Great, he thought without enthusiasm.
Then again, if he went headfirst into the snow, Rose could rescue him.
He smiled at the thought and plunged down the hill, navigating an icy patch with ease. He only just made the curve without going down. He paused at the bottom of the slope, in the shadows of a tall oak under a clear blue sky. He’d hoped that eight months apart from Rose would lessen his attraction to her, but no such luck.
Then he’d hoped coming to Vermont, seeing her on her home turf, would do the trick.
No luck there, either.
He followed the groomed tracks along the edge of the woods and cut back across the middle of the meadow toward the lodge.
In January, when Sean and Hannah had confronted Lowell Whittaker and nearly became his latest victims, Nick had worried about the impact of their close call on Rose. When he met Hannah in Los Angeles, she made it clear she suspected something had gone on between him and her friend. He’d admitted to nothing. He’d promised Rose to keep their night together a secret.
A bundled-up couple he’d seen at breakfast passed him, going in the opposite direction, laughing as they moved haltingly on their skis. Nick stopped on top of an open knoll. He could see a trail that wound down the steep hillside to the lake where Elijah Cameron had built a house.
The Camerons were a tight-knit lot. No question. A.J., Elijah and even Sean wouldn’t be pleased, Nick thought, that he’d hopped into the sack with their little sister at a vulnerable moment for her.
He’d never convince them he’d been vulnerable, too.
Not that he’d ever convince himself.
If nothing else, staying at Black Falls Lodge had crystallized the differences between Rose and him.
Nick headed back to the lodge and returned the skis before going up to his room. He took a shower, changed clothes, checked his email and made a few calls. When he ventured back to the lobby, there were no guests by the fire.
No aging golden retriever, either.
He settled onto a comfy sofa facing the massive stone fireplace and let himself become transfixed by the flames, let them take him back to the moment he and Sean had realized a hot spot had flared up and Jasper was trapped.
The hot spot had had help flaring up. It hadn’t been an accident.
But suspicions weren’t evidence.
A. J. Cameron dropped into the chair next to him and stretched out his legs, his boots scuffed, worn. “How was the skiing?”
“Good. You don’t stay cold cross-country skiing.”
“I know what you mean. Lauren and I are twisting Rose’s arm to have dinner at our house tonight. She’s been spending a lot of time alone lately, and with what happened yesterday and this morning…” A.J. cast his steely eyes on Nick. “She needs to be with family.”
“Makes sense.”
“You’re welcome to join us.”
Nick took it as a grudging invitation. “Thanks, but another time.”
A.J. leaned back in his chair, but there was nothing casual about his mood. “Sean says you’re solid but you can be thickheaded.”
“That sounds like Sean, and Hannah tells me he’s the charming Cameron.”
A.J. didn’t respond with even a hint of humor. “Rose doesn’t want to stay here again tonight. I think it’s partly because of you. If she told you to get lost, you’d leave her alone, right?”
Nick listened to the fire hissing as a hunk of bark burst into flames. “I can take no for an answer if that’s what you’re getting at.”
“If she asked you to go back to Beverly Hills?”
“She hasn’t. I don’t know what’s on your mind, A.J., but I can see it’d take a strong man to fall for Rose with her three big brothers ready to pounce.”
“Consider the situation,” A.J. said grimly.
“There’s always a situation to consider, isn’t there?”
A.J. got heavily to his feet. “Not one involving a man burned to death.”
Two men burned to death, Nick thought—Jasper Vanderhorn and now Derek Cutshaw.
The firstborn Cameron seemed genuinely concerned for his sister’s well-being. Nick tried to lighten the dark mood. “What’s for dinner? You aren’t going out to shoot a moose, are you?”
A.J. glanced down at him. “Derek Cutshaw isn’t dead because of you, is he?”
“I hope he’s not dead because of anyone. I hope his death was an accident.” Nick could feel the heat of the fire. “Did Rose agree to meet you for dinner?”
“I’m picking her up myself,” A.J. said.
Nick stood up. “Maybe I’ll head into the village and check out the Black Falls nightlife.”
A.J. grinned slightly. “That won’t take long.”
Nick parked in front of the Black Falls library across from the town common. It was open, lit up against the dark night.
Looked cozy.
He took a sanded, shoveled walkway through the middle of the picturesque common and crossed Main Street to Three Sisters Cafe. It was closed, but lights were on and he could see Myrtle Smith and Dominique Belair with a patchwork quilt spread out over a couple of tables they’d pushed together. They had needles and thread in hand and were doing what appeared to be a few last-minute stitches.
Nick didn’t think he’d ever actually seen anyone quilt anything.
He wondered if Rose could quilt any better than she could knit.
He left the two women to their sewing and continued down Main Street. The temperature had dropped fast with nightfall. The village was dark and quiet, but O’Rourke’s appeared to be filled with people. He could hear raucous laughter inside as he mounted the sanded concrete steps.
A three-person band was setting up opposite the bar and nearly every table was filled with Vermonters and tourists enjoying their drinks and the hearty food.
Nick sat on a high stool at the bar. Liam O’Rourke took his order. “Sean’s told me about you,” Liam said. “You two have been friends for a long time.”
“Ever been to Beverly Hills?” Nick asked him.
“I like winter.”
“You could come in summer.”
“Too hot.”
“That’s Arizona. Most of the time Beverly Hills is relatively mild.”
“Then why the fires?”
“It’s dry.”
“Fire season’s over out there?”
“Fires can happen anytime, but the peak season is September and October. We’re relatively wet and cool right now. That helps keep fires down.” That was the short answer. Nick doubted Liam wanted the long answer. “It’s good you like Vermont. Is your cousin Bowie here?”
“I don’t have patience with troublemakers.”
“You mean Bowie or me?”
“I mean anyone who makes trouble.”
Did that include Hannah Shay? Derek Cutshaw and his friends? Rose?
“Have you seen Robert Feehan today?” Nick asked as Liam set a frosted beer glass in front of him on the worn bar.
“Not in a week or more. Same as what I said yesterday when you were here with Rose.”
“I’m not the subtle type.” Nick glanced at a narrow, vertical menu. “I’ll have the beef stew.”
“Salad?”
