Chapter Twelve
Levi searched around the kitchen for his favorite mug. Turning the K-cup holder, he plucked Butter Toffee out of the ring. A party of six needed a guide for fishing, and he had drawn the short straw, which stuck him with the morning shift.
As the motor of his hot tub grew louder, he shut the top of the coffee maker on the small cup. He glanced out of the window at the deck he built last year. Not at all surprised, he found an intruder in his spa, and it didn’t appear to be the furry animal variety.
With the coffee forgotten, he opened the door to the deck. Freshly turned red and orange fall leaves provided the magical backdrop for the water nymph in his spa. Steam rose from the water, inviting him to strip off his clothes and join her. Facing the forest, he got an eyeful of her naked back. Since it was too close to the time to meet the fishermen, he couldn’t find someone else to take them out.
“I’m guessing you’re washing church off of you from yesterday. There are hunters in those woods, by the way,” he warned her. Gray and overcast, Levi couldn’t make out anything past the first row of oaks. He knew the locals went deep into the forest, using Goosebay Lake as their entry point.
“Do you think I’ll be mistaken for Bambi and get shot?” Her voice came out as a sexy morning rasp. He tried to keep his distance and catch up on errands yesterday, but ended up thinking about her more than he liked.
Cayden turned to face him. The top of her breasts peeked from beneath the water’s surface. She grabbed a wine glass filled with orange juice and, he suspected, champagne.
“Nah, you’ll just change the trajectory of their day, that’s all… What did you find at church?”
“A few rumors.”
He kneeled near the edge of the hot tub, beckoning the woman closer with the power of his mind. “Hit me with your best one.”
“The cops’ main suspect was a teacher at Chesterfield. He went missing around the time Shana was murdered. They searched his house but found nothing useful.”
“I think I heard that one before.” He envied the way the beads of water dripped down her neck. He wanted to catch them all with his tongue. “Do you think they stopped investigating once they hung all their hopes on the missing teacher?”
“Seems like it, but I would need their files to be sure.” She glided closer.
“Shana’s family could get you permission.”
“So could your friends in the DA’s office.” She slipped her tongue around the rim of the wine glass before she drank from it.
“You want me to ask about a damn near thirteen-year-old murder case? Nope, that shouldn’t draw any suspicion.”
Once she floated close enough, he caught her by the shoulders and pulled her up to his mouth. He licked the orange juice and alcohol off her lips, sinking into her for a kiss.
“Mimosa?” He released the chocolate beauty back in the tub.
“If you wanted to know, all you had to do was ask.”
“What would be the fun in that?” He winked and stood to leave. “I’ve got to take a group out. What are your plans for the day?”
“Off to the big city to play adult.”
“I would kill to see what that looks like,” he half-joked. Pretty much hands-off with the resort, to the rest of the world Cayden appeared nothing more than an entitled brat. However, she ran all her grandfather’s businesses with stellar results.
Under Cayden’s care, the Young’s family wealth had doubled. Unfortunately, her grandfather died not too long after she graduated from college. Somehow, she still managed to double their family fortune.
“According to Lydia, she overheard you talking with Simone about Dale,” Cayden told him.
“Who’s Simone?”
“Redhead from Chesterfield.”
“Oh.” He smiled at the memory of the flirty girl. “Yeah, she mentioned that you weren’t that interested in him.”
“Why would that even come up?” Cayden asked.
“Who knows,” he lied. “Teenagers passing time, probably. Why don’t you give her a call and ask? It appears you were in the dark about a lot of stuff that went on at Chesterfield.”
Cayden scrunched her face. She probably never considered such an easy solution.
“Did you bring your gun?” Years back, while on leave from the military, he taught her how to shoot.
“No. TSA is a bitch to deal with,” she confessed.
“Do you want to borrow a weapon?”
“I’ll let you know.”
“Yeah, that’s generally past the point when you need one.” Officially late, he headed for the door.
“Hey, Mr. Scott?”
He glanced over his shoulder and once again considered calling off work.
“I have the answer to your pumpkin patch dilemma.”
“Do tell, Ms. Young.”
“Adult treehouses.”
“That’s a thing?” He chuckled, surprised she hadn’t made it up.
“Yep, a big one. Look at it this way … honeymooners in the sky.” She did her Vanna White impression, which delighted him. He got a good full-frontal of her perfect tits.
“Isn’t that what our private cabins are for?”
“Trust me.”
Against his better judgement, he decided to give her silly adult treehouses a shot. Anything to do with business, he would take her word for, but that was about the only thing he would trust her with. Before he took off, he threw a good-bye wave over his shoulder.