“I’m trying.”
“You’re succeeding.”
And maybe Ramsey’s brand of goodness was exactly what Shiloh needed. Because I knew better than anyone that a kind, fixer heart could change everything.
“Crud.Where did I put my boots?” I rushed around the living room until Boden caught me around the waist.
He pulled me flush against him. “How about you call in sick and we stay here all day? No boots needed.”
I rolled my eyes. “Some of us work for a living.”
“Hey, I work.”
“I haven’t seen a lot of evidence of that recently.”
Boden chuckled and released me, tapping me on the butt. “Your boots are in the closet.”
I made a beeline for the main bedroom. We’d kept the gallery closed all of yesterday for the search, but we were going to open it for a few hours this morning before things resumed this afternoon. Hayes and the sheriff’s department were putting together new search grids, but so far, there was no sign of Marisa.
The thought had my stomach cramping. The temperatures had reached below freezing last night. All I could hope for was that she was at least somewhere warm.
I shook off the onslaught of images in my mind and pulled on my boots. “I’m ready.”
“Do you want to take the dogs or leave them here?”
I glanced at Peaches and Gizmo, all curled up on their dog bed. “Let’s leave them all cozy. We’ll be back by lunch.”
Boden bent to whisper in my ear as we headed for the door. “And what currency will you be paying me in for my assistant duties today?”
A pleasant shiver skated down my spine. “Sexual favors, of course. Maybe some Lucky Charms if you’re really good.”
“Combine the two, and I’ll combust on the spot.”
A laugh burst out of me as I hurried to Boden’s truck and climbed in before he could open my door. “I never knew you had such strange fetishes.”
He turned on the vehicle and immediately reached for the seat heater controls. “What can I say? I’m a weirdo at heart.”
“Weirdos are my favorite people.”
“Works out well for me then.”
“That it does.”
Boden pulled out and headed down the gravel road. He braked, reaching up for his gate fob, and then froze.
“What is it?” My gaze followed his to the gate. Something had been tossed over the metal. It took several moments for the image to register. Dark hair, masses of it. A too-still body. So much blood.
Only one word escaped my mouth. “Marisa.”
39
Boden
I muttereda curse and pulled Laiken into my chest. She didn’t need to see this. No one did, but this was her friend. Someone she’d spent such a formative portion of her life with.
With my free hand, I picked up my phone and hit Hayes’ contact. He answered on the second ring. “Everything okay?”
“We found Marisa.”