Page 62 of Target Acquired
Kenzie whipped her gaze toward her friend. “You knew.”
“Of course I knew. One couldn’t walk between the two of you without being worried one might actually acquire a chemical burn.”
“Ha ha. That’s funny.” But not untrue. “The chemistry is there, isn’t it? I’m not imagining it.”
“You’re not.”
“Do you think the guys on the team know?”
Lainie tilted her head. “I don’t know. You two have fought it so hard and so long now that . . .” She shrugged. “And let’s face it. They’re guys. They’re not always in tune with stuff like that.”
She had a point.
“What’s going on?” Jesslyn asked from the door.
Kenzie and Lainie turned. Jesslyn looked beautiful, as usual. She carried her five-foot-eight-inch height well, and the bathing suit and wrap she wore complemented her in every way possible. She had her red hair pulled into a stylish ponytail while her green eyes sparked questions.
“Nothing,” Kenzie said, “I’m just having romance woes.” She didn’t want to go into it with Jesslyn, as much as she liked the woman. To be honest, she was a bit intimidated by her.
Jesslyn shot them a friendly smile, but Kenzie thought she caught a flash of hurt in her eyes. If so, it was gone as fast as it had appeared. “Romance woes?”
“I’m just processing. What’s up?”
“We’re heading down to the dock and the water. You two coming?”
“We are.” Lainie paused. “Who’s we?”
“Cole, James, Kristine, and that new detective friend of James’, Nathan something or other.” She paused and a slight smile tugged at her lips. “He’s cute. Steph and her guy just got here, with Dixon and Keegan right behind her.”
Kenzie recognized the siblings’ names. She’d only met James’ brothers a few times, but they were fun guys. “Did Dixon bring his horse?”
“Of course.” Jesslyn’s laugh was genuine, so if Kenzie had hurt her feelings, she seemed to be over it. “He exercised him and put him in the barn. Said once he had Jericho taken care of, he’d join us on the dock. See y’all out there.” She gave a little wave and sauntered off, her flip-flops snapping against the bottoms of her feet.
Kenzie let out a breath. “Why does she intimidate me so much?”
“Because she’s perfect,” Lainie muttered. “Always has been. Even back in elementary school.”
“In my head, I know she’s really not perfect, but she sure does come across that way, doesn’t she?”
“Yeah, but don’t judge her. You know her past.”
“I do.” Jesslyn had lost so much in a fire when she was five years old. She’d been spared only because she and Lainie had been spending the night in this very house. “I’m not judging, I promise.”
Lainie linked arms with her. “Then let’s go enjoy the rest of the evening.”
COLE CHECKED IN ON THE TEAM and received positive reports all around. The team was always invited—even Butler—to join in the fun with the rest of the group since he, James, and Kenzie were regulars, but Buzz and Cowboy had decided to opt out, and Butler would never come because Kenzie was there.
Before he thought about how to fix his massive Kenzie-blunder, he called his dad’s number, stepped off the dock, and walked down to the edge of the lake. The sand sucked at his flip-flops, and he kicked them off, hissing when the cold water closed over his toes.
“Cole,” his dad said in greeting, “good to hear from you. What’s up?”
“I had a question.”
“Sure.”
“I was talking with Ben King today and he brought up something about Gram and Gramps Garrison.”
“What about them?”