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  “Knowing the wacky lifestyle the Barrs live and that Porter is infatuated with you, no way would I want you to go alone.”

  Louise beamed. Jason stirred emotions and awakened feelings she hadn’t experienced since before Tom’s murder.

  “I’ll not only go with you to Porter’s, Lou, but I’ll also be happy to drive you.” He quirked his mouth to the side and pulled a face. “Except I won’t be back until late Friday night.”

  Louise’s heart sank. She forgot Jason would be staying in Tumble City for the next several nights.

  “Speaking of the conference, I printed your ticket for admission to the dinner Friday night … assuming you still want to attend.”

  “You’re the keynote speaker. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Although I have to admit, I’m not sure I’ll fully appreciate your speech since I don’t have an accounting background.”

  “Be sure to partake of the caffeinated drinks served at the dinner. They’ll help keep you awake during my speech.”

  “No need to worry, I don’t snore,” Louise shot back, joking with him.

  “Yes, you do.”

  “How would you know?”

  “You blamed Ben, but I knew it was you sawing logs.”

  “Touché!” Louise tittered. Jason had slept on the floor in her family room for three nights while she slept next to Ben as he recovered from the brutal assault perpetrated by one of Aubrey’s killers. Although Louise was vulnerable at the time, Jason remained the consummate gentleman. Not once attempting to take advantage of her, yet remaining at her side to assist as she and Ben bounced back from the attack.

  “Do you think Dot will still be here Saturday?”

  Louise slanted her head, somewhat puzzled by Jason’s abrupt change in conversation.

  He lobbed a silly grin at her. “More importantly, even if she’s still in town, do you think you can wait until Saturday to return the hat to her?”

  “Of course.” She waved her hand in the air signifying it was no problem. “I’ll take the California Raisin hat to the trading post. Should she or Porter or any of the Barrs happen to stop in before Saturday, I can return it then.”

  Jason rested his hands on the tops of Louise’s shoulders. “Why do I sense you believe there’s more to Ben finding this cap than a dog merely picking up a wet hat?”

  “I don’t know.” Louise turned her attention to Ben. “After he found that hand and body, eventually identified as Aubrey Witherspoon, I think Ben made a connection not of this world.” Pointing to the sky, she believed Tom had communicated with Ben but refrained from saying so. Louise felt she talked too much about Tom to Jason as it was. No need to bring Tom into another of their conversations. Tom would always hold a special place in her heart. But Tom was her past, Jason her future.

  Without mentioning Tom, she explained, “You know, like a higher power. Then that day when Ben identified Devon Jones as the man who attacked us…” Her voice trailed off as memories surrounding Aubrey’s murder inundated her.

  She tapped the hat against the palm of her hand and looked at Ben before making eye contact with Jason. “Now today he finds this cap. Not just any cap, but one cherished by a visitor.” She pursed her lips and patted her stomach. “I have a gut feeling Dot’s in trouble.”

  “Okay. What do you want to do about it?”

  “I’m not sure, but I’ll tell you what I don’t want to do, and that’s ruin our afternoon.” She held her breath, waiting for Jason to say, too late and suggest they pack up and leave.

  “Hey, Boo Boo,” Jason said imitating Yogi Bear. “Would you like to see what’s in my pic-a-nic basket?”

  Louise erupted in laughter and spouted one of Boo Boo’s famous lines as a comeback. “Ranger Smith isn’t going to like this, Yogi.” She flung the muddy baseball cap onto the tailgate and draped her arms around Jason’s neck. “But I’m going to love it.”

  Jason settled his hands on her hips and grinned. “Hey, hey, hey, I’m smarter than the average bear.”

  Louise bellowed a hearty laugh, relishing Jason’s humor. A burning desire to plant a long, hard kiss on his lips ousted all thoughts of the muddy California Raisin hat and Dot’s wellbeing. Should I make the first move or wait for him?

  “Woowf-woowf.” Ben jumped up, his dirty big front paws landing on Jason’s forearm.

  Jason stepped back from Louise and brushed the mud from his arm with his fingertips.

