A Promise Of Home (A Lake Howling Novel Book 1) (26 page)

“I don’t even like cats.”

Ethan rubbed her back, but didn’t reply, instead urging her back around the front to where Jake and Buster were examining the blood.

“Red food coloring and tomato sauce.” Buster held his pinky finger up to examine the red on the end of it. “Not blood, Branna.”

“Why is someone trying to scare me?” Now she wasn’t shaking and scared, she was angry.

“That I don’t know, but I’m sure as hell going to find out.” Jake’s words were a growl as he pulled out his phone. “Cubby, you need to get to Branna’s place now.” Pocketing it again, he said. “Get me the keys, Rosebud. Buster and I will take a quick look around the shed, just to make sure nothing else is off. You take the Texan inside with you; he can look around in there, and then he’ll need feeding.

Branna looked at Ethan, who shrugged.

“He’s right, I am hungry.”

Jake was so angry he could spit fire. Someone was trying to frighten Branna and doing a good job.

“What the hell’s going on, Jake? This is Howling, not downtown L.A.; this kind of crap doesn’t happen here,” Buster said.

Opening the shed, Jake entered with his friend on his heels. “It’s got to have something to do with this place, Buster, because she wasn’t here long enough to make enemies, and it’s unlikely someone this nasty would have held a grudge for ten years.”

“You think whoever’s doing this is trying to scare her out of the house?”

“Just a hunch, but it makes more sense than anything else I’ve thought up,” Jake added.

Buster whistled through his teeth, which was his answer for most things when he had no words.

They walked around the barn, but came up with nothing obviously out of place and no sign of forced entry. They were heading back to the house as Cubby pulled up in his cruiser.

“What’s happened now?”

Jake pointed to the cat’s tail and pool of fake blood as the sheriff approached. “Branna found this about thirty minutes ago. She’d been working inside with her headphones on for most of the day, so never heard anything.”

“This is just getting plain weird, Cubby, you got any answers?” Buster watched the sheriff go back to his vehicle and pull out his camera and a bag.

“Coming around to a few, and they’re not happy ones, I have to say, but the evidence is building.” He snapped the pictures and then bagged the tail.

Jake unwound the hose and sprayed the deck to get rid of the mess, so Branna didn’t have to see it when she came out the door again.

“So, you want to share these conclusions?” Jake said, when he’d put the hose away.

The sheriff gave him a steady look, which Jake ignored.

“She’s freaking out, Cubby. Branna came here to make a home, and someone’s trying to scare her away.” Running a hand through his hair, Jake sucked in a breath. “We need to stop this before whoever is doing it decides to push her harder.”

“I have to say, it’s nice to see you lively again, Jake, even for this reason.”

“He played ball today, Cub…the man is making strides, I’m telling you.”

Jake snorted. “Shut up, Buster, in case it slipped your mind, my girl is under attack here.”

Two sets of eyes swung to him.

“She’s your girl now, big boy?” Buster said.

“Fuck you both!” Snarling something else under his breath, he made for the house.

“Sorry, it was hard to resist,” Buster drew alongside him.

“It’s only because we care, Jakey boy,” Cubby added, sounding like his mother. “Seriously,” he added. “I know you want this thing sorted, and I’m onto something, Jake, but I need to do this by the book, because if I’m right, then it’s going to have repercussions.”

Jake stopped before entering the house to look at Cubby.

“Is she in danger?”

“That I don’t know, but I need to you to keep a real close eye on her now, Jake. Real close.”

“Do you think this all has to do with Branna now being the owner of this house, Cubby?”

“I believe so.”

“Ethan and I can help and we know others who can dig deep and find whatever you need about anyone,” Jake said.

Cubby thought about that for a couple of seconds. “That could be useful, because if it’s who I suspect, then we need to keep it real quiet until I can bring them in.”

Jake thought about the people he knew in Howling, and came up blank. None of them could do, to his mind, what had been done to Branna.

“Hell of a thing thinking it could be someone you swapped cookies with in school.” Buster’s thoughts were obviously running along the same lines as Jake’s.

They said nothing further and found Ethan in the small dining room. The Texan had his boots dangling over the edge of the table, chair balanced on two legs, and a large piece of cake in his hand.

