Chapter Ten
“Well, well, what have we here?”
Skye froze as she clutched the roll of aluminum foil against her chest. Ten more rolls were on the floor next to her feet, the evidence of her crime overwhelming. “Kade?”
His gaze roamed over Tristan’s classic Mustang, which she was wrapping in foil. “Should I call the police, Sheriff?”
Okay, that was amusement in his voice. That was good. “I thought you were back at the base.”
“Just home for the night to spend a little time with my brothers and Everly since I’m shipping out tomorrow afternoon.”
“It’s three in the morning. Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” Not standing here in their garage.
“Don’t sleep much. Thought I heard something and came to investigate. What’s with the foil?”
No use denying what was in front of his eyes. “It’s supposed to look like a spaceship.”
“Skylar, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but that does not look like a spaceship. However, I have an idea.” He rubbed his hands together. “Okay, let’s get this done before we get caught.”
She grinned at her new coconspirator. “All righty then.”
“Just be careful to not scratch the paint,” Kade said. “We do that, and the police chief won’t hesitate to put us behind bars and throw away the key.”
“If he doesn’t shoot me first.”
He laughed. “Yeah, but this time it would be both of us.”
There was no doubt the car was meant to look like a flying saucer when they finished. Kade had scrounged up a large glass bowl that now sat on the roof. They’d put Everly’s bicycle helmet inside it, so that it appeared to be a little spaceman peering out. Using pieces of wood wrapped in foil, he’d made the wheels look like stabilizers, as if the flying saucer had landed. All she’d planned to do was wrap the car, but this was so much better. She took some photos with her phone.
“Why did we wrap Tristan’s prized possession?” Kade said when they finished and were admiring the results.
“Payback. He gave me a pastry filled with mayo.”
“That’s funny, but why would he do that?”
“I kind of made him think spiders were crawling on his neck.”
He laughed. “That would do it. He hates spiders. How’d you get in? We keep the garage door locked.”
“Picked the lock?”
“What a talented little thing you are. He probably won’t discover this until the weekend. Wish I was going to be around to see his face when he does.”
She wished she could be, too. The Mustang was Tristan’s day-off car. The rest of the time, he drove a city-issued SUV.
“Parker and Everly will see it in the morning when he takes her to school. I’ll tell them not to spill the beans. Hopefully, Everly can keep a secret.”
“You know, it might be funny if she asks him why there’s a spaceship in the garage.”
“True. I won’t say anything to her then. Just let it play out, whichever way it goes.”
“If he sees it in the morning when you’re around, you better let me know what he said. Guess I should go before we really do get caught.”
He smiled as he opened his arms. “Give me a hug, fishing buddy.”
She didn’t hesitate to go to him. Kade’s hugs were like hugging her brother, except her brother wasn’t putting his life on the line every time he left on whatever mission the Army was sending him on. She hugged Kade tight as she sent up a prayer that he’d come home safely to his family.
The funny thing about their relationship was that they really were just friends and fishing buddies. Neither Tristan nor Parker had the patience for the sport. She thought the reason Kade did was because it was the polar opposite of his Army life and the secret missions he went on. “I couldn’t care less if I catch a fish. I feel at peace on the lake,” he’d once told her.