Seaside Heartbeats: A Sweet Romance (The Seaside Hunters Book 2) (13 page)

"Thank you," Brayden said, taking it. He looked in to see a sprig of mint. "You didn't have to."

"No, but it makes a glass of water more enjoyable. How's life at the hospital?"

He drank half the glass before answering. "Busy as always. Can't complain—it's job security."

She looked over at her husband. "I know how that goes. Boys, stop running. Someone's going to lose an eye."

Brayden laughed. "My mom used to say that all the time, but all of us still have our eyes and other appendages."

"Shh," Susan said. "Don't tell them that."

Footsteps sounded on the stairs. Brayden turned around and held his breath. Lana walked down, and she couldn't have been more beautiful. She wore a sequined aqua tank top with bright white shorts and jeweled sandals. She looked like she'd gotten tanner, her skin contrasting perfectly with the blonde hair cascading over her shoulders.

She smiled wide, making eye contact with Brayden. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting long."

"Not at all." He walked toward her and they met at the bottom of the staircase. She wrapped her arms around him and he hugged her tight in return. She smelled like a tropical flower. He breathed in the sweet scent. "Are you ready to go?"

Lana stood back and looked him over, her gaze slowing at his arms, and then she looked into his eyes. "Can't wait." She grabbed her purse from a coffee table and waved to her family. "See you guys later."

Nolan and Ryder attacked her with hugs and growls, and then turned to Brayden, giving him the same treatment. He bent down and hugged them. "You boys be good and listen to your parents."

"We will," they said in unison.

Brayden could tell from their devious grins that they had no intentions. How many times had he and his brothers made that same expression? He ruffled their hair at the same time and the stood, taking Lana's hand.

They walked to his car. Brayden wished that he'd parked farther away so more people could see them together. When he unlocked it with the remote, Lana let out a breath. "That's your car?"

He nodded, opening the door for her.

She stood staring. "I've always wanted a Mercedes."

"Don't your parents have one? I'd think with your dad being an architect, you'd—"

"No. They're into practical cars. Volvo's all around. Nothing but the safest for daddy's little girls."

"Can't blame him for that, I suppose."

She wrinkled her nose. Brayden nearly melted into a puddle on the sidewalk. Lana was adorable when she did that. "I'm tired of safe," she said. "Can't wait to climb in here. Oh, leather." She sat down, closing her eyes.

He closed the door and walked around to the driver's side and started the car. Lana sat with her eyes closed. "This is perfection. It smells and feels wonderful." With her eyes still closed, she ran her hands over the seat.

Brayden put his hand in her path, and her hand met his. She opened her eyes and smiled. "But you know what? You're even better than this car." Lana ran her fingers over his hand and up his arm to his elbow and back down again.

Bumps formed along his skin. "Still want to go to the museum?"

She leaned against his shoulder. "As long as you're there, I'd go anywhere."

Sixteen

Lana looked at the rows of books in the museum's library, but she couldn't focus. Not with Brayden so close… and that shirt. What was he trying to do to her? It practically showed off every ripple of his muscles. She wanted to sit him down and massage his back again.

She wasn't one of those girls who drooled over guys, but Brayden had awoken something in her that she never knew existed. Suddenly, she understood why the other girls in school fussed over cute guys. But Lana didn't care about anyone else. She only wanted to look at Brayden.

Turning, she met his gaze. While she'd been trying not to look at him, he'd been watching her. He didn't look away and neither did she.

Finally, he asked, "Have you found anything?"

Lana loved his voice when it was so deep. Her heart swelled so big that she was certain it would burst right out of her chest. She wanted to run over to him and recreate their kiss on the beach. It had been perfect, so much so that she hadn't been able to get it out of her mind. Even when she slept, she relived it. When her dad rattled on about the plans for the new mansion he was working on, her mind was back at the beach.

Everything had been perfect. She wanted to remember every little detail for the rest of forever.

"I take that as a no?" Brayden asked.

Lana moved across the room so quickly she almost didn't know what she was doing. She put her palms on his oh-so-smooth face and brought his mouth down, kissing it. The smell of his cologne overtook her senses as she kissed his sweet lips. He wrapped his arms around her, running his fingertips down her back. One hand pressed against her shoulder blades while the other slid to the small of her back.

Breathing hard, she pressed against him. He bumped into the shelf behind him so hard that a couple books fell from the shelf. His hand went up to the back of her head, and his fingers ran through the length of her hair. She loved the feel of it, not caring how much it messed up her hair. Poor Cora had spent an hour on it, and less than a half an hour later, it was messed up already.

Conversation sounded outside the door in the hallway. Lana stood back, pulse on fire. She stared at Brayden, who looked equally out of sorts.

A family with three kids came in. "Boring," declared the tallest. "Let's find something more interesting than books." She turned around, followed by the youngest. The parents and middle child looked around the room.

Lana took a deep breath trying to regain her composure. It was probably a good thing the family had come in. With her feelings as strong as they were, she wasn't sure she could keep control of herself around Brayden much longer. She hadn't had years of experience to reign control over the love and desire running through her.

The family left, and Brayden said, "We should pick these books up."

Lana's face flushed with heat. "Sorry about that."

"Don't apologize." He picked up a couple books and looked at the spines before putting them back.

She picked one up. It was entitled
Retrievers: Man's Best Friend.
Lana blew some dust off the top and then reached over to put it back. Just as she did, a yellow piece of paper fell to the ground.

