LITMIR.BIZ

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to stay, but he said nothing.

      Before anyone could say anything, she hurried to the kitchen, deposited her food and paper plate in the trash. The door opened behind her, but she didn’t turn as she dumped the ice in her cup down the sink.

      “I wish you’d stay,” Inga said, sorrow thickening in her voice.

      Randi closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry to rush, but I have lots of notes to go over and people to call before the trail goes cold.” She pasted a smile on her face as she turned to face her mother. “Thanks again for dinner.”

      The sadness from Inga’s voice crept into her eyes, her mother’s heart knowing work wasn’t the reason Randi was departing so quickly. Inga sighed then went to the refrigerator and pulled out a large plate. “I know how much you love my cheesecake, so I want you to take a slice with you.”

      “You don’t have to do that.”

      “I insist. I have plenty.”

      Randi watched as her mother placed the generous slab of cheesecake on a plastic saucer with a plastic fork and covered it with cling wrap. She filled a small disposable foam cup with strawberry topping. Randi’s mouth watered at the remembered rich, creamy texture of the dessert.

      Inga handed the cup and saucer to Randi and kissed her cheek. “Call me before you go home. Maybe we can have lunch.”

      Randi fought tears and nodded. “Okay.” She headed for the front door before she lost her composure. She hadn’t been this shaken in a long time. She was halfway to the street, Thor on her heels, when Eric caught up with her.

      “Go on back and enjoy yourself,” she said.

      “I’ll take you to your hotel first.” He sounded sad and sorry he’d forced the situation on her.

      She stopped walking but didn’t look at him. She didn’t want him to see the tears threatening. “I’ll walk. It’s a nice evening.”

      “You’re sure?”

      “Yeah.” Without making eye contact, she lifted onto her toes to give his cheek a quick peck. “Thanks for trying.” She headed for the sidewalk that led back to Sea Oat Road.

      She’d gone half a mile when she reached the first public beach access. She took the boardwalk over the dunes and headed for the compacted part of the shoreline where the edge of the waves wet the sand. She kicked off her mules and carried them in one hand as she let the feel of the sand beneath her toes comfort her.

      She focused on the sound of the surf and the fresh feel of the breeze and imagined them both carrying her worries away. She remembered that from one of the dozens of self-help books she’d read when the nightmares and bouts of crying after the accident had finally worn her down to where she could barely function.

      A therapist was probably what she’d needed, but Miranda Leann Cooke had enough of her father and older brothers in her to avoid a shrink and convince herself she could handle it on her own. For the most part, she’d done okay. For now, that would have to suffice.

      As the sun dipped below the horizon and the first dim stars twinkled, Randi wondered if her walk on the beach had been the right choice. Couples soaking in the romance of the scene lined the shore, nuzzling on blankets or walking hand in hand. Other than a couple of joggers, she was the only solo stroller.

      Not only could she not find comfort in family, the latest man in her life had decided that her job kept her away too much and had moved on to someone else. Pete hadn’t been her great love, but the loneliness still got to her during weak moments. And reinforced the fact that if she cared about someone, they always let her down.

      Twenty-nine and unattached. It wasn’t as if her biological clock was ticking—she wasn’t even sure she had one. Still, it would be nice to have someone to share life’s ups and downs with, someone with whom to stroll on the beach, go on a dolphin-sightseeing cruise, someone to jog with in the mornings. Someone who wouldn’t abandon her.

      Again, Zac’s face popped into her mind, only adding to her foul mood. Romance with Zac Parker was a long-gone possibility.

      She stopped and watched a pelican glide through the air before nosediving into the water. Thor nuzzled her hand and looked up at her. “Not that you’re not a wonderful companion,” she said to him. “It’s just not the same.”

      Randi sat down and let the edge of the cool water tickle her toes each time the waves rolled in. She thought of her brothers. Will, married and the father of a two-year-old son. Josh, married. Karl, engaged. When Eric finally paired up, she’d be the only one left alone. Why did she suddenly feel as if a dark, hungry chasm was growing inside her heart?

      Normally she stayed too busy to be lonely, but being back here, seeing her family—not to mention Zac—brought that buried loneliness to the surface where it stung and ached.

      The breeze brought the sound of giggles. She turned to see a young couple kissing and laughing a few yards up the beach.

      She wondered what that would be like—to be that carefree, that happy, that in love. She’d been that girl once, before she’d dared to follow in her brothers’ footsteps, before she’d gone into that fire, before Zac Parker had sided with the Cooke men against her despite how close they had grown. She’d been that girl once, but no more.

      

      A WARM SUMMER Saturday night, and the joint was hopping. Just the way Zac liked it, especially after the day he’d had. Keeping busy was key to not focusing on his latest encounter with someone looking to make him an arson suspect—or the fact that person was Randi. What the hell was it with his karma?

      He handed three beers to a customer and turned to the next only to find Randi Cooke standing there. His jaw muscles tensed.

      She held up a hand. “I just want a bottle of water. And do you have an empty bowl?”

      “An empty bowl?”

      “So I can give Thor half the water.”

      Zac looked across the packed bar but didn’t see the dog.

      “Don’t worry. He’s on the beach.”

      Zac fished a bottle of water out of the cooler and handed it to her along with one of the disposable peanut bowls.

      In return, she handed him three dollars, said thanks and walked toward the front corner of the bar. He watched as she poured part of the water into the bowl then stepped down into the sand and walked a short distance. She bent out of sight before standing back where he could see her.

      After the way he’d wronged her, the only reason she could be here was the investigation. It certainly wasn’t to reconnect, no matter how much he’d once wanted that.

      “Hey, can I get a cosmo?” A girl wearing a tiny, lime-green bikini top stood at the bar.

      An influx of new customers and those seeking seconds…and thirds…kept him busy, but his eyes continued wandering back to where Randi had taken a seat and appeared to be eating. The Beach Bum’s menu included only beverages and peanuts, so she’d brought it with her. Sometimes she caught him looking, other times she was either eyeing the crowd or staring toward the whitecaps of the waves against the much darker expanse of water. What was she up to?

      Fifteen minutes passed, then thirty. Finally, he broke. “Be back in a minute,” he said to Suz, the other bartender. He wove his way through the laughter, but it didn’t penetrate his sour mood. What rolled inside him was more like a potent mixture of anger, frustration and a dash of the desire to flee. She had yet to accuse him of anything, but he couldn’t banish the feeling that it was only a matter of time. She was, after all, a Cooke. And she’d probably relish some payback against him.

      Not for the first time, he wondered if he should’ve left Horizon Beach after he’d been cleared of the arson charges two years before. But he liked the little town and didn’t want to look like a coward. And he’d savored the idea of the Cookes

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