Page 56 of Wind Valley

“You’re supposed to tell us if it’s your birthday.”

“Excuse me?” Why would she think it was his birthday? He’d given her his ID when he’d checked in.

“We give our guests a discount on their birthdays, but you’re supposed to tell us. We can’t go checking everyone’s birth date. Bad boy.” She gave him a playful rap on the knuckles. “You’re forgiven, birthday boy. Now go have fun.”

He was totally lost, and it must have shown on his face.

She patted his hand. “Your brother showed up with balloons and a big ol’ cake.”

Alarm bells started going off like Easter Sunday church bells. “Really? He’s here right now?” He searched his memory for the description Maura had given Gil. “Big guy, lots of muscles?”

“That’s the one. Setting up as we speak. Sure hope it wasn’t supposed to be a surprise. Just in case, do you mind acting surprised?”

But he was already sprinting across the lobby toward the stairs. Goddamn it, things were much too casual around here in the wintertime when it came to checking IDs and so forth.

There was a man here. Possibly in their room, or waiting near the room, and Maura might already be face to face with him and…

He hurtled up the stairs, his footsteps sounding hollow on the steel utility stairs, then nearly collided with Maura as she came trotting down them. “Lachlan,” she said in surprise. “What’s the matter?”

“Have you been to the room?” His heart felt as if it might crash right out of his chest onto the stairs.

“No, I got halfway down the hall, then realized that I forgot the card key. Do you have it?”

Relief made him so light-headed that he grabbed the hand rail. “The clerk said there’s a man here who says he’s my brother.”

She went pale, her eyes dark against her skin. “SS?”

“No idea. I’m going to go check. Stay here.”

“No.” She grabbed at him. “Let’s just go. I don’t want him hurting you.”

“Why would he hurt me? He doesn’t know me. The most he’ll do is ask me questions, if he even gets the chance. But I don’t plan to give that to him.”

Maura stepped down so she was only one step above him, which put their eyes on the same level. Her expression was so deadly serious it gave him chills. “Lachlan. I beg you. Let’s just go. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to you because of me. Did you book another night?”

“No. I didn’t get that far.”

“Then let’s go. We have the important stuff with us. Everything else, we can leave behind.”

“All your clothes are in there.” She’d brought a packed suitcase in case she couldn’t go back to Firelight Ridge.

“It’s just clothes. I don’t care.” She grabbed onto his hand and tugged him down the stairs, nearly making him stumble. “Luckily, you parked the car around the corner, out of sight of the room. He might be watching for us.”

He didn’t argue any more. If she felt this strongly about it, he wasn’t going to fight her.

Once they were in Sam’s Camry, he felt around in the glove box.

Bingo. Just as he’d suspected, Sam kept a pair of binoculars in the car. Birdwatcher for the win. “Let’s see if we can get a better look at this guy.”

“I don’t want him to see me.”

“Stay out of sight, I’ll take a look.”

While Maura snuggled under a coat to stay out of sight, he drove through the parking lot, as if headed for the exit, then paused at the stop sign. There, he twisted around and put the binoculars to his face, happy to see they were high-powered and crystal clear. He focused on their room, third from the right. Sure enough, someone was inside, though he couldn’t see his face. A man, tall and robust, with the physique of a linebacker. Big guy, lots of muscles.

“Does SS play football?”

“He played in high school, until he tore his ACL. He got a few concussions along the way too. Apparently he hated wearing his helmet.”

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