Page 15 of Seek and Cherish

Luckily, I stuck my lock picking kit in a pocket of my cargo shorts before I left the house this morning. There’s no good reason to go treasure hunting if I haven’t got a way to open a locked chest.

I creep up to Bigfoot’s front door and get to work. It’s been a few years since I’ve picked a lock. Dear old dad taught me how during the year I lived with him, when Mom sent me out to Vegas to get me away from Dell and Maya.

Dad taught me all the tricks of his trade, and my sisters can never know. I’ve heard the way they talk about our father. They hate him for being a con artist and think he’s irredeemable.

I’m sure they’ll find out someday, but before they do, I want to experience what life could be like with all of us as one loving family. I need to find out what it was like to be part of that group I watched from the outside when they were teenagers and I was the baby sister.

The door unlocks with a click and a familiar shot of adrenaline courses through me. I let myself inside, ignoring the pang of guilt that says I shouldn’t snoop. This guy has been running around the forest for months, letting everyone believe he’s Bigfoot. I need to know what I’m getting into by, hopefully, teaming up with him.

“If you wanted to see me naked again, all you had to do was ask.”

I jump about a foot into the air and let out the most embarrassing scream. Idiot.

Why didn’t I think he might actually be home and awake?

Hand to my chest, I take in the small, but tidy living room as I turn slowly to see Bigfoot seated at a small dining table next to a large and modern kitchen. In the bright light of his kitchen, I can make out the dark roots of his purple hair. He needs a touch-up, or he’s letting the color grow out.

A sign he’s hiding from something? Or a vacation style change?

Barley’s hooves click on the linoleum as he hurries over to say hello.

“Shit.” I have definitely lost my touch. “I wanted to surprise you.”

He smirks. “You thought I was still in bed and you wanted to catch me au naturel. I get it. You aren’t the first.”

I roll my eyes. “Please. I can see a man naked whenever I want. I don’t have to break and enter to do it.”

He narrows his eyes. “Then why did you break in? Information? Money?”

Damn it. He’s got me painted into a corner. I doubt he’ll buy I was bored.

The easiest way out of this is to flirt and let him think I’m sneaking in to cook him a surprise dinner for two, but I can’t have him getting any romantic ideas about me.

“You said you needed time to think.” Thank the goddess for my ability to think on my feet. “I wanted to find leverage in case you decided a wife for Barley isn’t enough.”

I kneel and pat Barley’s sweet head.

“Barley and I discussed your offer, and he’s on board. I was too until you broke into my home. If we’re going to do this, you need to stay out of my house and out of my private life.”

I’m too eager for him to do the same to argue. “I don’t need to know why you choose to run around in the woods dressed in a Bigfoot costume. I don’t yuck other people’s yums.”

“It’s not a sex thing. Not that there’s anything wrong with those sorts of sex things. But that’s not what it’s about for me.”

I shrug. “I honestly couldn’t care less. I just want to get started.” That’s a lie. I want to know everything about this man, starting with how those biceps his t-shirt is hugging feel. Fortunately, I’m stronger than my primal urges.

“I haven’t even agreed to help you and you want me to just drop everything and start today?”

I flutter my lashes. “It’s my day off.”

He frowns, his eyes pinching at the corners. “If I’m going to help, you need to knock that off. I hate that manipulative shit.”

I open my mouth to persuade him I’m not trying to be manipulative - it’s a knee jerk reaction.

He holds up a hand. “Don’t tell me that’s not what you’re doing. I’ve dealt with people who want something from me and think they can play me to get it since I was a kid. Be real or the deal is off.”

The relief at not having to pretend is as overwhelming as it is frightening. How the hell can he see through me so easily? My own family can’t do that. “Fine. You in or you out?”

“Tell me the real reason you want my help. I’m not buying that you can’t read a map.”

---