Page 92 of Fortune's Control
“Do you think he took her?”
“Wilson Skane, or our suspect?” Shane’s features tightened as he looked past my shoulder. “It’s possible, or maybe one of us left the door open and she wandered off. A stray escapee makes sense.”
“Past tense. She was a stray. Now, she’s a spoiled princess pirate who adores her life of leisure.”
He frowned at me. “I am aware. Let’s look outside.”
I turned on my phone’s flashlight, stepped outside, and flicked it right back off. Between the outside lights and the lit-up house, the new moon didn’t stand a chance.
“You start in the woodshop, and I’ll check on the porch. It’ll go quicker if we split up.”
Shane gripped my arm to prevent me from moving. “You can’t be alone.”
That was in public. “There’s no one here.” I was safe here. I refused to believe otherwise.
“You just asked if someone took her, Lilah. You know that’s a possibility. I am not letting you wander over several acres by yourself, alone, and in the dark. It will not happen. You stay right next to me, where I can see you.”
I wanted to argue, but knew it would slow us down, and Shane reveled in giving orders. “We’ll start on the porch and work our way around.”
*****
“Lainey?”
She hugged me. “Aiden called. Have you found her?”
My tiny bit of joy at her appearance disappeared. “She’s still missing.” The four men gathered together on the porch steps to discuss a search plan. “It’s sweet that everyone showed up after Shane called for help. He deserves friends like this.”
“You think we came to help Shane?” Lainey drew back, concern showing on her features. She leaned against the railing and lowered her voice. “Aiden called me and never once mentioned Shane. He said everyone was coming to help you and guessed I’d want to do the same.”
I blinked. “Oh.” I came to Fortune’s Creek believing one person in the world cared about me, a second who kind of did, and with a vague hope of finding another. My grandmother may never be found, but people who cared still surrounded me—a fortune in Fortune’s Creek. I wanted to giggle. “Let’s join them.”
“Lilah, stay here at the house. Both of you,” Shane said after we arrived.
I crossed my arms and prepared for a battle. “She’ll come to me more than anyone else here. If anyone should look for her, it’s me.”
“The house is lit up so all of us can see you, and I’d prefer you stay with Lainey,” he insisted.
“She’ll help me search under bushes.”
Shane’s jaw tightened at my pushback. “Lainey, you’ll stay here with Lilah. Keep your phones close so we can call with updates.”
Lainey shrank back in discomfort.
I wasn’t finished. “That’s ridiculous, Shane. You can’t give orders to everyone all the time.”
Dean stepped in. “If experience is a guide, then Pirate will run away if one of us finds her first, probably back towards the house. She’s also more likely to run toward you than any of us. We’ll whistle or call if she’s found, and your presence would help.” His lips twisted as he played mediator withsuch a long spiel.
“There. It’s decided,” Shane said.
I wanted to argue on principle, if nothing else, but Dean had a point. Pirate was my cat, and as much as she enjoyed Shane’s company, she bonded with me more. “We’ll stay here. Call if she appears,” I said, dragging the words out.
Each man, with a phone in one hand and a flashlight in the other, left in a different direction.
“He’s in love with you,” Lainey said once we were alone.
I rubbed my arms to stay warm, despite the humid late May night. Anxiety over Pirate warred with the thread of hope her statement planted in me. “Do you think so? He’s never said it.”
“Are you kidding?” Lainey leaned back on the railing and pulled out her messy bun. “I think he’s obsessed with you.”
