“Okay, then. Goodnight,’’ I said.
Carlos mumbled, “ ’night,’’ barely looking at me.
Trey took my arm as we left. I leaned into him, purposely putting my head on his shoulder. Just before we rounded a big oak, I stole a last glance backward. Carlos was plucking a bit of spattered ash off Austin’s cheek. As far as he was concerned, Trey and I could have been on the moon.
___
I slammed a tin cup onto the hood of my Jeep. Yanking the top off a bottle of water, I swigged, rinsed, and spit into the bushes. Then I squirted more toothpaste onto my brush and started all over. I wanted to obliterate the taste of those stupid S’mores I’d shared with Carlos.
Trey leaned against the horse trailer at my campsite, watching me.
“Take it easy, Mace. You’re about to scrub the enamel right off your pearly whites.’’
“MmmmFFfff,’’ I muttered, around a mouthful of brush and paste.
“You don’t need to worry about Austin. Flirting comes natural to her. She hardly ever takes it to the next level.’’
I spit. “Why would I be worried? I couldn’t care less who she flirts with.’’
“That’s not how it seemed to me. I saw the way you and your Miamuh friend were looking at each other when we came up. And then I saw how you looked leaving just now. If looks could kill, Austin would be bleeding from the throat.’’
I got busy, drying my toothbrush on my shirttail.
“You’re not going to deny there’s something between you, are you? A blind man could see you two have a history.’’
“Ancient history.’’ I put the toothpaste and brush back in the tin cup.
“He’s kind of slick.’’ Trey’s lip curled. Slick isn’t a compliment on the Cracker Trail. “How’d you ever hook up?’’
“We met last summer when he took a detective’s job with the Himmarshee police department.’’
“So, he’s a cop. Is he looking into what happened to Daddy? Has he told you what he thinks?’’
“Carlos isn’t good about sharing information,’’ I said.
“Yeah, but he must have said something.’’
“Well, he did tell Belle he can get some tests run on your Daddy’s chili cup.’’
“Belle?’’ Trey’s shoulders tensed. “What’s he got to do with her?’’
Good question. I’d also like to know what he’s got to do with Austin. But that wasn’t a topic for Trey and me.
“I think Carlos just feels sorry for your sister, Trey. He lost his wife a couple of years ago, so he knows what grief is. He offered to help. That’s all.’’
Taking a step toward him, I put a hand on his forearm. His skin felt warm, especially as the night was growing colder. I watched him as he cast his eyes down to my hand. I was close enough to count his eyelashes, lush and black against his cheek. A tear glistened there.
When he spoke, his voice was hoarse. “Daddy and I had our problems, everybody knows that. I just never knew that losing him would hurt so bad.’’
I wiped at the tear, careful to avoid the jagged, bar-fight scratch on his cheek. He took my wrist, and then brought my palm to his lips. His soft kiss sent a shudder of pleasure south. The shudder evolved into a moan as Trey turned to my fingers, nipping first at one, then the next and the next. My knees became jelly. I had no idea the fingertips could be an erogenous zone.
“You know,’’ he whispered, “I had a secret crush on you at Himmarshee High.’’
Even with the electrifying effect of his hot breath in my ear, I knew that was ridiculous.
“The football star, the hottest guy in school, crushing on me? Yeah, sure.’’
“It’s true. I think it’s because you were the only girl who didn’t make a big deal over me. You were strong and independent, and almost as tall as me. I always wondered what it would be like to put my arm around you and hold you tight.’’
Even if it wasn’t true, it sure sounded good. I lifted his hand to my lips.
“I wouldn’t mind if you did hold me tight,’’ I finally said when I finished with his fingers.
I could feel him hard against me as he folded me into his arms. I closed my eyes against the image of Carlos that intruded. I knew Trey wasn’t Mr. Right; but he was Mr. Right Now. He was ready for me. And I was ready for him, even if he wanted me right there, standing up against the horse trailer.
I lifted my face, and he covered my lips with his. He tasted good; salty with a hint of the banana pudding from dessert. After my marathon tooth-scouring, I was at least confident my breath was minty fresh. I’d just begun to explore his tongue with my own when I heard a loud harrumph from the far side of the campsite.
“You two might want to untangle yourselves.’’ Maddie’s disapproving scowl was clear, even in the lantern light. “Trey’s sister has gone missing.’’
Maddie and I struggled to keep up with Trey. We might have lost him running through the woods if not for the bobbing light from the lantern in his hand.
“Where’s he headed, Mace?’’ Maddie panted behind me. The beam of her flashlight skittered across the ground.
“How should I know? He didn’t take the time to tell me.’’
When Maddie announced Belle was missing, Trey pushed away from me like he’d been slapped. He grabbed the lantern off the ground and ran off without a word.
I ducked under the low branch of a red maple sapling, and then heard Maddie hit it head-on.
“Ouch! Crap!’’
I slowed a bit to let my big sister catch up. “Sorry.’’
“A little help would be nice, Mace. You’re the woodland creature, not me. You might warn me when one of your leafy friends is about to decapitate me.’’
I could have told Maddie she’d do better in the woods—in most places, in fact—if she’d spend more time with her eyes open and her mouth shut. But I held my tongue.
“I bet he’s headed to Belle’s campsite,’’ she said. “After I checked on Marty, I was passing by and saw Belle’s camp neighbors standing around like they didn’t know what to do next. They called out to ask me if I’d seen her anywhere.’’
The bobbing light ahead came into a clearing, slowed, and then stopped.
“Watch that skunk vine, Maddie.’’ I pointed my own light over my shoulder, illuminating a low-hanging net of green. “On your right.’’
She ducked, and the noxious-smelling vine just brushed her shoulder.
“Thanks.’’ Maddie leaned over, hands on knees, to catch her breath. She gazed toward the clearing. “I think that’s Belle’s site. I recognize the fancy RV.’’
Trey stood with the lantern, talking to a man and woman next to a big RV, dark green with a white stripe. The door on the RV gaped open, spilling light from inside. A matching horse trailer butted up behind the big rig.
Maddie and I joined the three of them.
“Did she say anything to you? Anything at all?’’ Trey was questioning the woman, a frizzy-haired blonde with a saddle-leather face.
“She never said a word. We were watching her, wondering whether we should come over and say something about y’all’s daddy. But then Bobby told me we should mind our own business, that if Belle wanted to talk, she’d come to us. Next time I looked over, her horse was still tied to the trailer, but your sister was nowhere in sight.’’
“How long ago was this?’’ Trey said.
“More than two hours now.’’ She turned to the heavy-set man next to her, Bobby presumably. “I told you we should have come over.’’