Bikinis in Paradise (Tj Jensen Pardise Lake Mysteries) (6 page)

“Salmon sounds good,” Tj agreed. “I was thinking that
. . .”

“Thinking that?” Hunter prompted when Tj stopped speaking.

“Shhh. I heard something.”

“Like the house settling?” Hunter asked.

“No,” Tj whispered. “This was something else, and Echo is growling. Hang on.”

Tj felt bad that the last thing Hunter heard before she dropped the phone and lost the connection was her bloodcurdling scream
, followed by the shattering of the wineglass that had been sitting on the table next to her as it hit the wood floor.

Tj met Dylan the next morning on the deck of the Lakeside Bar and Grill. It was cold in the morning, but the staff had lit the heaters and built a fire in the large rock fire pit in the center of the outdoor area. The Tropical Tan people had ordered seasonal fruit, yogurt, egg-white omelets, and grilled salmon to be made available between seven and nine. In Tj’s opinion, the brunch was a total waste because the models never seemed to eat. Still, it was a beautiful sunny morning. Lack of even a breeze made the surface of the lake appear as smooth as a sheet of glass. A few families had started to gather on the beach, where a bandstand had been set up for the day’s events. The area surrounding the bandstand would be packed with spectators cheering on their favorite models within a few hours. Tj knew that the kind of crowd that tended to follow the girls was most times heavy drinkers, so she made a note to remind herself to check with Logan to ensure that they had plenty of rum on-site for the hundreds of frozen cocktails they were likely to sell that day.

“And then what happened?” Dylan laughed as Tj retold the story of what had happened the previous evening.

“I picked up a broom and shooed him out.”

It turned out that the late
-night intruder had been a raccoon that had crawled in through an open window. Tj normally wasn’t afraid of small animals, but she’d already freaked herself out with thoughts of a killer lurking in the shadows, so when the raccoon jumped out at her unexpectedly, she’d panicked. By the time she’d had the presence of mind to call Hunter back, he’d already called the sheriff’s office, and her good friend, Roy Fisher, had made a trip out to the resort for nothing.

“
When Roy showed up, everything was already under control.” Tj giggled. “I really am sorry I didn’t think to call Hunter back right away to clear things up. My main concern at the moment was to get our furry guest out of the door before the cats noticed him. Any way you deal that hand, it wasn’t going to turn out well.”

“I talked to Roy this morning. He said he almost had a heart attack when Hunter called in a panic. They both expected to find you dead on the floor
.”

“I think I owe Hunter big
-time for putting him through that. Roy too. At least you weren’t on duty, so you were spared the panic.”

“Yeah.” Dylan signed and leaned back. He took a sip of his coffee and stared out at the lake. Tj would give a week
’s pay to find out what he was thinking, but in the months she’d known Dylan, she’d learned it was better not to ask.

“It really is a beautiful morning,” Dylan commented as he p
oured his second cup of coffee, conveniently redirecting the conversation.

“It’s a shame you have to go to Reno. It looks like we’re in for a spectacular day. Hopefully the weather will hold. Are you excited that it’s finally time for your sister’s visit?”

“Honestly?” Dylan looked Tj in the eye. “I have mixed emotions. On one hand, I’m really excited to see Justin. I’ve missed him so much. And Allie too. It’s just that I know how important this visit is. If I can’t convince them to move here, I’ve pretty much made up my mind to go back to Chicago.” Dylan placed his hand over Tj’s. “I’ve built a life in Serenity that I love. I’ve met people I care for and are important to me. The thought of leaving fills me with sadness, but the idea of Justin growing up without me is unbearable.”

“I’m sure Allie is going to love Paradise Lake
.” Tj tried for a level of certainty she was far from feeling.

“Yeah, maybe.”

“The house looks fantastic. You spared no expense or effort in making both your sister and your nephew’s living space warm and inviting, and the property is right on the waterfront of one of the most beautiful lakes in the country; how could she not want to stay?”

Dylan had bought a dilapidated yet large house right on the lake and had spent the entire winter fixing it up. The house had six bedrooms and five bathrooms
, so there was plenty of room for his sister and nephew to move in with him and his dog Koda. It was a beautiful location, perched on the edge of an isolated cove. The beach, as all the others in the area, was considered public, but few sun seekers bothered to make the drive to this cove, which was situated a good distance from restaurants and public facilities.

“We both know that for Allie
, it’s more about security than comfort,” Dylan pointed out.

“I know
.” Tj felt tears start to form in the corners of her eyes as she stared into the flickering fire. “I suppose that arriving in the middle of a murder investigation isn’t exactly the situation you wanted to greet Allie with.”

“I
agree that the timing isn’t the best. Not that the timing of a murder investigation involving such a young woman is ever the best.”

“Maybe we can find the killer and wrap it up today.
Your sister might never even need to hear about it. It’s not like Allie knows people in town who might talk to her about it.”

“Trust me when I say I know what’s at stake here. But I can’t lie to Alli
e. She’ll find out about Tonya’s death. I think its best that I tell her right away so she doesn’t think I’m trying to hide things from her. I’m just hoping that she’ll fall in love with the place and look past the fact that Paradise Lake isn’t immune to tragedy.”

“Look at it this way,” Tj
said, trying for an optimism she was far from feeling. “You are making progress. It wasn’t that long ago that she didn’t want you to be part of Justin’s life under any circumstances. Now that you’ve opened the door to having a presence in his life, you just need to convince her that the life you share should be here. Piece of cake.”

Dylan smiled. “I really hope so.”

