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Technically, dogs probably weren’t allowed on this trail. But Nico wasn’t prepared to leave his dog behind. Smudge was well-behaved, and he’d keep him on his lead until they got to the open beach. Besides, it was another layer of added protection. Just in case. That was the other reason he’d agreed to come on this walk; to keep an eye on Lacey. Not that he’d admit it. She seemed a tad touchy about his overriding urge to keep her safe. As if he were insulting her capabilities or something. Far from it, Nico respected her ability to defend herself. But she’d been taken by surprise last night. Who was to say it couldn’t happen again?
They walked in silence for a while, the wind whipping through his hair and biting at his cheeks with its cold teeth. Lacey had tied her hair back in a plait to keep it from turning into one giant snarl.
“How’s the thing with your mum going?” Lacey suddenly asked from behind.
“What?” Her question caught him by surprise and he nearly missed a step.
“The phone call the other night,” she prompted. “I was just wondering if you’ve heard anything more about your father?”
She had every right to ask, but just the mention of his father made him tense up.
“I talked to my mother quickly yesterday morning,” he said, forcing his shoulders back down. He’d called Catarina in the space between a meeting with Charles and a media interview. He knew he’d probably sounded distracted, but he also knew he couldn’t put it off for too long, or his mother would lose her patience and start calling him instead.
“And,” she prompted quietly.
“And she’s still freaking out about the idea that Serge might be alive.” Catarina had still been close to hysterical when he’d spoken to her. It was hard for him to hear his mother like that. Nico loved his mother, he didn’t like that she was hurting. “So, yesterday afternoon, I hired a private investigator to look into it.” There was no way he could spare the time at the moment to rush across to mainland Victoria, to the little town of Lorne to start the search himself. So he’d done the next best thing. He hoped it’d be enough to placate his mother and sister. At least for the next little while, until he had time to use his own contacts and delve into this mystery himself. “The guy was recommended to me by another police detective mate in Melbourne. Supposedly, he does good work. Charges like a wounded bull, but my mate said that if there was anything to find, then this guy would find it.”
“That’s good,” Lacey chimed in from behind his left shoulder.
“At least it’s something. I couldn’t keep ignoring it. Catarina would’ve gone batshit crazy if I had. This way, I can tell her when the guy comes back with the info that there’s absolutely no basis to any of Marco and Priscilla’s claims, I can put my mother’s mind at ease.”
“Yes, and your own,” Lacey replied softly.
He didn’t reply, but she was correct. He was doing this as much for himself as he was for his mother and the rest of his family.
They walked some more in silence, Smudge enthusiastically investigating every little bend and shrub on the trail, until Nico had to remind him they were walking to get somewhere, not just out for a dog’s pleasure. The wind was weaving its magic, blowing the cobwebs away and leaving him feeling refreshed and revitalized.
The trail opened up, and Lacey moved up so they could walk side by side.
“This was a good idea,” he told her.
“Yes. It’s so pretty out here. The crashing waves, and the wind whipping though the grass. There’s something therapeutic about a fresh, ocean breeze. Something about that salty tang that brings you to life,” Lacey agreed.
It was true. And it was something he often failed to appreciate; the fact he lived on the coast and saw the ocean every single day.
The trail curved around and passed between two grass-covered dunes, then they emerged out onto the open beach. Nico leaned down and released Smudge from his lead. The dog raced down to where the waves were breaking on the shore, barking like an idiot.
“I need to feel the sand between my toes,” Lacey sang, dancing down onto the sand. “Come on, take your shoes off,” she goaded.
But he shook his head. The sand was damp from the rain, and it looked sticky and cold. But nothing could stop Lacey. Even though the wind was freezing, Lacey removed her shoes and rolled up her jeans, then pranced through the damp sand to the edge of the waves with Smudge. Dipping her big toe in the water, she squealed and ran backward. “Oh, it’s freezing.”
“I could’ve told you that,” he replied, but he laughed along with her, feeling suddenly lighter than he had in weeks. Months, even. For once, he had something else to think about besides work. The simple pleasure of spending a winter’s day at the beach. Spending time with a woman who could teach him a thing or two about being more spontaneous. Teach him how to live a little.
He kept pace with her up on the drier sand, while she and Smudge skipped through the wavelets. The Nut slowly grew larger as they progressed down the beach. As they walked back, the clouds got lower, almost touching the top of The Nut. A light mist began to drizzle down on them. But he didn’t even mind, just pushed his damp hair off his face, and tucked his hands into his pockets. Lacey came up the beach to join him, the misting raindrops shining like tiny jewels in her hair.
“Stay. For a few more days,” he suddenly blurted. Bugger. He hadn’t wanted to sound as if he were pleading. But he needed her to know how he felt. He didn’t want her to leave. Not yet. And it had nothing whatsoever to do with the murder investigation. And everything to do with her. His feelings for her were complicated and maybe he needed a little more time to process them.
She glanced up at him, her features unreadable.
“Maybe I will,” she replied, tossing her braid over her shoulder and glancing behind at her footprints in the wet sand.
“I’d like it if you did. I…” Damn, how did he say this without sounding like a dork? He wasn’t used to entreating a woman to do anything, and he wasn’t about to let Lacey turn him into some spineless man whose emotions got the better of him. “I’m not just asking you to stay because of the case. Because I want to see you under police protection,” he said, trying not to grind his teeth. This was harder than he thought it’d be. “I want you to stay because…” Why couldn’t he say the words?
“Shadbolt offered me a job,” Lacey blurted into the silence.
“What?” He stopped and turned to stare at her. Why was this the first he was hearing about it?
“Yesterday, in his office.”
