“I wouldn’t mind hitting the trail with them . . .” I said with a mischievous smile.
“Me neither,” Shayla replied and we both burst into giggles.
My dad excused himself from the table, and my mom stood too. “I’ll go finish up those alterations so you don’t have to wait around for me all night.”
“It’s no problem. Your home is so cozy, and it’s really nice to have a friend.” Shayla looked at me with a thankful smile. I hadn’t had a friend—a girl friend—in a really long time, and I could definitely do worse than Shayla.
“Are you going to apply for the full-time ranger position?” I asked when my parents had gone.
Shayla shrugged. “I don’t know. There’s no way I’d get it.”
“I don’t know that anyone has a shot over Nikki, but it’d be a good experience nonetheless.”
“That’s true. And really, what do I have to lose?”
“Exactly.” I had nothing to lose either but so much to gain.
“Okay, I’m all done. As I said, there really wasn’t much I needed to do, but I think this’ll help.” My mom came out of her sewing room with Shayla’s uniform in her arms. “Now, I wrote down some instructions on how to get the stains out, and I’m sure your mother knows a thing or two about how to iron a uniform, but if not, feel free to call me. My number’s on there too.”
“Wow, thanks Mrs. Cooper. You’re awesome.” Shayla held her uniform with the same gentle touch one would use holding a newborn baby.
I eyed the clock. Almost seven thirty. “Sorry to cut this short, but I have to be somewhere.”
“You’re going out? Tonight?” My mother frowned. “It’s already so late.”
“I have an errand to run, nothing big. Don’t wait up though. Shayla, I’ll walk you out.”
“Okay, thanks again for my uniform. I can’t wait to try it on.”
Once we were in the driveway, I turned to Shayla, “I need to tell you something.”
“Yeah?”
“I have to go somewhere tonight and it might be dangerous, but I have to go alone.”
Shayla’s eyes were huge. “Does this have something to do with the investigation? Because I really think you should call Luke and—”
“No, I can’t call him. He could compromise my ability to obtain the information.”
Shayla shook her head. “Never go alone.” Her voice was filled with worry. “My mother’s number one rule. Never go alone. You could get hurt and no one would know.”
“That’s why I’m telling you. So someone does know.” I smiled. “It’s almost as if I wasn’t going alone.”
“Then I’ll go with you.”
“No,” I said too quickly. “I mean, you can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because Luke would kill me if I put you in danger—not that I’ll be in danger, but I can’t risk . . .”
Shayla narrowed her eyes at me with her hands on her hips. “You don’t have to protect me. I’m perfectly capable of protecting myself.”
“That’s not what I meant. I know you are, it’s just that Luke asked me to watch out for you and—”
“He did?” Her eyes were wide, and her frown instantly transformed into a smile.
Of course she would perk up to hear that. What girl wouldn’t want a handsome guy who cared about her well-being? Especially one as wonderful as Luke.
“At least tell me where you’re going.”
“You have to promise you won’t follow me or tell anyone where I am.” I was running out of time if I wanted to get there early.
“Okay.”
“I’ll be at the park gate in the back of the reservoir that leads to Muddy Water Cove.”
“I knew it. This has something to do with Ronnie’s murder, doesn’t it?”
“I don’t know exactly. Maybe. Probably.”
“You know, you’re not going to prove anything to anyone by getting yourself killed trying to solve this murder. They can’t hire a dead person for the full-time position.”
Was I really that transparent?
“We already concluded that the job is Nikki’s. I’m not trying to prove anything.”
“Fine, but if I don’t hear from you by ten o’clock tonight, I’m calling Luke and telling him everything.”
It was the best I was going to get. I nodded.
At least now if something happened, they’d know where to find my body.
The sun was fading when I pulled up. It had been much easier to find this time. I parked a bit down the street, just in case someone recognized my car, and I hid in a patch of trees close to the gate. Then I waited.
A few fishermen and bikers left the park before the gate closed. Antonio and Kyle were on the closing shift. I couldn’t help but hope to get a glimpse of Antonio when he locked the gate. Even if he was a pig, he was as hot as bacon straight from the griddle.
Thankfully the sight of a big black truck and a uniformed figure distracted my thoughts. A little piece of me was disappointed that Kyle was closing the gates for the night. But at least it kept me from thinking of one of my married co-workers as a delicious piece of meat.
“You have to stay away from her. She’s just going to get you into trouble,” Kyle said into his cell phone. I leaned forward. Who was going to get who into trouble? “Especially if she gets hired on full-time. Don’t give her any leverage over you.”
There was a pause before he continued. “Your wife is sexy too . . . in her own way. Maybe you should focus on her a bit more.”
He pulled out his keys and swung the gate shut. “Welcome to marriage. Every wife is a nag. You chose her for some reason—Maybe you should find that reason again.”
I was ninety-nine percent sure he was talking to Antonio. If so, his advice was spot on, yet a bit disheartening.
Luke. I need to focus on Luke. No. Not Luke either. Someone else. No one else. But definitely not Antonio. Married Antonio.
“Have you caught them?” He turned away from me and walked back to the truck. I strained to hear the rest of the
