Page 50 of Scorched Secrets

He nodded, reading between the lines. This was her dad and Claire’s place. Not hers. “I get it, with our schedules, it’s difficult to get time away.”

“Yes, exactly.” She looked relieved he didn’t press the issue.

“I assume you have a key to get in?” He pulled up to the garage door.

“There’s a key code.” She pushed out of the SUV and walked to the garage. A moment later, the door opened. The interior was clean and empty, looking as if it wasn’t used very often.

He was a little surprised Chief Kimble didn’t get up here more, but Faye’s comment about Claire not liking bugs made it sound like her dad would be here if he could. He pulled the SUV into the garage, then got out. He grabbed their shopping bags, while Faye entered a key code into the lock on the garage door.

It was reassuring to see two sets of locks. “Do you mind giving me the code?”

Glancing over her shoulder, she rattled off the four-digit number. Committing it to memory, he followed her inside, gazing at the spacious kitchen. It was beautifully done with granite counters and white cabinets. The stainless-steel appliances appeared to be brand new.

“Very nice,” he commented, carrying the shopping bags through the area.

“Yes, it’s no hardship to stay here.” Her tone was light, devoid of the earlier sarcasm. “The master bedroom is down here, but there are two others upstairs. We can take those if you like.”

“It may be better if you sleep in the master, and I take the sofa.” No way did he want to be trapped on the second floor in the event of a fire. Not that he expected the arsonist to show up here, but it was always better to be prepared.

“That’s fine. There’s a guest bathroom down here you can use. Obviously, there’s also one in the master suite.”

“That works perfect. I’ll put my clothes in the guest bathroom.” He rummaged inside to remove the items he’d purchased, then handed the shopping bag to her. “The rest are yours.”

“Thank you.” She slipped down the hall into the master suite.

He showered, shaved, and changed into fresh clothing. Feeling better, he went to the kitchen to rummage in the fridge. Not much in there other than a few bottles of water and an assortment of condiments. Turning his attention to the freezer, he found some frozen ground beef. He pulled it out, figuring he’d grill hamburgers for dinner.

Since Faye was still in the master suite, he poked around the rest of the property. The view of the lake was stunning, and there were many boats on the water. He noticed there was a speedboat suspended in a lift on the pier below. The boat was likely included in the rental property.

The area all around the house was clear of trees and brush. Made it more difficult for someone to sneak up on the place. He went outside to walk the perimeter. Motion sensor lights popped on as he walked by. Even better, he thought with satisfaction. The only safety feature they were missing were security cameras, but he’d take what he could get.

Curious, he walked all the way down to the lake. He had to admit, this was a nice setup. One thing for sure, if the Finnegans were renting this place for the summer, the property wouldn’t be sitting empty. There would be family members coming and going just about every week as their schedules allowed.

Turning from the stunning view, he headed back up the gentle slope to the house. He keyed in the code she’d provided to gain access through the main door. When he caught a glimpse of Faye, his heart thudded in his chest, and his mouth went dry. It took him a few minutes to force himself to step forward.

She was beautiful. Her dark hair appeared to be freshly washed and dried, left down in wavy strands to her shoulders. She wore a pair of formfitting ankle-length jeans that hugged her curves, along with a dark-blue T-shirt. The clothes might be casual, but to him, they only added to her attractiveness.

Get a grip, Finnegan, he silently warned. This is not a romantic weekend getaway.

The lake house made it difficult to remember they were hiding from the arsonist, staying off-grid until they could set their trap at the American Lodge.

“I—uh,” he stumbled over his words. “I pulled ground meat from the freezer. I don’t think your dad will mind if we grill burgers.”

“No, of course not.” Her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “He told me to come here any time and to help myself.”

“He did?” That surprised him, given the fact she hadn’t been here in two years.

She shrugged and turned away. “Claire didn’t like it, so I never took him up on his offer. But I highly doubt he’ll notice a missing package of frozen ground beef.”

“Okay.” He watched as she stared out at the lake for a long moment. “Faye, are you all right with this plan? If you don’t want to stay here, we can find someplace else to go.”

“That’s not necessary,” she hastened to reassure him. “Silly to have you spend money on another motel when we can stay here for free. I wish I’d thought of it sooner.”

He crossed over to stand beside her. “This is about your stepmother, isn’t it?”

She flushed. “It’s silly.”

“Not if it’s bothering you.”

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