  “Ben!” Louise mashed up her face, the dog’s timing, once again, the worst. Had Jason and she been on the verge of finally experiencing their first kiss?

  “Woowf-woowf.” Ben stomped his feet, his lips curved into a smile as if in celebration of mission accomplished.

  “Ben doesn’t like sharing you, does he?”

  Louise scrutinized the big black dog, her heart warming and forgiving him the moment she looked into his round molasses eyes. She bent down and massaged his ears, something he loved almost as much as tummy rubs. “Ben and I have a special bond, there’s no denying that. He protects me and senses my emotions.” She glimpsed up at Jason. “Including matters related to my heart.”

  Jason stooped next to Ben. “No need to worry, Big Guy.” He patted the top of the dog’s head. “I would never hurt your mama or,” he shifted his focus to Louise, “break her heart, though she’s quite capable of breaking mine.”

  Chapter Eight

  Tuesday Afternoon

  Louise stood in the doorway of her bedroom walk-in closet filled with more empty hangers than ones with clothes on them. She glanced over her shoulder at her bed piled with a mountain of clothing she had tried on and discarded.

  Ben lay on his side on the floor at the foot of the bed.

  “I have nothing to wear to Jason’s conference dinner on Friday night.” She pushed her bangs back, rubbed her forehead, and let out a sigh of exasperation.

  The dog raised his head, looked at her for a moment, then resumed his relaxed state.

  “I suppose that means I have to drive to the mall in Tumble City,” she conceded with a heaping helping of disgust.

  Louise loathed shopping, especially when it required driving in heavy traffic on busy roads and battling the bustle of the crowded mall in Tumble City. And her aversion for shopping doubled when it came to buying clothes for herself. Tripled if the attire was more than jeans, shorts, or casual blouses.

  But her desire to please Jason and dress up for his big dinner overrode the yuck factor she harbored for clothes shopping in the city.

  “Tomorrow afternoon, when my shift ends at the trading post, I’ll pull on my big girl panties and head to Tumble City for a new dress. And maybe shoes to match.”

  RING-A-LING-A-LING.

  Louise maintained a landline for calls related to the cabin rentals, trading post, and city business. She dashed to the cordless phone on her nightstand. Caller ID announced the call came from Tumble Lake Trading Post.

  Concern furrowed her brows. “Hello, this is Lou.”

  “I was hoping you were home.”

  Louise jerked the phone away from her ear at the sound of Milt’s blasting voice.

  “What are you doing?”

  She plopped her butt onto the side of the bed. “After trying on every stitch of clothing I own, at least twice, I’ve concluded I have nothing to wear to Jason’s conference dinner Friday night.”

  “I’ll be happy to loan you a pair of my camo pants and a sweatshirt if that will help.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  “Guess what arrived today?”

  “The quadcopter?” A tingle of excitement fluttered through her. “The drone wasn’t supposed to arrive until tomorrow or Thursday.”

  “Surprise, surprise. It landed on the trading post counter a day or two early.” He chuckled and paused, waiting for her to appreciate his pun. “But I’m not complaining.”

  “I’m not complaining either. But I thought I would have at least another day before I had to tell Pete I dipped into the town’s rainy day fund to
buy the drone.”

  “He’s a big boy. He’ll get over it, especially when he learns it can assist him too.”

  Louise snickered. “Yeah, right.”

  “The infrared capabilities would have come in handy when the hunt was on for Aubrey’s body. Chief Frampton would burst his shirt buttons for the opportunity to one-up Tumble City PD and Detective Poulson.”

  “Thanks for pointing that out. I’ll be sure to mention it when Pete’s tempted to skin me alive.”

  Milt laughed.

  A thought startled Louise. “Milt, how and when did the drone land at the trading post? I mean—”

  “It came in a plain brown box. Rachel thought it was paper supplies for the diner.”

  Relief showered Louise. She didn’t want Pete to find out about the pricey expenditure through the grapevine, aka, Rachel. “Well, enough talk. Let’s test this baby.” Louise shot up off the bed. “Can you come over now?”

  “That’s why I called to see if you were home.”