“I was thinking that we should plan a picnic on the beach next week. Dad and the girls will be home. It might be fun to introduce Justin to Ashley. Maybe she could show him around.”

Dylan hesitated. “I’ll have to let you know.”

“And based on what you’ve told me about your sister, I bet she’ll love Jenna. We could invite her and her family as well.”

“We’ll see. I really need to go. I’ll call you in a few days.” Dylan quickly
left, even though he still had a good half hour until he needed to leave for Reno. She watched him stop to chat with her grandfather, who continued on to the Grill after Dylan walked away.

Ben poured a cup of coffee
, then sat down across from Tj. “What was he in such a hurry about?”

“He’s on his way to Reno to pick up his sister,” Tj explained.

“Ah.”

“I get the feeling he’s pretty worried about how this visit will go.”

“Lot at stake, I guess,” Ben reasoned.

“The buffet is set up inside
, if you’re hungry.”

“I guess I could eat. I’ll make a plate in a few minutes after I have my coffee and bring it out
here. It’s really not too bad by the fire.”

“I heard we can expect afternoon temperatures in the midseventies all weekend,” Tj informed her grandfather.

“That should make the Tropical Tan people happy.”

“I didn’t
hear you come in last night. Late night with the guys?” Tj asked.

“Actually
, I was home early. I noticed Hunter’s car in the drive, so I came in the back so as not to disturb you,” Ben replied.

“It would have been fine to disturb us,” Tj informed him. “I called to see if I could worm some information out of
him concerning the medical examiner’s report. When he realized that I was home alone after such a harrowing experience, he offered to come by to keep me company. There wasn’t anything going on that couldn’t be interrupted.”

“There was a time you would have ranted for days if I’d walked in on your date with Hunter,” Ben reminded her.

“Perhaps,” Tj acknowledged. “But I’m no longer sixteen, and Hunter and I are no longer dating.”

“I realize that
. I guess I just continue to hope that the two of you will rectify that situation. You know he still cares about you.” Both Ben and Hunter’s grandfather, Jake, were campaigning for them to reunite and provide them with great-grandbabies.

“
He
broke up with
me
,” Tj reminded him.

“That was a long time ago. Things have changed. You’ve both changed.”

“I know,” Tj admitted. “I love Hunter. I’ve always loved Hunter. But things aren’t as simple as you and Jake want to make them.”

“Perhaps you’re right.” Ben placed his hand over Tj’s. “Any word on the missing model?”

“Not so far.”

“Normally
, I wouldn’t be overly concerned, since she seems to have left on her own terms, but after what happened to Tonya Overton . . .”

“Yeah, I’m worried too,” Tj
said. “I thought I’d go into town and show her photo around. If she’s still in the area, someone must have seen her.”

“She does look familiar,” Ben commented

“Her bio lists Serenity as her hometown,” Tj informed him. “She didn’t go through our school system or I’d know her, so I’m guessing she only moved to the area recently or was homeschooled.”

“More and more folks doing that these days.”

“I thought I’d show Jenna her photo. I need to go by the Antiquery to pick up the cookies she made for the snack bar. She sees a lot of people come through the restaurant.”

“Sounds like a good idea.
And as long as you’re at the Antiquery, maybe you can put one of the help-wanted flyers I worked up on the community bulletin board. The resort is almost booked solid for the summer, so I thought we might need to hire some extra help.”

“Dad said something about that before he left. I can put some ads out
to social media sites, if you want.”

“Guess you should wait
to talk to your dad about it when he gets back from Florida.”

“I hope the girls are having fun
at Disney World. I was thinking I’d call them when I’m done eating. They’ve only been gone one day and I already miss them so much.”

Ben stood up.
“Give them my love. I think I’ll skip the buffet and head over to make sure things are ready for the Tropical Tan staff. I guess they plan to tell the models about Tonya when they arrive. I figured I’d set something up in the activities room.”

Tj watched her grandfather walk away. She thought about what he’d said about Hunter. When
he had first broken up with her nearly seven years ago, she’d been hurt and hadn’t wanted to consider his offer of friendship. But as time passed and her wounds began to heal, she’d developed a relationship built on mutual respect and caring with the man she’d once believed she’d marry. In the past year, their friendship had grown into something more than just sharing a common history. Tj didn’t think either she or Hunter really understood the feelings that had grown between them. They’d talked about it, and both had agreed that they didn’t want to damage their friendship, so they’d decided it was best to continue things as they were. Tj knew that the people in her life whose opinion she valued were split as to where, if anywhere, her relationship with Hunter should progress. There were those, like Ben and Jake, who felt that the pair was meant to be together and should get back on track as a couple, and there were others, such as her dad and Jenna, who had witnessed how deeply Hunter had hurt her and felt it was best for Tj to move on to someone new.

Tj knew that Hunter’s decision to end things with her had
had more to do with pressure from his mother than his feelings toward her. Tj and Cora Lee had never really gotten along. Cora Lee had big aspirations for her only son, aspirations that did not include his being married to the tomboy daughter of a local resort owner. Cora Lee had wanted Hunter to go into politics. She dreamed of him leaving Serenity behind to work at some prestigious teaching hospital. She still yearned for him to marry into a family with important business and political ties. But, in the end, Hunter had grown up, and in so doing, he’d managed to break free from his mother’s influence to carve out his own path. Maybe now that Hunter had made it clear that he was staying in Serenity, there
could
be a future for them. And then again, maybe things of the past were best left in the past. Tj realized that her love wouldn’t be resolved in a day. She was debating the timing of her call to the East Coast to speak with her sisters when Amber walked up and nervously stood in front of her.

“Good morning
, Amber.”