Twilight at Blueberry Barrens (Sunset Cove #3)(21)

Danny’s face reddened. “Tarnation, Kate, you know better than that.” He shook his huge, sausage-like finger at her. “You stay out of this from now on. Every time I turn around you’re sticking your nose into things and assuming you know more than me.”

He leaned forward in his chair. “I don’t want anything to happen to you. This is my job, not yours, though I’m beginning to think I need to retire with all these deaths happening on my watch. Maybe I’m getting too old for this job.”

Kate’s throat tightened. “You’re right, Danny. I’m sorry. I thought maybe she’d talk to me since I’m Paul’s niece, but she was downright hateful.”

He sank back into his chair with a huff, then eyed her face. “We already have a viable suspect in Whitney Peece’s homicide. A witness saw her old boyfriend outside the bar, and we picked him up. He hasn’t confessed to raping and murdering her, but he has a history of violent behavior. We’ll keep investigating.”

“What a relief.” She and every other woman in town had been tense since Whitney’s body had been found.

She straightened as a familiar set of shoulders walked by outside. Hands in the pockets of his khaki shorts, Drake strolled by with a little girl on each side of him. She rose and headed for the door. “Thanks, Danny. I’ll let you know if I hear from Uncle Paul.” She rushed down the beige hallway and stepped outside into the bright sunshine. “Drake!”

He turned at the sound of his name and squinted in the late-afternoon sun shining into his eyes. “I was about to call you.”

Her stomach clenched at his tone. She didn’t get the job.

She hadn’t admitted to herself how much she was depending on it until she realized it wasn’t being offered. She could always wait tables for the summer, and at least he was renting the house, which would help her bank account.

She lifted a smile his direction, and a dazzling grin bounced back to her. Good grief, she was acting like a high school girl around a football jock. His strong, tanned legs stretched out from his shorts, and his biceps flexed when he pulled his hands from his pockets. It was all she could do to drag her stare away from his muscles and focus on the girls.

She squatted in front of Phoebe as Claire came out of the sheriff’s office to join her. “What have you been doing today?”

“We saw whales! Uncle Drake took us out on a boat. One jumped out of the water.”

“One of my favorite things to do.” She glanced at Emma and saw her sidling closer to her uncle. “Did you see any calves?”

Emma nodded. “Two. They stayed close to their moms. Then we watched Uncle Drake go flyboarding. He was up in the sky!”

She held back a wince at the mental image. He needed to grow up and remember his responsibilities to the girls. They both seemed friendly enough, probably because they knew Drake wasn’t going to hire her.

She rose. “Good to see you guys. I’d better let you get on with your day.”

He frowned. “I think we’d better discuss your salary and hours. You have time?”

She blinked and realized her mouth was hanging open. “Um, sure.”

A sparkle of amusement lurked in his dark eyes. “You thought I wasn’t hiring you.” He turned and pointed to a park on the other side of the building. “You girls can play while I talk with Miss Kate.”

Kate glanced past his shoulder at Claire, who waved and mouthed that she’d see her later.

Phoebe set off toward the playground. “Ooh, a teeter-totter.”

He waited until Emma followed her, then led Kate to a park bench. “Have a seat.”

She expelled a hard and fast breath as she settled on the edge of the wooden slats. “I did think you weren’t going to hire me. I was a little bold with the girls. I’m sorry about that.” The apology sounded grudging to her ears, and she added a quick smile.

“Aunt Dixie set me straight. She said I was undoing all the good discipline the girls had gotten from their parents. I’m not totally convinced she’s right, but we’ll give it a try. Just remember they’ve lost both their parents.”

“Of course.” Maybe she had been too harsh. She’d taken their iPads without thinking. “They’re very sweet, and I think we’ll get along just fine. What do you have in mind?”

He looked out to where the girls were laughing as they bounced up and down on the teeter-totter. “There’s something you should know before you agree to take the job.” His head swiveled back toward her. “I believe their parents were murdered. I’ll need you to keep the girls safe while I do some digging.”

“Until last night I didn’t realize they were dead.” She exhaled and leaned against the back of the bench. “You’ve never said how you happened to have the girls. I just thought they were out of the country.”

“Law enforcement believes my brother murdered his wife, then killed himself, but I don’t believe it. My brother was a defense attorney. He had some threats related to a high-profile case before they died, but he was never one to back down.”

Drake gave a vigorous shake of his head. “My brother loved his family. He would never do something so heinous. And my house was broken into after they died. I’ve been tailed. It could be about one of my drone designs, but it might be more than that. My attorney is checking out any companies who might have wanted to steal my designs, but my gut tells me everything is tied to Heath’s death.”