CHAPTER ELEVEN
“You can’t be serious.”
“I am.” Brynn settled back against the arm of her couch, careful not to spill the red liquid over the rim of her wine glass. She needed every drop she could get. “We signed the papers months ago, but the process of me taking over the Cavern started a couple of years back. Tiny and Rose want to travel more, but they also took on quite the project up at the lake. It only made sense for me to buy them out so they could diversify into a business that was better able to accommodate their plans.”
Brynn pulled her legs underneath her so that both of them had room on the cushions. She and Lance had come up to her apartment, not wanting to have dinner at the diner. And she certainly wasn’t leaving town on a Friday night when the bar was so busy. She honestly wasn’t ready to fend off the questions that would no doubt circulate had she and Lance gone to eat at Annie’s Diner. The smart thing was to come upstairs with some burgers, yet still be accessible to Kristen and the staff if need be.
She had reminded herself several times over the last hour that this was only a friendly dinner. She needed to keep repeating that sentiment over and over, because each brush of his hand and each shared look made her apartment seem as if it didn’t have any air in it at all, let alone central air.
“Your major was in business, but I never in a million years would have guessed that you would own the Cavern. I would have thought your long-term plan included Tiny and Rose as silent partners.” Lance rested his right arm over the back of the couch so that they were facing one another. He’d run his hand through his hair at one point, so it was slightly ruffled on top even though the sides were cut short. It gave him a just-rolled-out-of-bed look that caused Brynn to yearn for more than conversation about what she’d been doing for the past twelve years. “I guess it makes sense, though. You’re surrounded by family every night of the week.”
No one else had made the connection. At least, she didn’t think the townsfolk had come to that conclusion.
Brynn realized that she’d created a point system in her head on whether or not this dinner should extend into another. He’d just garnered another notch, because his theory on why she wanted the bar was spot on. It proved that he still had insight to her that others didn’t and never would have.
“Everyone in our tiny village, so to speak, seemed to have a hand in making sure I stayed on the straight and narrow after Mom and Dad died.” It was a lot easier to talk about her parents now than it had been when she’d been younger. It was even more effortless to reminisce how everyone had gathered around her, never once letting her slip through the cracks. Isn’t that what family did for one another? “Every face that walks through that door had a hand in me going to college one way or another. I owe this town and its people so much.”
Brynn wasn’t talking figuratively either. She’d discovered upon graduating high school that the town had taken up a collection to put her through college after her parents died, and any tips left for Tiny over the years at the Cavern went into that same fund. She’d been able to graduate debt free, and now she’d come home to return the favor—by giving back to the same town that had supported her in her time of need. She’d even started a scholarship fund for some lucky student who needed it somewhere down the road in years to come.
“Have you spoken to Shae?”
Brynn’s heart squeezed upon hearing the name of her best friend’s sister. Emma would always be her best friend, regardless that she had disappeared. Brynn and Julie still got together every year on the day Emma went missing to reminisce about their friend, making sure her memory was never forgotten. They even made a point of talking to anyone they met on those occasions about Emma and her childhood in Blyth Lake.
“I haven’t spoken to Shae in ages. I honestly think it hurts her to hear my voice.” Brynn sipped her wine as she struggled to find the right words to explain why their calls had ceased years ago. “Let’s face it. Those calls were more for me anyway.”
“I think Gwen does business with Shae once in a while.” Lance leaned forward and picked up his bottle of beer, though it had to be relatively warm by now. “So, you’re still close with Julie?”
“I am.” Brynn couldn’t help but smile thinking Julie had most likely already been informed about this little dinner taking place above the bar, not to mention the kiss that had been interrupted. “She’s a medic and currently partners with Billy Stanton.”
“I’d heard about that from Noah,” Lance replied with a shake of his head. She didn’t have to ask why he was dumbfounded by her declaration. “I’m surprised Stanton stayed in town.”
“We all were, but I’m not complaining.”
“Let me guess,” Lance said with one of those smiles that took her back in time. “He’s known for buying rounds when he’s lit.”
“And it’s usually on a Friday night when he’s not on shift.” Brynn left out that Billy’s father consistently picked up his tab. It went unspoken, though everyone in town was well aware of the Stantons’ personal business. “Word has it that Billy made an offer to Noah for his newly acquired property.”
“Yeah, I’d heard the same thing.” Lance didn’t appear too pleased with the deal Billy tried to strike with Noah. His perplexity turned out to be about something bigger. “I’d almost forgotten how the mechanics of a small town like this works. It’s one big oiled machine for people of means, isn’t it?”
Brynn didn’t need to answer, because Lance wasn’t looking for a response.
“Is it a hard adjustment from what you were living?”
Brynn could have kicked herself, because they’d been staying on surface topics that didn’t delve too deep. She’d inquired about something very personal after she’d warned herself over and over to keep things casual between them.
“It is,” Lance replied softly, twisting the bottle of beer in his hands more for something to do than reading the label as it appeared he was doing. “It sounds crazy, but I was so looking forward to coming back home for a fresh start. Now that I’m here, I feel a little askew. I miss my unit, the hardships, and the camaraderie we all had.”
“You have that with your family, though,” Brynn pointed out, unable to stop herself from speaking her mind. She could see the longing on his features, and it was heartbreaking. “Your dad, your brothers, and your sister are like a unit by themselves.”
Some of the crowd they used to hang with back in the day had long ago left Blyth Lake. There were a few still around, such as Chad Schaeffer and Billy Stanton. No one had excluded Billy back then in spite of himself, but it went unwritten where they stood when it came to the depth of their friendship. As long as someone could benefit Billy from his viewpoint, then all was good at the time.
