She’d chuckled. “I doubt this is the top of the world.”
“It is for us, and that’s all that matters.”
Soon Anna’s top of the world would be nothing more than rubble to be hauled away. If she sold to Devlin. Who knew what Finn would do with it? Could she sell to him with the contingency that he must destroy it?
Either way, her grandmother’s Old Girl would be gone.
“I’m sorry, Gram.” Tears burned her eyes as she turned away from the view and saw other footprints in the dust on the floor. She wasn’t the only one who’d been up here recently. Finn. She could see where he’d walked around. She could imagine him standing at the windows, looking at the varying views.
The footprints ended at the large, overstuffed chair—her grandmother’s. The knitted throw still hung over one arm, and a book lay open facedown on the small table next to it, along with a cup that Casey knew had held tea.
The scene looked as if her grandmother had been interrupted and had stepped away to tend to hotel business but would return any moment. The feeling was so strong that Casey thought she could hear her grandmother’s tread on the stairs.
She turned, half expecting to see her, and felt the loss with an intensity that brought more tears to her eyes as Finn filled the doorway.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said.
Turning her back, she moved swiftly to her grandmother’s chair as she tried to hold back the tears. She picked up the book and, placing the bookmark between the last pages that had been read, closed it. There was a dark stain at the bottom of the cup from the tea that had never been finished. She snatched up the throw and held it to her chest and was rewarded with the scent of Anna’s rose perfume.
“The view from up here is incredible,” Finn said behind her. She heard him move to the windows to the west. “You can see snowcapped mountains miles from every window. I understand why it was your grandmother’s favorite room.” She knew he was giving her time to pull herself together. She took a breath, dashed her tears with her sleeve and turned to look at him.
He still had his back to her. “She mentioned it numerous times in her journal. She wrote about how she used to read books to you up here when you were little, how you had tea parties and invited your dolls.” Casey felt her heart bump in her chest. “You must have such wonderful memories.”
He turned to look at her and must have seen how close she was to breaking down. He switched to business as if knowing that would help her. “I have made all the arrangements for a contract to be drawn up the moment you accept my offer for the hotel and land.” She nodded, afraid her voice would crack if she tried to speak. “I also made a few calls on that other matter we discussed. If there’s a connection between that car accident and someone on the staff from that summer, my PI will find it.”
She stepped to the window next to him and tried to concentrate on the view to the north. From here, a person could see the entire town of Buckhorn nestled between the pine-covered mountains. A dark two-lane strip of pavement cut right through the middle and kept going.
“You can change your mind.”
She glanced at him, gave a shake of her head, knowing he meant selling the hotel. But it was the news he’d given her this morning that had shaken her. What if Megan’s murder could have been prevented if only Casey had looked in the diary? If only she hadn’t destroyed it? The killer could be in prison now and not possibly inside this hotel considering their next victim. “It’s just...difficult to let go.”
“I’m sure it is.” His look was so sympathetic that she knew if she didn’t drag her gaze away, she would start crying again. Her loss was so fresh, and being here in the place her grandmother had loved so much was wrenching at her heart. She turned away.
“You’re buying an old hotel on a whim, and I’m guessing you still don’t know what you’re going to do with it.”
“You’re right about that,” he said behind her. “What would you like for me to do with it?”
She swallowed. Did she really believe that she could put all of this behind her if the hotel was razed to nothing but dust? Would it help her sleep any better? “Whatever you want.”
Retrieving the tiny china tea set on the shelf behind her grandmother’s chair, she stepped past him, avoiding his gaze. She’d taken but a few steps when she remembered the cup she’d left behind. Her grandmother would have wanted her to return it to the kitchen.
She knew it was silly. The entire place might be gone in a matter of weeks, but she stopped to turn back. When she did, though, she collided with Finn. He caught her with one arm to steady her, and she saw that he had picked up the cup before leaving the room.
The gesture touched her so deeply, making her realize that he really had come to know her grandmother over the months he’d been staying here. She met his warm gaze and saw in those breath-stealing seconds that he also knew her more than she had wanted to admit. The intimacy of it made her skin dimple with goose bumps.
His gaze locked with hers. She felt heat rush to her center. Her knees went weak with a need that made her tremble inside. If he touched her now—
“Casey?” The grating female voice called up the stairs. “Hello? Are you up there?”
The last thing she wanted to do was answer Vi Mullen. Especially right now. But she also knew that the woman wouldn’t
