Page 6 of The Jade Stone Sleuth

“The welcoming committee will make you some of her fabulous chocolate chip cookies to welcome you to the valley.” Her heart raced. She wanted to tell him she’d make him dinneror take him to dinner at one of the three sit-down restaurants in town.

“Are these cookies really worth spilling all my secrets?”

“The winner of the Fourth of July bake-off four years running.” She gave him a serious stare, holding in her laughter. There was no bake-off on the Fourth of July. On Jade Valley Days in September they had a bake-off but her friend Ginger who owned the bakery in town always won. Ginger had shared her chocolate chip cookie recipe with Clara because her family couldn’t always afford to buy them, and Clara’s were almost as good as Ginger’s.

“I see. That is a very convincing credential for a one-woman welcoming committee, Ms. Gem.”

“I’ll tell my Granny Pearl. She’ll be thrilled to bring you those cookies.”

He chuckled. “I’m sure Granny Pearl is delightful.”

“She is.”

“Like her granddaughter.” His radiant smile sucked the oxygen from her lungs. He tilted his head up the trail. “Would you like to hike together?”

“You were already coming back down,” she pointed out.

“I don’t think it will overexert me to get a few extra steps in.” He shook his wrist and glanced at his expensive watch again. Was he short on time?

She looked over his impressive build. “I don’t imagine it would.”

“You lead the way.” He gestured.

She stepped in front of him and followed the well-worn trail through the red rock. The unique and beautiful cacti were abundant on the valley floor, but only a few were present through the smooth rocks here.

“Are you going to answer my question?” she asked, glancing back over her shoulder. The sun was almost cresting themountain, and he got better-looking each time she stared at him. Being from southern California could explain why his tan was so perfect, but with his manicured hair and Vuori exercise clothing, it was hard to believe he hadn’t stepped straight out of Hollywood. Maybe he was an actor.

“Why I’m staying in Jade Valley?”

“That’s the one. The first one, at least.”

“Grilled by a local,” he teased. “This morning couldn’t get any better.”

She turned to tease him as the sun peeked over the mountain and backlit him. His tantalizing face and body were as brilliant as the sun’s light.

He smiled, his dark eyes glinting mischievously at her obvious perusal.

She forced herself to look forward and watch the trail.

“I’m here to train the local police force.”

So, not an actor. “On what?”

“Whatever the chief requests. The list for the next few weeks is hand-to-hand combat, tracking, international terrorism, deep-dive research, and hostage negotiation. I’ll work with them and shadow them on their daily routines.”

She stopped walking and spun to face him. He almost plowed her over. Wrapping his hands around her waist, he murmured, “Whoa. Warn me next time you spin to show off that beautiful face, will you?”

Her eyes widened. He was a smooth talker. He was an enticement, and she couldn’t tell whether it was a good or bad enticement at this point. She was consciously shoving her pledge to not date seriously to the back of her mind. She didn’t want to let her guard down too fast and be tugged in by his slick tongue, but she was far too drawn to him.

“I’ll try to remember to warn you,” she said. “How do you know how to train police on all those things?”

He smiled, but it was more closed off than he’d been so far. “I worked for the San Diego Police Department for thirteen years, the last eight as a detective.”

“I’m impressed.”

He smiled, nodded slightly, and released his grip on her, shaking his wrist and glancing at his watch.

Clara took that as her signal to turn. She forced her energized-by-knowing-he-was-watching legs up the trail. Brex was classy, impressive, and more fun to banter with than anyone she’d known, but she had to somehow hold onto her promise to not date anyone seriously. Unless …

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