“Well, if that’s the case then I sort of started seeing someone else…”
I perk up. “Seeing someone else?”
“Oh, mom, it’s not serious or anything.”
But it had to be serious if he was even mentioning her. He never mentioned girls. The only other girl he’d ever seriously talked to me about was Becca, and apparently that was done and dusted now.
“Tell me about her.”
He hesitated, and I heard him starting the washer. I swear that boy only ever called me when he did laundry. “Her name is Jacqueline. She’s in the engineering program with me. She’s kind of… different.”
“Different in a good way?”
I can almost hear him blushing. “Yeah. She has this laugh. Like, when she laughs, I can’t help but smile. And she wears sparkly headbands and sings when she walks and… well, she’s just fun to be around.”
“So, are you dating or just hanging out?” I hold my breath. He’d always kind of been the friend to girls. I remember in high school he always felt like the jerks got the girls that he really liked, but he just wanted them to be happy.
Sure, he’d brought a couple girls over and said they were his girlfriends, but it was only ever once or twice, and they usually stopped hanging out quickly after that. I always thought it was just because he was so smart and kind. Girls that age weren’t always ready for someone like Travis.
He told me he wasn’t sure what they were yet, but I could tell from his tone that he wanted it to be more than just hanging out. I hoped my baby didn’t get his heart broken. If he did though, he was a big boy and could handle himself. I had loved the idea of him moving to Mystic Hollow though and I made a mental note to ask him about that the next time we spoke. Although I would probably forget unless I wrote it down.
When we hung up, I filled Henry in on his nephew’s life before we settled back in to finish the movie. “Remember when we were kids, we’d do our hair all crazy and put our underwear on our heads and have a pajama day?”
He chuckled. “Yeah. That was a long time ago.” His gaze drifted back to the movie, not giving me nearly enough reminiscing about the underwear-head thing. “Be right back,” I muttered.
I ran down the hall and grabbed my granniest pair of panties, put them on my head, then pulled my hair out through the leg holes to stick up like crazy.
As I ran back down the hall, I sang an old song we used to drive each other nuts with. “This is the song that doesn’t—” I stopped short when I jumped off the stairs and saw Henry standing with someone in the foyer.
“Hey,” Daniel said lamely.
I yanked the underwear off my head as I squeaked out some sort of greeting. “I didn’t know you were coming by.”
“Yeah, I wanted to check on you after what happened.” He looked like he was fighting hard not to burst out laughing.
“I’m good. Just hanging out here with Henry, watching a movie.” Belatedly, I realized I was talking with my hands and swinging the underwear around at the same time. I stepped back and stuffed them into my back pocket.
“Can we talk?” Daniel asked with a big grin on his face. He nodded at Henry. “In private.”
8
Emma
Opening the back door, Daniel waited for me to go out then shut the door behind us with a quiet snick. “Please,” I motioned toward the glider. It was a two-seater, that matched the two Adirondack chairs that sat out there as well. I knew men often liked to spread out, so I figured that was the best option for him. “Sit.”
He did, and then patted the spot beside him. I perched on the edge, barely letting my whole ass fit on the chair, not wanting to crowd him, as nerves fluttered in my belly. It had to be because I didn’t know what he was going to say, right? He looked so relaxed sitting there though, like he would be at ease anywhere. It made me almost want to lean back into him and absorb some of the chill attitude he had. And maybe enjoy watching the waves with the arm of a handsome man around my shoulders. So, sue me.
“I came to tell you that you’re no longer considered a suspect.” He grinned at me as I looked over at him. His eyes sparkled in the low light. “In my official capacity as retired sheriff, I got the skinny.”
I patted his knee, surprising myself or maybe even both of us with the contact and smiled. “Thank you, but I already knew. Beth’s sister told me.” I hesitated and looked out at the waves with my hand still on Daniel’s knee. I knew I should remove it, that to leave it there might be considered inappropriate, but I couldn’t bring myself to let go. When he put his hand over mine, I decided to trust him. “There’s something else, though. I don’t think it was a natural death, no matter what the police have ruled it as.”
He sat back, accidentally dislodging my hand, but he caught it and twined our fingers together. My heart swelled with the small sign of affection. He had enjoyed having my hand on his knee. In fact, he enjoyed it so much that he didn’t want to let my hand go, which was why it was now wrapped in his much larger one. His voice was careful, quiet, like he didn’t want to scare me off, as though I was some wild creature needing to be approached with caution, as he asked, “Why do you think that?”
“So, Roger had a partner. He disappeared five years ago. Do you remember that?” I hoped that
