Page 52 of The Deadly Shallows

“Hey,” she said, opening the door. “I didn’t expect to see you.”

“Hope it’s okay I just dropped by,” he said, trying to gauge her reaction. She seemed happy, which made him happy. When had making her smile begun to fill him with such joy?

“Of course,” she said. “It’s even more okay when you bring dinner.” She raised up on her tiptoes to peek into the brown bag resting in the crook of his left arm. “French onion soup?” she asked.

“Very good.”

“Let me help you,” she said, taking the bag before he could answer.

He chuckled. “I’m guessing you haven’t eaten yet?”

“Nope. I was about to call DeNucci’s Pizza Parlor.”

“Mind if I wash up?” he asked.

“Of course not.” She angled her head toward the hall. “Bathroom is the first door on your left.”

When he returned, they settled at her patio table to eat, a tall outdoor heater situated on either side. Both put out some serious heat, but all faded away as they slipped into easy conversation.

An hour of eating and chatting later, or maybe it had been longer—somehow time seemed to slip by when he was around her—her cell rang.

His gaze shifted to the phone vibrating toward him across the wrought-iron table. He picked it up and handed it to Austin.

“Vet,” she said before answering. “Hi, Lucy.”

Caleb glanced out at the black sky overhead. It rarely snowed in Wilmington, but the density of the air and the scent of snow lingering in it suggested tonight might be an exception.

“Uh-huh,” Austin said after a moment of listening. “Any idea where it came from? A plant, perhaps?” She tilted her head. “What about something in the water?”

He surveyed the dark water, his eyes narrowing. That didn’t sound good.

“Okay,” Austin said, her voice wobbling.

He cleared his throat, and she looked over.

“Apologies for interrupting,” he said. “But what did she say about the water?”

“She said Dirk has something in his blood that she’s never seen before. She is going to run more tests, but it doesn’t seem to be plant borne.”

“Ask her if you can borrow the blood sample and let our CSI team look at it tomorrow. I’ll come by in the morning and take a sample of the water, and we can compare the two.”

Austin nodded and relayed the question. “Okay. Thanks, Lucy. ’Night.” She ended the call and looked up at Caleb. “She said no problem. I can pick it up first thing in the morning.”

“Great, but I don’t mind picking up the sample.”

She slipped her long blond hair behind her ear. “Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“Okay, thanks.” She moved to the edge of the patio, staring out over water nearly as black as the night. “I never considered the water, but Dirk loves to swim.”

Caleb glanced at the large lump snoring in the corner where the patio met a plant bed. He chuckled under his breath. Dirk had that ugly-cute quality Emmy was always talking about in certain breeds of dogs, which she and Logan argued about until both were nearly winded.

His eyes flashed back to Austin standing beside him, her perfume tickling his nose in a very good way. Somehow, she smelled like the ocean. He didn’t even know they made perfumes like that, but it was captivating.

Dirk launched a cacophony of snores, each louder than the one before it.

They both laughed.