Chapter 5 Secrets Unraveling

The two-lane highway skirting the lake was filled with cars on both sides of the road — not quite bumper to bumper, but close. The best part about the busy road was that it was still moving at a decent speed.

“Heart Lake morning rush hour,” Gil drawled. “I’ll take this over metro traffic any day.” He had a white dress shirt tucked into his jeans today. As usual, his sleeves were rolled up. The sheriff’s badge pinned against his chest meant he intended to head into work after dropping her off at the medical center.

“It’s nice.” Mixed feelings swirled through Bliss as she eyed the picturesque old barns and farmhouses woven in and around the newer strips of town homes and lake houses. This was where the social elite in Heart Lake lived, mostly Remingtons. Even when outsiders moved into town, those with professional salaries shopped for real estate on the lake first. It was now home to doctors, judges, city council members, and attorneys like D-Dave and Gil’s father-in-law. Back in high school, Mary Brand had never hesitated to point out that Bliss was one of the few students attending Heart Lake High who did not have a lake home address.

She could feel Gil sneaking glances at her, probably wondering what she was thinking. “That’s my favorite view on the entire lake.” He leaned her way to stretch one long arm past her face, pointing out the passenger window.

She had to force her gaze away from the sprinkle of auburn hair and freckles on his well-corded arm to see what he was pointing at. The red barn rising in the distance made her smile. “Old but beautiful.” She’d always been a sucker for old things.

“I know, right?” He dropped his elbow to the console but continued to lean her way. “I’ve always liked how the red walls are reflected in the water. Throw in a few streaks of sunset overhead, and it’s better than a painting.”

“That sounded downright poetic!” She swung her head in his direction, not realizing how close it would bring their mouths, almost within kissing distance.

“I have my moments.” His voice held a note of morning gravel and something else that was harder to define.

“That you do, sheriff.” She wasn’t sure if that counted as flirting, but it had to be in the ballpark. He was turning out to be full of surprises — really good ones that included cheesecake, strawberries, chocolate, and starlight.

He angled his head at the window again. “In case you were wondering, my townhouse is exactly twelve doors down from where you’re staying.”

She followed his line of view again and stiffened at the sight of the home where he’d spent the last three decades living with one of the most deceptively cruel women in the universe. Unlike the gentler, more traditional lines of the homes rising around it, Gil’s townhouse was a statement in modernism. It was three stories of square roof lines, perfectly symmetrical walls of glass, and L-shaped balconies. The main paint color was charcoal gray, but a few outsets were trimmed in concrete that was stained to look like light oak wood paneling.

“It’s nice.” Since he seemed to be expecting some sort of response, she figured those two words were safely neutral.

He snorted. “Why does it feel like every time you say the word nice, it feels like you mean the opposite of nice?”

“I prefer old things.” It would be rude to state her real opinion about his home. Her grandparents had taught her better. “To each their own.”

He reached for his cup of coffee. “I’m thinking of selling it.”

She gaped at him while he took a sip. “Isn’t there a waiting list a mile long to buy real estate on the lake?” She couldn’t believe he was actually considering giving up his hallowed spot in the lap of luxury. His townhouse was located smack dab in the middle of the most expensive stretch of homes around the lake.

“Yep. That means someone will take it off my hands in two snaps.” He sounded gleeful. “At a premium price, too.”

“Where will you live?” The moment she asked, Bliss wished she hadn’t. It really wasn’t any of her business.

He didn’t seem to mind her nosiness. “At my grandparents’ cottage exactly twelve doors away.”

That certainly explained the already-moved-in feel of the place.She quirked a smile at him. “Isn’t that where you stuck that out-of-town archeologist who almost got arrested yesterday?”

“Now that you mention it…” He winked at her. “Did you sleep alright?”

“I did. Thank you.” It was terribly considerate of him to ask.

“You need anything, just let me know.” He took another sip of coffee. “Thanks again for the coffee. I was ready for my second cup.”

“It was your coffee,” she reminded. “All I did was tap the brew button.”

“Yeah, but it always tastes better when someone else makes it.” He shook his head in bemusement. “Not sure why, but it does.”

“It totally does.” It was probably because single folks like them didn’t have the privilege of being waited on very often. “And I can’t imagine running out of much of anything while I’m in town. Your cottage is unusually well stocked.” With dishes, nonperishables, paper products, linens, travel-sized toiletries, and more. Oh, and a stackable washer and dryer with a bottle of laundry detergent stored on the cabinet beside it.

