Free Secrets Among the Cedars (Intertwined Book 2) by Sherri Wilson Johnson Page B

Key."
     
    Kathryn's shoulders had a pink hue, and her skin had started to sting. Phil was tanned from being out in the sun, so he didn't seem to mind the direct sunlight. She poured some of her bottled water into the palm of her hand and patted her shoulders to cool them off.
    "You’re getting a lot of sun on your shoulders, and your nose and cheeks are pink. Are you ready to head back?"
    "I'm fine to stay a bit longer, if you'd like. You know the tides better than me."
    "We've got a little more time. Would you like me to get the umbrella from the boat?"
    "That would be great!"
    Phil hopped up off the quilt and sauntered over to the boat. Confidence dripped off him like the sweat that dripped off her forehead. He had probably been a beast in the courtroom. Too bad he wasn't still practicing law. What a thrill it would be to see him in action. If he ended up defending Ezzo, she’d attend the trial just to see him work.
    Phil returned and staked the pole in the sand. Then he attached the umbrella and opened it. The angle of the umbrella created the perfect shady spot for both of them. "Do you mind if I squeeze under here with you? I'm a bit toasty." His lips parted, and he half-grinned.
    "I'd be happy to share my shade with you. Thank you for thinking to bring the umbrella. I wouldn’t have survived much longer out here without it." She placed her hand over her heart.
    “You’re used to being inside in a courtroom and not outside in all this grandeur.” Phil nudged her with his arm and let it rest against hers. The heat wasn't going to get any better if he stayed this close to her.
    Time to turn the conversation in a different direction once again before she got herself into trouble with this alluring man. If only she could drown out the sound of her pulse thumping in her throat. "I’ve been thinking about the probability of us meeting. It’s not as far-fetched as I first thought.”
    “I’m listening.” Phil pulled a container of fruit from the cooler and offered some to Kathryn.
    She reached in and slipped out a slice of pineapple. “There are churches where I live that are three times the size of Cedar Key. People run into each other at the store all the time, and they recognize each other easily even though twelve thousand people live in my town. It isn’t unthinkable that our paths would have crossed at some point here.”
    Kathryn took a bite of pineapple and wiped the juice from her chin. She held up her index finger. “Plus your family has connections here, so Cedar Key isn’t all that random of a place for me to end up or for you to be here. If your uncle or his goons had any sentimental attachment to the gun at all, it makes sense that they’d hide it here in Cedar Key. They certainly wouldn’t want to hide it somewhere in New York where investigators would find it, and they wouldn’t have hidden it in Georgia near where those two murders took place.”
    Phil paused with a strawberry in front of his lips. “Valid.” He popped the strawberry into his mouth and nodded.
    “You live here. I came to find the weapon. No biggie.”
    “Still, we might not have met had you not come to the pier with your dripping ice cream Friday night.”
    “Had you not been reeling in monsters from the sea and bringing all sorts of attention upon yourself.” She laughed.
    “Yeah, that’s me. The total narcissist. Seriously, I’m glad we met. You’ve spiced up my life. It’d gotten a little too safe—too much like a vacation.” He laced his fingers behind his head and rested it on the blanket.
    “I can’t imagine. I think I could use a little bit of that kind of life for a while. I’ve gone straight from high school to college to law school and to working in the system. It’s exhausting.”
    “Now’s your chance then. Just rest.”
    Kathryn wrapped her arms around her bent legs. “Sadly I can't. I can’t get the case out of my head. Where could the gun be? How does the D.A. expect to win without it? He's