Page 74 of Billionaire Lumberjack's Bargain

No one should have been anywhere near the lake, and everyone in James Creek knows that. They also understand that all they need to do isaskand we would give them permission to fish or swim there anytime they wanted, which immediately tells me more than Pops has so far.

“Strangers?”

He nods. “Definitely not locals. They were already there when we arrived and seemed surprised to see us.”

They probably thought no one would be out there this late in the day, which is a pretty good assumption, since the fish are usually biting early in the morning or at dusk, not at the height of the afternoon.

“What were they doing?”

“Looked like they were taking some sort of samples from the water.”

“Shit.” I shove a hand through my hair, clutching the ends of the strands as I start to pace. “Do you think they’re connected to that Gallo guy?”

Pops leans back against the counter and crosses his arms over his chest, chewing on the inside of his cheek. “Probably.”

That’s it?

Someone threatens the mountain.

Invades the land.

And he acts like he isn’t worried in the least.

“You still haven’t told me this brilliant plan to ensure they don’t come after the mountain. It’s been months since Gallo cornered me. If you’re working on something, I should know, Pops.”

He scowls at me and drums his fingers on the counter behind him. “We surprised them, and they headed back off into the woods. There was no way I was going to catch them on foot. Even you probably couldn’t have.”

And he dodged my question again.

After our conversation that day on the porch, I thought Pops would open up more about what he’s been up to and why he seems so confident that we don’tneedto worry about any threats.

Yet, the old man has remained suspiciously silent on that super-important topic. He has avoided my questions over and over. And while I’d love to rail at him right now about that, there are more urgent issues to address.

He scrubs a palm across his stubbled cheek. “There’s no way they hiked up here from town.”

I nod my agreement. “It’s too far. I’m going to go out and see what I can find. Maybe they left something behind.”

He reaches out and grabs my arm before I can move away. “Dalton, you can’t.”

“Why the hell not?”

Pops shoves off the counter, invading my personal space and lowering his voice. “Because when I left here, you could barelywalk,and you were in fuckingagony. Not to mention, we don’t know who they are, what they want, or why they might be up here.”

“You want them roaming around the land? What’s stopping them from coming over here and showing up unannounced with less-than-pure intentions? I’mokay,and I’mgoing.”

“Wait until tomorrow.”

I grit my jaw.

“They’re long gone by now, Dalton. Anything that’s there tonight will be there tomorrow.”

He has a point.

It isn’t supposed to rain tonight, so any prints or other evidence of their presence should remain intact until I can get there at sunrise.

“Fine, but I’m going to radio the sheriff.”

Pops bobs his head in agreement. “We need to, but I don’t want to scare Camille.”

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