Lost Bird (16 page)

“I’m not telling you not to investigate. I’m telling you not to go running off into the woods, alone, without telling anyone where you’re going first!”

Sachi would have burst out laughing at her friend’s overreaction had both their griefs not been so fresh from Julie’s death. Julie had gone on an investigation, alone. Refused to take Mandaline with her.

And Julie had been raped and murdered.

And it had been Sachi who’d refused to go with Mandaline to investigate Ellis and Brad’s house in the beginning without a shotgun coming along for the ride.

She pulled Mandaline in for a hug. “I promise I won’t go do that again. All right? But I do want to go take a look at it at some point.”

“Thank you.” Mandaline’s reply sounded muffled against Sachi’s shoulder. “Sorry I’m going off on you, but you know why.”

Sachi tightened her embrace. “Yeah, I know, sister. I get it. I’m sorry I triggered you.”

Mandaline sniffled before finally stepping back. She wiped at her eyes. “I can’t help it. I don’t want to lose anyone else.”

“Neither do I.”

* * * *

John grabbed a short nap that morning before heading into work. He handled paperwork and permitting issues and was almost through everything when he realized Sachi’s inspection was due. After making a call to the county, he found out the inspector had an opening for that afternoon and would be in her area.

“Let me call the customer and get back to you.” He still hadn’t had time to process the previous evening. The irresistible draw he felt toward Sachi wasn’t damped at all by what she claimed she heard and saw in the bathroom.

She didn’t strike him as someone who’d make up something just to stir things up. In fact, she struck him as exactly the opposite, someone who hated to be the center of attention, especially when it came to one of their investigations.

That might be naïve thinking on his part, but for once in his life, he didn’t care.

He believed her.

He dialed her cell phone and fortunately she picked up after the first ring.

“Hey, it’s John. The county inspector can come by your house this afternoon for your permit inspection, if you’re available.”

“Um, oh. Okay. I’d forgotten about that.”

“So had I. I was catching up on paperwork today and realized it hadn’t been done. Sorry about that.”

“What time?”

“Four, if that’s okay.”

“Will you be there, too?”

He started to say no when his brain processed her tone.

Hopeful. Like she wanted to see him.

“I can be.”

There was a slight pause. “I’d like that.”

“Then I’ll be there.” He wouldn’t give himself a reason to not go.

Hell, he wanted to go.

More importantly, he wanted to ask her over to their place for dinner.

“I’ll see you then,” she said.

He called the inspector back and got it lined up. When he walked out of his office, his office manager looked up at him and frowned.

“What are you so happy about?” she asked him.

“What?”

She laughed. “You’re grinning like an idiot.”

“Oh.” He shrugged. “Just in a good mood.”

“Do that more often. You’ve been a real sourpuss lately.”

“Duly noted.”

Now the question was did he ask Oscar if he wanted to go. Although that would sound really fishy. How did he explain
that
to Sachi?

He couldn’t.

But he could at least clue his friend in. He called him. “I have to go by Sachi’s for the inspector.”

“Since when?”

“Since she asked me.”

Oscar paused. “Are you rubbing it in my face?”

“No! I wanted to ask her to come over to our place tonight for dinner with us. I wanted to run it by you to make sure you’d be home and were up for it.”

“Oh.” There was a pause John couldn’t label. “Sure. Okay. Thanks.”

“You didn’t seriously think I’d cut you out, did you?”

* * * *

No, Oscar hadn’t consciously thought that, at the time, but the little bit of jealousy that rolled through him when he thought maybe John was hinting he wanted him to make himself scarce left him feeling sick at heart.

The fact that John actively wanted to include him in the dinner gave him hope.

“What were you thinking about for dinner?” Oscar asked.

“Burgers. Something easy.”

“I’ll hit the store on the way home.”

“Sounds good.”

Oscar hung up, feeling a thousand times better than he had before the call. He’d only snagged a couple of hours of sleep before going into work. He could have taken the whole day off, but his body didn’t want to remain asleep. Neither did his brain, which insisted on focusing on Sachi and the night before.

And what Aunt Tammy had suggested to them at dinner that night, that maybe the two of them should date Sachi.

From talking to Brad the night before, he found out Mandaline was partners with both Brad and with Ellis Fargo, an attorney in town.

Hell, if they can do it, why couldn’t we?

He could see how much John liked Sachi. He wouldn’t lose his friendship with John over a relationship, but maybe since Sachi was best friends with Mandaline she might be open to something a little nontraditional.

He just hoped John would be open to it.

* * * *

Sachi made it back to her house about a quarter ’til four and was relieved to find no one there yet. She’d just unlocked her front door when John pulled up in his work van. After turning off the alarm, she stood in the doorway and waited for him to walk up.

That blue aura of his still held her, like a velvety grip around the back of her neck, irresistible.

He offered what appeared to be a nervous smile. “Once he gets here, it shouldn’t take him more than a couple of minutes to sign off on it. They’re pretty routine.”

“No problem. I appreciate you coming out. I hope this wasn’t an inconvenience.”

“No, not at all.” He rubbed at the back of his neck. “Listen, I’d like to ask you something, and no pressure or anything. But if you’re not busy tonight, we, Oscar and I, would like to have you over to our place for dinner. With us.”

Her heart jumped. “Dinner?”

“Yeah. Nothing fancy, just burgers on the grill. Casual. It’s just, we enjoyed dinner with you the other night, and last night wasn’t exactly a good one for socializing, and—”

“Yes.” She gave him a smile she hoped would put his mind at ease. Did she want to have dinner with the two hotties?