His knowing grin was what made the truth sink in. “Gil! Please assure me you didn’t boot yourself out of your own home for my sake.”

He raised one eyebrow at her. “Would you have rather stayed at the townhouse?”

“Heavens, no! But?—”

He burst out laughing. “The truth at last! You hate it as much as I do. Just admit it already.”

His unexpected honesty made her snicker. “The word hideous might’ve been the first adjective that came to mind,” she confessed. There was no way she was admitting how much his late wife’s treatment of her had tainted her opinion of the place. Some things were better left unsaid.

They soon left the lake behind, passed a few more residential communities, and entered the business district. Gil drove past the red brick police station and headed further into the downtown area. Plaza strips of offices and stores rose on both sides of them. They passed through several more stoplights before the Heart Lake Medical Center rose in front of them. It was a white, multi-story structure that was rounded in the front and spread out like the spokes of a wheel in the rear.

He found a parking spot a few rows back from the covered entrance to the emergency room. “The elevators to the lower level are just past the emergency room. Wasn’t sure if that was something you’d remember.”

“I didn’t. Thanks for the heads up.” Her grandmother had been the queen of home remedies, mostly out of financial necessity, so Bliss had paid very few visits to the medical center while growing up. The only ones she could remember with any clarity were the annual free vaccination days the medical center hosted for families in need. She’d always qualified for them.

Gil stepped down to the pavement and moved around the SUV to open the passenger door for her. “I’ll give you the ten-cent tour before I head back to the station.”

Her eyes widened. “You mean you’ve already been to work this morning?”

He shut the door behind her and pressed a button on his remote to lock it. “We’re down a deputy at the moment, so I jump in anytime we get shorthanded.”

“I’m sorry to hear it.” When he’d mentioned having Luke as acting sheriff any time he wanted, she’d just assumed that meant they had plenty of hands on deck. It sounded like she really needed to find the time to shop for a rental car today.

“It’s one of those good problems to have,” he assured, resting a hand lightly on her lower back as they crossed the parking lot together. “As much as I hated to see him go, Deputy Shep Whitaker was asked to start a K-9 search and rescue unit for the rez next door. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up. I told him so and gave him my blessing.”

She sensed that the sacrifice behind his decision hadn’t come easy. From what she’d heard, he’d personally recruited every person on his payroll. “Something tells me the rez was overjoyed to acquire someone off your team.” The Heart Lake Police Department might be small, but Gil had always run a tight ship in terms of training.

“I’d like to believe that.” He pressed his fingers more firmly against her back as the door swung open. A pair of paramedics rolled an empty stretcher past them toward an awaiting ambulance. “Fortunately, our department has a good relationship with their department, so I was kept in the loop in terms of transition details. We had a deputy with an incredible resume lined up to take Shep’s place, but it fell through at the last minute.” He shook his head. “He got an offer we couldn’t compete with on our small town budget.”

“That’s tough,” she murmured.

“Eh, it’ll work out.” He didn’t sound too worried about it. “I’ve learned not to rush this kind of stuff. Sometimes getting the right people in the right places just takes a little patience and a whole lot of prayer.” He winked at her as they stepped inside the building. “The same way we got you to come back.”

She studied him from beneath her lashes and they moved toward the elevators together. “Believe me, it wasn’t easy convincing my project leader to let me take a break from our dig in Pompeii.”

“That’s something else a small-town sheriff wouldn’t normally be able to compete with.” He treated her to one of his cockiest grins. “Why do you think I needed God on my side?”

His phone buzzed with an incoming call as he ushered her closer to the elevator. He hit the down button before stepping a few feet away to accept his call. “Sheriff Remington speaking.” His expression sobered as he listened. “Roger that. I’ll be back on the road shortly.”

The elevator door pinged open. He hurried forward to slap a hand against it to hold it open for her. “Unfortunately, this is where your grand tour ends. Hang a right when you get off the elevator. Your office is two doors down on the left.”

“Thanks, Gil. For everything.” He’d already gone above and beyond to help her get settled in. Glancing around them, she added softly, “Is everything okay at the station?”

“Nothing I can’t handle, but thanks for asking.” He lightly touched her shoulder. “Text me when you’re ready to storm the grocery store together. I’ve got some stuff I need to pick up there, too.”

A protest rose to her lips, but he’d already let go of the elevator door. It started to roll shut.

