Falling in Love on Willow Creek by Debbie Mason

Chapter Twenty-Three

Later that same night, Sadie looked up from where she stood ankle-deep in dirty clothes, loading the washing machine, to find Chase leaning against the door frame watching her. “I didn’t hear you come in. Did you guys find anything?”

He’d gone with Nate to bring her grandmother home, and then they met up with Gabe where they’d last seen her brother and the deputies from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department.

“It’s not easy to search when you’re worried about drawing suspicion, but we did find blood on some bushes in the general vicinity where I’d been shooting. We bagged it to see if we get an identification. Although it’s not like we can use it as evidence. They’ll just claim they were doing their job. But I’d like to find confirmation that there aren’t more people involved in this than the sheriff, Dwight, and his partner.”

The photos they’d taken hadn’t provided definitive proof it was them.

“Did Gabe hear if anyone went to the hospital with a gunshot wound?” Sadie asked.

Chase shook his head. “Not a word.”

“Any sign of Elijah?”

“No, which is probably a good thing. It looks like he made a clean getaway. We’ve been monitoring the sheriff’s department dispatch. Seems like all those calls coming in reporting sightings of Elijah have them scrambling.” He angled his head. “I’m guessing some of those calls came from you?”

“I might have called in once or twice. Knowing my brother, he probably called in a few times himself.”

“It should keep them distracted for a while.” He frowned. “You’re putting the dark clothes in with the lights.”

“Yeah, so? I do it all the time.”

“Which is why your, uh, whites look gray.” He lifted his chin at the bra and panties in her hand. “And those need to go on a delicate cycle.”

“Really? You’ve washed a lot of women’s underwear in your day, have you?”

“No, but I have been doing my own laundry since I was eight, and that’s not the way my grandfather taught me to do it.”

Any annoyance she felt at having her laundry skills questioned disappeared at the image of an eight-year-old Chase doing his own. “So your grandfather is as obsessive about cleanliness as you.”

“Ten times worse.” He smiled, wading toward her through the heaps of clothes and snagging the bra and panties from her hand. “Thank you for not calling me, or him, a neat freak.” He nudged her out of the way. “I’ll finish this up. You should go to bed.”

She glanced at her phone. It was one in the morning. “I didn’t realize it was so late. Leave it. I’ll do it in the morning. Well, after I get a few hours’ sleep. You must be tired too.”

He looked down at the piles of clothes around their feet. “I’m afraid it will grow.”

“Ha ha, funny. It’s not that bad.” He raised an eyebrow. “Okay, so it’s pretty bad.”

“Go.” He took her by the shoulders, angling her toward the door. “I think better when I’m doing something anyway.”

“Are you thinking about the case? Elijah?”

His hands slid from her shoulders, and he nodded. “You said your brother was drunk and couldn’t remember what he did with his phone or the drugs.”

She crossed her arms and leaned against the dryer. “That’s what he said, and I believe him.”

“Don’t get defensive. I believe him too. But my point is, he’s hidden them somewhere. And my guess is he’d stash them someplace that’s familiar to him. Somewhere he feels comfortable.”

“So what? You’re thinking here? Or at Payton’s? Whatever you think of my brother—and I’m the first to admit he’s done some shady things—I’m positive he wouldn’t hide drugs at Granny’s apartment or in the store.”

“I don’t think he’d stash them at your grandmother’s either. I also don’t think he’d hide them at Payton’s. If he had, she’d be aware of it, and we wouldn’t be having this conversation. He hasn’t hidden anything here. I searched the cottage from top to bottom yesterday.”

“Ah, so you didn’t just unpack the rest of my boxes out of the goodness of your heart.”

He smiled. “Of course I did. But I’m also good at multitasking.”

“You’re right. You are…” She groaned when she realized he was right about something else.

“What is it?”

“The night we were shot at, Elijah had been digging around the rock. He thought he might have buried the drugs there. I’m sorry. I should have mentioned that before now.”

“You’ve had a lot on your mind, and so has your brother. So if we’re working off the assumption that Elijah buried the phone and drugs in the woods, can you think of someplace that holds special meaning to him?”

“Only about a dozen. I’ll print off a map of the area and start—” She broke off at the muffled whimpers and low woof coming from the nursery. “Okay, so it’ll have to wait until I get Michaela settled.”

“It’ll keep until morning. You need to sleep, Sadie.”

“So do you.”

“As soon as I take care of this, I’ll go to bed. Trust me, I won’t be able to sleep until I get the laundry done. And no, it’s not because I’m obsessive-compulsive or a neat freak.”

“I wasn’t going to say that.” She placed a hand on his chest and stretched up on her toes to press a light kiss on his mouth. “I was going to say you’re too good to be true. Thank you for protecting my brother tonight, and thank you for taking such good care of me and Michaela.”

“You’re welcome. But, Sadie”—he smoothed her hair from her face and held her gaze—“just because I protected your brother tonight doesn’t mean I’m convinced he had nothing to do with Brodie’s murder.”

She nodded, afraid that, if she talked, he’d hear the disappointment in her voice. She was a fool to think they could have a relationship with this case and her brother standing between them.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I know that’s not what you wanted to hear.”