“Comfortable?” Jake questioned, making his way past him and into the kitchen.

“Peachy.”

Branna was making coffee and cutting more cake, her movements quick and jerky, shoulders rigid.

“You doing okay?”

She turned with the plate in her hand, face carefully blank.

“Of course. You take this in, and I’ll bring the coffee.” Her words were clipped, eyes avoiding his, and Jake knew now wasn’t the time to get into this, so he took the plate and went back to the dining room.

They ate and talked, and Branna sat quietly and listened.

“I don’t want to scare you, Branna, but you can’t stay here alone anymore until I find who is responsible for this.”

Her eyes shot to Cubby.

“That’s not always easy, Cubby. Plus, I need to be here alone during the day to write.”

The sheriff gave her gentle smile. “During the day should be okay, I guess, but no headphones, and maybe take your laptop onto the porch and write somewhere you can be visual.”

“You can write in The Hoot,” Buster said. “And bake this cake for my customers while you’re there. What’s the recipe?”

“I’ve repeatedly asked you for Mystery Muffin recipes, and you haven’t come through, so forget it.”

“Is it called Mystery Cake?”

She managed a smile at Buster’s words. “Thanks for the offer of The Hoot, but I like to write alone with no distractions.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Jake said, and then swallowed a mouthful of coffee as she frowned at him. He knew she was independent, even understood that she’d been on her own for years looking after every aspect of her life, but that was no excuse for stupidity.

“I can take care of myself.”

“Sure you can, but I’m pretty sure you’ve never had someone threatening you like this before, so use that oversized brain of yours and understand that you need help until this is settled,” Jake said calmly.

She didn’t say anything, just got to her feet and began to collect up plates and cups, before stomping off to the kitchen.

“I’m out,” Ethan got to his feet with the speed of a man who had dealt with an emotional woman before.

“Me too,” Buster followed.

“I’ll be in touch,” Cubby patted Jake’s shoulder and closed the door behind them.

He found her washing cups and plates and making more noise than she needed to.

“Ready for that run now?”

“You go on; I need to get a few things done.”

“Not happening, Rosebud, so let’s go.”

She slapped a cup on the board before turning to face him. “Don’t tell me what to do.”

Jake saw she wasn’t about to be reasonable. In fact, he thought that the cat’s tail was about the last straw when you combined it with her father arriving and her house and garden being trashed.

“We going to have our first fight, sweet cheeks?”

“I don’t need you protecting me or looking out for me. I can do all that by myself, McBride.”

“Fine, you’re a big girl, got it. Now, let’s go.” Jake had a temper too, and knew why she was striking at it, but it still pissed him off.

“No.”

He picked her up, threw her over his shoulder and left the house. She hammered at his back and cursed in a thick Irish accent until he put her down at the end of the drive. She took a swing at him, which connected with his chest, so he grunted to make her feel better.

“Fuck you to hell and back, McBride.” Rage made her eyes bright, her fists were clenched and her breasts heaving under her singlet, and he wanted to strip her and bury himself inside her, right there on the side of the road.

“Yes, please.”

She raised her eyes to the sky, and when they lowered again, he saw they were calmer.

“Now run, you Irish wench.”

She did, and soon they had a steady rhythm going. No words, just his woman at his side and the countryside he loved around them. Jake let her set the pace as his mind went back to the cat’s tail. It was another tactic to scare Branna, and Jake kept circling back to the reason being that someone wanted her gone from Georgie’s property, but why?

“Someone wants to scare me into leaving the house, Jake.”

“That’s my thinking.”

“But why?”

“That I don’t know.”

“I love that house.”

“I know you do, and we’ll get to the bottom of this; I promise, sweetheart.”

She didn’t saying anything else, and both were breathing heavily as they arrived back at the place they’d started.

“Let’s swim.” Jake took off his shirt and bent to remove his running shoes and socks.

“I don’t swim.”

“What, never?”

“It’s not something I’ve ever enjoyed.”

“Can you swim?” Her hesitation was brief, but it was there.

“Badly, so I’ll see you back at the house.”

“I’ll look after you, Rosebud, now strip off and get in that water.”

