Free His Winter Rose and Apple Blossom Bride by Lois Richer Page B

maybe tomorrow? I’ve really begun to enjoy those trips across the water.”
    “Sure.” He held out his hand for her to grasp, waited till she’d stepped on the dock, then accepted the key for the boat after she’d locked up. “I’ll get at it tomorrow morning.”
    “Thanks.” His hand still held hers and Piper decided she liked it. Part of her wanted to keep her hand in his but the other part told her to act like a businesswoman. So she drew her fingers away. “Let me know when it’s ready.”
    “I will.” Jason’s gaze held hers. An odd light glinted in his blue-grey eyes. “Drive carefully,” he murmured.
    “Uh-huh.” Feeling utterly self-conscious, Piper walked across the lot to her car, unlocked it and stepped inside. She adjusted the rearview mirror, saw Jason had remained where she’d left him.
    Calling herself a fool, she shifted into First and pulled away, but couldn’t help fluttering her fingers in a last wave. Jason remained where he was.
    Watching.
    Piper drove the switchback road as twilight fell on the greening hills. As she gained the last crest, a small deer bobbed out from the bushes forcing her to slam on the brakes. Startled and slightly unsettled, she paused to draw a deep breath and settle her nerves before moving on.
    Below her, Cathcart House lay nestled into the crook of the hill. The yard lights switched on as she watched, illuminating the budding rose garden her grandmother had coaxed to beauty each summer. Piper was ready to employ the lessons she’d learned to woo the biggest blooms from those bushes.
    Her hand touched the gearshift just as Piper glimpsed a shadow by the hot tub move. Her breath caught in her throat as the figure lifted the lid, dumped something inside, then set the lid back in place. A moment later the intruder slipped into the darkened woods leaving no trace of a visit.
    Call the police? Or check out the tub first? If it was nothing, just a nosy neighbor, she’d rather find that out for herself.
    But a neighbour would have asked to use the tub first.
    Piper sat in her car trying to imagine who would sneak into her yard. It had to be the kids from Lookout Point.
    She put the car in gear and slowly glided down the hill.
    “I’m an idiot, God. It’s gotten so I suspect everyone. I want to get over that but with Dad—it’s hard. Please help me.”
    She pulled into the yard. The place looked the same as she’d left it this morning.
    Piper unlocked the door, carried her things inside, then moved to the deck. With a flick of a switch the entire area was illuminated.
    No one.
    “I need to soak in that tub and do some serious praying,” she muttered.
    She lifted the cover of the tub to turn on the jets and immediately stepped backward as a pungent odor filled the air.
    Just then she heard a rustle behind her.
    “You can come out now, Dad. And you can quit playing these silly games. It doesn’t matter what you do. I’m not leaving Serenity Bay.”
    Piper waited for Baron to slip out from the shadows. Nothing could have prepared her for the sight of Jason.

Chapter Five
    “W hat are you doing here?” Piper asked, her voice ragged, harsh-sounding in the quiet of the forest surrounding them. The tremble of her voice bothered him.
    “After you left, I spotted some unusual lights flashing over here. At first I was going to ignore them, but then I thought about the salt in your tank and decided to check things out. Didn’t you hear my boat?”
    “No. I didn’t hear anything.” She sounded odd—confused as she glanced around as if searching for something—or someone.
    “What happened?” He took her arm, guided her toward a chair and when she was seated, squatted in front of her. “What’s wrong?”
    “What makes you think something’s wrong?”
    He raised an eyebrow, glanced at her fingers clenching the side of the chair. “Call me intuitive?”
    She made a face, then explained about the shadow and the excess chlorine. He noticed the strong odor as