“I have to go to my cabin. I forgot my laptop there.”
“Do you want me to take you to the house after?”
She’d made arrangements to interview his mother that afternoon. She glanced at her watch. It was only eleven in the morning. It already felt like an entire day had passed. That’s what getting up early did to a person. It made the days longer, which meant more would be expected from her if she didn’t want to go to bed disappointed in how much time she wasted.
They made it to her cabin. Jeremy stood next to the snowmobile. “Hey, I know this may be a bit odd.” He looked to the ground and then lifted his gaze to hers. Damn he was hot.
“Would you like to go to town for dinner this evening?”
Hell no. Not if you’re a murderer. Gabriela bit her bottom lip and pictured her death in the backseat of his truck. Then the picture turned into a make-out scene. “Oh yeah. I mean. Sure.”
He smiled and she ducked and rushed up the steps. “Don’t wait for me. I’m going to hang out here for a bit and answer some email.”
As the hum of the snowmobile’s engine got softer, she let out a breath. She’d interview Jeremy without him knowing. The more she could get for her story, the better, especially if she had a conversation with the man who turned out to be the killer. There was the pesky problem of him killing her.
However, he wouldn’t. Mainly because she’d tell everyone from his parents to the naked guy they were going out to dinner. Also, she’d call and ask Mila to call her at ten to check and ensure she was back in her cabin, safe and sound.
Satisfied and excited at the dinner date, she hummed as she entered the cabin only to freeze and scream. A man stared at her through the kitchen window.
It took several seconds to register it was Henry. He waved and smiled.
He then turned and walked away in the direction of the family house. That window needed blinds.
Maybe Henry was the killer.
“Why do they consider Jeremy a suspect and not Henry?” Gabriela asked Natalie over a cup of coffee later that day. The women were alone in the house since everyone was still out working on organizing all the stuff for the festival.
Natalie huffed. “Henry has an alibi. We have an alarm system and cameras at the bunkhouse. The video shows where he was during the day. And that he slept all night at the bunkhouse.”
Gabriela didn’t push the subject of Jeremy being a suspect. Instead she waited to see if Natalie would volunteer the information.
“On the other hand, Jeremy and Kevin Maloney have never gotten along. Mostly silly stuff, football rivals in high school, who never let it go. Silly boy stuff.”
“But Jeremy was also around people the entire time, wasn’t he?” Gabriela felt the need to point it out.
Natalie’s gaze moved to the window. “Not the entire time.”
Somehow, he had to figure out a way to carve out some time alone with Gabriela before dinner. The one kiss had not been enough, and it was all he could think about besides a second one and maybe a third.
Work for the festival was proceeding well. Except for his Dad arguing with Henry over the placement of light boxes, it was a smooth operation. Then again, it wouldn’t be the same without those two going at it.
He mounted the snowmobile intent on finding Gabriela. Hopefully Cassandra wouldn’t show up again and mess things up. The woman was relentless. Had actually called that morning to invite him over for breakfast. Who did that? Invite someone for breakfast when they lived an hour away.
The air was cold, but not unbearable as he guided the snowmobile toward the family home. Just then out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Gabriela walking toward the cabins. Her curls flew this way and that, creating some sort of strange effect around her head as she half-jogged.
Her erotic coloring and beautiful face were what had attracted him to her when he’d spotted Gabriela at the airport. With dark olive skin, untamed light brown hair paired with the prettiest green eyes he’d ever seen, she was definitely a head turner. That she was clumsy and accident-prone brought her down from what he’d considered way out of his league. Now as he watched her trek through the snow, he could only wonder what mishap she’d run into next.
The woman called to every sense of his being, from the sensual pull to the protector needing to ensure she was safe. It was unavoidable that he wanted to get to know her more, to spend time finding out what made Gabriela so delightful.
She stumbled and looked down as if trying to figure out what caused it. Without looking around, she continued on.
Where was she going?
He decided to drive a short distance away and then dismounted to follow her. She looked around seeming to have heard the snowmobile’s engine, but also didn’t see it since he’d pulled it behind the edge of the first cabin.
Other than what looked to be a camera case, she was unimpeded to continue on faster. When she reached the cabin where the murder had taken place, she rushed to one of the windows and standing on tiptoes, peeked in.
Then she proceeded to go to the front steps and looked around once again. Reaching through the yellow crime scene tape, she tried the door. It was locked. Gabriela backed up, pulled out a camera and proceeded to take pictures.
While watching her continue to take shots both from the porch and then backing up, Jeremy pondered how to approach her. They’d go out to dinner later, so it would be a good excuse to talk to her about her food preferences. Then maybe find a way to kiss her.
A strange muffled sound brought him out of his musings. Gabriela