“It’s okay. I appreciate you being honest with me.” She wondered how he’d react if she were honest with him. If she told him that the gun was hers. She couldn’t take the risk, not yet. Not until she figured everything out.

Chase looked like he was going to say something else. She doubted it was something she wanted to hear and used her now-quiet daughter as an excuse to end the conversation. “I should check on Michaela.”

Sadie glanced out the passenger-side window as Chase drove back to the cottage. They’d left Michaela with her grandmother and Nate. The tension in the car was as thick as the morning mist blanketing the forest and mountains.

Chase glanced at her. “You’re quiet.”

“Just tired. You must be too.”

“I think it’s more than that. Admit it, Sadie. As soon as I told you I was still looking at your brother for Brodie’s murder, you shut down.”

“No, I…You’re right, I did. I’m sorry. It’s not easy knowing that you still consider my brother a suspect, Chase.”

“Nothing about this case is easy,” he muttered, pulling into the driveway. He shut off the engine and turned to her. “I have feelings for you, Sadie. I wish I didn’t, but I do. So trust me when I say that the last thing I want to do is arrest your brother for Brodie’s murder.”

She stared at him, her heart racing.

“I don’t know why you look so surprised. I haven’t exactly hidden how I feel about you. Even Nate figured it out.”

“What type of feelings, exactly? I mean, I know you care about me and Michaela, but that doesn’t sound like the type of feelings you’re talking about.”

“You’re really going to make me spell it out for you, aren’t you?”

She fought back a laugh—a happy, relieved laugh. She hadn’t been imagining things. But Chase sounded so out of his comfort zone that she took pity on him. “No, I’m not going to make you say the words out loud.” How could she when she was afraid to say them herself? “I have feelings for you too. But I think you already knew that, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, I did. Or maybe I just hoped that you did as much as I hoped that you didn’t.” He dragged a hand down his face. “If I were smart, I’d take myself off this case.”

“Please don’t. You’re the only one I trust to get my brother out of this alive.”

He leaned in to kiss her. “I said if I were smart, I’d take myself off the case. I didn’t say that I was going to.” His warm, firm lips took her mouth in a ravenous kiss, heat blossoming inside her with every teasing stroke of his tongue. All her worries and fears faded under his expert, sensual attention, the feel of his hands on her waist, his thumbs stroking the sensitive skin just below her breasts.

He slowly eased away, resting his forehead against hers. “This is a bad idea on so many levels, but I can’t seem to help myself.”

“Good. I don’t want you to. I want—”

He stopped her with a finger on her lips. “Don’t say it. Not now. We have a lot of ground to cover today.”

“Right. You’re right.” She went to move away but he pulled her back into his arms.

“Five minutes won’t make a difference.”

Half an hour later, they set off for her brother’s favorite fishing spot. She glanced down at their joined hands and slipped on a rock. Chase hauled her against his chest. “Did you do that on purpose?”

“No, of course not. We agreed we’d keep things strictly professional until we got justice for Brodie, and I intend on keeping my end of the bargain.”

“Too bad,” he murmured, his eyes on her mouth.

“Well, we are pretending we’re engaged, so maybe a kiss now and again wouldn’t hurt.”

“Trust me, it would.” He cleared his throat and released her. “But you’re right, we do need to act like a happily engaged couple.” As he took her hand, he looked around. “A happily engaged couple out for a day of fishing with their dog, who appears to have abandoned us.”

They both called for Finn. Over the rushing water, Sadie heard his answering bark. “It sounds like he beat us to the river.”

“Did you fish there often?”

“We used to, but I can’t remember the last time I was here. Wait, that’s not true. I actually do. Elijah and I brought Granny fishing for her seventieth birthday.” She smiled at the memory. “It seems so long ago. I forgot how much she loved it. I didn’t realize until I moved back how much I’ve missed out on.”

“You didn’t make it home much?”

“Often enough. But it wasn’t the same. There was always some crisis to manage, with my brother or the store or the apartment.” She shook her head. “And here I am again, more of the same. I guess I forget that when I’m out here.”

“I can see why. The scenery’s incredible. It belongs on a postcard.” He glanced at her. “Maybe that’s something you could do.”

“Sell postcards?”

“I don’t know but I think you should do something with your photography. You have a gift, and you’re surrounded by the perfect subjects.”

She followed his gaze to an eagle soaring overhead. “You know, for someone who professes to be a city guy, you’re sounding like you’ve got a little country in you too.”

“Sometimes you have to be taken out of your element to realize what you’ve been missing.” He glanced at her in a way that suggested he wasn’t talking about the scenery, and smiled.

As they rounded a stand of trees, an older man hailed them from the shore of the river. He wasn’t familiar to Sadie, but then again, they got a lot of tourists in the area.

“Did you happen to see a golden retriever?” the man asked, looking more than a little disgruntled.

“What did he do now?” Chase said under his breath, removing his hand from behind his back.

He’d gone into special agent mode the second the man called out. Abby was right. It was kind of hot.

“He stole my fish,” the man said as they approached.

