Free Blur by Kristen Middleton Page B

I’m not interested in going for anything right now.”
    “Right. That’s why you blush every time he looks your way.”
    “I do not!”
    “You’re face turns as red as a tomato.”
    I could feel it burning right now as he teased me.
    “See!” he laughed.
    “It’s just a sunburn!”
    He shook his head and gave me a knowing look.
    I turned up the radio and tried avoiding his smartass grin.
    When we arrived at the marina, we walked over to the cabin next door, where Duncan was adjusting his surveillance equipment.
    “All set?” asked Nathan.
    He nodded. “Yeah, I’ve got cameras set up all around the perimeter of this place. There’s no way I’ll miss this guy if he comes back.”
    “You still want to do our cabin, too?”
    He nodded. “Yeah, I’ll follow you in my truck. I’m ready whenever you are.”
    “Shoot, I just remembered, I have to pick up mom’s dry cleaning. Is it okay if Nikki rides with you and shows you where we live? I’ll meet you both at the cabin as soon as I’m done.”
    My eyes narrowed, I didn’t remember her requesting anything like that. In fact, she was supposed to drive into town herself sometime today. I didn’t mention any of this, however. I didn’t want Duncan to think Nathan was trying to play matchmaker.
    “Sure,” replied Duncan. He looked at me. “Should we get going?”
    I nodded and then followed him to a white pickup truck with “Sonny’s Boat Repairs” on it.
    Duncan apologized. “Sorry, it’s nothing fancy but it gets me places.”
    I smiled. “It’s better than what I have, which is nothing.”
    He turned the radio on and glanced at me. “You look nice. How did your interview go?”
    I smiled. “I got the job. In fact, I start tomorrow evening.”
    “See, I told you, you’d get it.”
    I looked down at my clothes. For the interview, I had worn a peach silk blouse and mid-length black skirt with heels. My feet were already killing me.
    “I guess I know where I’ll be eating dinner from now on.”
    I laughed. “It’s your stomach. I’m not cooking, you know, I’m only serving.”
    He shrugged. “That’s okay. I’ll come in and be one of those annoying customers who sits and drinks coffee all day long, but I’ll leave a much better tip.”
    “As long as you tip, I’ll save you a booth.”
    “So,” he said, changing the subject. “Do you remember anything about the face you saw in the window?”
    I shook my head. “No, it left so quickly. I know it wasn’t an animal like the sheriff suggested.”
    “You called the sheriff?”
    “He came over for dinner. He has the hots for my mom.”
    He laughed. “Boy, he works fast.”
    “My mom is already looking at engagement rings.”
    He raised his eyebrows.
    I laughed. “I’m just kidding.”
    “I was going to say...”
    “No, but she certainly likes him. Anyway, he went out and looked around for a while, but figured it was just a raccoon.”
    “But you don’t believe it?”
    “No,” I said. “There wasn’t any fur on the face that I saw.”
    I then explained about the feeling of being watched when we were on the deck and the shadow that flew into the trees. As I went on, his face darkened.
    “What?” I asked.
    “That’s happened to me before, too. I thought I was imagining it and made excuses, thinking it was a large barn owl or something.”
    I could feel the goose bumps traveling up my arms again. “This thing that I saw stood as tall as you. I couldn’t make out what it looked like, but it was something much larger than a bird.”
    “Hopefully, these cameras will pick something up. They have a range of one hundred feet. I’ll make sure some of them are pointing towards the woods, too.”
    When we made it back to the cabin, it was almost five o’clock and my mother was gone.
    “Wow, nice place,” said Duncan.
    “It is. Too bad I’m not enjoying it because I’m so freaked out at night.”
    “I don’t blame you.”
    I showed him around the cabin and then he started