Brayden gave her a curious look. She looked at the title again, and nearly smacked her forehead. "Retrievers.
Golden
retrievers."

"That was clever." He picked up the paper and unfolded it. In faded ink, there was a letter addressed to Billy Kittle dated about one hundred and sixty years earlier.

Lana moved closer to Brayden and read the note. It discussed rumors of a grouping of caves in nearby woods that was said to hold more gold than anyone had ever dreamed of, much less seen. All that was needed was someone with the right equipment. The writer obviously thought Billy was the man for the job, and discussed splitting the profits if he brought along his strong sons to help with the labor.

Brayden and Lana exchanged a curious look. Brayden flipped the page over. It was signed Thomas Williams, and below the signature was a drawn map along with a date to meet there a month later than the letter had been written.

"We should take this," Lana whispered.

"That would be theft." Brayden pulled out his phone. "But taking pictures isn't."

"Good thinking." Lana pulled out her phone, too. "We'll both get them, just in case."

They snapped pictures of both sides before folding the paper back up and sliding into the section of the book discussing golden retrievers. They put the remaining books away and hurried out of the museum.

Once back inside Brayden's car, Lana asked, "What now?"

"Are you up for an adventure?" His eyes glowed with excitement. "I'd love to be the one who solves old man Kittle's death."

"And I've always loved cold case files. Maybe we could even be interviewed by one of those reality shows."

"Let's grab some lunch and start planning."

Lana's face fell. "We're not going to go today?"

He looked her over. "Neither of us are dressed for a day in the woods. Besides, if we're going to do this right, we need to be prepared."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I don't want to talk about this where anyone could overhear us, though."

"We'll get some food to go and then we can eat at a beach that's probably empty."

"An empty beach? Around here?" Lana asked.

Brayden laughed. "Sounds strange, I know. But it's pretty far from the general touristy stuff, so most people never even find it. You won't find any ice cream trucks there."

"Or dancing livestock?" Lana asked, her lips twitching.

"None of that."

"Sounds like the ideal place for a lunch date."

Brayden drove them to the main part of town and they got baked chicken, potato salad, and some fruit. They were set for a picnic lunch at the beach.

Lana couldn't wait to see the location most tourists knew nothing about. She was going to see a treasure with the most wonderful guy she had ever met.

When they arrived, her breath caught. "It's gorgeous."

"And it looks like it's all ours." He took her hand and they headed for a picnic table not too far from the shore. They set the food out and dug in, both eating quietly.

Lana's mind wouldn't calm down. Between her adoration for Brayden and the thought of solving an old mystery, she couldn't have been more excited. The fact that they might solve it together made it even better.

Once the food disappeared, they discussed the logistics of hiking in the woods. Lana was going to need to buy boots unless her sister or mom had brought some. They needed food, water, and backpacks.

"We probably want to bring extra, just to be safe," Brayden said. "It seems that every year, some hiker ends up lost or missing, and I don't want us to become a statistic."

Lana agreed and then brought out her phone, adding everything into her notes app. By the time they had covered everything, she found herself exhausted.

"Think you can have your stuff ready in four days?" Brayden asked.

"No problem." It would be nice to have a distraction from thinking about him. Not that she minded, but it made the time pass so slowly, waiting for his next day off.

They threw their trash away and then walked along the shore for a while, Lana falling behind him.

"Are you all right?" he asked, his eyes full of concern.

"Just tired. All that planning wore me out."

"Me, too, actually. Want to catch a movie? I'm not sure what's playing, but there has to be something interesting."

"A movie with you? I'd love nothing more."

He scooped her up, and Lana squealed. "If you're tired, I'll carry you."

She laughed. "You don't have to."

"I know." He nestled his face against hers. "But I want to."

They went to the theater and arrived just before a romantic comedy started. Brayden held her hand the entire time, and Lana spent more time sneaking peeks at him than actually paying attention to the movie.

Afterward, he took her back home and gave her one more kiss on the porch before saying goodbye. Lana hated to see him go, but she was ready to fall asleep.

"Did you have fun?" Cora asked as soon as Lana had closed the door.

"Of course."

Cora dragged her to the couch. "Tell me everything. What did you do?"

They discussed the date at length before Lana headed up the stairs.

"What about dinner?" asked her mom.

"I'll warm some up later. I had a huge lunch, followed by popcorn and candy. It's time for a nap."

"You're not overdoing it, are you?" called her dad from the other room.

"No, Dad. He's a cardiologist, remember? I couldn't be in better hands." She went up to her room and climbed under the covers, not even bothering to change her clothes. She could smell Brayden's cologne, and she didn't want to lose that.

Breathing in the wonderful smell, she relived their kiss in the library as she fell asleep.

When Lana woke up, it was dark. She checked her phone. It was just after two in the morning. She'd probably slept eight hours which had to be why she had woken. Her stomach rumbled, so she went downstairs to warm up leftovers.

Just before opening the fridge, she heard a strange sound. Something scratched against something else. It sounded wooden. Lana stood still, trying to figure out what it was.

The noise seemed to come from the direction of the back door. Skin crawling, Lana tiptoed toward the family room. Sure enough, the sound grew louder. She released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. The noise continued.

Lana crept to the door and looked out the peephole, hoping to see some kind of critter or a branch rubbing against the house. Instead, she saw two men dressed in black, both wearing ski masks over their faces.