Lost Bird by Tymber Dalton Page B

giving Ellis your guns to hold on to until the doctor clears you or I get back, whichever comes first.”
    “Dad!”
    He grinned. “Logic, sweetheart.”
     
    * * * *
     
    Oscar held back and watched the group head down the driveway in the kiwi green Honda Element. Aunt Tammy and John had already stepped inside when she called to him.
    “Oscar?”
    “Coming.”
    He couldn’t get his mind off Sachi. Several times, it felt like he’d caught her gaze darting away from him, as if she hadn’t wanted him to see her watching him.
    Then again, maybe that’s just wishful thinking on my part.
    In fact, he suspected that was the more likely explanation.
    Why would she have any interest in me ?
    Aunt Tammy plied them with homemade red velvet cake before allowing them to head home. Oscar had driven them in his car, and as he pulled into his parking space in front of their duplex, he realized how utterly miserable he felt.
    “Remind me again why we keep refusing her offers for us to move in with her?” Oscar muttered. “She’s got a big house.”
    John let out a sad sigh that surprised Oscar. “Well, at first, I didn’t want to be a mooch. Then I thought I didn’t want to worry about it interfering with my love life.”
    “ What love life?”
    “Exactly. Now I’m wondering if we shouldn’t take her up on it.” He turned to look at Oscar. “Whether she’s seeing things that aren’t there, or it turns out to be someone illegally hunting on her land at night or something, maybe she’s at an age she shouldn’t be living alone. I worry about her.”
    She’d asked them about it again that evening, before the group from Many Blessings had arrived.
    “I wouldn’t mind living there with her,” Oscar agreed. “I mean, I want to sign a real lease with her and everything. I know she keeps asking us, but I want it all aboveboard.”
    “Agreed.”
    John looked out the windshield again. The complex wasn’t exactly in the middle of a crack neighborhood, but it was at least two decades past having seen better days. Many of the residents were receiving subsidized housing assistance, a mix of young families, elderly, and some disabled residents. Fortunately, crime was low in the otherwise mostly rural area, but so was the morale. The landlord kept up with basic repairs and little else. Two of the buildings were slightly different shades of grey than the others due to more recent paint jobs, and three of the units had roofing shingles with large mismatched patches because of repairs. The parking area was cracked and crumbling blacktop that hadn’t been repaved since at least two presidents ago.
    It was utterly depressing.
    “We’re pretty pitiful, aren’t we?” Oscar asked.
    John nodded. “Yep.”
    It was on the tip of Oscar’s tongue to ask John what he thought about Sachi when he squelched the thought. He didn’t want to do anything to screw up the investigation or taint her impression of Aunt Tammy based on him looking like a jerk to the woman.
    Nope, better to keep it to himself and admire her from afar.
    He and John got out and headed toward their apartment. Anyway, they’d be seeing Sachi again on Tuesday. Both men had agreed to be present for the investigation.
    But it didn’t stop Oscar from thinking about Sachi’s beautiful blue eyes as he lay in bed and waited for sleep to take him.

Chapter Six
     
    “So you’re in cahoots with Dad to keep me from shooting skeet yet, huh? Some friend you are.”
    Sachi leaned against the doorway of Mandaline’s office and shot her friend a glare. Early on a Monday morning before Many Blessings opened, they were the only ones downstairs. Brad had already headed over to Libbie’s bakery to pick up their morning order.
    Mandaline grinned from where she sat at her desk. “Sorry, sweetie. He bribed us with brisket. Blame Ellis more, because he offered to stash them in the new gun safe at the house.”
    She let out a snort. “Bastard.”
    “Like you’re really