Formula for Danger

“We’re fine.” Rachel took the case from Edward and laid it on Naomi’s desk. “A car dropped this at the entrance to the spa driveway and took off.”

“Is that our laptop?” Aunt Becca leaned over to peer at it. “The one that was just stolen?”

Naomi opened the case. The computer inside certainly looked like the one they’d just bought. On top was a note, handwritten in what seemed a childish hand.

My mom made me give this back. I’m sorry.

“Aw.” A half smile softened the corners of Aunt Becca’s mouth.

“Aunt Becca…” Rachel remonstrated.

“He stole the laptop to begin with,” Naomi added.

“But he returned it.”

“We should call Detective Carter,” Naomi said.

Aunt Becca laid a hand on her arm. “Do we need to? The thief seems sorry.”

“Just because he returned it doesn’t mean he’s sorry. Maybe the laptop was broken when it fell.”

“Fire it up and see.”

Naomi and Rachel peered at the start-up screen, but the two accounts Naomi had created—hers and Rachel’s—appeared without problems. Naomi logged in and opened the few files she had on the hard drive, which wasn’t much. “It seems okay.”

“See? No need to call the police.”

“No, you should call them anyway,” Edward chimed in. “You never know.”

Naomi flipped open her cell phone. “I almost have Detective Carter on speed dial,” she muttered.

Aunt Becca heaved a long-suffering sigh. “I still think this is unnecessary. That poor boy, to think he had to steal. At least he listened to his mother.”

“Aunt Becca, we still don’t know why he returned the laptop, and there’s no proof his mama made him do it,” Naomi said.

Rachel privately agreed, but on the other hand, she could relate to her aunt’s feelings that it seemed a bit mean to report a laptop that was stolen but returned.

“Hello? Detective Carter? Yes, ahem…it’s Naomi Grant….”

Rachel listened with half an ear, chewing her lip while faintly squirming inside at the Grant sisters needing to call the police yet again.

The greenhouse break-in had made her irrational. In light of the returned laptop, the blue car this morning made sense—the car was probably not following them at all, but had instead been heading to the spa to return the laptop. It had most likely overshot the spa driveway and turned around, appearing just as they pulled in.

And the bike accident yesterday probably had been drunk tourists, or tired ones.

As for the greenhouse, why was she surprised? The industry was cutthroat and her scar-reduction cream promised to be revolutionary. Dad was right, she should have taken greater precautions in the first place to guard the plants.

Naomi clicked her cell phone shut and gave Aunt Becca a superior look. “Detective Carter thanked us for telling him about the laptop.”

Aunt Becca sniffed and rolled her eyes.

“But he also said it would be difficult to find out who stole it. They don’t have enough manpower to investigate, and since it was returned, it’s a low priority.”

“Now I feel rather silly for being so nervous in the car,” Rachel said. “I’m the one who first thought we were being followed—”

“It’s nobody’s fault,” Edward interrupted. “We were just being cautious.”

A knock at the door made them all turn. Gloria Reynolds, one of the spa’s longtime clients, peered in. “Miss Grant? I wanted to see if I could schedule my appointment for an earlier time slot. But I arrived at the spa so early that the receptionists aren’t at the front desk yet, so I thought I’d come here…”

Naomi had her professional smile in place as she hurried toward Gloria. “I apologize that the receptionists aren’t there, Ms. Reynolds. I’m certain we can schedule you for an earlier appointment. A manicure, was it?” They disappeared from the doorway and could be heard heading down the hallway, toward the entrance foyer.

“I have a lot of work to do today,” Rachel said and noticed Edward’s eyes flickered away from her. The gesture was familiar to her, but she couldn’t understand how or why.

No matter, she had to get to work. “Thanks for the ride, Edward.”

He smiled at her, but seemed to be avoiding her eyes.

“Well, that was a bit of excitement to start the day,” Aunt Becca said as he left.

“That’s enough excitement for me,” Rachel said as she headed toward her lab. “I’ll stop being so paranoid from now on, or else I’ll start thinking everything that happens to me is a threat to my life.”

FOUR

“So you’re driving Rachel to and from work?” Alex asked his brother.

“And any of her family who needs a lift at the same time,” Edward replied.

“Do you really think she’s in danger?”

Edward navigated the turn out of his farm’s driveway onto the highway. “I’m not sure. But I also don’t want to take any chances.” Regardless of how he felt about her, he couldn’t do nothing.

Alex had wanted to come along with Edward while he picked up Rachel from the spa because Alex wanted to check whether the truck’s engine whined when it went over a certain speed.

A smile as bright as the July sun lit Rachel’s face when she saw Alex in the truck. “Hey, stranger.”

Alex got out to buss her cheek in greeting. “You don’t come to the greenhouse often enough.”

“I get there plenty—you’re just always busy avoiding me,” Rachel said playfully.

“Do your aunt and sister need a ride?” Alex asked as he got into the backseat.

“No, Aunt Becca drove them this morning. Naomi had to get to work early,” Rachel said as she climbed into the truck. “They actually just left. I had to finish an experiment.”

On the drive to her home, Rachel turned in her seat to talk to Alex, who was sitting behind them. As they bantered back and forth, the way they always did, Edward tried to concentrate on the traffic, which was almost nonexistent, and the road, which was smooth.

He and Rachel used to banter together before he’d started distancing himself from her.

And now he was jealous of his younger brother. He snorted in self-disgust and sped up. The faster he got her home, the better.