Chapter 20

"Where are we going?" Jo peered out the truck window, watching as they drove past Carrie's road.

"To park the truck. We can't park it in her driveway."

"Duh. What was I thinking?" Jo playfully thunked the side of her forehead. "It's a good thing I'm wearing my gardening boots. Something tells me this will involve crossing farm fields."

"If my memory serves me correctly, there's an old barn one road over. We can park the truck inside and walk across the field, coming up on the back side of the property."

Nash turned at the next intersection, taking his foot off the gas as the truck jostled over the ruts.

Jo's teeth chattered. "They need to grade the road."

"Before winter sets in and it's stuck like this until spring." Nash slowed to a crawl. The jostling became more of a side to side sway.

Duke, who had been staring out the window, flopped down on the seat.

"Even poor Duke is getting motion sickness."

"We're almost there." Nash turned onto what had once been a driveway but was now nothing more than an overgrown field. He crept along, accelerating up a slight incline until reaching a dilapidated barn. Which may have been a slight understatement.

The barn leaned left, looking as if a strong wind would topple it. Rusted metal plates held the double doors. Doors that were nothing more than jagged pieces of wood.

The windows above the doors, what would have been the opening for the hayloft, were still intact and wide open. A conveyor belt with two flat tires sat alongside the barn.

Jo clenched her jaw. "This place is creepy."

"It's been abandoned for years. You can still see the house's foundation. Squatters moved in for a while until it got so bad that even they moved out."

"The house was torn down?"

"Yeah. The county condemned it." Nash told her teenagers used it as a party hangout. "The zoning department finally took action when one of them got hurt."

"I'm not sure it's safe to park here, let alone party here," Jo quipped.

"Agreed, which is why we'll be leaving the truck in front of it now that I've seen it up close." Nash shifted into park and shut the engine off. "It's still early. We can pretend we're teenagers and make out."

Jo giggled. "Nash Greyson. We're too old to go parking."

"You're never too old." He unbuckled and slid across the seat, pulling her to him. "Just for a minute."

"Okay. I suppose a little smooching with Duke as our chaperone will be all right." Jo wrapped her arms around Nash's neck and closed her eyes.

His lips pressed lightly against hers. Soft. Gentle and then more demanding. He slid his hand around the back of her neck. Warm to the touch. Jo felt a tingle starting at the top of her head and traveling to the tips of her toes.

She sighed softly, losing herself in Nash's loving embrace. All thoughts of stalkers and vandals were far from her mind. It was only Jo and the love of her life.

The kiss went on for long moments until Duke nudged his way in between them. He stuck his cold, wet nose on the bottom of Jo's chin. She pulled back. "Duke."

"Dude, you know how to throw a cold towel on a romantic moment." Nash playfully ruffled his ears. "I guess Duke is signaling we need to get going."

"We'll need a flashlight." Jo grabbed her backpack.

"Got one." He reached past her and grabbed a flashlight from the glove box. "Let's hit the road, or in this case, the field."

Jo hopped out and waited for the hound to exit the vehicle before closing the door. Nash caught up with them near the front. He turned the flashlight on and led the way across the empty farm field.

"The moon is so bright tonight, we almost don't need a flashlight," Jo said.

"It's the harvest moon. I'm sure you've noticed it before. It comes in the fall, right after sunset, giving farmers who still need to harvest their crops enough light to work late into the evening."

"God thought of everything, didn't He?" Jo gazed at the moon. It was so close, she could almost reach out and touch it.

Duke trotted ahead, as if seeming to know where they were going.

They crested a small hill. A tree line appeared. The outline of buildings and a farmhouse stood off in the distance. "I see Carrie's place."

"Even with the moon, it's pretty dark out here at night," Nash said. "I'm not sure how I would feel about you living alone in an isolated spot like this."

"It hasn't seemed to bother Carrie, other than the normal creaks and squeaks old houses make." Jo shoved her hands in her pockets to keep them warm. "At least it didn't until someone started stalking her and blowing her barn doors off."

"Do you think it's a disgruntled former customer?"

Jo thought about it. "I believe so. Who else would break into her work trailer and spray paint the word ‘die' on the wall?"

The couple grew quiet as they drew close to the house, both on high alert for noises and movement.

"So far, so good," Jo whispered. "Carrie needs more lights out here."

"Motion lights, mercury lights. Do you have the key?"

"What key?" Jo asked.

"The key Carrie gave you." Nash abruptly stopped. "Don't tell me you left the key at home."

Jo struggled to keep a straight face. "I forgot the key."

"Great. I guess we'll need to go back."

Jo pulled the key from her pocket, a mischievous expression on her face. "I'm kidding. Here you go."

"Very funny." Nash wagged his finger at her. "I thought we were going to have to turn around and go back."

"It would give us another excuse to make out in the truck," she teased.

