Thankfully, the officers at the Redwood Cove first precinct were quite happy to see him when he strode in with two jumbo donuts and a tray of fresh coffees.

  “Thank God for stereotypes,” a detective with salt and pepper hair and a handlebar mustache smacked between bites. “Otherwise no one would ever think to bring us treats like this!”

  Finch gravitated toward the plump and jolly officer who was not too unlike how he might have pictured Santa Claus as a slightly younger man.

  “I’m investigating a cold case,” he said, cutting to the chase. “Was wondering if you might be able to help fill in some of the details.”

  “Ahh, so you’re a P.I.” The officer shoved another bite of donut into his mouth with glee.

  Finch shrugged. “Something like that.”

  “What case you looking into?” He seemed nice enough, but not very interested. Finch needed to find a way to get him hooked, if there was to be any chance of finding help with the PD.

  He tried to sound casual, knowing that if he spoke with too much enthusiasm he’d come across as some crazed hobbiest. “Well, it happened a long time ago, but I have reason to think my family might have been involved.”

  The officer leaned back in his chair and put both arms behind his head, settling in for the long haul. “Oh, this is going to be good,” he said with renewed interest in Finch’s plight.

  “Have you heard of the St. Mary’s Murder? It happened in the 50’s.”

  The detective stretched his legs and laughed. “Yeah, of course. Everyone’s heard of that one. It’s actually one of the cases they train the new kids on these days.”

  Jack smiled. He knew his grin had a placating effect on women but wasn’t sure how far it would get him with this manly officer. Still, anything that could help was worth a try. “Is there anything you can tell me that might help me solve it?” he asked.

  The policeman laughed and, despite appearances, it sounded nothing like Santa Claus’s merry trill. “You think you can solve a case more than sixty years old when dozens and dozens of professionals haven’t learned a thing about it in all that time? Thanks for the laugh and the donuts. I needed both this morning.”

  Finch crossed his arms and stared the other man down. So his attempts at kindness had failed. Regardless, he would not be mocked. “I’m glad you think it’s so funny, but seeing as you’ve all failed to finish the job, someone has to do it.”

  “Oh ho ho!”

  Finch didn’t care for this cruel, uniformed version of Santa at all.

  “Think you know better than us, do you?” He reached into his desk drawer, still laughing feverishly. After scribbling a website down on a piece of spiral notebook paper, he tore the page off and handed it to Finch.

  When Finch tried to take it, the officer ripped it away again. “Not so fast.”

  Finch rolled his eyes. He refused to let this man’s ribbing get to him, but still, he needed whatever information was on that paper.

  “If you actually do somehow manage to solve this thing, I get the credit. Got it? Okay, here’s my card.” He waited for Finch to accept the business card before finally offering over the paper.

  “Seriously, good luck to you,” the officer, whose name appeared to be Carerra, called after him before erupting in laughter once more.

  Good grief.

  Finch hurried out of the station, already subjected to enough humiliation for the day. When he finally glanced down at the paper, he saw that the web address belonged to the exact same cold case site he’d already found via yesterday’s Google search.

  So much for calling in the pros…

  Chapter Twelve

  At a loss, Sarah wandered around town after being dismissed from work. She tried calling Finch, but it went straight to voicemail. Unfortunately, she didn’t have anyone else to call or anywhere else to go…

  How pathetic.

  “What are we going to do now, Lucky?” she asked her faithful companion, but the dog didn’t have any more answers than she did.

  Why did it suddenly feel as if everything in her life had been taken away? Perhaps it was because Eleanor’s accusation stung her in the most sensitive area of her heart.

  Her grandmother.

  Sarah’s negligence.

  A death that needn’t have happened.

  And now the same thing was happening again.

  Why had she ever thought she could repent for what she’d done so many years ago? How could she possibly expect to alleviate a conscience that had long been buried beneath an overwhelming mass of guilt? She couldn’t even begrudge Eleanor her lies. Sarah had pushed too hard for information—she’d let Finch push too hard.

