Page 39 of Capturing You
Brooklynn’s smile was back, but she didn’t say anything, just turned her focus back to the computer and sent the photos to her phone. “Alyssa told me not to send the photos directly, just in case. Apparently, everything leaves a footprint.”
“So…?”
“I’ll send them to her, and she’ll forward them for me.”
“Would you send them to me too?”
Her eyebrows lifted. “Why?”
“Technically, that dock is on this property. Maybe what’s going on there is related.”
“To murders that happened decades ago?”
He shrugged, going for casual. “You never know.”
She sent the images, then stood and handed him his phone back. “Thank you for letting me use it. And the laptop, and for everything.”
They were standing too close, but there wasn’t a whole lot of room behind the desk. Her nearness messed with his head. If she was going to be staying in his house, then he’d need to get accustomed to her.
Hadn’t happened yet.
“Sure.” He cleared his throat. “Anytime.”
The words brightened her smile, and he realized he’d literally refused to let her use the laptop about ten minutes before.
Since he couldn’t think of anything to say, he said nothing.
“I was poking around in the room you told me I could stay in, and there are some clothes I think might fit me.”
Rosie’s clothes.
He absorbed the emotional throat-punch.
He must’ve schooled his features well because Brooklynn continued.
“They’re small. I think the room must’ve belonged to a teenager, which…” She shuddered, and her smile dimmed considerably. “I guess it’s pretty distressing to think of what happened to her. But at the time, I was just happy to find something to wear. I took the liberty of throwing some of them in the wash, so I can return your clothes to you tomorrow.”
There was no way to explain the rage that bubbled inside at thelibertyshe’d taken.
How could she know what those clothes meant to him? It was his own fault for lying to her about who he was. And for putting her in Rosie’s old room. This house had twenty bedrooms. He could’ve put her anywhere. He’d chosen that one because it and the master bedroom at the end of the hallway, unlike the rest of them, had been cleaned and dusted. He’d washed all the linens to remove the musty scent, wanting to feel some sense of normalcy. Some sense that he hadn’t actually lost everything that mattered that terrible night.
He planned to search those rooms thoroughly, soon. When he thought he could do so without getting maudlin and melancholy. His parents’ bedroom might produce something helpful. He doubted there was anything useful in Rosie’s room.
“I can tell that you mind.”
“It’s fine. Do you have everything you need?”
“I’ll make it work, unless you don’t want me wearing her things.”
There was no reason for her not to, though Brooklynn was inches taller than Rosie and had the curves of a grown woman. He couldn’t imagine anything of Rosie’s would be comfortable.
“I will need soap and shampoo in the shower in there. And some kind of moisturizer.”
“Write down what brands you like, and I’ll take care of it. Let me know if you think of anything else.”
“Okay.”
“FYI, the house has a burglar alarm which I set before bed and anytime I leave. The sirens blare—you won’t miss it. If you hear it, hide. There’s a compartment behind the wardrobe, like in my room.”
