any fun. She was the unwanted overnight guest, in a convent.
Minutes later, Dena jogged toward the lake. Warmth spread through her muscles, and she enjoyed the sound of her feet pounding along the same trail she’d taken with Zeke on this morning’s ride. So much had happened in one day it felt like she’d been at Three C’s for a week.
She turned toward the water. When the lake came into sight, she slowed to a walk. The sky was clear and black with millions of stars. She twirled around, face up to the darkness. No smog like in L.A.
Why did Zeke hate this place so much? The moon sparkled on the tips of the tiny waves caused by the wind. The night felt romantic. She laughed at her thoughts, sat on a tree stump at the lake’s edge, and hoped no critters lurked.
Her thoughts drifted away from the tenseness of the day as she soaked up the sounds of nature. Ten minutes later the clop clop of horse’s hooves broke the silence. She prayed it was Zeke. She was out here alone and had forgotten her cell phone. Not that she figured it would be of much use if this was a bad man. She grabbed a large rock and peered through the dark at the approaching horse.
Zeke climbed down, whispered something to José and walked toward her. “You weren’t going to lob that at me, were you?” he asked with a tilt of his chin toward her hand.
Her fear evaporated, and she let out the breath she’d held. “I might have. Sorry.” She put the rock down. “I was good at softball back in high school.”
He gave a short laugh and watched her for a moment. “I played baseball…better at pitching than hitting. By the way, that’s my thinking seat you’re on.”
“Oh,” she said. “Well there’s room for two. Would you like to sit?” She scooted along the stump.
He sat and stretched out his long legs. “I come here almost every night,” he said, and turned to face her. “But you shouldn’t walk around out here, not by yourself.”
He was worried, protecting her? That was nice. A little burst of warmth spread through her body. “I’m fine,” Dena said.
“Look, you can’t be too careful.”
“If you’re worried about the murderer, I think he dated Carli, and Susie. I’ve been thinking about it, and—”
“I doubt it. This is a small community. Someone would have come forward with that info and—”
“Well, I don’t think it was rape. It was sex, at least in Carli’s case. I’m sure about that, probably a date that turned bad.” She shot him a sidelong look, and even in the dark could detect his tension. “There was no evidence of, you know…tears and stuff…no evidence of roughness.”
Zeke shuddered, raised one hand and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Can we talk about something else?”
Man, he’s sensitive. “Sure. But I’d like to find out from Stanton if that was also the case with Susie.”
He blew out a long breath, and rubbed at his jaw for a while. “Yeah, I’ll see what I can find out.”
She knew, by the sudden increase in tension in his body, that this wasn’t a topic he wanted to pursue. She might have to ask Stanton herself. Heck, Zeke was a lawyer and he should be used to asking questions about all kinds of gruesome stuff. She watched his profile for a while, until finally his mouth relaxed.
She’d never been able to discuss her thoughts with anyone, not Steve, nor her mother. It surprised her how easy it was to talk about Carli to Zeke, but she knew when not to push.
“As a change of topic,” she said, leaned forward and turned her face up to his. “We could talk about my non-existent relationship with my mother. She just called to insult me.”
“You okay?”
Dena laughed. “Let’s say I’m used to it. We don’t understand each other. Never have, probably never will.”
Zeke looked out over the water. Something, not tension, more sadness, or an acceptance of life as it is, emanated from him. She’d forgotten for the moment that he’d recently lost his mother. That was careless of her.
“But you keep trying,” he said, and nodded his head slowly a few times. “That’s important.”
She’d given up trying a long time ago, but for obvious reasons wouldn’t tell him that. He might get the impression that she was cold and unfeeling. “Do you want to know my plan to improve your public image?”