  Now they’d never have answers, and Sarah’s work reputation would forever be tainted. Would the other staff and patients assume Eleanor’s claims her true? Would they treat Sarah differently from now on?

  Everything about this situation hurt. Sarah’s job was all she had besides Lucky, and…

  Her phone jangled with an incoming call. Finch.

  His words tumbled out quickly, brightly. He still didn’t know. “Sorry I missed your text. I was at the police station, trying to—”

  Sarah cut him off with a racking sob. She just couldn’t keep it in anymore.

  Finch’s voice immediately turned tender. “Whoa, hey. What’s wrong?”

  “I…” How could she possibly explain what happened? Finch would feel guilty, no doubt, and that was the last thing she wanted.

  “Did something happen at work?” he prompted, his voice still soft, concerned.

  Sarah nodded even though she knew he couldn’t see, then finally managed, “I got put on suspension.”

  “What? Why? Wait…” Now the words weren’t soft. They’d become sharp with vitriol. “This was Eleanor, wasn’t it?”

  Sarah nodded again. “Yes, and I don’t know why. I thought…” The tears fell faster.

  Finch’s voice sounded a million miles away, and she wished more than anything that he was right here with her now. “I am so sorry. I’m going to take care of this, but first, I want to take care of you. Where are you?”

  “Downtown by the bakery.” Sarah sniffed. Finch couldn’t fix this, but he could at least help her feel better. Hopefully.

  “I’m not too far from there. I’m coming to get you. Is Lucky with you, too?”

  “He’s always with me,” she replied matter-of-factly.

  “Right, of course. See you in five.” He hung up before Sarah could say goodbye.

  And not even three minutes later, Finch’s understated sedan appeared at the curb. “Hop in,” he said, rolling down the window and waiting for her and Lucky to join him inside.

  “Thanks for coming to get me,” she whispered, her voice husky from all the tears she’d already shed that day. “I still can’t believe your aunt would—”

  “Nope,” Finch cut her off. “We aren’t going to talk about her.”

  Sarah moaned. Without the option to talk about his aunt, the two of them had nothing in common. She needed this in order to keep Finch close without allowing him to get too close. “But the mystery…”

  “We aren’t going to talk about that, either.” He shook his head and placed a chastising finger to his lips.

  “Then?”

  “We both need a break. Don’t you think?”

  “What do you mean? Are you taking me home? My car is at—”

  “Nope. We need to do something fun just for us. No murder mysteries, no bitter old ladies, just us. And Lucky,” he added, reaching back to pat the Golden Retriever on his head.

  Sarah settled back in her seat and let out a shaky breath. “That sounds nice,” she admitted.

  “Good. Because I like you, Sarah Campbell, and I want you to feel better.” That was the first time either of them had admitted their feelings to the other, and with it, something shifted in Sarah’s heart. It had been a long time since she’d been in mutual like with a boy—let alone a man—and she didn’t have the slightest idea how to respond.

  “You like me?” she asked, her voice heavy beneath the weight of these three tiny, yet mighty, words.

  “Very much.” And then he flashed one of his award-winning smiles her way, giving her not just butterflies but an entire sky full of winged creatures in her belly.

  She gulped. “Do you mean…?”

  “I mean you’re an amazing woman and you don’t deserve to feel this way. So, let’s go have some fun and get you smiling again.” His ocean eyes drew her in, made her never want to look away.

  She didn’t feel very amazing that day, but she felt miles better with Finch at her side. “Okay,” she said. “Let’s go have some fun.”

  This time, she didn’t worry about what he might have planned, whether it jived well with her straight-laced lifestyle or whether it would get them in trouble. She simply let go and trusted him to deliver his promise of a day well spent.

  A day together.

  For better or worse.