She raised her coffee cup in lieu of saying goodbye, but she wasn’t sure he saw it as he spun around and strode away.

It was a short ride down to the lower level. Checking her watch as she stepped into the long tile hallway, she estimated she had about an hour to explore her temporary office before her first appointment at nine.

Fortunately, Gil’s directions were easy to follow. Hang a right. Two doors down on the left.

To her surprise, her office door was open, and the lights were already on. She touched the name plate that had been mounted outside her door, surprised that anyone had bothered to have one printed up for the short time she’d be working there. It was a nice one, too. Bliss Hawling, PhD was engraved in gold letters on a black enamel background.

A bigger surprise awaited her inside her office. A young woman was seated at her desk.

“There you are!” She bounded to her feet. Her auburn hair was pulled into a loose bun on top of her head, making her long, slender frame appear even taller. She was wearing light blue scrubs, white sneakers, and no makeup. Not that she needed any. “I’m Ava Remington.” She held out a hand. “I hope it’s okay that I showed up on your first day. Uncle Gil told me I should wait until tomorrow, but?—”

“Today works for me.” Bliss interrupted Ava’s nervous rambling to shake her hand. She didn’t detect the slightest bit of the brattiness Gil had warned her about. On the contrary, the UT student appeared anxious to please. “We can explore my new office together.” The mayor had informed Bliss all she needed to do was send a text or email to requisition any other supplies she might need.

“Thank you so much, Dr. Hawling,” Ava gushed. “It’s such an honor to be interning with you. I’ve been reading everything I can get my hands on about the latest set of horses your team dug up. It’s totally on my bucket list to visit the Villa of Mysteries in Pompeii someday, preferably while working on a dig.”

Bliss smothered a chuckle at her volcanic blast of words. “Since it’s the biggest continuous dig site in the world, I’m sure you’ll get there.” It was a good sign that Gil’s niece felt so passionate about her choice of careers. Another big plus was how familiar she was with the medical center and its labyrinth of offices, labs, and various specialty rooms, including the morgue.

“One of my cousins is an ER nurse here,” she bragged. “I’ve literally toured every corner of the medical center.” She dropped her voice before adding, “Not every corner was strictly authorized for me to enter, but...” She gave an exultant chuckle.

But you’re a Remington, and your uncle is the town sheriff. Bliss forced a smile, wondering if Ava realized just how much of an advantage those two things had given her. She’d been born holding life by the tail.

While Bliss unpacked her briefcase and familiarized herself with the lab setup, Ava continued to chatter a mile a minute. Most of it was useful information. She knew the hours that the small hospital cafeteria was open, all the flavors of coffee and tea that the kiosk in the lobby upstairs served, and the fact that one of the docs on staff had married an out-of-town, rich as King Midas philanthropist.

“Kellan Big Bucks Maddox is the only reason we even have a disaster preparedness plan at the medical center. He arrived in town waving his billions. The next thing we knew, there were two mobile medical vehicles parked out front, a couple of overflow hospital tents en route, and a whole pile of portable x-ray machines and ventilators in the storage buildings out back.”

“He sounds like an incredibly generous man.” Bliss had heard about the tornadoes that had torn through the southern half of Heart Lake a few years ago. She’d been on a dig in Africa at the time, but she’d dropped to her knees and prayed that the citizens in her hometown would receive the assistance they needed. It was oddly comforting to find out just how well her prayer had been answered.

She finished getting oriented with her office setup and still had a half hour to spare before her first meeting.

Ava hadn’t taken a breath yet. “Though I wouldn’t say my uncle and I are super close, it was really cool of him to put in a good word for me with you.” She didn’t seem to expect much conversation in response to her monologuing, so Bliss had mostly just listened up to this point.

Ava’s reference to her strained relationship with Gil, however, made her ears perk up. This was the opportunity she’d been waiting for. She reached inside her briefcase to pull out the black velvet zipper pouch she’d brought along with her.

“Our first line of business today is a simple comparison between two old pieces of jewelry,” she announced briskly. It was time to draw Ava’s attention back to the task at hand.

“Co-o-ol.” Ava stepped closer to peer past Bliss’s shoulder as she placed the bracelet under the microscope. “Oh, my goodness!” Her smile abruptly vanished. “Is that the one my aunt brought back from New York?”

You sure don’t miss much. Bliss’s heart raced in anticipation of meeting head-on all the lies Gil’s niece had been told by his wife. “As a matter of fact, it is. How’d you guess?”