  “The ballpark is the perfect place to put the drone through its paces.” A soft smile always graced Louise’s face when she spoke of the backyard as the ballpark. That’s what Tom called their sprawling backyard, and the term stuck.

  “Your giant backyard is perfect. But more than that, I hoped you and Ben would be willing to get lost in the surrounding woods so I could try out the infrared camera.”

  “We’d love to get lost.” She looked at Ben and asked, “Wouldn’t we?”

  His tail thumped against the floor.

  “Ben’s in, so come on over,” she said to Milt. “If this drone works for search and rescue ops the way we believe it will, I’d love for you to give a demonstration during our Town Days. Taxpayers will be more likely to appreciate the ten grand I pulled from our rainy day fund for that drone if they witness the investment firsthand.”

  “Once I’ve mastered using the drone, which will be long before our fall Town Days, we should invite the press for a demonstration. Let them know we’re the first fire department within a hundred miles to acquire a quadcopter, which makes sense since we’re so small. I can send Sanders up to—”

  “Sanders?”

  “I named the drone Sanders, short for pelagornis sandersi, a giant extinct bird with teeth.”

  “I should have known it would have something to do with dinosaurs. You named your UTV, Sarah, after the triceratops.”

  “We can use Sanders to assess a fire, find a lost person, or even track a runaway criminal.”

  “You don’t need to remind me of the manufacturer’s sales pitch.” Louise tapped her finger against the tip of her chin. “You know, Milt, what we need is a real story to sell Sanders to the public. I know this sounds terrible, but if we want to validate the money taxpayers shelled out for Sanders, it would be helpful if some tourist got lost around the lake and Sanders found him. Plus it would keep Pete from slashing my tires and crying favoritism because you and I are in-laws.”

  “At least you didn’t say we needed another dead body for Sanders to find,” he laughed. “See you in fifteen minutes.”

  Chapter Nine

  Wednesday Morning

  At the Tumble Lake Trading Post

  “Scott’s giving me a break and taking care of Emilie this morning, so I can take over, Aunt Lou,” Rachel called out as she strolled from the back room.

  Louise finished rotating the stock of canned pork and beans on the shelf. She straightened from a half-squat position, arched her spine, and rubbed her low back. “Working the store isn’t much of a break. Why don’t you go do something for yourself.” She consulted the big digital clock on the wall at the back of the store. “It’s not even nine. I’m scheduled to work until one, then Stella’s coming in. You could call Christie and see if she can give you a massage, or get Sheri to give you a pedicure.”

  “Christie’s husband is having a colonoscopy later this morning. And Sheri’s taking the rest of the week off because her in-laws are flying in from Arizona tomorrow to spend a whole week.” Rachel flipped her long auburn hair over her shoulder. “Besides, you know I love working here. It’s fun.”

  “Fun?” Louise smiled, draped her arm around Rachel’s shoulders, and gave her a little squeeze. “We need to get you out more often.”

  “Since we adopted Emilie, I’m already spending more time away from the store than I want. I love talking to the patrons.”

  “You love catching up on the latest gossip,” Louise corrected with a laugh.

  “Who me?” Rachel pointed at herself and hammed up a surprised look. “By the way, how’s Jason’s conference going? That’s so cute and romantic he committed to calling you every morning before the conference starts and every night when it’s over.”

  “Your uncle used to call me every day when he was working…” her eyes watered up, “sometimes for no particular reason other than ‘to hear my voice’ he used to say.”

  “If I’m reading the tea leaves accurately,” Rachel raked her teeth over her bottom lip, a playful look on her face, “I see Jason as my future step-uncle.”

  “We haven’t even kissed yet,” she blurted, regretting blabbing that fact the instant she said it.

  “You haven’t kissed Jason yet?” Milt bellowed from the diner.

  Louise’s face felt like it would spontaneously combust. Thank goodness the store and diner were void of customers.

  “What are you waiting for?” Milt probed. “It’s obvious he’s crazy about you and that you’re wild about him. Tom would approve.”

  He already has.

  “I second what Uncle Milt said. Uncle Tom would approve,” Rachel added, her voice soft and full of understanding. “Heck, even my dad would approve if he cared anything about us.”