"Don't tempt me." Nash gave her a quick kiss, slid the key in the lock and eased the door open.

Duke bolted past them and ran inside. Jo followed while Nash brought up the rear.

She reached for the light switch. He stopped her. "Hang on. We're going to have to do our surveillance in the dark."

"Right. Carrie's van isn't here, which means no one is supposed to be home."

"Correct." Nash closed the door behind them and locked it. "This place looks…"

"Like it needs a lot of work." Jo set her backpack on the floor. "After the barns and buildings are repaired, Carrie will have Country Renovations work on the house."

"Is she going to live here while they're working on it?"

"Yes, and no. She's renting a travel trailer and will stay in it while renovations are being done."

"It will be chilly camping out in the dead of winter."

"The home repairs won't start until next spring." Jo circled the living room. "It's not my cup of tea, but then I guess I forgot how much work my place needed when I bought it."

"A lot."

"Yes, a lot."

Duke, his nose to the ground, trotted off to explore.

The couple followed him into the kitchen.

Nash sniffed the air. "Something smells odd."

"Like chemicals," Jo said. "Hopefully, the stalker didn't already sneak inside with plans to torch this place tonight."

"Stay here." Nash cautiously crept toward the slider, his hand in his pocket…a pocket Jo was certain contained a gun.

She watched him walk the perimeter of the kitchen. He held a finger to his lips and eased the bathroom door open. Backtracking, he motioned toward the stairs leading to the bedrooms and a second bath on the upper level.

Jo nodded, her heart hammering in her chest as he tiptoed up the stairs. Duke, as if sensing something was off, stood next to Jo, his ears up and his tail down.

The floor creaked overhead as Nash moved from room to room. He returned a few minutes later. "There's no one here."

"Good." Jo shifted her feet. "I have to tinkle."

"Duke and I will stand guard."

"I'm sure I'll be safe in the bathroom." Jo rolled her eyes.

"You might want the flashlight."

"We have enough moonlight coming in through the window." Jo reached for the doorknob. "I'll be fine."

"Look out for…"

Jo stepped inside the bathroom. A terrified shriek froze in the back of her throat as she came nose to snout with a growling bear—or what was left of him. She stumbled back.

"…the bear"s head," Nash finished his sentence. "You were too quick."

"What in the world?" Jo made a choking sound. "Who hangs a bear"s head in their bathroom?"

"Carrie."

"I must've missed noticing it when Carrie gave me a tour. That thing scared me half to death."

Nash grinned. "You should have seen the look on your face. I wish I'd taken a picture."

"Nash Greyson." Jo playfully punched him in the arm. "You could have warned me."

"I tried. Seriously, I did."

"Not very hard." Jo cautiously stepped back inside and eased the door shut. She warily eyed the bear who appeared to be watching her, studying her, ready to sink his teeth into her. Get a grip.

Despite knowing the bear was no threat, Jo quickly took care of business, washed her hands, and hurried out.

"That was fast." Nash checked his watch.

"I was being watched. I don't know why Carrie would hang that thing in her bathroom."

"Shall we get settled in?" Nash unrolled the sleeping bags and placed them on the living room floor.

"Carrie said we can sleep upstairs in the spare bedroom."

"It's tempting, but too far away to react if something happens," Nash said. "You can sleep upstairs. Duke and I will be on watch down here."

"I'll pass. I would rather stick with you two."

"Is the bear still creeping you out?"

"Yes. Who knows what else Carrie has hanging around?"

Nash reached into his backpack and pulled out a deck of cards. He placed a small battery-powered lantern next to it. "I figured we could play cards while we wait to see what happens."

"Let's set the stakes," Jo suggested.

"Like what? Money? Favors?"

"Let's play for our next date night. You win, you get to choose. I win, I get to choose."

"I like it." Nash shuffled the cards and began dealing them. "How about a game of poker?"

"Poker it is." Jo waited for him to finish dealing and picked up her hand. "I have a good one."

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that."

The couple bantered back and forth. Nash winning one hand, Jo winning the next. After each game, Nash patrolled the lower level, checking each window, keeping an eye out for intruders.

Ten o'clock rolled around, and the couple called it quits. They found folding chairs and placed a pair in front of the rear slider door. "I figure we'll keep an eye on the back, since Carrie's cameras are monitoring the front."

The couple grew quiet, staring out the window. Thanks to the harvest moon, they could clearly see across the field, all the way to the buildings in the back. "It's peaceful out here."

"Peaceful, dark and isolated," Nash said.

Duke, who had been napping nearby, lifted his head. He scrambled to his feet and let out a warning growl.

Nash slowly stood. "What is it, Duke?"

His ears back, the hound dashed to the living room with Nash hot on his heels.

Jo ran after them.

Duke stood at the front door. He growled again, a growl Jo easily recognized as an intruder alert.

Nash removed his gun from his pocket and peered out the window. "Someone is outside."