“No, he didn’t.” She made a note. “What were you doing out there?”
“Night dive.” Sam even looked innocent as he lied.
Dot shook her head. “You two…” She didn’t bother finishing her sentence.
Penelope wholly agreed. She smiled sweetly at him. “You want to tell us both what happened?”
Sam winced and explained how he and Brandon had gone out to the island while they’d been at Dot’s birthday dinner. “They figured the police were finished with their investigation and wouldn’t go back and check it again.”
Dot sighed. “We wouldn’t have. We don’t have the time.”
“Haven’t major crimes got involved yet?” Sam asked.
“I can’t answer,” Dot replied. “Is there anything else you want to add to your statements?”
Penelope shook her head. It was getting late, and all she wanted was a long soak in a shower with Sam.
“I’m done,” Sam replied, getting to his feet. “Thank you for getting there so fast.”
“You can thank Penelope. She was the one who was worried and noticed you were in the wrong place.”
Sam pulled her up and kissed her. “Thank you for saving me twice.”
“You’re welcome.” She smiled, though her cheeks heated at his affection in front of Dot.
“Go home,” Dot said. “Call me if you think of anything else.” She walked them out of the station.
“Are you going home now?” Penelope asked her.
“Not yet. There’s more paperwork to do.” She ran a hand through her short black hair.
On a whim, Penelope hugged her. “Thank you for everything.”
Dot hugged her back briefly and shifted away. “Just doing my job.” She waved. “Stay out of trouble for a while.” Then she headed back inside.
“She’s an interesting woman,” Sam said as they walked over to his car.
Penelope nodded. One she wanted to get to know better.
It didn’t take long to get back to Sam’s place. Penelope followed him inside and placed her still damp backpack on the kitchen bench. She sighed. “I need to unpack everything and dry it properly.
Sam shook his head, placing himself between the bench and her. “What you need is a shower.”
The idea was tempting, but, “If I don’t dry it, some things will rust.”
“Fine, then I’ll dry it while you shower.”
“That’s ridiculous. You almost died. You need to relax.”
He just smirked at her. “I love the way you reason. You conquered your fear rescuing me. That takes strength and guts. You need to relax.”
She pulled a face, though couldn’t ignore the thrill at him using the ‘l’ word. “Fine. How about we both shower and then I’ll dry everything?”
He herded her out of the kitchen. “Now we’re on the same path, except I’ll help you when we’re done. That backpack helped on multiple occasions. It deserves to be treated with respect.”
She laughed then she slapped him on the bottom. “All right. Now hurry up and run me my shower.”
His bellowed laugh made her grin.
