He lifted a hand to brush her cheek with his thumb. “Ifigured you’d tell me if you wanted me to know.”
“But you already did.”
He removed his touch and shook his head. “One of the guys mentioned it was a shooting. That’s all I know.”
“Oh.”
Again, she wasn’t sure how she felt. Was it out of respect that he hadn’t dug deeper? Or did he just not care?
“You want to talk about what just happened? It might help,” she said, but already knew the answer by the way his expression had closed.
“No,” he muttered, moving past her to his room, where he shucked his shirt and pants to pull on the clean clothes he’d dug out of his closet. “Look, I’m sorry, but it’s getting late. I need to head into work.”
“Oh,” she said again, sounding like a broken record. “I thought we had the morning.”
Which was selfish of her, but she’d hoped he’d be around when she worked on her assessments. The first half would be easy. Summarizing the second half, not so much.
“Sorry,” he said, shoving his feet into socks then boots, before walking over to her. “I kind of left the garage in a hurry last night, so I have things to take care of that I’m responsible for.”
Although she knew they needed to talk—heneeded to talk—she decided to give him some time to come to that conclusion on his own.
She nodded. “No worries.”
He lifted a finger and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “I know you have assessments to work on and it will dredge up yesterday,” he said. “If you need me, text me.”
Warmth washed away the chill that had settled in her chest. “Thanks.”
His concern righted her world a little. But despite hisrelaxed posture, he still seemed a little off.
She ran a hand up his chest. “Are you okay?”
Smiling, he caught her hand and brushed her fingers with his lips. “Yes. I’m all right.” He released her hand, kissed her forehead, then stepped back. “I’ll talk to you later. Lock up when you go.”
He patted Loki on the head and then walked out, leaving her alone in his cottage.
That man was a damn sight far from all right.
She quickly slipped on her thong and sandals, grabbed her purse, and rushed out the door, being sure to lock it as instructed. A quick trip to her house to feed her dog while she changed took only a few minutes. Then she was out the door with Loki on a leash, while she walked the streets, hoping to catch sight of the old Jeep that she’d spotted in Sinjin’s driveway when he’d talked to his dad.
She shivered when she recalled the cold shoulder he’d given the poor guy.
God, he didn’t know how lucky he was to have a father who cared about him.
After nearly an hour of checking out the nearby parking lots of all the cafés and restaurants within walking distance, her persistence paid off. She found the man walking from Rose’s Diner toward his Jeep.
“Excuse me, Mr. Acothley,” she said, closing the last few feet to catch him as he was about to open his door.
He glanced at her then recognition hit. “You were with my son.”
She nodded. “Yes, hi, I’m Isla Watts.” She held out her hand and Loki took that as a sign it was okay to sniff the man’s jeans. “Sorry, he’s still a pup. I’m trying to train him. Your son is helping me with that.”
After shaking her hand, he bent down to give Loki’s neck atwo-handed rub before standing. “Is that right?”
“Yes. He’s been a big help.” In lots of ways, and she worked to keep her stupid face from flushing. “He’s a good friend. That’s why I found his treatment of you to be out of character.”
The man fell silent, gazing unseeingly over her shoulder.
She shifted slightly to block his view. “Can you tell me what happened?”