She put her hands on her hips and glared at him.

“Will you stop throwing orders about; it’s getting tiresome.”

His answer was to grab her and haul her into his body. Heat radiated from them both, heat and sweat. He kissed her thoroughly and then ran his hands all over her until she was arching towards him. Releasing her seconds later, he dove into the water.

“Wh-what was that about?” she said when he’d surfaced.

“Come in here and find out.” He trod water, watching her. She was certainly easy on the eyes, especially in those running shorts.

“I’m not a teenager…that kind of talk doesn’t work with me.”

“Sure it does. You’re horny just like me; I can see it in your body.” He laughed as she looked at her nipples, which were hard and showing through her top.

“Teenagers get horny, big boy. Adults,” she tapped her chest, “which I happen to be, feel lust.”

“I’ve got lust, Rosebud, right between my legs, and if you’d don’t get in here soon, I’m coming after you.”

“Shouldn’t you be,” her hands flapped about before she bent to pull off her shoes. “Deflated from the cold.”

“Just a quick lesson from the
Men’s 101 Handbook
, sweetheart. We never want to hear the word deflated in relation to our most prized possession.”

Her giggle was a sweet sound. Jake then watched as she tucked her socks neatly inside her shoes, then to his surprise, she dropped her shorts, pulled off her top, and dove in. He had a flash of small white cotton panties and a sports bra in pale blue, then she hit the water with a loud splash, belly first. Surfacing, she spluttered and started flapping her arms around. She went under before he could reach her, but he hauled her up, and she threw her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist.

“You weren’t kidding about the swimming then?”

“Lust made me do it, now I want to get out, because I’m cold and no longer horny.”

“Teenagers get horny, not adults.”

“Take me back to the bank, Jake.”

“I got you.” He used his arms and legs to keep them afloat while she clung to him. “Try and relax.”

“What’s under us?”

“Water.”

“What else?”

“More water, then maybe some dirt and a lake monster or two. But the last time it ate anyone was back in 2000, so we’re sweet.”

“Funny guy.”

He felt her start to relax as he moved around slowly. He loved it here; no houses were visible, although a few were tucked up driveways like his. It was peaceful for the most part, and a reserve was situated further down the road, so he didn’t hear the noise when someone took their kids there to play. Not that he minded, he liked children, although until lately he’d never thought about having any of his own.

“This is nice now; I could almost fall asleep.”

“That’s because I’m doing all the work.”

“I have to go to the Book Club tomorrow night, Jake.”

“Ah, so you’re the one. The town’s been a hotbed of speculation, wondering who Georgie had selected.”

“Mrs. Heath dropped off the paperwork this morning.”

“Paperwork?”

“I can’t tell because all members are sworn to secrecy.”

“You’re not serious?”

“Totally, it’s written on the top of the first page. Supposedly, I have to take an envelope with me tomorrow night with the name inside of the person I choose to take my place when I retire from the Book Club or die.”

“Who you going to choose?” Jake asked.

“I can’t tell you that.”

Jake rolled his eyes. “The men of this town have been wondering about that group of women for ages. My mom’s part of it.”

“That makes me feel a bit better,” Branna said.

“She won’t spill, but you will and then I can share the knowledge with the men folk.”

“Told you, that’s not happening. Seems I have to take a Peach and Cornmeal upside down cake too, like Georgie always brings.” Branna wondered if she was even allowed to share that information with him.

“Do you have to read all those books with big words too?”

“Not so much,” Branna said. “In fact, the titles are not what I expected.”

They floated awhile, thinking about that.

“Now I’m going to give you your first lesson.”

“In what?” Branna looked at him.

“Staying afloat.”

“I’m not letting you go.”

“And while those words would normally be music to my ears, I need to know if you’re ever in the water again that you can stay on top of it.”

“Jake, I don’t need to learn to swim because I don’t go in the water.” She looked up at him, hair black as midnight and slicked back on her head, which meant he could study her delicate features. Her eyes seemed greener out here, cheekbones pronounced, lips pink. She had a face that anyone would love to photograph, but it was her mind he loved too. She was sharp and sassy, and didn’t take any crap from him.