“You’re going to tell Kate, aren’t you?” Dylan asked.
“Absolutely. I tell her everything.” That wasn’t exactly true. There were things she didn’t want to share with her sister—like kissing Michael and then getting dumped by him—because it would only upset her. There was also the fact that Kate loved to lecture. She must, Isabel thought, because she did it so often.
Emotionally exhausted, she fell into the chair and reached for Michael’s root beer. She took a drink, then handed it back to him. She finally looked directly at him. “Why aren’t you sailing?”
“I changed my mind.”
An awkward silence followed his reply. Not wanting to give the impression that she cared one way or the other, Isabel turned to Dylan. “What are these blueprints?”
“Kate and I want to remodel the house. The electrical is shot, and the pipes are old and corroded.”
“Why not sell it and build somewhere else? Or tear it down and start over if you and Kate like the neighborhood.”
Dylan looked thunderstruck. “You wouldn’t mind selling your family’s house?”
“It isn’t my house. It’s yours and Kate’s.”
He started to disagree, but she stopped him when she put her hand on top of his and said, “I know I’ll always have a place to stay if things don’t work out for me. But I don’t have any emotional connection to the house now. My connection is with you and Kate and Kiera.”
Dylan nodded. “Yes, you’ll always have a home with us.”
Nick wanted to talk about XO. “Xavier is sending a car for Isabel Thursday to rehearse,” he told Michael.
“She’s not going alone,” Michael stated as though he had the last word on the matter.
“Of course I’m going alone,” Isabel protested, making no effort to hide her irritation. He had no right to order her to do anything.
“I don’t think you should,” he countered. “The man running toward you in the hotel is still out there.”
“Detective Samuel watched the surveillance video. He believes the man was just in a hurry. He also thinks my mind was playing tricks on me because seeing the man triggered the memory of the redhead standing on the corner when I was helping Detective Walsh. I’d forgotten all about him until I saw the man in the lobby. The memory came back then.”
“You shouldn’t go anywhere alone,” Michael insisted.
Michael’s frown could ignite a fire, yet it didn’t faze her. “You needn’t worry about this, Michael.
You’re no longer my attorney.”
“You’re out. I’m in,” Nick said, grinning. “You’re going to have to catch me up on the investigation. You know, background information in case Isabel is pulled back in by Samuel.”
“Why am I out and he’s in?” Michael asked Isabel.
Because you’re a bonehead, and he isn’t. If they had been alone, she would have said exactly that, but they weren’t alone, and so she said, “It’s complicated, and I’d rather not go into it now.”
“Like it or not, I’m back in, babe,” Michael told her.
“I don’t like it.”
“Too bad.”
“Michael, you’re such a pain.”
“And you’re not?”
“I’m trying to be polite.”
“It’s not working.”
Nick felt as though he were watching a tennis match. “You see what I’m seeing?” he whispered.
Dylan nodded. “Yes, I do. I’m not sure I like it.”
Nick agreed. There were sparks flying all over the kitchen.
“I’m through discussing this,” Isabel said, then turned to Dylan. “Xavier is interested in buying some of my other songs. I’ll download what I can, and I have a few on an old flash drive here, but it’s saturated with blood. Do you think a technician could clean it without wiping the songs?”
“How did your flash drive get blood all over it?” Nick wanted to know.
“It was in my pocket. When that poor Detective Walsh fell into my arms, there was blood everywhere.”
“I can get a technician to clean it for you,” Nick said.
“Thank you.”
Her mind was suddenly racing again. “There’s so much to do. Xavier wants to hear some of my songs, but I’ll have to organize them first and put them all in one file.”
“And make a couple of copies,” Dylan suggested.
“Yes, I will,” she agreed. “But getting all my songs together will take time.”
“What about copyright?” Michael said.
“Taken care of.”
“That’s smart thinking,” Nick said.
She wished she could take credit. “Dylan made sure I protected each song.”
“With everything going on, you aren’t still planning to go to Scotland next Monday, are you?”
Dylan asked.
“Everything is scheduled. I can’t see any reason to cancel.”
“Who’s going with you?”
She didn’t want to answer because she knew all three brothers would try to stop her.
“I haven’t decided yet.”
“But you will take someone with you?” Dylan persisted.
Here we go, she thought. She might as well get the storm over with now. Bracing herself, she said,
“I thought I’d go by myself.”
“Someone should go with you. Someone who can drive,” Dylan said. Turning to Nick, he explained, “Kate was going to go with Isabel, but a problem at work needs her attention, and she can’t put it off.”
“I’m perfectly capable of going by myself. In fact, I much prefer it. I can go at my own pace, take detours if I want, and I . . .” She stopped when she realized Dylan’s and Michael’s minds were set, and so she decided to humor them, which meant telling a little lie. “Oh, all right. I’ll ask Damon.
He’ll go with me.”
“Oh, hell no,” Michael blurted.
Isabel pushed her chair back and stood. Hands on hips, she frowned at him and demanded, “What is wrong with you?”
Michael also stood, towering over her. Looking just as irritated, he snapped, “Hell if I know.”
ELEVEN
ISABEL WATCHED MICHAEL WALK OUT OF THE KITCHEN AND FELT LIKE THROWING HER HANDS
up. “He is the most aggravating man.”
She didn’t expect Michael’s brothers to agree with her and was pleasantly surprised when they both nodded.
Determined to put him out of her mind, an almost impossible feat, she ran upstairs to get the bloody flash drive, then placed it in a Ziploc bag and handed it over to Nick.
“I’ve got to go into the office for a little while this afternoon. I’ll drop it off then,” he said. “If they’re slammed—and they usually are—it might be a few days before anyone can get to it. Are you okay with that?”
“Of course. You’re doing a huge favor for me, and I really appreciate it.”
While she was still in the kitchen, Dylan showed her the blueprints for the remodel. He had included a large bedroom for her. It was a comfort knowing that Kate and Dylan included her in their plans; however, by the time it was finished, she’d hopefully be making enough money to be out on her own.