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his kisses, and too much in need of more. Slowly, she touched his broad shoulders and hard chest. He lifted her hand away and kissed the back of her fingers.
    Why did he stop her? she wondered.
    “I’ve got to talk to the sheriff,” he said. “Before he leaves. You look beautiful right there. Don’t go away.”He kissed her again, then got up from the bed and carried his bags into the dressing room.
    She felt like a balloon that’d been deflated. He had to talk to the sheriff in the middle of their big vacation welcome. Why didn’t that surprise her? She rolled onto her side. “Do you think the sheriff will have found out anything about Finley’s disappearance this quickly?”
    “I don’t know,” he answered from the dressing room. “He made it clear earlier that this town doesn’t want the Tays or the inn here. The phone lines aren’t simply out of order, they were cut.”
    “I can’t believe it.”
    He stepped back to the bedroom, leaning against the door frame. His sweater sleeves had been pushed up to just below the elbows, his hair was mussed, and his mouth and eyes were soft. “The road signs to the inn have all been taken down. No one in town would even admit knowing about this place.”
    “Maybe they were telling the truth. It doesn’t open for another three weeks.”
    “Look at the size of this town, Angie.”
    “Doesn’t mean a thing.” She knew she was being obstinate.
    He gave the kind of cold stare he was a master at. The kind that made you ready to confess to any crime, because you were convinced he’d nail you one way or the other. “If your boss doesn’t show up tonight, I think we should leave.”
    Her heart sank. This was what she was afraid of. All she had wanted out of this trip was to be alone with Paavo, to have him all to herself for once. Damn Finley Tay and his disappearing act, anyway! “You’re letting your imagination run away with you,” she said finally. Never mind that Paavo was the most coldly logicalperson she’d ever met. “Finley will be here soon. It’s not a problem.”
    “I hope you’re right,” Paavo said. “For now, I’ll take a quick shower and go back downstairs and see what the sheriff has to say before he leaves.”
    “Okay. I’ll take one next. It should be dinnertime soon.”
    He disappeared into the dressing room. She got off the bed and stood where she could watch him. Maybe Finley would show up soon and she could get on with her plans for Paavo.
    She watched him take a clean shirt from his bag, then lift out a pair of Levi’s and some underwear. She watched him set his shaving things out on a shelf in the bathroom. She would have watched him take his shower, but she didn’t want to seem pushy.
    As she sat on the bed listening to the water running in the bathroom, she ran her fingers over the satiny duvet, the lace on the pillow coverings, the indentation where Paavo’s head had lain. Here she was, miles from home, her boss was missing, the house was supposed to be haunted, and all she could think about was that the bed in this room seemed to be about the size of the Queen Mary. And she was ready to pull up anchor.
    She was ninety-nine point nine percent certain that she was head over heels in love with this man and wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. This time together would make or break their relationship, of that she was certain.
    As such, this might be the most important week of her entire life, deciding her whole future.
    She could handle it.
    Then why were her palms perspiring?
     
    Outside lights illuminated the driveway well enough that Paavo could see Butz standing beside his car talking with a stiff-looking middle-aged man. As soon as Deputy Sparks started the car’s engine, the man gave a bow and turned back to the inn. Butz reached for the car door handle.
    “Sheriff,” Paavo called. Hurrying toward the sheriff, Paavo registered the stranger’s slicked-back brown hair, black suit, black bow tie, and white