The more she thought about it, the more convinced she was that the bracelet was somehow connected to the silver locket found near the casket containing Iris Hawling’s remains. They were about to find out.

“I didn’t guess.” Ava’s bubbly persona seemed to fizzle out. “Yesterday, I overheard Aunt Mary’s father griping about how Uncle Gil had heartlessly given the bracelet to his newest girlfriend, and uh…” She glanced dejectedly away from Bliss. “I had no idea he was talking about you.”

“He wasn’t.” Bliss was astounded by the lengths Gil’s father-in-law was constantly going to in order to paint Gil in a bad light to his family. It was even worse than she’d realized. The guy must have a screw loose or something.

Ava’s expression was stormy as she swung her head back in Bliss’s direction. “But the bracelet?—”

“Was a gift from your uncle to thank me for interrupting my Pompeii dig to assist with the Hildebrand-Hawling project. We most certainly are not dating!” Not at the moment, at any rate. Even if they did decide to date, she didn’t consider it to be anyone else’s business.

Bliss unlocked the specimen drawer beneath the counter where the microscope was resting and withdrew the clear box containing the century old locket. It was time to redirect Gil’s niece’s attention to the task at hand.

Ava blinked as she absorbed everything Bliss had told her. Then she leaned closer. “That looks really old,” she breathed. “Much older than the bracelet.” She sounded more like the bubbly student who’d first bounced up from Bliss’s desk chair.

“Like gossip, looks can sometimes be deceiving,” Bliss informed her tartly.

Ava blushed. “I’m so sorry, Dr. Hawling. I, um…what I said about you and Uncle Gil was totally unprofessional.”

That it was. “Apology accepted.” Bliss kept her tone light, urging her understudy to put the ordeal behind them. She had no interest in dwelling on the negative, especially where it concerned Gil Remington.

Ava made a small bleating sound. “I’ve never before caught Mr. Brand in an outright lie like this. It’s making me wonder how many other whoppers he’s told me.” Her expression was agonized. “My parents have been telling me for years to stay out of Uncle Gil’s and Aunt Mary’s business, but…” She broke off her words, looking so troubled that Bliss realized it wasn’t going to be as easy as she’d hoped to divert Ava’s attention with work.

Bliss’s anger simmered over the realization that Gil’s late wife and father-in-law had been dragging his niece into their drama for a long time indeed, possibly while she was still a minor. It had probably made her feel older. Special, even. All the while, they’d only been using her as an emotional baseball bat to swing at her uncle.

She drew a bracing breath and tried again. “I suspect the locket is much closer in age to the bracelet than it might appear at first glance.” She picked up a cleaning brush and dipped it in a mild cleaning solution. “Here. You try it.” She held out a set of latex gloves.

“Oh! Wow! Thank you!” Blinking back a sheen of tears, Ava hastily pulled on the gloves.

Bliss handed her the brush next.

The way Ava proceeded to gently and painstakingly apply the cleaning solution to the silver locket told Bliss she’d spent time in a lab before.

“Let’s focus on these two areas.” Bliss pointed out the least tarnished and eroded sections.

Ava moved her brush. Her natural fountain of animation started to flow again as she worked. “It’s starting to look a lot like the scrollwork on my aunt’s bracelet.”

It no longer belonged to her aunt, but Bliss didn’t see any point in making an issue out of it. “Let’s put it under the microscope beside the bracelet,” she instructed, “and tell me what you see.” They would have to stop so she could attend her first meeting soon. However, she was anxious to do the first comparison between the two pieces of jewelry before then, even if the locket wasn’t as clean as she’d like yet.

Ava shot her an incredulous look. “You want me to take the first peek?”

Bliss gestured impatiently at the microscope. “You do want to be an archeologist, don’t you?”

“A bazillion times, yes!” Ava eagerly arranged the two pieces of silver side by side and dropped her head over the lens.

She gasped. “I can’t believe it!”

Bliss’s heart pounded at her words. “Tell me what you see,” she repeated.

“You were right! The designs are identical.” Ava couldn’t seem to tear her gaze away from the microscope. “The scrollwork is moving in the same direction. The swirls are the same size and shape. They even have the same leafy outset on the outermost swirl.”

“A locket and a bracelet designed by the same jeweler, using the same technique and pattern.” Bliss’s thoughts spun with possibilities. “What does that tell us?”

