Page 41 of Chilled
“I’ll think about it,” Brenna said. “But my number-one concern is the job.”
“Well, I’ll cook, and if you show, great. If you don’t, I’ll understand.” She reached out and squeezed Brenna’s shoulder. “Lord knows, I don’t feel safe with that guy loose on our streets.”
“Exactly.” Brenna’s shoulders straightened. “We have to catch him soon.”
Alice’s lips twisted. “With all the scare about the missing women, I didn’t even realize the river’s nearing flood stage. I’m on my way to a meeting at the church. They’re organizing sandbag teams to shore up the levy on River Road.”
“Sandbag teams? Is it that bad?” Nick asked.
Alice shrugged. “There’s still plenty of snow on the ground, and the weather is getting warmer.”
“Just like in ‘97.” Brenna glanced at Nick. “We had a major flood on the Red River. It shut the city down for months.”
“But it hasn’t been raining,” Nick said.
“All it takes is a bumper snowfall year and a quick melt.” Brenna turned to her sister. “Where are the boys?”
“Stan’s got them until after the meeting. He took off early since he was out on a troubleshooting call last night. Such is the life of a man who owns his own business. If he can’t get someone else to do the work, he ends up doing it himself.” Alice waved and smiled at Nick. “Nice to meet you, Nick. When Brenna comes to dinner, please come with her. Our mother would love that.” She winked at Brenna and drove away.
Brenna’s cheeks and ears turned red, and she chewed on her lower lip. “Don’t mind my sister. She likes to push my buttons.”
“She does it well.” As he headed for his rental car, Nick fought a grin. “We’ll take mine.”
Brenna climbed in, staring straight ahead.
“Is your sister younger?” he asked.
“No.” Short, to the point and uncommunicative. When Brenna Jensen didn’t want to talk about something, she didn’t.
To Nick, her silence was a challenge. But first, they needed food to carry them through what looked like a long night on stakeout.
Clouds hunglow over the city, holding in the daytime heat and keeping the ground from refreezing during the night. Cold air had long since seeped through the windows and floorboards, and Brenna’s breath came out in tiny puffs of fog.
“Chief Burkholder said you’re up for a job with the Minnesota Criminal Investigation Division.” Nick stared through the windshield at Victor Greeley’s home several doors down from where they sat.
The question caught Brenna off guard, and she glanced up to search Nick’s face in the dim lighting from the corner streetlamp. They’d been sitting in the dark for the past two hours. Brenna rubbed her hands together to keep them warm. “Yeah, I am.”
“What can you do there that you can’t do in North Dakota?”
Brenna glanced out the window. She’d asked herself that question countless times and it all boiled down to the simple fact that she wanted to get farther away from home. “North Dakota usually isn’t overrun with crime and criminals. I guess I was looking for more of a challenge.”
Nick shook his head. “Doesn’t make sense for someone who clearly loves her hometown.”
“I love it here, but I don’t want to live here.”
“Because of Greeley?”
“Not just.” She twisted her fingers around her seat belt. “I love my family, but they drive me nuts.”
“I can relate. My brothers and I were always in competition growing up. When we all went into law enforcement, it didn’t stop.” He laughed. “A little competition is good in some cases, but a lot can get in the way.”
“Exactly. Besides, I’m not my sister.”
“So, she’s the older one?”
“Older, prettier, more popular and has everything. A husband who supports her, a house in a good neighborhood and two wonderful children.”
“Are you jealous of her?”
