While Prentice’s strategy for Sawyer Enterprises was a good one, it meant we had a lot more moving parts to track down. While my siblings oversaw the real estate, Inn, brewery and guide business, Hope and I were still digging into the investments, seats on various boards, and all the other ways Prentice had his fingers in businesses across the country.
If I had to read another email or look at another quarterly report I thought I’d go blind. Once I had a handle on everything, I knew I’d love the challenge of tweaking and changing, searching for new investments to make our portfolio thrive. That was later. Right now, I had a mountain of paperwork and communications to put in order and the headache to go with it.
Hope squinted down at her plate. I was reading too much into her mood. She probably wasn’t mad at me. She probably had the same pounding headache I did.
“Tired?” I asked.
With a look of relief, she nodded. “My head is killing me.”
“Me too. I have a plan for that.”
Hope raised an eyebrow. I only smiled in answer.
Dinner finished, I caught Hope’s hand in mine and led her upstairs. Savannah, with brilliant foresight, had placed bath salts and scented candles beside the clawfoot tub. The tub was massive, and for once, I didn’t fault Prentice for his need to have everything bigger and better. The tub would fit both of us easily and it was exactly what I needed.
I started the hot water, lit the candles, and added the scented bath salts before I went looking for Hope. I found her at the window in the sitting room looking down into the courtyard below. When Hawk arrived, I was sure he’d whip the scraggly bushes and overgrown weeds into shape. For now, all I saw was neglect. I hoped it was only the sight of the abandoned property that had put that sad, strained look on Hope’s face.
Catching her hand with mine, I tugged, drawing her attention from the view outside. “Come on,” I said. “I promised you a bath.”
Pulling her hand from mine, she leaned closer to the window, squinting into the darkness outside. “Hold on,” she murmured, swatting at my questing hand.
“What?” I gave up trying to drag her away and joined her at the window.
“Did you see that?” Hope shifted, then backed up and crossed into the bedroom, looking out the window there. I glanced out of the sitting room window, saw nothing unusual, and followed her to the bedroom.
One hand pressed to the glass, Hope stared down into the courtyard. “I wish we had lights out there. I swear I saw someone.”
“Someone or something?” It was night, and we were deep in the woods. Who knew what was roaming around the estate in the dark? It could have been a deer, fox, even a bear. It had been years since anyone had sighted a mountain lion this close to civilization, but they were out there.
“I thought it was a person, but it’s dark. I guess it could have been a deer. Or just the shadows.”
“Do you see anything now?” I asked, stroking a hand down her hair.
Hope leaned into me, letting out a long sigh. “No. And my head is killing me. It was probably nothing.”
“Do you want me to go take a look?” I would if it would help her relax. I was ninety percent sure no one was out there skulking in the courtyard, but if Hope thought she’d seen something, I wouldn’t blow her off.
“No.” She turned, pressing her forehead into my neck, fatigue coming off her in waves. It had been a hell of a long day. She was exhausted, that was all.
I tried not to think about my father’s death. Whoever killed him hadn’t bothered skulking around in the night. His murderer had walked right in and shot him in broad daylight.
Was Hope jumpy because she was tired and stressed out, or was she worried about Prentice’s killer out there somewhere? This time he’d be aiming for one of us.
Now I was being jumpy. The house was locked up tight. Prentice was dead. If there was someone out there who meant us harm, I could keep Hope safer here, my weapon only feet away, than if I left her alone while I wandered around in the dark outside.
“Time for a bath.” Stopping to get my weapon from the bedside table and place it on the small bench by the tub, I led Hope into the bathroom.
Hope followed me in silence, standing behind the rapidly filling tub, her eyes wide and impenetrable. She let me pull the sweater over her head, unbutton her jeans, and slide them over her hips to pool around her ankles. She was still pushing them off her feet, reaching out to grab the side of the tub for balance when the last of my clothes hit the floor. I stepped into the tub and helped her inside with me, settling in with my back against the end of the tub and Hope in my arms.