Page 86 of Eyes Like a Hurricane

I slowly stand up, but instead of allowing me up, she hops onto my back. I reach around, placing my hands beneath her thighs, and give them a gentle squeeze. She giggles in my ear, and the sound is mesmerizing. Walking over to the large stumps surrounding the fire pit, I gently sit down, and she climbs off my back to come around and sit in my lap.

Her arms wrap around my neck, and I groan at the feel of her soft curves pressed against the hard planes of my chest.

“I missed you,” she whispers into my neck.

I rub her back and reply, “I missed you too, Hurricane. I still can’t believe you went into the clinic today. You do realize holidays are meant to be taken off?”

Her lips curve against the sensitive skin where my jaw meets my ear. “We weren’t officially open. We were doing a patriotic promotion. Everyone was in a good mood. Some pets were dressed in red, white, and blue collars. As a fun marketing tactic, every boy animal who stopped by was given a patriotic bandana, and every girl animal was given a little stars and stripes flower for their collars. We were only there for about an hour.”

I nod. “Hopefully the pets didn’t mind playing dress-up.”

She shakes her head no, and I continue, “Ingrid used a pet-friendly spray to paint the flank of Skye with red and blue stars. With all the vets we work with, we like to honor their service to our country at every chance. We gave them each a red, white, and blue cupcake that you helped us make last night.Everyone loved them, said the flavor was amazing, and if you ever decided to stop your gig as a vet, you could reopen the bakery in town.”

“I love to bake, but I'm not sure I could do it as a full-time job. As you are well aware, I’m not the biggest morning person,” she bemoans.

Oh, I know, this woman makes me laugh every morning when she wakes up out of sorts. Her reflexes are quick. On more than one occasion, she has gone to reach for her phone, accidentally knocking it off the nightstand. She flings herself out of bed to try to catch it. I mentally shake my head. If I start thinking of her and our bed, then I’m going to make myself crazy, and we still have an entire evening with family and friends to get through.

Leo’s voice draws our attention to the back door. He, Kieran, and Paisley make their way down the stairs toward us. Paisley drops a few bags of chips on the long table we have set up for food. Leo’s hands are empty, but Kieran has a bowl under each arm. I’m dying to try his sides. Aislinn told me his deviled egg potato salad and watermelon feta salad are amazing. I looked at her skeptically about watermelon and cheese, but she shrugged and told me to try just a bit. After Kieran sets the bowls down, he makes a beeline for the barbeque. Whether the guy is a control freak, genuinely likes Callum, or just loves to cook is still up for debate.

Leo comes over to us and huffs down into his chair, putting his hands to his temples and massaging them exaggeratedly.

I take the bait. “You okay, Leo?”

He heaves out a huge sigh, “Yeah, we took on a bed and breakfast, but the deadline is short, and the place is huge. They wanted Paisley to remodel the kitchen and extend it to fitmodern catering appliances. The owners want me to redesign each room into a different floral theme. So a rose, aster, lilac, iris, and so on and so on. I didn’t realize it was so big.”

Aislinn snorts, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you! That B&B is gigantic. You need to hire more staff if you plan to make that deadline.”

His lips pull to the side, and he arches an eyebrow, “Okay, Tay Tay Swift, but right now,” he winks. “I have a blank space I’m working with, baby.”

She grimaces, “I walked right into a Swiftie reference, didn’t I?”

Leo reaches over and pats her leg, nodding solemnly. “You really made it too easy on me this time. Honestly, Pais and I are having fun. It’s just a lot of work. I need to bite the bullet and pick seven flowers of different colors so I can start my reference boards. They want this up and running by October so November and December rentals can stay booked.”

Aislinn sticks up her hands to pause the conversation. “Lachlan, please pull out your phone and open a text message to Leo.”

I do as she says without hesitation. When she glances over her shoulder and sees my hands poised and ready, she puts down a finger. “Red is hibiscus, orange is lily, yellow is sunflower, green is dahlia, blue is iris, purple is heather, and pink is peony.” She claps her hands together and smiles wide, “Bam! Problem solved. Seven colors, seven unique flowers. Now run with it, my young pupil, and be free.”

We all chuckle, but Leo looks at her and shrugs. “I like it, a rainbow of color, which I can pull into paint color and décor.”

I feel a presence approach from behind me, and I lean back to see Edwin standing with a beer in his hand. He is incasual attire, so this must be a social call. Reaching my hand back, we jovially shake hands.

He places a hand on my shoulder and gives it a small squeeze. “Aislinn? I was wondering if you were interested in an update on Cody.”

All conversation of our little group comes to an abrupt stop. Leo and Paisley look straight at Edwin.

With a slight shake in her voice, she nods. “Thanks, Edwin. That’d be great.”

Edwin adjusts his stance and takes a sip from his beer. “We have him on attempted real estate fraud, kidnapping and assault, and trespassing. You won’t be seeing him anytime soon. His license to practice law will be revoked, and he is looking at some time behind bars. He is trying to pull an insanity plea, but James has stepped forward to speak against him.”

“Did,” she pauses and takes a deep breath, “Did he explain how he got my unconscious body down to the mine? Or who the other man was?”

Edwin looks a little uncomfortable. “Well, that is a part of the investigation we are struggling to understand. We are trying to prove James was back in the Seattle area at the time of the attack. Cody refuses to say anything. At this point, we really don’t know. I will keep working all angles, and you will be the first I tell of anything concrete.”

Aislinn releases a shuddering breath. “That is a bit unsettling. I saw the footage, and I’m positive that’s not James. Also, I didn’t recognize the voice when I was attacked. Thanks for letting me know. Do you still think I should get the restraining order?”

He shakes his head. “I would hold off putting yourself through that process for now. It doesn’t look like he will be seeing freedom for a while, and the restraining order willexpire before his release. In Montana, a protective order until the hearing only lasts up to twenty days, and then the actual restraining order will expire in three years. When he is released, if you feel he is a danger to you at that point, I would look into getting the restraining order filed.”

“Thanks, Edwin, for everything. I’m truly grateful,” Aislinn replies, placing a hand on his forearm.

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