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The two of them whipped their heads in Kim’s direction, as she walked towards them, in unison they said, “What?!”
Kim bent down and gathered what biscuits she could salvage that landed on Lane and put them on a plate that held a dozen more. Looking at the two of them, she said, “Shhh, none will be the wiser. When you two are done cleaning up this mess, make sure you join us.”
“What the hell was that all about?” Lane stood up and tossed his hand at the door his aunt just exited.
“Honestly. I have no clue.”
“What did she mean you’ll be needing my services, what services?”
Desi felt like a fish out of water. She knew her mouth was moving but no sound was coming out. Here was her chance to tell someone the real reason why she was here in Pearl Lake and for the life of her she didn’t want to.
Probably because she was blown away by his anger and she couldn’t help noticing how he was even more attractive in the vertical position. It was in that moment she decided to search for her cat without the help of anyone... especially someone like him.
“Well, are you going to tell me?”
Desi glanced at Lane as she walked to the broom closet and took out a dustpan and hand broom. She certainly had to give him credit for his persistence, no wonder he was highly sought after. He wouldn’t shut up until he got the answer he was looking for. She was more concerned with the fact that Kim knew she needed help. How the hell did she find out?
“Look, I’m not sure what she meant, or how she knew the reason I’m here, but I won’t be needing anything from you. I’ll clean this up and be on my way.” She bent her head down and focused on getting every last crumb off the floor. Satisfied, she stood and walked over to the garbage. Dumping the contents of the dustpan into it, she looked at him, “You should join your family now before the food gets cold.
Lane was taken aback. He thought for sure Kim, just like Ava, was playing match maker and that Destiny was in on it.
“Why are you here?”
Desi was not about to entertain him with the reason why. He seemed like the type to laugh in her face if she did. Instead, she raised her chin, looked him in the eyes and said, “You’re a private investigator, figure it out yourself.”
With that, she tossed the dustpan and broom in the closet then walked over to where the fridge once sat. Now in its place, sat a shelf that held recipe books and kitchen gadgets from days gone by. She pulled on one of the books and the shelf swung open. When Dean and Kim discovered the passageway, they decided it might come in handy, especially when it led to the first landing on the massive front staircase, and so they moved the fridge to the other side of the room.
Usually, Desi would opt for it as this one creeped her the hell out, but since Lane was blocking her way, she would deal with it.
He called out, “Wait—” just as the shelf swung shut. He wanted to know more about her. Like whom she was and why she was there. With everything that happened to his mom and Ben in the last year with Raven Black, it wouldn’t be a real shocker that she was a relative with a vendetta. The only person who knew anything about her was Kim, and it was time they had a talk.
On a mission, he marched into the solarium and grabbed a plate, waiting for the line to move along. When it finally did, Lane took the fork that was laying on the platter of beef and stabbed the meat with it.
“Whoa! Careful there, buddy. You’re going to break the plate,” Mark said, as he ladled gravy onto his food.
Lane glanced at him and said, “Do you know anything about Destiny?”
Mark looked at him, puzzled, “Who?”
Lane waved a hand over the table, “The woman that cooked all this food.”
“Oh, no. I do know she can cook though, this is my second helping,” he chuckled, popping a stuffed mushroom into his mouth.
“Good to know!” Lane nodded as he scanned the room for Kim.
“Is that all you’re eating?” Mark jerked his chin at his plate.
Finding her, he said, “Ah, here you eat it.” Lane dumped the beef onto Mark’s plate and set his down on the table.
“Thanks man!”
Lane made his way over to the table Kim was eating at and sat down beside her. She glanced at him. “Where’s your food?”
“Ah, I’m not hungry, I had a late lunch,” he lied. “What do you know about Desi?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, where is she from, why is she here and what does she want?”
