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The ice cream shop had a line out the door. Daniel and Kiki seemed to have their hands full dealing with a date-night rush after the movie theater let out. Everyone wanted their ice cream fix on a Saturday night—from teens to married couples to seniors. They got so slammed they sold out of chocolate and vanilla.
Lucien watched it all from the end of the line, letting couples go ahead of him. Once it hit nine o’clock, Kiki snuck from behind the counter to put the closed sign on the door.
When it was Lucien’s turn to order, he leaned in and whispered, “I’ve got four to-go orders, but we need to talk first.”
Daniel cocked a brow. “There’s news?”
“In a manner of speaking. Within the next few days, maybe a week, Terra Search & Rescue found an opportunity to head to Coyote Wells and Spirit Lake.”
“Really? Wow. How long will they search?”
Lucien shifted his feet. “They’ll do several passes in the water in various places where they think a car might’ve left the road and gone into the lake.”
The implication sunk in with Daniel. “So they could be there until they find something? Wow. I never thought that day would come. After all this time, I’m not sure what to say other than thanks for everything.” He laid a hand over his heart. “I mean that. For ten years, I’ve wondered why she left without saying goodbye. Finding a resolution to this means a lot to me.”
“We haven’t found her yet.”
“Yeah, but for the first time in ten years, I have a good feeling about this. Most of my adult life has been spent thinking about Lyssa. Maybe I should plan to make a trip back home.”
“Sure, if you can close down for a few days once Birk and Beckett get there.”
“I’ll see what I can do. Maybe I can find someone to mind the store for me. I should be there. Don’t you think?” He waved an arm across the display case. “ Now, what can I get you? Whatever you pick is on the house.”
When Lucien returnedhome, he found the house eerily quiet. Then he heard muffled voices coming from the patio. Brogan had taken her friends outside so the dogs could run off some energy before bedtime.
He walked out through the French doors and found them sitting around the teak patio table talking about—what else?—men.
“We’re not all bad,” Lucien commented, carrying a huge sack. He set it down and began to unpack the various pint-sized cartons.
“Pumpkin spice for everybody,” he noted, passing around the containers. “Daniel sent along blueberry and chocolate mint for backup in case you didn’t care for the pumpkin. He also ran out of vanilla, so the pup cups are mostly whipped cream with a smidgen of peanut butter thrown in.”
The dogs sensed a treat coming and darted over to the picnic table.
Brogan took the lid off the first cup and sniffed the contents. “Yum. You guys are going to love this,” she said before holding one out to Poppy with one hand and using the other for Stella.
“We don’t think all men are assholes,” Kelly piped up as she opened a carton for Miles, who lapped it up. “We’re discussing the people we know with a nasty temper. Don’t take it personally. I know plenty of women with nasty tempers and horrible personality disorders.”
“Same here,” Jade muttered, removing Mia’s muzzle and ripping the lid off the container. “Behave yourself, Mia. I’m serious. If you even think about going after Miles, I’m putting you in time-out for the rest of the night. That means you spend the night in your crate.”
As Mia dug into her treat, the dog dutifully stayed next to Jade. “Good girl,” Jade crooned, spooning up her first taste of the creamy pumpkin spice. She made a satisfying moan in her throat. “This is delicious.”
Brogan went over to Lucien and put an arm around his neck. “We’re not talking about you, per se, in case you were wondering.”
“Yeah. Sure. I believe that.”
“It’s true,” Kelly assured him. “We were saying what a healthy relationship you two have. You’re able to yell at each other and still be friends.”
Lucien rubbed his forehead, humiliated that he’d lost it in front of guests. “The blowup came out of frustration. I’m sorry if I embarrassed Brogan. Or anyone else. This sleuthing business is new to me. Sometimes it’s difficult to put your heart and soul into a case, only to have the result not go the way you thought it would.”
“Where’s your rocky road?” Brogan asked him.
He pulled out the last carton from the bag and removed the lid. “All this you see is on Daniel. He was in a good mood about the search. There was even some talk about him heading to Coyote Wells to be on hand if Birk and Beckett found anything.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Kelly offered, scraping the bottom of her carton. “I can understand why he’d want to be there, but Lyssa’s and Conor’s families take precedence. And you can bet if our guys find anything, they’ll notify law enforcement first, then the families.”
“I’ll pass that along to Daniel,” Lucien vowed. “I don’t want him closing up his shop, or worse, trying to find a replacement to keep it going, only to get spurned at the recovery site.”
“Oh, that would be terrible,” Jade declared. “You’d better let him know before he lines up anyone to work the shop for him. Letting the families know first is protocol. That’s if they find anything.”
