Page 11 of The Jade Stone Sleuth

She was relieved it was only her, Lincoln, and Brex for dinner tonight. Her parents had a dinner at the church. Her other siblings were either living out of the valley for work or school or had their own homes and she hadn’t felt the need to invite them. Like Linc with cookies, she wanted her fair share, and then some, of the fascinating Brex. Did he think she was a loser being thirty years old and not having her own home?

Her focus throughout high school, college, and adulthood had been her mission trips and raising money for supplies for the schools and orphanages they supported in various countries. Living expenses were set up in the foundation, but she didn’t use much of the money transferred into her account, only for rent money her parents didn’t want, material to make clothes forherself, toiletries or shoes for herself, or presents for family and friends on holidays. She was trying to save for a home.

“‘Hey … I had some help’,” Linc sang at the top of his lungs as he flipped a piece of chicken high in the air. The chicken missed the grill completely and splatted on the concrete patio.

“Linc.” Clara shook her head and laughed.

He whirled around with that irresistible grin. All of her siblings were a mix of their parents’ heritage. Linc had inherited their dad’s red hair and height but their mom’s brown eyes and caramel-colored skin. He had a unique and handsome look, but it was his fabulous attitude and humor that made him special in her mind.

“Baxter was hungry,” Linc said with a wink.

Their dog Baxter, a spunky Border Collie, gobbled the chicken then ran off, doing laps around the yard.

The doorbell rang. Clara dodged in front of her brother. “You focus on flipping the chicken onto the grill, not the ground, or you won’t get any.”

“Ah, sis. You know how hungry your boy always is.”

“Then stop wasting the chicken on Baxter.”

“Dissing on our dog now?” He shook his head, wagging a finger at her, but he turned back to the grill, already singing along to his song before she’d made it halfway through the main living area.

She slowed her pace as she reached the entryway. Looking through the sidelight, she was rewarded with a glimpse of Brex. Tall, dark, and handsome didn’t do enough to describe his mesmerizing brown eyes, manly and sculpted face, and ultra-tough body.

Pulling in a quick breath, she wished she’d thought to check her makeup, but Brex had met her hiking with no makeup and her hair in a ponytail and seemed interested. The little bit of mascara, eyeliner, and lip gloss she wore didn’t change her faceto model-perfect. Did Brex usually date models, actresses, or influencers? She was afraid to find out what his type was but knew she’d be asking Melody to do a deep-dive social media investigation on her new friend.

She yanked the door open wide.

“Hey,” she said. He looked just as good in a dusty blue Henley that matched his eyes and gray golf shorts as he had in workout clothes this morning. She made most of her own clothing and knew material. It was easy to recognize that Brex’s clothing was high-quality and expensive. He wore it well. Could such a classy, upscale guy—what her twin brothers Talon and Wade would call a ‘swanky pretty boy’—fit in her valley or with her? There was an obvious wide gulch between their social and economic standings.

“Hey.” He handed over a spring bouquet of flowers. Their hands brushed, and his gaze trailed over her face. “You look incredible.”

“Thank you.” With understated makeup taught to her by her younger sister Melody who was a social media expert, her dark hair in long curls, and a floral sundress that showed off her shoulders and legs, she felt attractive. His compliment and that look surpassed ‘attractive’. She felt like she sparkled.

Brex bent and softly kissed her cheek. He smelled delicious, like a mixture of musk and clean linen out of the wash. His lips made tingles erupt from her cheek and throughout her body. She felt like she was in a movie where the dashing and charming hero with movie star looks brings the simple farm girl flowers and kisses her on the cheek. She loved it, but it felt far from reality.

He stepped back, and she clung to her flowers, swaying from the impact of that simple kiss.

“Did you just kiss me?” she asked, breathless and increasingly disoriented.

“Only on the cheek. My mother taught me to bring a gift to the hostess and a kiss of hello.” He smirked and arched an eyebrow. “Should I have made the hello kiss on the lips instead of the cheek?”

“I think I’m going to pass out.” She fanned her face with her free hand. His lips on her cheek made her head spin. What would his lips on hers do? She was unprepared for such deliciousness. “Water. We need water.”

He directed her through the entryway and toward the living area, wrapping his arm around her waist. She felt even more faint and leaned into him. The contact of her arm pushing against his abdomen added to the disconcerting euphoria.

They reached the kitchen, and he glanced around for a glass. “You need water … so you don’t pass out from a kiss on the cheek?”

“No.” She grinned up at him. “For the flowers.”

He chuckled. “You got me.”

She stared up into his brown eyes, trying to remember to keep her distance. She couldn’t risk another boyfriend dying. Brex’s foot slipping on the edge of the cliff this morning had brought back all those awful memories.

Distance from Brex felt impossible at the moment.

“Sis!” Lincoln called out in a singsong voice. “I need a platter, or all the chicken will be burned and I’ll have to give it to Bax-ter.”

She laughed and pulled away from Brex. “Coming.” Turning, she grabbed a small platter and hurried out the open sliding glass door. Brex followed.

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