“I found that, I can find more,” he assured her. “If her money’s coming from one or more of the tabloids, I’ll find the proof. It’s just going to take a little more time.”
Which meant even more billing hours, she thought with a slight wince. She had managed to put some money into savings after paying off her student loans, but it wouldn’t take long before that was gone if this investigation continued much longer.
“Maybe I should come back to Nashville, follow Cathy around myself, for a while,” she mused aloud. “Maybe I can figure out what’s going on with her.”
“And get yourself slapped with a harassment suit? A restraining order, maybe? Remember, I’m a pro at this. I know how to follow her without her ever suspecting a thing. Give me a few more days, and I’ll have everything you need.”
He kept saying that, and she kept feeling like an idiot for believing him. But what other choice did she have? And besides, he had found an interesting lead about Cathy.
“Okay,” she said with a sigh, mentally conceding that she was no private investigator. She’d probably be worse at that than Casey was at maintenance, she thought with a grimace. “I’ll give you another five hundred dollars. But that’s all, until I see more valuable results.”
“Make it a thousand, as an advance against the final payment. I’ll need a little extra for an assistant.”
She swallowed hard and then nodded. “I’ll get my checkbook,” she said, turning toward the bedroom.
“Nice place,” he called after her. “It’s not so bad to have a vacation in a cozy mountain cabin while I take care of business back home for you, is it?”
“I’m not accustomed to anyone taking care of my business for me,” she said as she rejoined him.
“That’s what I do,” he replied with a shrug. “So I’d advise you to enjoy your time here, do a little shopping, some sightseeing, take in a show. If there’s any evidence to be found to clear your name, I’ll find it.”
“If?” she repeated with a frown, reluctantly handing him the check.
“If it exists, I’ll find it,” he repeated, and something about the way he looked at her as he tucked the check in his pocket made her blood pressure rise.
She didn’t like the implication that there might be no evidence because she wasn’t as innocent as she claimed. But if that were true, why on earth would she waste all this money hiring him to find that evidence? she asked herself in exasperation. More likely, he was just giving himself an out in case he failed.
And if that happened…well, she supposed she’d better be coming up with a Plan B, just in case.
Casey parked in front of Natalie’s cabin just as the front door opened and a man walked out. He glanced at his watch, noting that it was before noon. Who was this guy, and why was he here this early in the day?He reminded himself that it was none of his business who was visiting Natalie or why. But that didn’t stop him from glaring at the guy as he strolled past the truck and climbed into a dark sedan.
Cop, Casey thought immediately. Or ex-cop. There was just something about the walk that he recognized. Was he a friend of Natalie’s? More than a friend? Someone working for her? Or someone interrogating her?
There were too many possibilities for him to guess the answer. So he could either ask her outright or maybe she’d volunteer the information to satisfy his curiosity. Since she hadn’t told him much of anything about herself thus far, he didn’t have a great deal of hope for the latter. He’d given her the perfect opportunity to open up to him when he’d told her yesterday he was an attorney. She could have admitted then that she was also trained in the law. She hadn’t. Instead, she’d drawn into herself and sent him on his way.
He was beginning to wonder if he would ever really know Natalie Lofton. He wasn’t sure why he seemed so determined to try.
She must have seen him drive up when she’d let the other guy out. She waited on the porch for him. “Good morning,” she said. “Where’s Kyle?”
“He’ll be here later. He had some other things to do first.”
“Oh. Is there anything I can do to help you?”
“I’m just going to start taking down the deck railing, since we’re putting up all new railing with built-in benches once the hot tub’s installed.”
“I’ll get my gloves,” she said, turning away from him. “I feel like doing some demolition today.”
Apparently she wasn’t going to even mention the guy who’d just left, Casey thought broodingly. And even though he reminded himself again that it was none of his business, it rankled him. Maybe he was still more sensitive about secrets and sneaking around than he had realized after the way his relationship with Tamara had ended.
If so, he needed to keep in mind that he and Natalie had no ties between them, nothing more than a holiday flirtation. She owed him no explanations, no confidences. So it made no sense that her silence hurt him.
And yet…it did.
The hot tub was installed by mid-afternoon on Saturday. Working side by side, Casey and Kyle had made great headway on the deck improvements. It helped that Kyle had brought a pneumatic hammer for this job, Casey thought, driving a nail into a redwood board with a loud pop of compressed air.The tub looked good tucked into one corner of the deck. He’d been concerned that it would overpower the simple decor, but it fit right in, the blue liner encased in a redwood frame and accessed by two steps. He could imagine himself sitting in that bubbling spa—with Natalie, of course—sipping wine and admiring the view.
Speaking of Natalie…
He glanced toward the cabin doors. She’d been holed up in there all day, barely even looking out to check on the progress of the work on the deck. Buddy had been in there with her most of the time, coming out only to relieve himself and spend a few minutes being petted before heading back inside. Almost as if the dog thought Natalie needed him in there.