“That they’re from the same collection or something,” Ava crowed exultantly. “You’ve gotta see it for yourself, Dr. Hawling.” She abruptly lifted her head and stepped aside.

Bliss stepped closer to peer through the lens. When she raised her head, it was all she could do not to break into a jig. “My dearest future Dr. Remington, your conclusion is correct. The designs on the two pieces of jewelry are a match.”

The young archeology student gave a hoot of elation as she spun in a victory dance. “But that makes no sense!” She halted in mid twirl, pointing at the locket. “If this one was found near one of the mummies, and that one,” her finger moved to the bracelet, “was found by my aunt in New York…” Her voice dwindled in confusion.

Bliss pounced on the last item. “Did she happen to mention where she found it?”

“In a jewelry store, I think.” Ava frowned as she struggled to recall the details. “Or maybe it was a pawn shop. She said her dad bought it for her.” Her expression grew calculating as she pushed away the mental cobwebs to remember more. “And for only a fraction of its value. Apparently, the guy selling it had no idea how valuable a piece it was.”

It sounded to Bliss like the Brands had made out like bandits on the purchase. No wonder Mr. Brand had been so upset about Gil giving it away. In all fairness, though, Gil’s father-in-law had been the first to give it away when he’d planted it in her suitcase to make it look like she’d stolen it. Had he known its connection to one of the founding families in Heart Lake when he’d made the purchase? If not, it was an uncanny coincidence that both pieces of jewelry had ended up in the same town.

On her way to her meeting, Bliss shot off a text to Gil to share the monumental discovery she and his niece had made.

Summer Midraven’s eyes widened at the line of text messages waiting for her when she finished her morning jog. She paced in front of the Heart Lake Plaza Hotel, sipping on her water bottle to cool down. Between sips, she started to read. The first message was from one of her oldest, dearest friends, Dr. Bliss Hawling.

Made it to Texas! Staying in a beautiful old lake cottage. Let’s do dinner or something.

Summer smiled as she typed a response, knowing how much her friend loved old, beautiful things.

Lucky you! I’m stuck at a hotel. Yes to dinner. Just let me know when and where. My schedule is wide open.

She was more than a little jealous that Bliss had managed to secure such a cushy set of accommodations. One with such an incredible view, no less! Summer had been repeatedly told before her trip to town that everything on the lake was solidly booked for the summer.

No doubt Bliss Hawling had called in a favor. It was ironic, considering how many times she’d beefed about the Remingtons owning nearly the entire north side of town, including the lakefront. What Bliss didn’t seem to understand was just how much weight the last name of Hawling carried. Though her roots were plunged deep inside the humble farming community on the south side of town, she was still a member of one of the two founding families of Heart Lake.

The clash between the Remington and Hawling cowboys had spanned more than a century. They’d feuded over everything from property lines to mining rights. They’d also faced off at some of the biggest rodeos in the west. Their famed rivalry had drawn the crowds and tourist dollars that had essentially built their town.

Unlike the Midravens. Summer took another swig of water to wash down the taste of bitterness in her mouth. Her husband’s ancestors had fled for the surrounding mountains during the big Comanche roundup back in the pioneer days, capturing and selling wild mustangs for a living. She wasn’t sure who’d originally coined the phrase black market, but that was how his people had survived. They’d eventually ended up on the poverty-stricken reservation adjacent to Heart Lake.

To this day, they received no special treatment. Not even their widows.Nope! Outsiders like me get to stay in public hotels.

Technically, she’d had one other option. She raised her arm to shade her eyes from the sun as she narrowed her gaze at the distant mountains. Her daughter, Prim, served as a PA in the tiny rez clinic nestled out there in the foothills. That sweet girl of hers had tried her hardest to convince her mother to make use of the spare bedroom in the cozy cabin she shared with her new husband, Shep. However, Summer couldn’t imagine invading their space like that indefinitely. There was no telling how long it would take to find her own place. In the meantime, she’d lived in New York for too long to stay that far from the beaten path, so to speak. She preferred being within walking distance from places like the Blue Brew and Modello’s.

A girl’s gotta drink coffee, and a girl’s gotta shop!

The next text waiting for her put her in an even worse mood. It was from her realtor.

Gil Remington is putting the sale of his townhouse on hold for a few weeks. Didn’t say why. He’s going to sell, though. Mark my words!

Summer’s shoulders slumped as another opportunity to stay on the lake slid further out of reach. This is just not my day!