  Louise’s face soured and a bitter taste filled her mouth at the mere mention of Tom’s youngest brother, Wayne. The man was an elitist and his wife a hoity-toity witch. The farther the snobbish couple stayed away from their daughter and Tumble Lake, the better.

  Suddenly, Louise was struck with the most incredible idea; an idea that sent all thoughts of stuck-up Wayne into her mind shredder. “That’s it!” Louise snapped her fingers.

  “That’s what?” Rachel gasped, a hint of startlement in her voice and on her face.

  “Let’s start a monthly newspaper. We could call it the Tumble Lake Trailblazer, or something fun like that. Maybe even hold a contest to name the paper. You could be in charge of it, Rachel. Publish the latest news, a calendar of events—”

  “Safety tips from the fire chief,” Milt called out from the diner kitchen.

  “I bet businesses would advertise, Aunt Lou. Not just the locals, but some from Tumble City too.”

  TING-A-LING.

  Louise and Rachel swiveled their heads toward the door.

  “Good morning.” Chief Frampton waved as he strolled in.

  “And Pete could offer crime prevention tips,” Milt called out.

  “What?” Pete forked his fingers through his wavy blonde hair, a clueless look on his clean-shaven face.

  “Aunt Lou said we’re going to start a newspaper and I’ll be in charge of it!”

  “Do you want to rethink working the rest of my shift this morning?”

  “No way!” Rachel bloated her eyes. “I want to work at the store even more now so I can search for article ideas and scout out the latest news for the Tumble Lake Trailblazer.”

  Louise laughed and turned her attention to Pete. “You’re not in uniform, Chief, so I assume that means this visit isn’t business.”

  He nodded. “Just wanted to let you know Virginia and I are taking Petey to the doctor.”

  Louise bulged her eyes. “Is everything okay?”

  He pulled a face. “He’s running a slight fever, and his stool is loose, so we want to have him checked. Anyway, Ginny’s gonna be watching the twins. I told her to call over here if she needed help with anything.”

  “Of course,” Louise and Rachel answered in unison, eager to help.


  “I figured we’d be at least two, two-and-a-half hours since it’s a forty-minute drive one-way to the doctor’s.” He exhaled a deep breath and flicked his chin at the diner. “What was Milt saying about me offering crime prevention tips?”

  Louise waved her hand in dismissal. “We’re brainstorming ideas for a newspaper. Don’t worry about it. Go take care of Petey, and please keep us posted.”

  “Thanks, Lou.” Pete turned and exited.

  “Since you’re going to take my shift, I’ll swing by the house, pick up Ben, and head to the lake. Cabin checks,” Louise grunted and rolled her eyes.

  Rachel wrinkled her nose. “If you hate doing those chores so much, why don’t you hire someone to do them?”

  “We all do things we’d rather not do. I don’t hate cabin checks, but I don’t love them either. What I do love, however, is being in nature and running a resort that allows people to appreciate the great outdoors.” She dipped her chin toward her chest and swallowed the lump in her throat before reengaging eye contact with Rachel. “Plus, I feel close to Tom there.”

  “Jason sure seems to enjoy doing cabin checks with you.” Rachel jabbed her elbow into Louise’s upper arm and raised her brows in a knowing way. “Might be a good place for that first kiss.”

  “Do you want some help, Lou?” Milt called from the kitchen diner, the smell of bacon frying on the grill filling the air.

  “I think Aunt Lou’s quite capable of kissing Jason all by herself.”

  Louise laughed so hard, she snorted.

  “Ha-ha,” he made a face at Rachel, “you know darn well that’s not what I was talking about.” Eyeing Louise he said,“If you don’t mind waiting until four o’clock, I’ll help you.”

  “Thanks for the offer, Milt, but I can handle it myself. I’ve got a church group of gals renting the cabins Friday and Saturday. I understand there will be about twenty twelve-year-olds and six adult supervisors. It’s a small crowd and easy to prep for.”

  “I don’t like you going to the lake alone.” Milt raised the volume of his voice to talk over the sizzle of the bacon.