Page 93 of Hold Your Breath
“Whiteboard?” Callum asked.
A grin spread over Lou’s face. “Yes, please.”
Chapter 18
There wasn’t much time to scribble more than the basics before Lou had to head to work. The warm, sunny day brought in locals and tourists alike, and her shift flew by quickly. Tyler Coughlin stopped in for a hot chocolate, but she didn’t have the time or the privacy to ask the sheriff’s son for the latest gossip on the HDG case before he flipped his boy-band bangs out of his eyes and left.
She frowned. It really wasn’t the HDG case anymore. He had a name now. Willard Alan Gray. But as much as she would have liked to ponder how knowing who the victim was changed the direction of the murder case, a family with four small kids trooped into the shop, asking about the menu and distracting her from a whole new flock of theories.
There was a short lull around five when the shop emptied, and Lou frantically cleaned, not sure if the rush would start again. She’d had only a few minutes to tidy the day’s mess when an SUV pulled into the lot. With a heavy sigh, she returned to her spot behind the counter, watching as a couple got out of the vehicle. The man opened the rear door and clipped a leash to the collar of what looked like a golden retriever mix.
Callum pulled up, distracting her from her potential customers. She watched him back into his usual spot at the far end of the lot. As he walked toward the front door, she had to repress a stupidly lovesick sigh. Even in multiple winter layers, the man was just mouthwatering.
With a snort, she forced her gaze away from him. She was being ridiculous, worse than a junior high girl with her first crush. If she’d been a cartoon, her pupils would be heart-shaped. The bells on the door jangled, jerking her out of her self-mockery.
“Sparks,” Callum said. “Get out here.” He stepped back outside, the bells ringing again as the door closed.
“Okay,” she said slowly. That was odd. Although she didn’t like to jump when Callum ordered her to jump—unless it was something dive-team related—curiosity had her heading for the door.
He was talking to the couple when she stepped outside, and she made her way toward them. As she approached, the dog began to wag his tail so hard that his whole body wiggled. All three people looked at her, and she slowed, not able to read their expressions.
Handing the end of the leash to the woman, the man crossed the short distance to Lou and grabbed her in an enveloping hug, lifting her off her feet. She stared over his shoulder at Callum, giving him frantic eye signals to come save her from this inappropriately affectionate stranger, but he wasn’t moving. Not only didn’t he rescue her, but he was smiling.
The man put her back on her feet but kept his hands on her shoulders. There were tears in his eyes, she noted with awkward horror. What was happening here? “Thank you.”
She just blinked at him.
“You don’t recognize me?” He gave a watery laugh as he released her. “I guess I am drier now. And conscious.”
“Oh!” She bounced on her toes as realization struck her. “You’re the one we pulled out of the water the other night. And your dog.”
“Yes. Howard Spalding. And that’s Moses. We’d be dead if it hadn’t been for you guys, so thank you.” He laughed again. “It’s such a small thing to say after something like that, but I still wanted to say it. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She wasn’t sure what else to do in this situation. “I’m glad you’re okay. That you’re both okay.”
The woman came over with Moses bounding ahead of her. Once the dog reached Lou, he didn’t slow his forward momentum, but jumped up and planted his paws on her middle.
“Moses!” the woman scolded. Tears flowed freely down her face, and Lou felt a sympathetic burn behind her own eyes.
“It’s fine,” Lou said, focusing on scratching the dog behind his ears so she wouldn’t have to look directly at the crying people. “He’s beautiful.”
“Thank you so much,” the woman sobbed. “I would’ve lost them both if it wasn’t for you and the other rescuers.”
Howard put an arm around her and pulled her in to his side. “This is my wife, Trudy.”
“Nice to meet you,” Lou said, wincing inwardly at the trite words. “And you’re welcome. I’m just glad they’re okay.”
Overtaken by sobs, Trudy grabbed her in a hard hug. Lou patted her back awkwardly. She met Callum’s eyes over the other woman’s shoulder and mouthed, “Help me.”
He shook his head and grinned. “Enjoy it,” he mouthed back.
Once Trudy’s tears had eased to the occasional sniffle, she took a step back.
“Um…do you want to go inside and have some coffee?” Lou asked.
“No,” Howard answered, draping his arm around his wife again. “Thank you, but we have to be going. We’re headed back to Colorado Springs tonight. I wanted to stop by to thank you before we left, though.”
“How’d you know to come here?” Lou asked.
