it. You guys do great work.” She lifted the toddler into a car seat.
“Thanks. I’ll pass along the compliment.”
The woman waved again as she drove away.
Friendly. Attractive to women. Was Sawyer truly a nice guy? Or was his smile and friendliness a facade to get what he wanted? Like Cam’s?
Troubled at the line of thought and the way she couldn’t stop noticing Sawyer as a man, Jade forced her attention back to the houses. Do the job. Do it right. Focus on the investigation.
She asked questions, took photos, made notes and considered the location of this particular housing complex. They’d built on the edge of a rural area but close enough to town for convenience, a perfect location for those wanting expansive lawns and a little privacy without all those board fences. The kind of neighborhood where kids could safely play outside, roller-skate and ride bikes.
She’d love to live in a family-friendly place like this.
“Why this housing addition? Was there a problem with any of the nearby landowners? Did someone object to the city pushing out this far into the countryside?”
“Dad wrangled with the owner for a while over the price but in the end both parties approved of the agreement.”
“Maybe. I’ll need the previous owner’s name and contact info.”
“I think Leroy’s already checked that out.”
“Leroy?” She jacked a doubtful eyebrow. “The local police officer?”
Sawyer’s easygoing nature disappeared. He bristled, eyes narrowed. “Leroy’s a good cop and a great friend. He’s done his best on this.”
Here was another new side to Mr. Charm. Loyalty, willing to stand up for a friend.
“I didn’t mean that as an insult. Leroy does a good job, but he’s short-staffed, and a growing town stretches him to the limit. He could have missed something.”
She raised the camera and snapped. A line of woods and a small creek flowed to the south of the houses. “This location is beautiful. I see the appeal. Do kids play in that creek?”
“Sure. It’s very shallow. Perfect for tadpole fishing.” He paused. “Ever been?”
She glanced at the sky, a pretty blue dabbled with cotton-ball clouds and with an egg-yolk sun perched halfway between morning and noon.
She wouldn’t play his game. They were not friends having a chitchat.
“The only thing I’m fishing for is clues.”
“You don’t like to fish? To cast a lure in the water and get mocked by big, fat bass that swim around your line and laugh?” He made a casting motion and began to reel. With his left hand, she noticed. “And maybe, just maybe, if you hold your mouth right, you catch one off guard and—” He yanked back on his imaginary rod, pretending to battle a fighting fish. Suddenly his shoulders dipped and he relaxed. “Rats. Lost him.”
She bit back a laugh.
Sawyer Buchanon was fun. No wonder women loved him. Caution would be her friend around this man.
“I haven’t been fishing in years,” she said. “Not since my brothers and I used to go to the lake on weekends. We’d rent a boat at the marina and play all day.” Just the three of them, away from the stress of home. She smiled a little at the memory.
“Good memories, huh?” Sawyer’s focus was on her face, interested. And she liked the feeling. “Do you water-ski?”
“I haven’t in a long time. Do you?”
He tapped his chest. “King of the waves. Until Brady decides to make a sharp U-turn and dump me in the brink.”
“That’s mean.”
“No, that’s fun. The trick is to pay close attention so he can’t lose me and, of course, to maneuver with my mad skills and precision—” He laughed to lessen the brag. “Challenge is the Buchanon way.”
“I see what you mean. It sounds like fun.” And she’d not allowed herself much fun in a long time. Oh, she went out with friends, had dinner and saw movies, but the outdoors had been her love as a kid. “You and your family spend a lot of time together? All of you?”
“Lots of time. We’re our favorite people.” His gaze slid over her. “I imagine you were good. At water-skiing, I mean.”
“As a matter of fact, I was. Light and quick.” She twitched an eyebrow and crossed her arms in a teasing challenge. “I think I could handle Brady’s devious moves.”
“I think you could, too.” He grinned, his eyes all happy dancing. “Next time Brady takes the boat out, you should come with us. Two masters competing with the boat-rocking Brady.”
The invitation was like ice water. What was she doing? Flirting with a client? With the kind of man she couldn’t afford to like? And during an investigation, of all the inappropriate times.
She dropped her friendly stance and stiffened. “I think we should concentrate on the investigation. Which of these homes is next on our list?”
He didn’t say anything for a moment, but a tiny pucker appeared between his onyx eyebrows. After a long, thoughtful pause, he pointed to a pretty cream-colored brick. “That one.”
They walked toward the house in silence. She was annoyed with herself. She was here to pry into his life, not let him pry into hers. At least she’d learned some useful information during the conversation. Nothing earth shattering but his family was close, he adored his brothers and he liked to fish and ski. He was an outdoors person. Like her.
She shut that line of thinking off so fast, she got a headache. Knowing more about him was a means to an end and part of her job. Nothing personal. Nothing personal at all.
Much later, when they’d made the rounds of the Huckleberry Addition, Sawyer drove them back toward town. The private investigator intrigued him. One minute, when they’d discussed fishing and he’d done his best to be his usual enchanting self, she’d actually smiled. A second later, she’d bristled like a feral tomcat.
She didn’t want to like him. He’d figured out that much, but he didn’t know why. He wasn’t the bad guy here.
He opened the pickup door for her and helped her up into the high cab. She didn’t like that either, but his mama had raised him with manners, especially around ladies. Most women ate it up like a hot fudge sundae. Jade looked as if she wanted to throat punch him.
As he drove, he answered questions all the way. She was the most inquisitive woman he’d ever encountered. But every time he’d tried to ask about her, she’d shut him down.
The sun had moved to high overhead and his belly reminded him of the long gone popcorn and doughnut. He aimed the truck down First Street and pulled in front
