Yawning, Ryker stretched out on the bed. His body felt unusually stiff as he slowly sat on the light-colored sheets. His feet sank into a soft fur runner that lay on the worn parquet floor in front of the sleeping area.

Actually, he should be happy. He should be smiling. After all, he had found the woman and the boy and had come a decisive step closer to solving his case. Now, Ray just had to inform Dylan and keep the spectacle going for as long as possible. But why was there a sharp-edged stone lying in his chest?

Why was he still frowning now, even half asleep?

Why wouldn't the feeling that he had missed something go away?

Groaning, Ray finally struggled out of bed and sat up with difficulty. When he glanced at the small window next to the bed, he realized it was later than he had thought. Usually, he woke up when it dawned. But now the sun was a little higher, and the colorful dawn had given way to the blue-grey of this autumn day.

'What's wrong with you?' he scolded himself as his gaze slid out the window into the autumnal landscape and onto the shimmering lake. 'You're overthinking. Concentrate on your task.'

"Good morning," Ray greeted and hurried down the stairs from the upper floor to the kitchen, where Evelyn was standing at the cooker with Liam. Again, a wonderful smell hit him. Ray stepped closer to soak it up and looked curiously at the pans and bowls.

"Good morning," Riona greeted him and lifted the coffee cup to her lips.

Liam beamed at him. He had a little flour on his cheek and smiled contentedly while Eve remained silent. The childlike radiance also brought a mild smile to Ryker's lips. He proudly held the spatula in his hand and looked back at the pan before him. The pancake was a little misshapen; the little boy had undoubtedly been allowed to make it himself. The boy waited patiently and dutifully, his eyes fixed on the batter.

"What are you doing, Liam?" he enquired, ignoring the piercing, suspicious look from the side.

"I'm helping Mum with breakfast!" Liam announced proudly, raising the spatula in the air like a sword. A soft but hearty laugh escaped Ryker's throat. You just had to like the boy. Ryker almost envied his childlike, carefree attitude.

"What are you doing for us?" he continued to ask the boy, savoring the moment and forgetting for a moment about the case and everything that had to do with it.

"Pancakes!"

"Coffee?" Before he could answer the boy, Eve addressed the question to him. Her voice sounded much cooler than Riona's or the little boy's.

Sighing inwardly, he closed his eyes for a moment. Of course, he wasn't stupid enough to think that one night would be enough for her to forget his comment from the day before. Still, he had hoped it wouldn't be ... well, so complicated.

"Gladly, simple black," he replied, stepping back from Liam to turn his attention to Evelyn.

But she had already turned her back on him and opened a kitchen cupboard above her. She stretched and reached for one of the cups.

He was already stepping towards her to help her when she finally pulled the china from the shelf and reached for the steaming pot. The coffee sloshed silently into the glass jug as she poured some and handed it to him.

His gaze slid scrutinizingly to Liam, who had turned his attention back to the pan and was waiting intently for the batter to bubble so he could flip the pancake. He reminded Ray of an impatient little cat in front of a mouse hole.

"Hey, Eve, wait a minute," he whispered, barely audible to the boy as he turned to his mother. Instead of the coffee cup, she was still holding out to him, he lightly grabbed her wrist. He couldn't help but notice how she tensed as he gripped her wrist. He wasn't rough at all but cautious. He just feared that she might jump back.

"I'm sorry," he continued, lowering his gaze so that he could look her in the eye. She was indeed a size smaller than him, but that suited her. It was kind of... cute. When she pouted and looked suspicious, like now, she reminded him a little of a fluffy squirrel with chubby cheeks.

"I didn't mean it like that yesterday," he added regretfully. And it was true. He regretted the words he had hurled at her so carelessly. And sincerely.

And the reason for his regret was not the hurt he now saw again, which unconsciously attracted his gaze. She must have noticed because he saw her avert her eyes.

"I was under adrenaline, the situation was strange and..." He broke off and sighed softly. "Listen, I don't want a fight. I really don't. I'm not usually like that. It won't happen again."
Smiling slightly, his hand slid from her joint to her cup and took it from her. At the edge, he realized that her body had somehow ... stiffened. He had the feeling that she was shying away from his touch. Only when his hand slipped from her skin and closed the cup did she seem to relax and avert her gaze.

"I just want to get my work done. So, peace?"

Her reaction confused him. She just didn't fit the image he'd tried to believe in and had been sold. Someone had to be stone cold to be a mum or dad and do something to their child ...

'Something's not right here.'

"It's okay," avoiding his gaze and returning to Liam's side, he heard her soft voice. It tickled his ear as he slumped against the kitchen counter and sipped his coffee. Not wanting to be too intrusive or stare, he looked closer at the décor. Cozy. A little thrown together, not really uniform. A lot of colonial style.

Shortly afterward, he heard a loud hiss. Moisture in hot fat, which is why he smiled slightly when he heard Liam's cry of joy and assumed that the 'mission to flip pancakes' had succeeded.

"I don't like talking about it," he suddenly heard surprisingly close to him. Eve had leaned over and whispered in his ear as if it were a secret. But he rather suspected that she was ashamed.

Before he could react, a fork with a piece of pancake hovered in front of him. As he opened his mouth to say something in reply, Eve took the opportunity and shoved the tasty morsel between his lips.

"Nhhhm!" Ray almost choked on the morsel in shock. He closed his mouth before Eve withdrew the fork. A pleasant sweetness flooded his taste buds. It was fluffy and soft ... perfect. Just like the roast the night before.

"That's ... wow!" he murmured, half chewing, half swallowing. "I had terrible fears about the 'free tasting,' but it looks like I was scared for nothing," he said with a slight laugh in his voice before continuing a little more seriously.

"But joking aside, what else needs fixing on your truck apart from the broken headlight?"

"I'll show you after breakfast." Relieved, Ray thought he recognized the hint of a smile on her lips. "Oh, Ray? You don't talk with your mouth full, especially not in front of children!"

🍂🗝️🍂

An unpleasant squeak sounded as he braced himself against the door.

"The hinges are broken; they need replacing," he muttered grumpily. It wasn't a lie that his parents owned a construction company. In fact, he had mainly grown up on building sites before his time in the army. So he knew something about trades and renovation. "Shouldn't be much of a problem. "What else is there?"

"The roof is leaking."

He felt his eyebrow slide upwards before he could stop it.

"The roof?" he repeated incredulously.

"Yes, the last storm tore a few tiles off, and they need replacing. Here and there, it's dripping into the old roof truss. One of the leaks is at the end of the top corridor, and we don't want mold with all that wood in the old house," Eve explained.

The floorboards of the small terrace groaned with his steps as he approached the fence. The wood creaked dangerously under his weight. Some parts were obviously no longer as stable as they should be. He turned his head towards the roof and leaned a little over the parapet, hoping to catch a glimpse - in vain. The roof arched too far over his head, and he had to climb up to look closer.

"And then there's the broken dishwasher, the parquet floor, and the paintwork in almost every room."

"Good joke. Seriously, what of that needs doing?" He turned to Eve, who was still standing in the doorway. The look on her face said more than a hundred words: she was deadly serious. This couldn't be true! You had to hire experts for something like this, not just any craftsman. Especially as the work was very varied. What were roofers or painters for?

Ryker could guess why they were looking for someone with these talents instead of hiring several professionals: it was obvious that Riona was not a wealthy heiress. Out here, most people helped themselves or each other. Well. He had got himself into this predicament. Now, he had to see how to get the cow off the ice. He would think of some solution.

Groaning, he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Okay. Eve ... where's the nearest hardware store?"