  Finch and Sarah waited rather impatiently in line for the Go Carts. The few times she tried to direct the conversation back to Eleanor and the mystery, he redirected her by asking pointed questions about Lucky. He was beginning to know more about the dog than the girl, which definitely wouldn’t do.

  “You ready to lose, Campbell?” Finch teased, ready for this day to at last be about the two of them and nothing else.

  “What? You aren’t going to let me win?” she shot back, nudging his foot with hers. Why did a kick from Sarah feel better than any caress from his previous girlfriends?

  “Not on your life.” He already felt as if he had won just by being in this wonderful woman’s company, but he wasn’t about to say something so overtly corny and put her off.

  Just then, their turn came up, and the cart jockey motioned them toward a pair of waiting vehicles.

  “You look cute in that helmet,” Finch offered, after shoving his onto his head and lowering the visor.

  “Funny, because you don’t.” She stuck out her tongue at him before pulling down her visor as well.

  “Oh, it’s on!”

  All this flirting was driving Finch crazy in the best of ways. Why couldn’t every day be like this?

  One of the nearby employees held onto Lucky’s harness at the outside of the track. The dog barked when Finch glanced his way.

  “Ready?” The trackmaster asked, waiting for nods from both Sarah and Finch.

  And when he got them, he shouted, “Go!”

  Finch pressed down hard on his gas pedal, jolting the little car to life. It had been years since he last drove one of these small, zippy vehicles, but he still had no trouble navigating the twists and turns in the track.

  As he finished his first lap, he searched around for Sarah—and found she’d collided head-on with one of the barriers. Finch laughed and waved as he passed.

  “I’ll get you next time!” she shouted, shaking her fist like some kind of old-timey cartoon character.

  By the time Finch lapped the track again, Sarah’s cart had been restored and she was quickly gaining speed. “That’s more like it,” he called. “You’re finally going to give me some competition here!”

  Sarah kept both hands on the wheel, predictably, safely, at ten and two. “Don’t talk to me while I’m driving!” she shouted, pulling slightly ahead of him.

  Finch laughed so hard, he lost focus and—crash! He ended up bouncing off the barrier wall himself.

  “Did you have fun?” he asked her once they were both back on their feet. The ground still felt as if it were buzzing beneath him and he had to hold onto a handrail to steady himself as he pulled himself away from the track.

  “I had fun watching you crash,” she answered with a laugh and a playful jab.

  “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up while you have the chance. I bet you won’t be laughing when we hit the zip line.”

  Sarah blanched. “The zip line? Um, no thanks.”

  He grabbed her hand, and she reluctantly walked with him toward the next attraction. “Nope, you’re not getting it out of it. Nobody comes to the adventure center without making the leap.”

  “Yes, me. I do.”

  “Two please,” he told the man at the booth, handing him his card.

  She crossed her arms over her chest, refusing to look at him. “No, Finch. I don’t want to.”

  “But that’s why you have to.”

  She risked a quick glance his way. “How do I know it’s safe?” Her eyes were wide with fear, and he wanted so badly to take her in his arms and tell her it would be all right.

  Instead, he had to settle for words. “I promise you it’s safe. Look, I’ll even go first,” he said as the worker handed him a pair of harnesses. “Now, do you need me to help you get strapped in?”

  “I guess.” She let out a deep breath and stood rooted to the spot as Finch and the worker secured her in the safety harness.

  Sarah said nothing more as they climbed to the top of the platform. Once they were up high with the wind whipping her hair against her neck, she asked, “Remind me why I’m doing this again?”

  “Because sometimes in life you just have to take the leap.”

  Sarah laughed nervously. “That is so cliché. Just take the leap? Really, Finch?” She laughed harder, stumbled a bit to the side, then sobered up quickly as she grappled for the handrail at the edge of the platform.

  “Okay, how about this,” he said as the worker used a pair of strong carabineers to hook him to the line. “You’re doing this because sometimes you just have to stop being afraid and go for it. Because sometimes you have to break the rules, defy gravity, in order to live a little. Now are you ready?”

