Page 45 of Built of Illusions

It was the people and the place.

He wasn’t having to live up to expectations. Some of these people had known him since he was a kid. Others had become close friends. He didn’t have to put on the mask along with the suit.

Not for any of them, and especially not for Josie. They’d known each other through work for years, but hadn’t spent any other time together until Christmas here at Midnight Lake.

He’d started to fall for her when she agreed to come with them to help his friend, only days before the holiday. He knew she was kind and caring. Bright and bold at times, soft and vulnerable when she thought no one was looking.

Even now, he could see the yearning in her as she watched the group interactions. Bella and Mitch spent half of their time at the lodge and the rest in their apartment above Phail’s new firehall. Flynn and Tessa, Aisling and Graham, Tansy and Sam all lived full time at the lodge.

Their friends from Phail completed the group. A family. In some ways a family of outcasts and oddballs, but a real family.

He stood in the doorway and watched the interactions in the room. Josie fit right in. Her demeanour was as relaxed as it had ever been.

The exterior door behind him opened and Nico turned to find Joe Cheveyo walking in. His oldest and best friend. They hugged a greeting and Joe grinned. “Would have been nice if somebody had waited for me at the sawmill.”

Nico laughed. “Poor baby. Had to walk the two miles on your own. You like being on your own, remember?”

Joe grinned. “Absolutely.”

Sam popped into the hall and hugged Joe as well. “Thought I heard your voice. Did you spot anything?”

More people crowded into the hallway and Joe held up his hands. “I know you’re all glad to see me, but let me at least have some coffee.”

Tansy broke through the crowd to hug her brother. “I’ve got a mug of apple cider tea with your name on it. And Aisling picked up cinnamon rolls from the No Fail Diner just for you.”

Joe sighed dramatically as he squeezed his sister. “I guess that’ll do. Why don’t we all go sit and I’ll tell you all about it.”

When everyone moved into the main room, Josie stayed beside Nico. She frowned at him. “What’s going on? Is this to do with us?”

He nodded. “I didn’t tell you before because I didn’t want you trying to spot Joe. It’s almost impossible not to peek. He was checking to see if anyone was following us.” Or watching Josie. But he wasn’t going to add that part.

She chewed her lip and he wished he hadn’t had to bring reality back to her. “Okay.”

When she turned to follow the others, he took her hand and squeezed it. She gave him a small smile and squeezed back.

The living room had another pair of couches and a few more chairs, all grouped in a large semi-circle in front of the window overlooking the lake. The room was big enough that they weren’t sitting on top of each other, but small enough that it was still cozy.

The dogs moved from person to person as they moved back into the room. Jetson, always the most attuned to the emotions of his humans, licked Josie’s other hand and then followed her to an empty couch and sat beside her. The dog nudged her hand until she petted him and then smiled with his tongue lolling out to the side.

Nico sat beside her on the couch and everyone talked about the snow until Tansy and Sam returned with mugs and cinnamon rolls for everyone.

When the group was seated, Joe sipped his tea, then looked at Josie. “Sorry for not letting you in on the whole plan. Unless you’ve had training and practice it’s nearly impossible not to look for a partner trying to stay hidden. We didn’t want to risk anyone realizing I was tailing you.”

She nodded but didn’t smile.

Joe continued. “The big boss got me onto the flight in a back seat and then I slipped out first in a steward’s uniform so I could watch everyone getting off. Throughout the flight, I didn’t spot anyone giving either or you any special attention. No one tried to collect your luggage from above. No one tried to run into you or bump into you to plant a device.”

Beside him, Josie stiffened. Apparently she hadn’t thought of that option.

Joe kept going. “I followed you into the airports. Unlike you, most passengers had checked luggage so they moved to baggage claim. Twelve people from your flight had the same connection at O’Hare. None of them have a record and none of them match the profile of our guy. None of them sat near you or watched you at O’Hare.”

Jetson whined and Josie loosened her hand to pat him again. When her other fist clenched in her lap, Nico put his over it.

“Same thing on the second flight. No undue attention. I followed the same procedure in Burlington. Again most passengers went straight to baggage claim. A few moved to bathrooms or the food section. A handful followed you out the door with their bags. No one watched you or even turned their heads when you jumped in the cab. The ones who took cabs were an elderly couple, a single mom with two kids and a trio of women returning from a group holiday.”

He sipped some more. “No one followed you into the hotel and the desk didn’t receive any inquires about you. This morning, there was no one watching when Sam picked you up.”

All good news. Except for the fact that Josie had gone from relaxed to tense enough to fly apart. And not in the ways he’d watched her fly apart in his arms.

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