Page 22 of Take Me Slowly: part 2
"I suppose it couldn't hurt," I said after a couple of moments. "But don't we need to get DNA from Gavin?"
"That'll be the hard bit," Connor said. "Maybe you can talk to my sister or Fiona? See if one of them will talk to him."
"You think it's a good idea to involve more people in this?" I looked from him to Riley and back again.
"Those two won't tell anyone," Connor said. "It shouldn't go any further than that. We don't need to feed the town's fucking grapevine. They'll figure out something weird is up soon enough." He didn't seem happy about that, but there wasn't much we could do when it came to small town gossip.
"I'll talk to Fiona over lunch," I said. "She seems to have a way of getting him to open up." This whole thing is going to be a delicate operation. If it was for nothing, it could be even more damaging to him than the past was. Digging up old skeletons never ended well.
"Speaking of lunch, we should grab some and get back to work," Connor said. "We have to get the skis and snowboards ready for when the snow is heavier."
Riley rubbed his hands together. "I can't fucking wait. The best time of year ever." His smile faded. "I guess you can't… Ski?" He looked like he was worried he'd stuck his foot in his mouth, complete with a huge snow boot. Maybe even a ski.
"I can sit in a sled," I said. "And I can make a mean snowman. Don't even get me started on my snowball throwing arm." I raised it and pretended to warm up for a big swing.
Okay, I wasn't that good at throwing snowballs, but I wasn't going to dampen his enthusiasm for the height of winter. That was when their business brought the most customers up toAurora Hollow. For seven days a week, they'd be busy teaching people to ski and snowboard, and getting them around the slopes. From what I gathered, there was a ski lift belonging to Aurora Lodge. I hadn't seen it when I was up there, but I had other things on my mind at the time. I was looking forward to riding on it, and enjoying the view as well as the activities. And any moment I got to spend with them in their busiest season.
He brightened up again. "Now I really can't wait. If you see me moving funny, I'm doing a snow dance." He swayed in his chair.
"Stop that." Connor grimaced at him. "People are going to think you're weird."
"They don't already?" I teased.
"Weirder," Connor conceded.
"Sorry, I'm all out of fucks," Riley said, his eyes half closed.
"I'm starting to think he's the one we should throw off the lookout," Connor grumbled. "Come on, dickhead, we have work to do." He stood and brushed his lips over mine before heading to the pub’s small kitchen to get something to eat.
10
LEAH
"I swear,I forget how cold it gets." Fiona laughed and slipped out of her coat. She draped it over the back of a chair and sat, rubbing her reddened hands together. "Why does something so pretty have to be so cold? Snow, I mean."
I joined in her laughter. "I figured that was what you meant. I don't know. I guess if it wasn't so cold, it would be raining."
She wrinkled her nose. "Right, rain is much worse than cold. So, how have you been?"
I let out a long breath and told her about Brooks turning up in town. I didn't mention him watching me. That would definitely be heading into TMI territory.
"Did he bring any friends with him?" She gave me a sly smile.
"Not that I know of, but if he did I'll be sure to give them your number," I said. Although, she could do better than any of his friends.
"You're so sweet." She patted my hand. "You look like something else is on your mind." She looked expectantly at me, her mouth pulled over to one side.
"You could say that," I said. "We should order—" I was interrupted by Connor placing plates in front of us. Each with a burger and a side of fries.
"Compliments of the owner," he said in a grunt. Before either of us could say thank you, he disappeared into the back of the pub.
"There's advantages to knowing the boss." Fiona picked up a fry and popped it into her mouth. "Mmm, so good."
"Connor said something about them having a new cook, so we might be guinea pigs." That didn't stop me from picking up my burger and taking a bite. I decided she was right, it was good. Juicy and tender without being greasy.
"If this is what we get as an experiment, sign me up," she said happily. "So, you were saying?" Clearly she wasn't letting me off that easy.
"This is going to sound wild," I warned her.
