Page 62 of A Little Too Late
We get out of the car, both of us careful not to slam the doors. “Come on,” he says. “Stick with me.”
I find myself taking that instruction literally. I get close to him, so close that our hands bump as we circle the building.
After the second bump, Reed takes my cold hand in his warm one. I like the way his long fingers close over mine.
I always have.
“Sure hope they don’t have any motion-detecting lights,” Reed murmurs. “Hey, look.”
When we round the building, Reed’s rental SUV is visible beside a large house. There are two other vehicles, as well. One of them is a white van from Penny Ridge Catering.
“Looks like someone is throwing a dinner party,” Reed whispers.
“I wonder if they brought the moonshine,” I whisper back. I glance at him to find him looking back at me.
Suddenly, we’re both trying really hard not to laugh. I have to clap a hand over my mouth.
“I think you drank it all, Ava.”
“You shut up.”
My stomach shakes with the threat of nervous laughter until Reed’s hand tightens on mine. I take a gulp of cold mountain air and master myself, and we edge closer to the house.
But the window is a good five feet off the ground, I can’t see inside. “What do you see?”
“A kitchen,” he says, standing on tiptoe. “We haven’t found them yet.”
“I hope they’re not upstairs,” I point out. “My free climbing gear is at home.”
“Wait,” he whispers as we edge around the back of the building. “You like to go rock climbing?”
“Of course,” I whisper back. “I live in Colorado, Reed. I had to learn some new tricks.”
He gives me an appreciative glance, his brown eyes glinting in the moonlight.
But this is no friendly stroll, so when we arrive at the next set of lit-up windows, he drops my hand and edges closer to peer inside. “Bingo.”
“What are they doing?” I mouth.
“Talking,” he whispers into my ear. “There are maybe eight guys around the dining table. There’s a projector pointed at this wall.” He indicates the wall we’re standing against. “Let’s walk around to the front and try to see what’s on the screen?”
“Okay, 007.”
He flashes me a grin and then takes my hand. Quietly, we duck below the window and follow the wall to the front corner. There’s another window here, but it’s higher off the ground, and he can’t get a good view inside. “Ava, let me boost you up.”
A nervous thrill runs down my spine. “All right. But if we get arrested, this was all your idea.”
“Sure, sure.” He squats down in front of me. “Let’s do this piggyback style. Or climb onto my shoulders.”
“All right. But this pencil skirt was a mistake.”
He snickers as I tug my skirt up my thighs and then throw one leg over his shoulder, and then the other. A moment later I’m rising into the air, my heart pounding. I grab the window frame to steady myself and peer into the room.
On the projector screen, there’s an architectural drawing. It shows a big development with downtown Penny Ranch in one corner of the screen. I count five big buildings, many smaller ones, and a parking garage. I take a deep breath. “It’s…a development. Abigone. Looks awful, honestly. And the whole spread is labeledSharpe Chalet at Penny Ridge.”
“No lie?”
I tap his shoulder, asking to be put down. “You have to see this.”
