Page 43 of Love Bomb

He’d had a jacket just like it when he’d been a teen. Brown suede on the outside and thick wool inside. Every time he’d taken it off, she’d put it on and wrapped herself in his warmth and scent. Just looking at the new version of the jacket brought back some good memories. Pity this one came with a moody man attached.

As they neared the tent, two teenage boys rushed out.

“Halt! Who goes there?” one of them said, before they both fell about laughing.

“At ease, boys,” Bain drawled. “Rona wants to visit her property. You can go back inside and stay warm.”

The tallest of the two was already shaking his head. “No can do. Dougal said if somebody goes inside we need to follow them.”

“Why?” Rona challenged.

The boys shared a confused look before the shorter one shrugged.

“Dougal says,” he repeated.

“Don’t worry,” Bain said. “I won’t tell Dougal you stayed in the tent. If he asks, you came out and challenged us. Which is true, you did your job. There’s no sneaking up on you two.”

Their chins went up and they nodded proudly.

Then the tall one looked suspicious. “What if you’ve brought something with you to damage the folly? We’re supposed to keep an eye out for sabotage.”

“Aye,” the short one leered at Rona. “We have to search you.”

“You could do that,” Bain said cordially, “but if you put your hands on Rona, I’d have to knock your teeth down your throat.”

They visibly swallowed.

“I don’t think we need to search you,” the tall one said quickly.

“Wise decision.” Bain strode past them and through the folly door.

Rona smiled widely as she followed. “You two stay warm. No point in us all freezing out here, is there?”

The tall boy blushed and nodded, while the smaller one shifted in place.

“You aren’t really gonna blow it up, are you?”

“Not tonight,” Rona said cheerily as she entered her useless inheritance. “When did they install a light inside?” she said, closing the door against the icy wind.

“Dunno. I never come out here.” He paced the edge of the circular space, stopping every now and then to crouch down and poke at the bricks. “Do you have the old plans for this place?”

“Nope. The historical society probably has the most information on it, from when they renovated it a few years back.”

“It’s going to be hard to get what they have without raising suspicion,” he muttered.

Rona stood in the center of the circular shape and looked up into the domed roof, where the newly glazed window sat. She peered through it, searching for stars. All she saw was black night.

“To think that someone actually invested time and money into building this,” she said. “It isn’t even pretty.”

Bain grunted again. It echoed off the walls. The sound was really beginning to irritate her.

“How do they keep the window clean,” she said, staring up into the dome. “Not much of an observatory if the viewing window is too dirty to see through.”

More grunting.

That was it. She’d had enough.

“What’s your problem?” she demanded. “Because I’m done dealing with your passive-aggressive behavior.”