The third and final text message brought her smile back. It was from Caleb Whitaker, her new son-in-law’s uncle — the wildly good-looking Comanche who’d raised Shep. She gave a self-deprecatory chuckle at how hopelessly attracted she was to the guy. As a professional online matchmaker, she knew it wasn’t against the law or anything, but it still felt a little weird to be crushing on the uncle of the guy her daughter had just married.

I know you’re avoiding me, but I’ve got the ingredients laid out for a casserole that’s not going to cook itself. You want to give me a hand?

Fortunately, she was still wearing the cherry cheeks brought on by a good run, because she was pretty sure she was blushing. Instead of texting back, she dialed his number.

He picked up on the second ring. “Guess that shoots my avoidance theory to the bottom of the lake.”

“No. You’re right. I’ve been avoiding you.” Life was too short. Summer didn’t plan to spend the rest of it dodging the truth.

“Brutal, but honest. I like it. And you.”

She chuckled at the way he didn’t hesitate to dish it right back. “Fair warning, I’m not good company right now. I’m envious of my best friend, cranky about being stuck in a hotel, and my realtor just sent me a less than thrilling update about the lake home I have my eye on.”

“Gil Remington’s place, right?”

It tickled her to pieces that he remembered. “Yes. He’s decided to hold off putting it on the market for a few weeks, though my realtor assures me he’s still interested in selling.”

Caleb snorted. “I bet he’s got that hottie archeologist staying in his grandparents’ old cottage.”

“Bliss Hawling?” Though it was petty of her, Summer stomped her foot in irritation. I knew it! Her friend had used her connections to jump to the front of the line when it came to living accommodations.

“Do you know any other hottie archeologists in Heart Lake?” Caleb’s voice was dry.

“You think she’s hot, huh?” Summer knew she was being unreasonable, but it had been an all-around disappointing morning.

“You’d have to be blind and dead not to notice, which I’m not,” he reminded in a bemused voice. “All I’ve got going against me is this blasted limp.”

“Why are you always putting yourself down like that?” she snapped without thinking. He still hadn’t told her where he’d gotten his limp, though she’d sort of gotten the impression it was something he’d been born with.

His grunt sounded suspiciously like a snicker. “I don’t know. How about you bring your New York hide over to my cabin and come snark some sense into me?”

It was all she could do to hold in an answering chuckle. “You sure I’m good enough to come make a mess in the kitchen with a country boy like yourself?” She swallowed. “It’s not like I’m a hottie archeologist or anything.”

“How about you come and find out?” His voice was so low and threatening with promise that she shivered.

Instead of answering, she hung up on him. Stomping inside the hotel, she rode the elevator up to her room to shower and change. Then she flounced back outside to her rental car, wearing her newest sundress. It was a strapless pink linen that hugged her hourglass figure and showcased her tan to perfection.

Prim had talked her into purchasing it from Modello’s. She hadn’t been sure until this morning that she was ever going to wear it. It made her feel a good decade younger than her forty-eight years. But how else was a middle-aged matchmaker supposed to compete with a hottie archeologist?

The hurt festering inside her lifted a little as she drove, but it returned in full force when she pulled up the long, private driveway leading to Caleb’s cabin. He was probably watching her through one of the blasted hunting cameras he had mounted all over his property.

Trying to decide if I’m hot enough to spend time with! She was fuming and gripping the steering wheel so tightly that she had to jam on the brakes a little harder than she intended at the end of the driveway. She skidded a few feet before bringing the car to a halt.

Get a grip, Summer! Maybe bringing her cranky mood over to Caleb’s place wasn’t such a good idea after all. She leaned forward to tip her forehead against the steering wheel, trying to get her chaotic emotions under control.

Maybe it was just the empty nest syndrome rearing its ugly head again now that Prim was married. Or perimenopause. She’d been battling the symptoms for the past few months. Stuff like that probably hit widows harder than other women.

A knock on her window made her jolt upright.

It was Caleb, of course, looking so dreamy with his long black hair, his vintage henley t-shirt, and faded jeans that her insides started quaking all over again for a whole different reason. Guys in their fifties had no business looking that good. His bulging coppery muscles and the impossible-to-read smolder in his eyes never failed to do crazy things to her heart.

She popped the lock on her door, and he opened it for her. As she stepped out, his jaw dropped.

“What? Not hot enough for you?” she mocked, hating how dangerously close to tears she was.

