Page 15 of Wild Justice

His stepfather had made it to sixty-two before being sidelined into partial retirement. The man was still pissed off about it, too. He actively fought against any sort of leisure and thought that Kai was wasting his life. Kai, on the other hand, had decided that he’d rather be like his Grandpa Mitch than his stepfather James. James was a good guy, but Kai wasn’t sure he had the best priorities in life.

That’s why he was leaving his house at five-thirty in the morning, while the temperature outside could still be described as “fucking cold”. He’d bundled up, but not too much, because he would heat up along his route that took him by Harper Lake. He should hit it just about the time of sunrise, and he’d often simply stand there and take it all in, awed by Mother Nature and all her glory.

It was something he’d never had the time to do in Los Angeles - bathe in the morning sunlight as those first few rays peeked over the horizon.

He’d started out slow at first, building speed as he warmed up. He was listening to his favorite playlist as his running shoes pounded the pavement and then gravel as he traveled farther from the house. He’d worked up a good sweat when he made it to the lake. He paused to watch as the sun slowly rose in the clear sky.

It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. He had plans to talk to Lulu Reilly again, but he was already working on the article in his head. He’d been skeptical, frankly, of her taking over for her father - a nepotism hire at its finest.

After spending some time with her, however, he’d decided to keep his mind more open. She was inexperienced, that was true, but she seemed to have a way with people. The town was always talking about how Presley Reilly was charming and engaging, but Lulu also seemed to have inherited that gene, too.

As long as nothing difficult was thrown at her for a while, she just might be able to pull it off.

Now that the sun was up, he could see out of the corner of his eye two more people also running near the lake. As they grew closer, he recognized Lulu and her friend Henry. They’d had dinner together with Chase Reilly at the sports bar last night.

Kai couldn’t help but wonder if Henry was a romantic partner. They didn’t appear to be lovey-dovey, but that didn’t mean they weren’t in private. He didn’t get the…vibe. Henry didn’t look at Lulu like a man who was in love with her should. She didn’t act like she was in love either. Yet, they always seemed to be together, and rumor had it, that Henry was staying in the apartment above the sheriff’s station with Lulu. Was it some weird sort of friends with benefits? And why did he even care? He had better things to be thinking about than the love life of Lulu Reilly.

“Sheriff,” Kai said when they stopped to say hello. He took out his earbuds and tucked them in his pocket. “Henry. Beautiful morning, isn’t it?”

“It’s supposed to warm up later today,” Lulu said with a smile. Her hands were on her knees as she caught her breath from the run. “And it is beautiful. I think mornings are my favorite time of day.”

Henry hadn’t said anything at all, wandering toward the banks of the lake, completely ignoring Kai as if he didn’t exist.

“Was it something I said?” Kai joked. “I don’t think your friend likes me very much.”

“Sorry,” Lulu said. “Let me apologize for him. He sometimes just kind of goes off by himself into another world. I swear he has his reasons, and they’re good ones. Once he realizes that he’s being rude, he’ll apologize. Believe me, it’s nothing personal. He’s sometimes just a little…different.”

From what Kai knew about Lulu, she would be the type to have some “different” friends. He’d heard all the stories, of course, everyone had. He wasn’t sure that all of them were true, however. Some sounded too wild and crazy to be real, and some of the others just sounded like a spirited teenage girl testing her boundaries.

In a big way. But with her daddy as a famous lawman? It made complete and total sense. She’d had some big shoes to rebel against practically from birth. He should understand, too. Hadn’t he rebelled against what his mother and stepfather expected of him? He certainly wasn’t sitting in his plush office right now.

“It’s fine,” Kai replied. “I was just kidding anyway. There’s nothing wrong with being a little different.”

“He’s a lot different.”

“That’s okay, too.”

“What are you doing out here so early? Do you come to watch the sunrise a lot?” Lulu asked.

“I run three or four days a week. I always try to time it so I’m here to watch the sunrise over the lake. I know it probably sounds cheesy, but it’s a nice way to start the day.”

“I’m sorry that I missed it. Henry and I run a few times a week as well. It’s good exercise, and I like to be outdoors.”

She and Henry ran together. Once again, Kai wondered what was up with these two, and then once again he reminded himself that he didn’t care. It was simply the reporter in him that made him nosey.

“I was hoping we could talk again today or maybe tomorrow,” Kai suggested. “I have a few more questions to round out the article. Maybe I could follow you out again to a call.”

“Sure, but I can’t promise that anything will be exciting. It might be boring just like yesterday.”

“That’s fine. It’s really you I want to learn more about. I mean, I think the whole town wants to know more about you.”

“I’m guessing the town thinks they know everything there is to know.”

She might be right, but he didn’t get a chance to reply. Henry jogged up to them, his skin a pasty-greenish shade.

“Lulu, you need to see this. You need to call it in.”

“Okay, what do I need to see? What’s going on?”

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