From the Shadows (Buckhorn, Montana #2) - B.J. Daniels Page 0,32

a promise she couldn’t possibly keep?

“Everyone down at the campfire thinks we’re intimately involved,” she said as she glanced in that direction and realized they’d all been pretending not to watch the two of them.

“Seems a shame we aren’t, then.”

She knew he was joking, but still she felt a flutter at even the idea. It was nice being in his arms, even as she’d at first resisted it. It was only too easy to imagine the two of them in that big shower, their skin soapy and wet. She could almost smell the chocolate and lavender on their slick flesh... She shivered and shoved the image away. “Be serious,” she said.

“I am serious. It isn’t like the idea hasn’t crossed my mind.”

“I’m sure it has,” she snapped.

He merely grinned. “Guess it hasn’t yours, then?”

She side-eyed him for a moment before she had to smile. He knew darned well that it had crossed her mind. “Why do I bother talking to you?”

“Better than talking to yourself. Or Megan’s ghost.”

Casey could only shake her head. The man wasn’t going to let her forget what he’d overheard. How could he find humor in it, though? “This is not what I had planned when I came back here.”

“Meeting me?”

“Definitely not meeting you.”

“I was joking about us being lovers,” he said. “Well, kind of joking.” He cupped her cheek with one of his large, warm hands. “Your grandmother wrote so much about you... I’m sorry, but I feel as if I know you. I forget that you don’t know me. Yet. I wish we had more time. You might come to actually like me.”

I can’t do this, Casey thought, feeling as if the ground under her feet was no longer solid. She pulled away from his warm, inviting touch. Finn threw her off balance. He might think he knew her, but she definitely didn’t know him. Sure, she’d seen him naked, and most anything she wanted to know about Finnegan James she could find online. But she didn’t know if she could trust him yet.

This entire situation made her question everything, especially what she was doing here. Maybe even more what he was doing here. She turned and pushed her way into the hotel’s lobby.

He said nothing as he followed her in. She started up the stairs, Finn right beside her. It wasn’t until they reached the top that she looked over at him. “I don’t need you to babysit me.”

“You have a probable killer staying here in your hotel. Like it or not, I’m going to be keeping an eye on you. It’s what your grandmother would have wanted.”

She groaned but was too tired to put up a good argument. “I just hope you’re serious about buying the hotel so I can get out of here.”

“I am. First thing in the morning.”

Casey nodded. “Then I’ll collect my grandmother’s things and be gone.”

“Agreed. You should get as far away as possible.”

She met his gaze. The way he looked at her warmed her to her toes. All her instincts told her that Finnegan James was a good man. So why did she keep pushing him away? Because he was in love with a ghost.

“You’re still determined to find her killer.” Even after seeing how everyone felt about Megan, he was still in love with the woman. Or at least the idea of the woman. That should tell her everything she needed to know about why she was keeping him at arm’s length.

“I told you it isn’t about Megan for me, but it is for you, isn’t it?” He rushed on before she could interrupt. “You came here to destroy the hotel and put an end to all of this. But even if I buy the hotel and raze it tomorrow, a killer will still be out there. The past won’t be gone. Neither will the suspicions. Can you really say you don’t care?”

“Yes,” she said with more force than she felt.

He eyed her. “Who are you trying to protect? You or your grandmother?”

She felt as if he’d punched her. “What?”

“Remember, I’ve read your grandmother’s journal from that summer. She suspected Megan was mistreating you. She wanted to protect you, wished she had. I suspect you’re doing the same thing.”

“You can’t really believe that my grandmother killed Megan.”

He shook his head. “Your grandmother’s guilt was from not stopping it before it happened. I’d put my money on someone down at that campfire, someone who’s come back to the scene of the crime. I have two days. If