Uh,
fuck
yeah.

“Oh.” He seemed almost surprised she’d said yes. “Okay. Great.” He flashed another smile, this one backed by more confidence. “Um, you’re not a vegetarian or anything, are you? Because if you are, we can—”

“I’m a first-class carnivore,” she assured him.

His smile broadened. “Great.” He nodded. “Good. Um, is seven okay?”

“Seven sounds great. Can I bring anything?”

“Desert, if you’d like.”

“Cool.” She reached out and touched his arm. “Looking forward to it. Text my cell with your address.”

He was starting to do just that when a pickup truck with the county’s logo on the doors pulled up in front of the house.

“There’s the inspector, I take it?” she asked.

“Yeah.” He hit
send
. A brief moment later, her phone buzzed.

She checked it. “Got it.”

They were staring at each other when the inspector headed up the walk.

“Thanks for coming over today,” she said. “And I’m looking forward to tonight.”

She loved the way his aura pulsed, flowing with relief now that she’d said yes to their invitation.

John and the inspector quickly took care of doing what they needed to do, and the inspector signed off on the job. Fifteen minutes later, they were alone again.

It looked like John was about to say something when his phone went off. “That’s work. Sorry, I need to run.”

“Okay. See you at seven.”

His grin not only started her pulse racing again, but started her clit throbbing, too. “Seven. Thanks!”

She closed the front door and rested against it.

“Julie,” she said out loud, “is this the sign I keep asking for?”

Her gaze fell upon the curio cabinet they’d set up in the corner of the living room. Maybe she’d spent too much time looking for signs instead of taking action.

Time to take action.

Sachi had headed back to the store, returning home a little before six. Beyond nervous, she changed her mind several different times about what to wear. Yes, John had specifically stated casual, but that could mean anything.

Shorts? Jeans? She didn’t have a lot of casual choices other than that. Sure she had dresses and skirts she wore for work, but they weren’t exactly backyard barbecue outfits.

She finally settled on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. She almost forgot to call her dad to let him know she wouldn’t be there for dinner, and was relieved to find out he already had plans to eat dinner with coworkers. Any guilt she might have had about her last-minute plans disappeared.

Glad to see he’s settled in so quickly.

She didn’t mind it, especially since he’d spent so much time focused on her when he first arrived in Florida.

It’s time he gets out and makes new friends.

She pulled up the men’s address on the maps feature on her phone and drove out there. The apartment complex just east of Brooksville looked like it had seen far better days. But when she walked up and knocked, carrying the Key lime pie she’d picked up at Publix on her way over, she was relieved to see a smiling Oscar open the front door on a sparse, yet clean and tidy apartment.

Just in time, too, because the rumbles of thunder that had chased her all the way to their apartment heralded the arrival of a real frog-strangler of a rainstorm.

“Guess I’m here for the duration, at least,” she said with a smile. “Hope this doesn’t mess up your plans for grilling.”

He smiled as he took the pie from her and headed over to the small kitchen with it. “We have a backup plan. Aunt Tammy gave us one of those little electric grills for Christmas last year.”

“Where’s John?”

“Shower. He had an emergency job to handle. He just got home a few minutes before you arrived.”

“Ah.” As she looked around the small combined living and dining room area, she was pleased to see two full discount store bookcases along one wall. She walked over. “Who’s the reader?”

“Both of us. He likes mysteries, and I’m more into sci-fi and fantasy.”

It looked like they had a yard sale coffee table paired with their low-end IKEA sofa and a mismatched thrift store chair.

She loved it and them. Loved that they weren’t all about fake appearances. It said a lot about them.

There were a few prints on the wall that looked like they’d been framed with discount store frames, but the digitally created art was gorgeous. Several different themes, from a futuristic spaceship, to a woodland scene, to a beach scene.

“These are neat.”

“Thanks. They’re mine.”

She looked at him. “You did these?”

“They were projects in college. I don’t get to stretch my chops like that much now. I do ad copy and signs, mostly.” He shrugged. “It’s a living.”

She stared at the pieces again. “You and Brad should talk. He’s an artist. You probably have a lot in common.”

“I wouldn’t call myself an artist.”

She pointed at the prints. “Uh, I would. Doesn’t matter the medium.”

John emerged from the bathroom, wearing a T-shirt and shorts, hair damp but brushed. “
Thank
you, Sachi,” he said as he entered the living room. “I keep telling him he’s an artist, but he doesn’t believe me.”

Oscar shrugged. “It’s a living,” he simply repeated, although he wore a pleased expression.

She looked from one man to the other. Their auras both bore nervous tension. So much so that she knew she had to get it out in the open and deal with it sooner rather than later.

“Look, I’m going to say something, and if I’m way out of line, feel free to let me know,” she started. “I like you guys.
Both
of you. I’m not saying that I want to hop right into bed with both of you right this minute. But from the minute I met you guys, I felt something.”

She took a deep breath. They both stared at her, their full attention on her. “I know my beliefs aren’t exactly what you guys believe. But can you respect me enough to know that I’m letting my instincts guide me here?”

Both men nodded, but didn’t interrupt.

She plowed forward, knowing this would make or break what happened next. “If you guys are interested in seeing if something can happen between the three of us, I’m open to that. But I can’t split you two up. It wouldn’t be fair to either of you. To be honest, I’m attracted to both of you. Is that even something you two would be open to, if things…you know, pan out? The three of us together?”