Page 85 of Shallow Remains

“Except you.” Just Earl up there keeping watch with his high-powered binos and night vision optical devices. Legend.

“I wasn’t here to verify over the weekend, but it happened again this morning.”

“That’s great work, Earl.” The men he’d arrested after the SAR team had pulled them from the sinking vessel had been waiting for “friends” to come to their rescue. A speed boat had appeared a few minutes later, coming from the direction Earl had just described, only to take off once it saw the SAR boat already on scene. That would make anyone’s spidey senses tingle.

Earl nodded. “I’ll keep an eye on it for you.”

“Thanks, Earl. I’d appreciate that.” He knew how thinly the department was stretched. Concerned, dedicated locals like Earl and Mae who loved and cared about the island and its citizens were what gave this place its special magic.

“You got it, Sheriff. That’s all for today.” He took his notebook and rose, tugged at the waistband of his jeans, his black polo shirt tucked in neatly. You could take the man out of the Corps, but you could never take the Marine out of him. “I’ll be in touch if I find anything more.” He saw himself out and left Rafe’s door partially open as usual.

Rafe dove straight into his inbox and organized things in order of priority. At a knock on the door, he looked up. “Come in.” He smiled when Bronwyn stepped in, trying to ignore the way his pulse jumped.

FORTY-THREE

“Morning, Sheriff.” Her thick, bleached-blond twists were pulled up into a high ponytail, revealing several inches of her natural dark brown roots around her face. She wore a black formfitting sweater dress that hugged her incredible curves in all the right places and had a white skull on the chest. She had paired that with knee-high heeled boots.

“Morning. This is a nice surprise.”

“I’m glad you think so.” Her intelligent sea witch eyes gleamed with interest, the little silver hoop in the right side of her nose winking in the bright overhead light. “Am I interrupting?”

“No, not at all, it’s good to see you. I heard you’re coming to Mae’s tonight.”

“Actually, that’s why I popped in. I’m catching a ferry over to Vancouver this afternoon. My dad had a heart attack. They put in a stent and think he’s gonna be okay, but I’m heading home to Nelson to see him.”

“I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do?”

She forced a smile. “No, but thanks for the offer. Anyway, I wondered if I could tempt you to join me for lunch before I left. Sheriffs still have to eat in between serving and protecting the island and its citizens, right?”

She could tempt him to do a lot of things. “I’d love that.” More than she knew. “But my schedule today is packed.”

“Oh. What about a quick coffee instead? Twenty minutes, tops.”

He glanced at his half-full cup on his desk. “Sure, I can⁠—”

His intercom buzzed. “Sheriff, he’s here,” his assistant said.

No. Now? “He’s early.”

“Yes. Can I send him in?”

He looked up at Bronwyn, suppressed a groan of frustration. “Gimme a minute,” he said to his assistant. “I’m really sorry,” he said to Bronwyn. “I’d have loved to spend time with you.” He meant it. Especially considering she was worried about her dad.

She gave him a polite smile, but he could see the underlying strain in her face. Knew she had to be worried sick about her dad. “It’s okay. I know you’re crazy busy. Next visit, lunch on me.”

“When will you be back?” The lunch would be on him.

“I’m not sure. Hopefully before Christmas.”

That was two months away.

“But hey, maybe someone will turn in another bone soon. Then we can have another video call before that.”

One side of his mouth lifted. “No bones recently, but chances are it’ll happen again.” Hopefully sooner than later so he could talk to her again. “Safe travels home, and hope your dad is okay. If I can do anything, don’t hesitate to reach out.”

“Thank you. Good luck, Sheriff. See you around.”

He couldn’t help the way his gaze dropped to her shapely hips as she walked out of his office. Shook himself and prepared to greet his new detective.