Page 5 of She Doesn't Have a Clue

“What do you mean?”

“Did you get a look at that thing? It wasn’t just hit, it wasshredded.Falling off a vehicle couldn’t have done that. Something else tore that deer apart.”

“Something else like… what?” Kate said, looking toward the trees like thatsomethingmight leap out at any moment. “A person with a grudge? PETA?”

“Or something that thought it was a real deer,” Jake said with a shrug, hefting his knapsack and absently swinging the giant knife the driver had given him.

“Wait, you think ananimaldid that?” Kate squeaked, stopping suddenly. “We should go back to the train, wait with Jeeves.”

“We’ll be fine,” Jake said with a wave of the blade. “My buddy Freddy once fended off a Burmese crocodile with a Swiss Army Knife when the thing had my whole arm in its mouth, so this is a real upgrade. Who is Jeeves?”

“Hmmm?” Kate eyed the trees around them warily. “Oh, that’s what I named the butler guy in my head. Jeeves.”

Jake gave a little half laugh. “Of course you did.”

Kate frowned. “Wait, I remember that story. You told me thatFreddywas the one with his arm stuck in the crocodile’s mouth, andyouwere the one who used the Swiss Army knife to rescue him!”

“Did I?” Jake continued on, looking thoughtful. “Well, either way, somebody fended off a crocodile with a knife a tenth the size of this one. That’s the important lesson.”

“I made you sound like a hero!” Kate said, hurrying after him. “That story was the back cover copy for book two!”

Jake glanced over at her, his gaze considerate as he studied her face, making all the little hairs along her body prickle to attention. “You really did a number on yourself, didn’t you? Hang on, I’ve got something for that.”

“Is it that noticeable?” Kate asked miserably as he rummaged around in his knapsack.

“Nah, just looks like you’ve been in a bar fight. Loretta would be proud. Here.” He pulled a dented metal tin from his pack, twisting it open and releasing an unctuous smell. “I know, it smells awful, but it really does the trick. Just be still.”

And then Jake Hawkins was touching her lip—not just touching, but tenderly rubbing it, pulling on it to better access the sore spot where she’d bitten into it. The salve gave her a tingly sensation wherever he applied it, or maybe that was the effect of Jake. Touching. Her lips.

“You really got into it this time, didn’t you,” Blake said, gently tending the wound on her face.

“You should see the other guy,” Loretta said dryly.

“I did,” Blake replied in the same tone. “He’s dead.”

“Not through any fault of mine,” Loretta said, steeling her resolve as Blake set to work bandaging up the wound. “He was dead before I showed up. It was the other, more alive guy who mistook me for a heavy bag and fancied himself a boxer.”

“You know I worry about you, Lor,” said Blake, so close the blues of his eyes were electric, pulling her in. “One of these days, one of these idiots is going to get lucky and catch you out. Won’t you come to Thailand with me instead?”

“You think I’d be any safer in Thailand?” Loretta asked, hardening her heart against the surge of longing and wanderlust that arose at the idea. “Murder has a way of finding me, Blake. I trip and fall no matter where I go.”

“Sure, but at least I’d be there to catch you.”

“Kate?”

Kate blinked back to reality, and it wasn’t Blake at the Key Lime anymore, but Jake standing before her on an abandoned stretch of railroad tracks. It was clear he’d been talking to her for some time, and just as clear that she hadn’t heard a word of it.

Oops. Sometimes in moments of extreme distress, Loretta had a way of just… taking over. Kate spent so much of her time imaginingWhat Would Loretta Do?that it was like a second brain nestled inside her own.

“Sorry,” she blurted, jerking back. “I was… We should get going.”

Jake cleared his throat, turning away. “Yeah, of course.”

Kate trailed a safe distance after him, not sure what she was more afraid of—whatever had killed that deer, or the way her whole body lit up when Jake touched her. Whichever it was, she wanted to stay clear out in the open so she could see it coming and dodge before it was too late. The wind had picked up considerably, cutting down the open stretch of track viciously and blinding her as they headed in what she hoped was the direction of the house. There was at least some landscaping coming into view, long rows of square hedges abruptly replacing the tall trees. It looked almost like the back of a walled-in garden.

“Do you think that’s where we’re meant to go in?” Kate called, pitching her voice above the wind. “Doesn’t seem quite grand enough for a… What did Jeeves call it? A manor house?”

Jake shrugged, changing direction to hike up the hill toward the gate. “Only one way to find out.”