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I held back my smile as I glanced toward Kipp. “Mmm.” I stretched my arms to make it appear as if that were the cause for the noise I made.
“The fast talk you’re capable of honestly arouses me.” Kipp’s clothing vanished. “You see, I’m not lying to you.”
I gasped, shocked, aroused and awed over Kipp’s beautiful form. Hard lines from his abs to his hips, groin trimmed enough to keep it neat and tidy, but enough hair to declare him a man. Just one look at him and my body responded, heating in all the right places. Adding that with the moonlight shining down on him and I salivated.
“Ahh,” Zach said with hesitation. He grabbed my arm and pulled me forward. “I know you’re feeling unsettled, but don’t worry, we’ll help you here.”
I glanced at Zach. “Pardon?”
Zach gestured ever so slightly to Brody. “Don’t be afraid here, we’ll help you.”
“Oh,” I responded, forcing the reaction away. “Right, scared—sorry, I was just thinking about the poor girl and got scared. My eyes went wide, didn’t they?”
Zach hid his smile, not so well. “Yes, very wide.”
“You don’t need to be afraid. Are you okay?” Brody asked.
“Just fine, thank you.” I flicked my hair over my shoulder and something caught my eye. If I had something out of place, I’d want to be told, so I always gave the same respect back. “You’ve got something on your ear there.”
Brody rubbed his ear and laughed. “My kids thought coming at me with markers was a fun idea.” The spot didn’t come off, but now looked red where he had rubbed it. He lowered his hand as he glanced back at the GPS. “So these are the coordinates?”
“We believe so,” Zach responded. “It’ll be a good hour trek in, I’d imagine.”
“All right.” Brody handed the phone back to Zach. “I just have to grab some water for Duke, then we can be off.”
As he headed to his car with Duke in tow, Zach handed me a flashlight and whispered. “I think it might be a good idea if you refrain from going all lusty on us.”
“Hey, it wasn’t my fault,” I retorted. “Kipp showed me…” I hesitated as Zach’s eyebrows rose. “Well, that’s not important.”
Zach and Eddie laughed.
“Just wanted to prove my point is all,” Kipp said.
Kipp’s resolve hadn’t appeared yet, but at least his clothing had magically appeared again. I turned my back so Brody couldn’t see and pointed at him. “If you want me to keep quiet about all this ghost business, then stop,” I glanced back at Zach and Eddie, who watched with equal amusement, before looking at Kipp, “doing what you did.”
“Is that what you really want?” He grinned.
I considered the thought. “Well, no, but just later, all right?” As I turned around, Brody had Duke leashed as they trotted over.
Zach headed
toward the forest. Eddie and Brody followed in behind, with Duke at Brody’s side as he sniffed the ground.
Kipp stood motionless and sadness stole over his features. Something clearly had upset him. I tried to think back over the last few minutes, but nothing said should have bothered him. “Are you okay?” I whispered.
He said nothing, merely shook his head and walked away.
It momentarily stunned me, but I snapped out of it quickly and jogged up to reach the others. Being alone in a dark forest didn’t appeal to me by any stretch of the imagination.
I’d only taken two steps into the forest before I realized what I had said. Well, no, but just later, all right? There wasn’t going to be a later. It hurt to be reminded of that fact, but I swallowed it back and refocused. Personal matters would just have to wait.
The hike into the forest seemed much longer than the quarter of an hour we’d been walking. I kept my flashlight out in front of me and decided not to look to the side. Ignoring the darkness was my best bet, since I didn’t want to look like the weak little woman here.
My ankles were deep into slop—leaves mixed with recently rained-upon mud—and it grossed me out. “Ugh.” It might have been a stall tactic earlier, but I hadn’t been lying. I loved these boots, and to see them treated in such a way was a complete travesty. “Max is going to owe me new boots.”
“If we find Hannah’s body, I doubt he’d object to buying you a new pair,” Kipp told me.
Eddie laughed. “If your assistance here solves the case, I’ll buy you them myself.”
