could out of her about her encounter. He knew law enforcement would want to talk to her as soon as they got to the lodge, but it wasn’t uncommon for the edge of a person’s memory to fade the longer they were out of a traumatic situation. Maybe talking about it now would help cement some of the details in her memory.
“I’m okay for now, Tyler. I’ll be okay, alright?”
Not a very convincing voice she was using, and Clay didn’t blame her. Whatever happened had clearly been extremely traumatic for her to get in the car with a stranger when she was so shaken up.
“Alright, bye.” She finished the conversation and set the phone down and looked back at him.
Clay kept his eyes on the road, though he could feel hers on him. After so many years in law enforcement, he was more used to being the one doing the assessing than the one being measured. Her stare disconcerted him.
“What happened out there, Summer? Can you go over it for me?”
“Who are you?”
“I told you, my name is Clay Hitchcock, and I’m your brother’s friend.”
“I mean, who are you and why are you asking me questions like that?”
“I’m just someone who wants to help.” That was the truth now. He may have the heart of a cop, the mind of a cop, but he was a civilian now. His choice, yes, but it was still taking some getting used to.
Her eyes narrowed but she took his answer. Not, Clay noticed, because he had done anything to convince her that he was trustworthy. No, the only reason she was willing to entertain trusting him at all was the fact that her brother liked him.
He made a mental note about her character—family was important.
Not that he necessarily needed to make notes about Summer Dawson’s character. After tonight they might only see each other in passing. Clay didn’t remember what she did at the lodge, but with as many warnings as Tyler had given him not to think about dating one of his sisters, especially Summer, Clay felt it was safe to assume he wouldn’t be assigned to any task that would lead them to cross paths often. But his old habit of analyzing people, observing things about them, died hard. He might not have a badge, but he was still a cop inside.
Maybe this was what the chief had tried to warn him about when he urged Clay to consider what he was doing by leaving the force in Treasure Point. But Clay hadn’t listened, couldn’t have. He’d needed to get out of there.
Out of that whole line of work.
He stole a glance at Summer. Much as he wanted to drive her back to the lodge and accept the no-trespassing sign she’d clearly placed in front of the details about whatever had just happened, he couldn’t. Despite himself.
Clay let out a breath. “How do I get to the Moose Haven Police Department?”
“What?” The edges of her tone were sharp from fear or surprise, it was hard to say which—the two were often so intertwined.
“You’re running from something,” he explained, keeping his voice calm like he usually did when he was talking to a victim. “I’m assuming if it were an animal you wouldn’t be so jumpy now that you’re in a car and safe. I’d like to know what happened, but I don’t need to. However, if I’m right about why you’re running, the police do need to know.”
* * *
Why hadn’t Summer paid more attention when Tyler had talked about who he was hiring for work this season?
As this man, Clay, looked at her, she got the impression he knew her somehow better than he should. From Tyler? Or was he just that talented at reading people?
Summer didn’t know, but she wasn’t accustomed to such perceptive scrutiny, and didn’t like it. She made herself not break his gaze though, saying without saying anything that she wasn’t intimidated by him. Because she wasn’t. He may be seeing her at her worst right now, but Clay needed to know she was no damsel in distress, no pushover.
Still, he had a point about going to the police. “Fine,” she relented. “Turn left.”
He did so. Then said “thank you” so quietly she thought maybe she’d imagined it. Now it was her turn to study him. Strong, solidly built, definitely attractive. And yet, he didn’t seem pushy. Seemed steady, calm.
Actually he reminded her in some ways of her older brother Noah. He was the police chief of Moose Haven now, and at thirty was the youngest person to ever hold that role.
Clay had the same kind of bearing.
“You’re a cop, aren’t you?”
Clay glanced over, surprise on his face. She’d phrased it as a question but her tone had shown her certainty. He didn’t confirm or deny her suspicions. Summer kept going.
“What are you doing in Moose Haven, really?” she asked without waiting for him to answer. His silence was confirmation enough. Summer shivered. Had he been fired from some police department, was that why he’d needed a new job? She’d heard stories about dirty cops, obviously, though she preferred to think they were the exception rather than the rule. Still, Clay’s appearance right after she’d been attacked did feel a little coincidental...
Her brothers would have confidently called it “God’s provision.” Such phrases hadn’t slipped off Summer’s own tongue comfortably for years.
“I’m working at the lodge, I told you.”
“But you’re not like the usual workers. You’re different.” The words slipped out before she could analyze them, decide if they could be read into at all. Summer left them hanging there, and didn’t know what to make of it when Clay didn’t comment.
They pulled into the parking lot of the small Moose Haven Police Department without any more conversation between them. Summer exited the car as fast as she could and headed toward the double doors at the front of the station.
Not until she heard a car door slam behind her and then footsteps catching up did it occur to her that Clay might be coming inside.
She mustered up the strongest, most take-charge voice she could find. “Listen, thanks for the ride, but I’m good. I can take it from here.”
Was that a slight smile? “I’m sure you can,” he agreed as he reached for one of the front doors and held it open for her. Summer frowned a bit before entering the building ahead of him. “But they’re going to want to talk to me too.”
“Why?”
“Because like I told you in the car, I suspect you’re running from someone, not something. In that case, this is a crime or a potential crime and they’re going to want to know where I was, how I found you, if I noticed anything. It’s standard procedure.”
It might have been, but Summer feeling like this certainly wasn’t. She was already shaken up from the whole ordeal and now she just felt embarrassed by the way she’d treated Clay suspiciously, even after Tyler had managed to mostly convince her that he was one of the good guys.
“Fine.” She didn’t have anything else to say and ignored the tugs inside her heart urging her to apologize
