Page 38 of Christmas Homecoming Secrets
He followed behind her, leaving Sasha inside her den. He just hoped the dog didn’t break anything trying to lie down in the small space.
Bryce navigated the steps and found Jade at the barn with the two officers who were watching the place. “We’re going to walk through the barn,” she told Bryce. “Can you hang back here and make sure no one comes out?”
“Of course.” He pulled his weapon and held it ready.
One of the officers, Charlie, rounded the side of the barn, while Jade and Ricky entered the wooden double doors. Bryce waited, tension threading through his shoulders. He scanned the area, looking for anything that would tell him what Jade had seen. Nothing set off any internal alarms. He stepped closer to the door and glanced inside. She and Ricky walked sideways, back to back, sweeping their weapons up and across the barn. “Clear,” Jade called.
“Clear out here!” Charlie called.
Bryce stepped into the barn, and Jade and her fellow officer joined him.
“You walked through the entire place and you didn’t see anything?” Bryce asked.
She frowned and shook her head. “I guess I’m just paranoid.”
“We’re going to get set back up,” Ricky said. He nodded to his partner and they left. Jade planted her hands on her hips while her eyes scanned the area.
Bryce did the same but didn’t know what she could be looking for. “Everything okay?” he asked.
“I think so.” She strolled down the center aisle, petting the horses’ noses jutting from the stalls. At the office, she glanced inside. “Everything looks fine. I suppose I’m seeing things now.” She turned and made her way back to the entrance, stopping at the steps that led to the horseshoe-shaped loft. “Ricky went up there and said it was clear.” She shrugged. “So whoever or whatever I saw, it’s not here now.”
“You spent a lot of time in this barn growing up,” he said.
“So did you.”
He sighed. “Yeah. Lots of great memories. I miss those days.” He narrowed his eyes. “That little secret room still there?”
“I guess.” She smiled. “I haven’t thought about that place in years. I’ll have to show it to Mia one day. I’d do it now, but I’m afraid it would hold way too much appeal to her.”
“Who?”
“Uh…one of the kids.” She cleared her throat. “I sure do miss those days, don’t you?” He’d just said he did. Her nervous tongue was going to get her in major trouble if she wasn’t more careful. “I mean, I miss them, too. Especially summers when we just hung out, rode horses and went swimming in the pond. The four of us were inseparable.”
“And we were all going to do big things with our lives. Remember that?”
“Yeah, I do.”
He turned toward the entrance. “You know Frank had a big old crush on you at one point our sophomore year of college. I think you were sixteen or seventeen.”
She gaped, all nervousness suddenly gone. “What? He did not.”
“He did.”
“Well, he sure never told me about it.”
“He wouldn’t.”
“Why?”
Bryce shrugged. “He thought you were too young. He was going to give you a couple of years to grow up.”
“I guess he changed his mind, because he never said a word.”
“Guess so. When Frank told me he and Heather were engaged, I nearly fell over. He always said she needed someone to take care of her. I never guessed he’d be interested in that role. When did they get so chummy, anyway?”
She frowned, and they walked together back toward the main house. “Heather went to the police academy in Greenville but was determined to come back to Cedar Canyon and join the force. Only there weren’t any jobs available, so she worked in a feed store until her current position opened up and they hired her. She and Frank started hanging out soon after she came home from the academy, and one thing led to another.”
“I still can’t see it, but what do I know?” He paused. “So, I know a little about your time in Charlotte. Can you tell me more?”
