Free Death Checks Inn (Aspen Valley Inn 1) by Sara Robbins

quickly assured him that she would be fine and pushed him towards the door.
    As he stepped out on the deck, he grew serious.
    “Give me a few days to tie up the investigation and then I will take you on a real date. I promise,” he said.
    Lacey smiled and nodded and thought to herself as she went back to the kitchen, they really were moving excessively fast. She guessed murder had that effect. She liked the idea of being courted by someone she was already very interested in.
    She also liked the idea that possibly none of her guests were killers. 
    Lacey went to her sister and placed her arm around her shoulders, “Hey, Sis, how about a trip into the big city of Colorado Springs for a nice dinner?”
    Charlotte gladly accepted but only with the stipulation that margaritas would be included with the meal.
    Dan overhead their plans and asked Lacey if she could take a moment to set a pass code for the new alarm system before she left.
    She thought for a moment and then chose a four-digit number.
    She could tell that Dan would like to accompany the two of them into town but she really didn’t want to start something that blurred the lines   around their relationship. She still needed to get him to complete the work she had for him at the Inn.
    After a brief tutorial on the workings of the security system given proudly by Dan they left in Charlotte’s car laughing together happily.
    Dan looked after them wistfully and then began packing up his tools to head home for the day. He wondered if he should actually set the alarm.
    He decided not to since that would make it obvious that he had watched Lacey enter the code. Better, that no one knows that it wasn’t really a secret.
    He wasn’t the only one watching Charlotte and Lacey drive away.

Chapter 22
     
    It was quite late when Charlotte’s car pulled into the circular driveway of the Inn. They had really enjoyed an evening of no drama good food and lots of laughter.
    Charlotte offered to come in with Lacey but Lacey thought that idea ridiculous.
    “Go on home,” she urged Charlotte, “Remember Wyatt will be calling to check up on me later.”
    Charlotte watched as her sister entered the front door and then flicked the deck lights to let her know she was okay.  Charlotte drove away humming to herself.
    Lacey checked her watch; Wyatt was probably still working since he was coordinating all the information being gathered from the other jurisdictions.
    She felt light and carefree for the first time in too many days. She decided to go on up to her apartment and take a long leisurely soak in the giant claw foot tub she had in her private bathroom.
    She quickly checked all the doors and windows on the first floor. After making sure that everything was locked, she went over to her new security system keypad.
    She entered the code she had chosen and with a satisfied smile headed upstairs.
    Pink-cheeked and relaxed after her bath she climbed into her bed and opened her laptop. She wanted keep a log of each guests stay and their preferences ect. She had set up a program to document this. She was happy that she could try the system out with real information.
    She connected her digital camera into the port and began the download. All the photos taken this week would be matched up with the written report of each guests visit. She liked the idea that she could use these photos when she sent thank you cards and invitations to encourage her guests to return. These would remind them of the wonderful time they had while staying at the Inn. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.
    As she was waiting for the download her cell phone rang, she quickly answered, excited to talk with Wyatt. They spent at least half an hour talking the usual couple small talk. This included a lot of flirting and giggles. They were both in a hurry to build on the closeness that had engulfed them just a few days ago. After much discussion about where to go on their first official date, they warmly