warmed me up nice, and besides, I had good company for the duration of the walk.
“I’m your gal,” I said.
I took his arm, and we strolled along the snowy streets of downtown, dodging in and out of the light from the streetlamps. The snow was leftover from the Thanksgiving storm, and the chilly temperatures had kept the white stuff hard enough so that it was easy to walk in.
“Seems like a lot of dogs have gone missing lately,” I said as we crossed Main Street and took a left on Ornament Road.
“You mean with Billy losing Shasta?” he said.
“Yeah.That, and I saw that Julianne Redding lost her dog too. There was a missing flyer for Harley on Tinsel Street.”
He nearly stopped in his tracks.
“Really?”
I nodded.
“Hmm,” he muttered, stroking his chin.
“You think there’s a connection between all of them?”
He stared off into the dark night, deep in thought for a moment. Then he glanced back down at me.
“My little conspiracy theorist,” he said, grinning.
I punched him in the shoulder playfully.
“I’ll have you know that many a theory of mine has proven to be true,” I said. “I’m thinking that really, you ought to be paying me some commission on these cases of yours, Sheriff Brightman. You know, like you might pay one of them psychics who helps you find the bodies?”
Daniel started chuckling.
“You’ve been watching too much TV, Cin,” he said.
“Naw, I think I know what I oughta be paid,” I said. “And thus far, your department has been getting me for a steal. But that’s all changing in the New Year, let me tell you, Sheriff. Prices are going up everywhere, including the private investigator business.”
“Then I guess I better get in on the deal while I can,” he said.
“I guess you better,” I said.
Suddenly, as we came up upon one of the streetlamps, Daniel stopped. He grabbed me, picking me up off my feet, and throwing me over his shoulder.
“Daniel Brightman!” I shouted. “What are you doing!?”
“Getting in on the deal while I still can,” he said, picking up the pace.
I swung at his arms, trying in vain to get him to put me down, but it was no use. We both started laughing uncontrollably. A few moments later, he had collapsed onto a patch of snow next to the sidewalk. We were both on the ground, the sound of our mad laughter echoing around the empty street.
“Too much whiskey, Daniel Brightman,” I said, tackling him after the laughing had died down.
“Naw,” he said, pulling me closer. “I think it was just the right amount.”
I rested on his chest and he kissed me tenderly on the lips. I pulled away a moment, glancing around, wondering if we were actually alone, or if we were on display for the whole neighborhood to see.
“Let them talk, Cin,” he said, kissing me again, those whiskey kisses of his lighting up a roaring fire in me so that I didn’t feel the cold, the snow, or the flakes that had started falling from the sky around us.
After a moment, he wrapped his arm around me and I rested my head on his shoulder. We just lay there like that on the patch of snow, watching the soft flakes drift down.
In the pale light of the streetlamp, I could see that he still had just the faintest of tans from our Maui honeymoon the month before. And when I leaned in close, it was almost as if I could smell just a trace of coconut and saltwater on his skin.
He rubbed my shoulder, letting out a long frosty breath up into the night.
“So how’s Kara doing with all the wedding stuff?” he asked.
I smiled.
“The woman’s out of her mind,” I said. “Do you know what she told me the other day? She said she’s planning to wood burn the entirety of her vows onto a slab of juniper, which she’s going to hold up there at the altar. Do you know how long it took her to burn just one name the other day when she was doing the place cards? Eight minutes.”
“How long are her vows?”
“Last I saw, they were ten pages
“I’m your gal,” I said.
I took his arm, and we strolled along the snowy streets of downtown, dodging in and out of the light from the streetlamps. The snow was leftover from the Thanksgiving storm, and the chilly temperatures had kept the white stuff hard enough so that it was easy to walk in.
“Seems like a lot of dogs have gone missing lately,” I said as we crossed Main Street and took a left on Ornament Road.
“You mean with Billy losing Shasta?” he said.
“Yeah.That, and I saw that Julianne Redding lost her dog too. There was a missing flyer for Harley on Tinsel Street.”
He nearly stopped in his tracks.
“Really?”
I nodded.
“Hmm,” he muttered, stroking his chin.
“You think there’s a connection between all of them?”
He stared off into the dark night, deep in thought for a moment. Then he glanced back down at me.
“My little conspiracy theorist,” he said, grinning.
I punched him in the shoulder playfully.
“I’ll have you know that many a theory of mine has proven to be true,” I said. “I’m thinking that really, you ought to be paying me some commission on these cases of yours, Sheriff Brightman. You know, like you might pay one of them psychics who helps you find the bodies?”
Daniel started chuckling.
“You’ve been watching too much TV, Cin,” he said.
“Naw, I think I know what I oughta be paid,” I said. “And thus far, your department has been getting me for a steal. But that’s all changing in the New Year, let me tell you, Sheriff. Prices are going up everywhere, including the private investigator business.”
“Then I guess I better get in on the deal while I can,” he said.
“I guess you better,” I said.
Suddenly, as we came up upon one of the streetlamps, Daniel stopped. He grabbed me, picking me up off my feet, and throwing me over his shoulder.
“Daniel Brightman!” I shouted. “What are you doing!?”
“Getting in on the deal while I still can,” he said, picking up the pace.
I swung at his arms, trying in vain to get him to put me down, but it was no use. We both started laughing uncontrollably. A few moments later, he had collapsed onto a patch of snow next to the sidewalk. We were both on the ground, the sound of our mad laughter echoing around the empty street.
“Too much whiskey, Daniel Brightman,” I said, tackling him after the laughing had died down.
“Naw,” he said, pulling me closer. “I think it was just the right amount.”
I rested on his chest and he kissed me tenderly on the lips. I pulled away a moment, glancing around, wondering if we were actually alone, or if we were on display for the whole neighborhood to see.
“Let them talk, Cin,” he said, kissing me again, those whiskey kisses of his lighting up a roaring fire in me so that I didn’t feel the cold, the snow, or the flakes that had started falling from the sky around us.
After a moment, he wrapped his arm around me and I rested my head on his shoulder. We just lay there like that on the patch of snow, watching the soft flakes drift down.
In the pale light of the streetlamp, I could see that he still had just the faintest of tans from our Maui honeymoon the month before. And when I leaned in close, it was almost as if I could smell just a trace of coconut and saltwater on his skin.
He rubbed my shoulder, letting out a long frosty breath up into the night.
“So how’s Kara doing with all the wedding stuff?” he asked.
I smiled.
“The woman’s out of her mind,” I said. “Do you know what she told me the other day? She said she’s planning to wood burn the entirety of her vows onto a slab of juniper, which she’s going to hold up there at the altar. Do you know how long it took her to burn just one name the other day when she was doing the place cards? Eight minutes.”
“How long are her vows?”
“Last I saw, they were ten pages
Similar Books
