Once she built the greenhouse, she could use a corner to experiment with coffee growing. Could she do something hydroponically?
“You figure out how to grow coffee beans in New England yet?”
Sam’s voice startled her out of her thoughts.
“I don’t know enough about the process yet. Do you know if the beans work in hydroponic gardens?”
Sam laughed. “I’m not awake enough for that question. Got your keys?”
“Keys?”
That brought a bit of fire to his eyes. “For the lodge. To lock it up when you’re not in it. Basic security protocol, Tansy. I can’t believe you’ve been leaving it unlocked this whole time.”
Obviously, she wasn’t awake enough either, or she wouldn’t have walked into that one.
Instead of answering, she turned to the front hall, hoping she’d dropped the keys in the little bowl she kept on the table.
When she found them, she made a show of holding them up for him to see. He snagged them out of her hand. “I’ll get duplicates made when we head into town.”
“We probably have enough food for another day or two.”
“But we don’t have coffee.”
“Poor baby.”
Sam growled and headed out the door. He waited for her to exit, then locked up. “Tell me you don’t have a regular run. Tell me you switch it up daily and aren’t predictable.”
His grumpy orders made her laugh. “I don’t have a regular run and I switch it up daily. It’s easier now that the snow is mostly melted, but I remember all the lessons you guys drilled into me.”
As FBI agents, Joe and her foster brothers had gone from over-protective to wacky in their desire to keep her safe.
She didn’t need a psych degree to understand they were all dealing with their losses in their own way. While Nico Rivera, who had several psych degrees, had been the one living with his parents, he knew all their stories, felt all their losses.
These men were a tight group, even when they were spread around the country doing their own things.
“Lead the way. End up at your fort. I want to check it out.”
Tansy stopped in mid-stretch to look at him. “My fort?”
Sam stared at her blandly. “Your fort. Your projects and your experiments. They’re not in the lodge, the sawmill is too close to the road, and the garage doesn’t feel right. You’ve got a fort somewhere.”
Tansy laughed. “There are a dozen cabins on the property.”
“Let me guess, your fort is in the one that’s got the best hiding spot.”
Still laughing, Tansy started off on their run. It was nice to have someone know you so well. Someone who knew your quirks and didn’t think you were looney because of them.
She’d show him just about anything. But she’d start with the fort.
Sam followed Tansy as she ran through the bush. She obviously knew where she was going, but she didn’t follow any defined trail.
Which meant she hadn’t been fibbing. She hadn’t been running the same route every day.
Unpredictability was the key to not being followed.
He didn’t know if Asshole Ex was trying to find her or if he was the type to hide behind the computer and whine.
Either way, Sam would figure it out and then he’d take care of the problem.