Arianna glanced to the doorway as Caleb re-entered the kitchen trailed by a tall, brown-haired man. “Luke!” The last person she expected to see on a Saturday morning in a stranger’s house was her ex-boyfriend, Lucas Drake. “What are you doing here?”
“I could ask the same thing.”
The disapproval in his voice made her hackles rise, and kicked on her defensive meter. His most exasperating trait had always been his bent for jealousy. She could imagine the thoughts going through his head at finding her having breakfast with two bachelors.
“I spent the night.” She knew it would annoy him. It served him right for sounding so damn high-handed. “I was on my way back from Lauren’s and got stranded by the fog. Didn’t you see the flat tire on my car?”
“You never heard of a spare?”
“That was my fault,” Caleb came to her rescue. “I asked her to–”
“It doesn’t matter.” Arianna didn’t owe Lucas Drake a damn thing. Let him think what he wanted. “What are you doing here, Luke?”
“Official business.” Squaring his shoulders, he tucked his hands into the pockets of his pants. A plainclothes cop, he wore street clothes on duty, dressed now in a light summer jacket to conceal the bulk of his handgun.
“Is something wrong?” Wyn asked.
“As I told your brother at the front door, Dr. DeCardian, I’m Sergeant Drake of the Sagehill PD. I understand you’re the legal owner of Weathering Rock?”
Wyn nodded, rounding the table to offer his hand. “Dr. Winston DeCardian. What’s the problem, Sergeant?”
“It’s more of a warning. I’m making rounds of the area to alert homeowners there may be a rabid animal in the area. We want you to be aware of the danger when you’re outside. If you have children, keep them close and make sure they understand the importance of staying away from stray animals, even those that seem harmless. You know how kids can be with pets.”
Concerned, Arianna left the table to join the others. She thought of the large animal silhouetted against the window last night. “What makes you think there’s a problem?”
“A patrol car found a deer carcass down the road.” Lucas jerked his head to indicate the direction. “Normally that’s not cause for alarm, but it was badly mauled.”
“How bad is badly?” Wyn flicked his brother a disconcerted glance. Did a moment of silent communication pass between them?
“Not like anything we’re used to seeing. The best guess is we’ve got a rabid dog, or a bear that wandered down from the mountains. Given it’s the second occurrence in less than a week, we want to make sure residents are aware of the danger.”
“A bear?” The animal she’d seen hadn’t been bulky enough for a bear, but too large for a dog. “What about a wolf?”
The question earned a sharp glance from Caleb.
“There are no wolves in Pennsylvania, Ari,” Luke told her. “Coyotes, but it would take a pack of coyotes to do this kind of damage. Odds are it’s probably a large dog, but until we get a report from the Game Commission, we won’t know for sure. Right now our goal is to alert residents, especially those with kids.”
“That’s kind of you, Officer,” Caleb said, sounding cordial and formal. “Since you’re here, perhaps you’d be good enough to follow Miss Hart home? It won’t take long to change her tire.”
Miss?
Arianna blinked, feeling like a schoolmarm passed to the care of the local sheriff. “Thanks, but Luke knows I’ll be fine.”
“I don’t.” Caleb took her hand, looking into her eyes.
She fought the urge to swoon like an idiot. Seconds passed and she found herself unable to speak, their hands locked together, her gaze riveted to the light blue crystal of his eyes.
“Caleb,” Wyn said.
Arianna came to her senses, politely withdrawing her hand. “I’ll be fine.”
“At the very least, the sergeant can walk you to your car,” Caleb suggested.
“That’s probably a good idea.” Lucas sounded annoyed.
Too unsettled to protest, Arianna nodded. Outside, she popped the trunk, waiting while Wyn unloaded the spare tire and jack. Off to the side, Caleb and Luke exchanged a glance, a tense undercurrent to their silence. If she didn’t know better, she’d think they were sizing one another up. But there was nothing to indicate Caleb was interested in her.
Except for that glance.
And a touch that had gone on too long for polite contact.
“Somebody slashed this,” Luke announced.
“What?” She rounded the car to find him crouched beside the front tire. Now that she saw it in the daylight, she realized he was right.
“Probably vandals,” Caleb said. “It must have happened last night after we went inside.”
No way. She couldn’t believe a vandal had crept onto an estate the size of Weathering Rock late at night to randomly slash her tire. Which meant the only person with opportunity was Wyn. In the dark, he would have had time while she and Caleb were distracted by the ball lightning.
But why?
Because Caleb wanted him to.
He’d snapped his brother’s name the moment the lightning had appeared. At the time she hadn’t understood, but now knew it had been a directive to Wyn. She recalled the pocketknife she’d seen on the table in the parlor when she left her contact information. Wyn would have had to grab it before leaving the house, which meant they’d never intended for her to drive away.
“Lucas, you’re right. I think–”
“It doesn’t matter,” Caleb said.
Furious, she rounded on him. “Excuse me, but it does!”
“It’s a flat, Arianna. It can be replaced. The important issue is you’re safe.”
Lucas narrowed his eyes. “From what?”
Caleb looked at him coolly. “The animal you mentioned, Sergeant. It must have been in the area last night. Under the circumstances, I think the flat on Arianna’s vehicle could be considered fortuitous.” Reaching for her hand, he twined his fingers with hers. When he spoke, his voice was for her ears only. “Don’t you think, Annie?”
She tugged her hand free. “I need to get home. It’s already ten o’clock, and I have several errands to run–including stopping at the garage for a new tire.”
The heavy sarcasm in her voice made him grimace.
There was little discussion after that. Wyn changed the tire with Caleb’s assistance, even offering to pay for a new one. He gave a lame excuse about feeling responsible since the incident
