“Do you think he’s gone for good? He hasn’t been leaving at night, has he?”
“He hasn’t left at all while I’ve been here. I guess it’s possible he’s slipped out. Has he paid his bill?”
“He paid in cash through next Wednesday. If he’s gone, he didn’t leave owing us anything.”
“Let’s go see. But first...” He tipped her chin up so that he could press a lingering kiss to her lips.
Shelby wound her arms around his neck and kissed him back with enough enthusiasm that he seemed to forget the reason they were out, at least for a few heated minutes. When he finally lifted his head, he looked down at her with eyes that glittered hungrily in the moonlight. “Maybe we should forget about Landon and just go back inside.”
Delighted with the rush of feminine power that accompanied his dazed expression, she laughed. “We’ll just stop for a quick look at Cabin Seven on the way.”
He sighed heavily. “Okay. Fine. Let’s hurry.”
So maybe it would last only another few days. Maybe hours. She was going to enjoy him while she had him.
Moving somewhat furtively, they paused in the shadows near the back entrance to Landon’s cabin. “I’ll keep watch,” Aaron said. “As sketchy as it is for you to look inside, there’s no justification at all for me to do so. Look in the back door and windows, see if anything looks sketchy to you.”
“And if I don’t see anything?” She reached into her pocket and rattled the keys. “Should I go in, take a look around? I wouldn’t touch anything that belongs to him, but I could always claim I thought I smelled smoke.”
He frowned as if in consideration. “Maybe you should check what you can see through the glass first.”
Nodding, she moved onto the porch to look, staying in shadow as much as possible. For once, she was not comforted by the excellent security lighting around the resort.
Landon had left the blinds tightly closed in the cabin’s back windows. But there was enough of a gap in the vertical blinds on the other side of the sliding glass door for her to get glimpses inside the main room. He’d left a lamp burning, enough to illuminate most of the area she could see.
“Anything?” Aaron asked in a low voice from behind her.
“It’s tidy enough,” she said, “but he hasn’t cleared out. I see some of his things lying around. There are boxes stacked on the bar. Quite a few boxes. Different sizes, from about shoebox-size to, I don’t know, microwave-size, maybe.”
“Interesting.”
“Should I go in and look?”
He was looking toward the road. “Not unless you want to tell your I-smelled-smoke story to Landon personally. He just parked in the driveway.”
She hopped back from the door. “Oh. Uh—”
He held out his hand and smiled reassuringly. “Let’s go back to my place. If anyone asks, we’ve just been out for a stroll.”
Putting as much distance between themselves and the cabin as they could without actually running, they headed for his back door. When they were clear of Landon’s cabin, they slowed their steps, moving closer to each other to continue the illusion that they were aware of nothing but each other.
“Hey! Who’s there?”
Shelby didn’t have to fake her startled jump. Placing her free hand on her pounding heart, she peered at Terrence Landon, who stood at the front corner of his cabin, glaring at them. Either he’d spotted movement as he’d driven up, or he’d simply been checking the perimeters of his cabin upon his return. She was satisfied that she and Aaron were far enough away from his porch that he wouldn’t be able to be certain she’d been on it, but she still spoke breezily to reassure him.
“Mr. Landon, it’s me, Shelby Bell. I hope we didn’t startle you. Aaron and I have just been for a walk down by the water.”
His skinny face was darkened by a suspicious scowl. “You weren’t inside my cabin?”
“No, of course not. Why, do you need anything? I can have housekeeping here first thing in the morning, if you—”
“No.” He turned away. “I don’t need anything.”
“Okay, well, be sure and let us know if you do. Good night, Mr.—” But she was talking to air. He’d already hurried away.
She looked up at Aaron and whispered, “That guy is so—”
“—weird,” he finished with her. “Yes, I know. But still not enough cause to call out the National Guard.”