  Her knuckles had begun to turn white where she clutched to the guardrail. “I don’t think I’ll ever be ready…”

  “Then that definitely means you should do it. Look, there are only two ways down. I know which way I’m taking.” And with that, he jumped off the platform, letting the line carry him toward the mountains in the distance. There was the brief moment of thrill where he couldn’t tell if the harness was attached, then the split-second of falling before the line caught him and sent him sliding down the cable like a diving falcon.

  At the bottom, he caught himself running and unhooked the line as fast as he could, waiting to see if Sarah would be brave enough to follow. He’d almost given up on her when at last a shrill scream broke through the air and Sarah’s emerging form quickly followed.

  She half-screamed, half-laughed the entire way down as she flew through the clouds, his own personal angel. She missed catching her foothold at the bottom, but Finch was quick to reach out and steady her descent, running backward with her in his arms until they both stopped.

  Sarah fit in his arms as if she’d always belonged there. He unhooked her helmet and let it drop to the ground, reaching to brush her hair from her face. She pressed her cheek into his hand and closed her eyes. Both of their hearts beat wildly.

  Her lips parted as she waited.

  The perfect moment had arrived, but was it really perfect? Sarah had been put on suspension from her work that day—and it was because of his deranged aunt. Would their first kiss be forever tainted if he were to take it now?

  And why was he putting so much pressure on them? On himself?

  He swallowed hard, praying he’d made the right choice as he set Sarah firmly back on the ground.

  “There,” he said with a disappointed smile. “Told you you’d like it. But next time you’ve gotta land on your own two feet instead of mine.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Sarah’s heart skipped a beat—and not in the good kind of fairytale way, but more like a train sliding off the tracks and bursting into flames as it hurtled toward a bottomless sea.

  Yup, that was exactly how she felt right about then. Her heart hammering an unsteady beat, her mind reeling, her world spinning off its axis…

  Why didn’t Finch kiss me?

  The moment was perfect, both physically and metaphorically. He’d literally caught her when she’d fallen. Their faces were so close she’d been able to taste his salty skin with each bated breath.

  But then he set her down and moved away so fast Sarah had to question what she’d eaten that day and whether any of it might still be lingering on her breath or in her teeth.

  Mortified didn’t even begin to cover it, especially since Finch seemed unaware of the disappointment that now stung every nerve ending in her body.

  “Want to go again?” he asked after shoving both hands deep into his pockets and taking a step to the side.

  Sarah shook her head, worried that if she tried to speak she might yell or cry or both. For just the briefest of periods she’d bought into his act, into the pretty picture he painted of putting fears aside and living in the moment.

  What a crock.

  At the end of the day, Finch would always be a businessman. He knew how to say what others wanted to hear whether or not he meant the words. Was he being honest when he told Sarah he liked her? When he flirted with her at the Go Carts? Or was he just trying to distract her from the whole mess with Eleanor?

  And if he did want to distract her, then why? Were he and Eleanor in on some big joke together? Was there even a mystery, or did they both find enjoyment in messing with her brain and her heart?

  Too many questions, and each of them hurt to ask—never mind the answers.

  “Let’s go grab some lunch,” Finch said, reaching a hand toward her.

  But she refused to take it. Instead, she forced a smile and followed a step behind as he led her over to the small outdoor eatery within the adventure center complex. She needed to figure out a way out of there before she could embarrass herself any further or let Finch cut her any deeper.

  “Do you like fish tacos?” he asked, fiddling with his wallet as he studied the menu board.

  “I guess.” She pulled out her phone and pretended to check email. It would have been nice to mindlessly scroll through her Reel Life feed to help distract her thoughts, but no… she’d deleted it… and for him.

  Finch finished ordering their food and sat down next to her on the picnic table bench.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15