currently didn’t have a slip available with power, and he’d started to get used to the space.
This house had three bedrooms, though one was so small that he couldn’t put a bed in it. It had one bathroom, a family room, and a kitchen. It wasn’t very big, at about twelve hundred square feet, but it was all he needed. If he wasn’t at the fire station, working every shift he could, he was taking out airboat tours at Everglades Overwatch. He loved both jobs. They were both so different. One was running into danger, while the other required him to be charming.
Both served the good people of Calusa Cove. He hadn’t taken much from his childhood, but his family, church, and community all believed in the importance of service. It was a fundamental part of their lives, and it had been ingrained in Hayes from birth. It was the one part of his past that he had latched onto that felt right.
“I brought sustenance.” It took exactly ten strides to close the gap, and there wasn’t anything in his way because all the family room had was one couch, two end tables, a single ottoman, and a large screen television. He set the food and coffee on the counter, grinned, and soaked in the beautiful woman. Most men had a type, like Dawson. He was all about redheads with spicy attitudes. Keaton had always been drawn to girls who had unexpected layers and were a walking contradiction, much like Trinity. He preferred fancy women, but who liked the great outdoors. He also tended to go for women with long blonde hair. And Fletcher, well, that man didn’t date much, and there was only one woman for him—Baily.
