Read Online Seaside Heartbeats: A Sweet Romance (The Seaside Hunters Book 2) by Stacy Claflin - Free Book Online
Authors: Stacy Claflin
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asked. "When I was a kid, I took two of my brothers out into the woods, hoping to find answers." He chuckled. "If grown men over the years haven't been able to find anything, I don't know why I thought we could."
She looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Why not? Fresh eyes can find things others missed."
"I suppose, but we were just kids."
"Do you still have a sense of adventure?" she asked, looking like she had something in mind.
"Yeah, though it's buried a bit underneath all my medical knowledge at this point."
Her lips curved. "Yeah, I can relate to that. Do you want to go out sometime and search the woods? I'd love to see what we could find."
"You want to try and find old man Kittle's caves? The ones that probably killed him?"
"I think someone killed him and hid the body because he wouldn't talk."
"Really? You haven't even heard any of the stories. Just the brief overview I gave you."
"We don't have to go crazy. Just explore through the woods a little and then have a picnic lunch. It'll be a story to tell our families."
Brayden tightened his grip around her hand. "Are you asking me on a date?"
"Maybe I am."
"That sounds good to me. I'll need to reassign you to a different doctor, though. It's one of those ethical lines I don't want to cross."
Lana looked at his hand wrapped around hers. "Really? You could have fooled me."
The corners of his lips twitched. "I might have already planned on switching you over."
"I can live with that. So, when are we going exploring?"
"It sounds like an all-day adventure, so I'll need to have the day off, including not being on call." He checked his schedule on the phone. "Monday looks good."
"It's a date."
They both smiled. He looked over at her, again overcome by her beauty. More than anything, he wanted to run his hands through her long, blonde hair. It looked so soft, and he loved the way it swayed with the light breeze.
He took a deep breath, restraining himself. "You know, I'm sorry for your SVT, but I'm really glad you came into my office."
She ran her thumb over his palm, the trail of her touch tickling slightly. "Me, too. It was definitely worth it."
They walked in a comfortable silence before she asked where they were headed.
"If you want, we could go to the Kittle house. It's a museum now."
"Oh, that sounds really interesting. Maybe we can find a clue." Her eyes lit up.
Brayden loved her sense of adventure, but he didn't want her to be disappointed. "If no one else has found any there, we probably won't. That's the first place anyone would look for clues to what happened to him."
"Maybe they missed something. Nobody's perfect, and we have fresh eyes. I'm just a visitor, and you've been away for a while from the sounds of it."
"I've been in Dallas for a few years."
"See? Fresh eyes, and besides, I bet you weren't looking for clues to Kittle's disappearance the last time you lived here. Am I right?"
"You've got me. I haven't even thought about any of this in years."
"Then we're just the ones to solve the mystery. We're both smart, well-educated people. If we put our heads together, we can do this."
"Or at least have fun trying."
Lana squeezed his hand. They discussed every conspiracy theory Brayden could recall ever hearing, no matter how wild or crazy. Then Lana thought up a few of her own, convinced he'd been killed.
"You definitely have an understanding of gold fever," Brayden said. "The hills are said to have made many a man lose his mind over the gold."
"Let's hope we don't." She winked. "So, how much farther until the museum?"
"Not too much longer. We're nearly there." He looked down the road, hoping he remembered correctly. It should only be a few blocks away, and then up the hill. If it hadn't changed as much as the touristy part of town, then the walk up the hill would be nice and shaded. "You're not too tired, are you? Maybe we shouldn't have walked." He, of all people, knew about her recent SVT episode. It had been stupid to expect her to
She looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Why not? Fresh eyes can find things others missed."
"I suppose, but we were just kids."
"Do you still have a sense of adventure?" she asked, looking like she had something in mind.
"Yeah, though it's buried a bit underneath all my medical knowledge at this point."
Her lips curved. "Yeah, I can relate to that. Do you want to go out sometime and search the woods? I'd love to see what we could find."
"You want to try and find old man Kittle's caves? The ones that probably killed him?"
"I think someone killed him and hid the body because he wouldn't talk."
"Really? You haven't even heard any of the stories. Just the brief overview I gave you."
"We don't have to go crazy. Just explore through the woods a little and then have a picnic lunch. It'll be a story to tell our families."
Brayden tightened his grip around her hand. "Are you asking me on a date?"
"Maybe I am."
"That sounds good to me. I'll need to reassign you to a different doctor, though. It's one of those ethical lines I don't want to cross."
Lana looked at his hand wrapped around hers. "Really? You could have fooled me."
The corners of his lips twitched. "I might have already planned on switching you over."
"I can live with that. So, when are we going exploring?"
"It sounds like an all-day adventure, so I'll need to have the day off, including not being on call." He checked his schedule on the phone. "Monday looks good."
"It's a date."
They both smiled. He looked over at her, again overcome by her beauty. More than anything, he wanted to run his hands through her long, blonde hair. It looked so soft, and he loved the way it swayed with the light breeze.
He took a deep breath, restraining himself. "You know, I'm sorry for your SVT, but I'm really glad you came into my office."
She ran her thumb over his palm, the trail of her touch tickling slightly. "Me, too. It was definitely worth it."
They walked in a comfortable silence before she asked where they were headed.
"If you want, we could go to the Kittle house. It's a museum now."
"Oh, that sounds really interesting. Maybe we can find a clue." Her eyes lit up.
Brayden loved her sense of adventure, but he didn't want her to be disappointed. "If no one else has found any there, we probably won't. That's the first place anyone would look for clues to what happened to him."
"Maybe they missed something. Nobody's perfect, and we have fresh eyes. I'm just a visitor, and you've been away for a while from the sounds of it."
"I've been in Dallas for a few years."
"See? Fresh eyes, and besides, I bet you weren't looking for clues to Kittle's disappearance the last time you lived here. Am I right?"
"You've got me. I haven't even thought about any of this in years."
"Then we're just the ones to solve the mystery. We're both smart, well-educated people. If we put our heads together, we can do this."
"Or at least have fun trying."
Lana squeezed his hand. They discussed every conspiracy theory Brayden could recall ever hearing, no matter how wild or crazy. Then Lana thought up a few of her own, convinced he'd been killed.
"You definitely have an understanding of gold fever," Brayden said. "The hills are said to have made many a man lose his mind over the gold."
"Let's hope we don't." She winked. "So, how much farther until the museum?"
"Not too much longer. We're nearly there." He looked down the road, hoping he remembered correctly. It should only be a few blocks away, and then up the hill. If it hadn't changed as much as the touristy part of town, then the walk up the hill would be nice and shaded. "You're not too tired, are you? Maybe we shouldn't have walked." He, of all people, knew about her recent SVT episode. It had been stupid to expect her to
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