“Sorry, no, we haven’t seen one.” No way was she admitting ownership of Finn. The man looked seriously disappointed.

“It took me three hours to catch them. Looks like I’ll be at it another three. Promised the wife I’d catch tonight’s dinner. She’ll never let me live it down if I don’t.”

“Looks like we’re going to have company on our fishing expedition,” Chase said under his breath.

They wouldn’t be able to dig until they got rid of the fisherman. He was standing a few yards from where Sadie hoped to find her brother’s stash—a ring of rocks with a blackened center where they used to cook the fish they caught.

“Don’t worry. I should be able to catch him a couple of fish and send him on his way within the next thirty minutes.”

Chase cast her a doubtful look.

“Trust me,” she said. She slipped her waders off her shoulder and set her fly rod on the sandy shore. Chase did the same, only he had a shovel too.

Sadie noticed the older man looking at it. “We’re planning to have a fish fry. We have to bury the embers when we’re done. Can’t be too careful. We haven’t had rain for a month.”

“You sound like you’re a local.”

“I am.” She smiled, pulling on her waders.

“And I’m guessing he’s not.” The man grinned at Chase, who was studying his rod.

“No, but he’s a quick study.” Sadie introduced them and then shared some tips with the man, offering him one of her lightweight lures.

“Thank you for coming to my defense, but I have a feeling I’ll disappoint you,” Chase murmured as he followed her into the water, struggling to keep upright.

He didn’t. As she’d suspected after watching him use her camera and ride Lula Belle, all Chase had to do was simply observe someone performing a skill in order to master it. But Sadie had years of practice and knew where the fish were most likely to be. She caught three before her promised thirty minutes were up.

The man beamed at her and then called to Chase, “You’re a lucky man, Michael. You’d better marry this gal before someone steals her away.”

Chase turned, the sun’s rays playing in his honey-blond hair, the sparkling blue waters mirroring the color of his eyes as he looked at her, really looked at her, and said, in what sounded like all seriousness, “I know how lucky I am, sir. And trust me, I won’t let anyone steal her away from me.”

The older man winked at Sadie. “You got yourself a good one too.” He thanked Sadie again for the fish and then walked off whistling.

Sadie picked up the shovel as soon as he was out of view, heading to where she prayed her brother had buried the drugs. She glanced at Chase and smiled, wondering if he’d meant what he said. He sounded like he did, but maybe he was a better actor than she gave him credit for.

She observed the Zen-like expression on his face as he cast out his line. He was hooked, on fly-fishing at least. She wasn’t surprised he enjoyed it. She knew he would. He had the kind of personality and temperament that fit well with the sport. She decided to let him enjoy his time on the river. She owed him for everything he’d done for her. Life was so much better with him in it.

She crouched by the circle, moving the rocks to dig under each one. Nothing. She glanced at Chase as she began digging under the charred remains. His gaze was trained on his taut line. He had a fish, and it looked like it might be a big one. Afraid she’d break his concentration, she didn’t shout encouragement or suggestions, and went back to digging.

Five minutes later, his happy shout alleviated her disappointment when there was nothing at the bottom of the hole. She’d dug deep enough that she hit water, so perhaps it was better that Elijah hadn’t buried the drugs and his phone there after all.

“Sadie, look,” Chase called, a gorgeous brook trout dangling from the end of the line. Even more gorgeous was his smile. Surprised when his smile almost immediately disappeared, she followed his gaze to see Finn racing across the shore and then into the water.

“Finn, no! Come here, boy!” Sadie cried, to no avail. The dog leaped out of the water and stole Chase’s fish.

It’s not funny, Sadie told herself in an effort to quell the laughter bubbling up inside her, but when Finn raced out of the water and dropped the fish at her feet with a doggy grin, she couldn’t contain it any longer.

“It’s not funny.” Chase waded out of the water, glaring at Finn. Then his gaze went to the hole beside her, and he grimaced. “You should have let me do that.”

“I didn’t mind. You were enjoying yourself, and as you can see, there was nothing to find anyway.”

He gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze. “It’s only the first stop on your list. We should be able to cover half of them before I have to meet Hunter at the store. We’ll head out from there.”

Chase and Hunter were driving to Jackson County to follow Dwight and his partner on their shift in hopes of catching a break.

“Boyd’s been tracking the comings and goings of the Whiteside Mountain Gang for the past week and hasn’t gotten anything we can use, so he’s taking Nate with him tonight. I want you to keep Finn with you,” Chase said.

“You don’t have to worry about us. I already told Granny to tell Payton we can’t make it tonight.”

“Thank you for that, and I know you can handle yourself. But I’ll feel better knowing he’s with you. Even if it means he gets a reprieve from doggy jail.” He looked down at the fish and sighed.

“Don’t worry. We’ll come back again. Without Finn next time.”

“I’d like that. A lot. I really enjoyed myself.” He sounded surprised, and then he smiled at her. “Once all this is over, I wouldn’t mind taking a walk up to Lover’s Leap again to watch the sunset with you.”

“I’d like that a lot too.” She smiled and wondered if the warm glow of happiness she felt inside was shining from her eyes. Maybe they really did have a chance of a future together.