“They are definitely a force to be reckoned with, aren’t they?” Lance smiled fondly, though it was clear the type of amity he was referring to in regard to his team was different than that of his family. “I’ll adjust, but I know it will take time.”
How many times had she seen documentaries or the news cover the topic of PTSD in military men and women? Too many times to count, that’s for sure. The instinct to ask if he suffered from the same disorder was there, but she also respected his right to privacy considering their recent revival of their friendship. They were just beginning to know one another again, and though there wasn’t a rulebook for this type of thing, she didn’t want to jeopardize what there was between the two of them for what could only be a small measure of insight. The right time would come for such questions. She only hoped it wouldn’t be in crisis.
The band Brynn hired had started playing over an hour ago, the deep bass coming through the floorboards of her apartment. It was rather soothing to know that the bar was running effectively with her behind the black curtain. It enabled her to do a myriad of other things, such as having dinner with a man who still had the ability to break her heart.
“I should get back downstairs,” Brynn said with a tinge of regret. She really had enjoyed this time with him, but it would be so easy to forget where she’d set her initial boundaries. It was time to put a little distance between them so that their momentum didn’t overcome them. “Are you staying for a bit or are you heading to your dad’s house?”
“I was thinking of staying.”
Brynn’s heart skipped a beat at his last word. It suggested a hell of a lot more than having a drink downstairs in the bar with some of his old buddies, but she managed to inspect the contents of her wine glass and pretend otherwise. She even brought up the investigation so that it kept both of them distracted from the underlying physical attraction they’d avoided throughout their meal.
“Whitney stopped in around lunchtime.” Brynn drained the rest of her wine before unfolding her legs off the couch. She set her empty Styrofoam dinner container on top of his and then took them into her small kitchen. The open layout made it convenient to carry on the conversation. “You didn’t mention that her picture was included with the others you found. I was thinking maybe the photos have nothing to do with Sophia Morton’s murder.”
“Detective Kendrick called me earlier and said he spoke with Arthur Fetter on the phone. He claims he has no knowledge of any pictures being hidden inside the furnace.” Lance followed her and leaned against the counter as she rinsed out her wine glass. A quick glance told her that his piercing blue eyes were taking in every small movement she made, but his knowing smile told her she wasn’t fooling him with her change in topic. “Kendrick isn’t so sure the photographs are related either, but he’s still pursuing them as a potential lead.”
“Eleven years is a long time for a murder to go unsolved.” Brynn held out her hand for his empty beer bottle. He slowly relinquished his hold on the brown glass. “Add another year for how long Emma has been missing. The connection between Sophia and Emma is definitely there, but that same list of suspects contains most of the people we know and grew up with. It’s hard to wrap my mind around that fact.”
“Spend tomorrow morning with me.”
It was a good thing that she was tossing the beer bottle in the recycling can underneath her sink, because the glass slipped from her fingers at that precise moment.
“I wish I could.” Brynn masked the trembling of her hand by closing the cabinet door and flashing him a regretful smile. “I have to conduct a couple interviews around eleven o’clock. I need to add to the Cavern’s weekend staff roster.”
“So that means you’re free for breakfast and a tour of the new house,” Lance reasoned with a grin that expressed his victory in turning the tables. “I’ll pick you up around eight and then we’ll head to the diner together.”
Brynn bit her lip as he turned and started to walk through her living room to the door that would lead them downstairs. The band had played a number of popular, catchy songs already, but they switched to a softer ballad as if on cue. Their timing sucked as far as she was concerned, but she still managed to catch up with Lance and stop him before he exited her apartment.
“Why?” Brynn blurted out, pulling back her hand from the warmth of his arm. She wanted to berate him for looking so damned good, but she was more concerned with the direction he was taking them. “Lance, you just got back to town. There are a lot of things you could be concentrating on, such as spending time with your family and renovating your new home. It’s not like I’m going anywhere, and we can’t just pick up where we left off. It doesn’t work that way.”
There. Brynn finally said what she’d been wanting to put out there all evening. She crossed her arms and stood her ground. She’d been off balance ever since he’d returned to town. It would be nice to be back on steady ground and stick to the plan she’d laid out for her future.
“Tiny asked me what my intentions were toward you.”
There was no stopping the embarrassment that flushed her face. On one hand, Tiny’s concern was touching and it warmed her to know he still looked out for her wellbeing. On the other hand, she was mortified. Tiny presumptively assumed Lance wanted something more than friendship.
Did he?
Brynn stifled a groan in confusion, because she wasn’t even sure what this was between them yet herself.
“Do you want to know what I told him?”
Not really.
A tremor of arousal traveled down her spine at the rich tone of his voice. It didn’t help that he stepped forward and slowly brushed the back of his knuckles against her cheek. Yes, she desperately wanted to know what his answer had been, but something held her back from telling him the truth. It didn’t matter, because he bared his soul to her anyway.
“I told him that spending time with you was the first time I truly felt like I was home.” Lance surprised her when he leaned forward and softly pressed his lips against her forehead. It was something he used to do after walking her to class. She was being drawn back to their past, and there wasn’t a thing she could do about resisting his efforts. “And it feels damned good, Brynn.”
Frighteningly good, but she didn’t say that aloud. At least, she didn’t think she did.
“I’ll be running on five hours of sleep,” Brynn warned, her thoughts swirling with how she would handle all the questions thrown her way. There was no doubt that everyone in the bar was kibitzing about what they were doing up here, besides eating dinner. Had they taken much more time, she was sure the more creative stories would begin to circulate. It probably would have been better to go to the diner. “You sure you want to be around me that early in the morning?”
“There’s no other place I’d rather be in this whole wide world, blondie.”