His astonished gaze met hers. “What are you trying to do? Set the whole forest on fire?”

With a sobbing laugh, she launched herself into his arms and buried her face against his neck.

After a moment of stunned hesitation, his steely arms came around her. “You okay?” He stroked a hand through her hair.

“No.” Tears trickled hotly down her cheeks, damping the warm skin of his neck. “Just hold me.”

“No problem.” His voice was deep and rumbly against her temple. “About time you quit avoiding me like the plague.”

Another sobbing laugh escaped her. “Stop being a jerk.”

“But you like it so much,” he crooned, cupping the back of her head to tip her face up to his.

“I do,” she rasped. “Which is why the thought of losing out to some dime a dozen hottie archaeologist?—”

Her words were smothered by him slanting his mouth over hers, leaving her with no more doubts about where she fell in comparison to all the hottie archeologists on the market. She’d been kidding, of course, about the dime a dozen stuff. Bliss Hawling was a rare treasure as both a human being and a friend.

All thoughts about Bliss soon faded beneath Caleb’s masterful kisses. For a guy who’d never been married, he sure knew a thing or two about how to hold a woman. Enough to impress one of the country’s most successful online matchmakers, and that was saying a lot.

It was a long time before they made their way inside to the kitchen. Instead of getting to work on the casserole ingredients Caleb had laid out, he shoved them aside and lifted her to the countertop. He slapped his hands down on either side of her. “You’re upset. Start talking.”

“So romantic,” she teased, reaching out to tangle a hand in his silky mane of hair.

He leaned his cheek into her hand. “Think I just finished making it clear how I feel about you.”

He had, and it was too wonderful for words. She was still soaking it in. “I don’t even know where to begin,” she sighed, almost not wanting to go there.

“Then start in the middle.” He stepped closer to touch his mouth tenderly to hers. “Or anywhere else you want.”

You asked. “Call me petty,” she burst out, “but it hurt my feelings to find out Bliss was staying on the lake after being told umpteen times everything there was all booked.”

“It’s like that every summer, babe. No pun intended.” He kissed her again.

Summer’s indignation faded a few degrees. “Then how did she wrangle a cottage on the lake all to herself?”

“Because the sheriff of Heart Lake has been madly in love with her for years. That’s my theory, anyway.” He started to kiss her again, but she pulled back in astonishment.

“Bliss Hawling and Gil Remington? In love?”

He shrugged. “Not sure if she feels the same way about him, but they go way back. Shared some kiss in high school that the entire Heart Lake High football team witnessed. One of the guys called it the Bliss Kiss, and the name stuck.”

“Oh. My. Goodness.” Summer couldn’t have been more floored. “In all the years I’ve known Bliss, she’s never once mentioned Gil. Not once! She refuses to even talk about Heart Lake. Every time I try to bring it up, she changes the subject.”

Caleb pinched her chin. “Then why keep bringing it up?”

That was the kicker. “Because I know things about this town and the people in it. Secrets some folks would do anything to keep hidden.” Dangerous ones, according to her husband before he’d died.

“Welcome to the club, Summer.” The angles and planes of Caleb’s handsome features seemed to sharpen.

“What am I supposed do about it?” She was surprised when he didn’t immediately demand to know what she knew. “In case you’re wondering, those secrets involve Bliss.” Someone she’d known for years and cared deeply about.

“Nothing.” His voice was harsh.

“But you don’t even know what I’m talking about!” What she knew about Bliss had been passed down from generation to generation by her husband’s family.

“That’s a pretty big assumption, even for a New Yorker.” He leaned closer to speak tauntingly against her lips. “You do realize your first husband was a Comanche?”

First husband? She shivered at his unspoken suggestion that there might be a second husband in her life at some point. Was he interested in the position? And she was more confused than ever about what she was supposed to do with what she knew about Bliss Hawling. If Caleb shared her suspicions, why wasn’t he stepping up to the plate to do something about it?

“Why not tell the world what we know?” She whispered the words.

“Because things have a way of coming to light when they’re meant to, and they will.” He spoke with such heartfelt conviction that she relaxed. “Bliss is gonna establish those DNA markers, and every Hawling is gonna come crawling out of the woodwork to get a blood test to see if they’re a match. You don’t need to get involved. Trust me.”

Her concerns about her friend faded as he captured her lips again, taking them deeper beneath the pull of attraction they were no longer fighting. Much, much deeper.