Nicole peeked around the corner into the back. "Brandy?" she said softly, edging inside.

The soft singing stopped and a young woman with brunette hair down to her waist looked around the corner before breaking into a smile. "Nicole!" She walked over quickly, careful not to jostle the baby in her arms. "I heard you were back," she said, giving Nicole a small hug.

Nicole pulled away to look at the baby. "Yeah, I've been meaning to stop by, but things have been just a little crazy. Now, who's this?"

She beamed. "This is Trevor."

After a few minutes of gushing and a couple more of catching up, Nicole pretended to just notice her friend's nails. "Oh, Brandy, did you have Lynn do these?"

"Yes. I know it's probably silly, but I missed having them done. I'm just shocked they haven't come off yet, what with me having to take care of Trevor and all."

"Well, she does say they're guaranteed for two weeks."

Brandy nodded. "True, but I didn't think they'd actually stay like this." She shrugged and walked to the carrier, laying her baby down inside. Nicole followed her. "So, what are you doing this summer?"

How much should Nicole tell her? After a moment she settled on, "Mainly hanging out with Ashton."

She nodded, looking concerned. "How is he? I haven't seen much of him. You know, I worry about that boy. He's always been so sensitive, and now a little girl turns up dead? I can only imagine how he's taking it."

Nicole gave her a small smile. There was at least one person here that cared about him. "He's talking to Trisha. At least, he was."

"I'm going to say hi to him." Nicole followed her to the door of the stockroom. "I know there's a lot of rumors about him going around, but don't believe any of them. I know him very well – I babysat him a lot as he was growing up, and he used to hang around here a lot. He's a good guy."

Nicole nodded, smiling. Brandy was still looking at her when she opened the door, so she didn't see how Ashton jumped and turned, wiping his face. But Nicole did. She frowned when Brandy faced the rest of the store. What was wrong?

"Ashton!" Brandy called happily.

"Hi, Brandy," he responded with a smile, hugging her.

Brandy backed up and checked his face. "I was worried about you," she said after a minute. "That's hard news, isn't it?"

He swallowed. "What was?"

She shook her head. "That little girl. What, did you have other hard news?"

He shook his head quickly. "No, no – I'd just let it slip my mind. I'm trying not to think about it. That was awful to hear."

She nodded and rubbed his arm vigorously for a moment before stepping around the counter. "It was. I wanted to know how you were taking it, but you look fine." She glanced around. "Where's Trisha?"

He rubbed the back of his neck but quickly moved his hand. "She had to step out for a moment."

"Oh. Okay, then." She smiled at the two of them. "Got plans for the day?"

"Just meeting up with my friend for lunch," Nicole answered, prodding Ashton in the side. "We're on our way there right now, actually. Just stopped by to say hi and see the baby."

"Oh! Well, don't let me keep you. You go and have fun." She waved as the couple moved to the exit.

The moment the door closed behind them Nicole turned to Ashton. "I know she didn't just 'step out'. What happened? I saw you wiping your face." She looked at him, more concerned for him than for the girl.

He sighed, took her hand, and led her down the sidewalk. "I tried to keep myself from losing a friend, but it couldn't be avoided." He shook his head. "I don't know how to salvage anything there. Trisha and I grew up together. The only one I've told more to is you. She knows me better than my parents do, if that's even possible." He took a deep, calming breath. "She's the closest thing I had to a best friend, and now I don't have her."

Nicole stopped him and hugged him. "You have me," she whispered in his ear. She pulled away and looked at him. He gave her a small smile. "Remember that, okay?"

"Okay." He took her hand again and resumed walking. People kept staring at them.

To avoid squirming, she blurted, "I've got an idea. Do you think you maybe could have your little sister spend the night with you?"

He studied her carefully. "Why?"

"Yes or no?"

He sighed. "I can. Why do you want me to?"

She smiled to herself. "I'm working on a little something. I have a hunch about how the girl lost a nail, but I need someone with those nails that have been wearing them for as long as Trisha has to prove it. I know the nail I have matches Trisha's nails, but that's all I can get out of one nail. I need to see how much the nail has to go through to end up coming off."

He sighed and shook his head. "I understand where you're coming from, Nicole, but I don't think that you're looking in the right place."

She glanced at him, curious. "What do you mean?"

Ashton stopped walking and pointed at a building. "Your best bet is to get in with them."

The police station's doors were open and sound was spilling out, a jumble of voices and laughter. She shook her head. "No. I refuse to get in with those people. I don't like anyone who doesn't like you, Ash. Why would I want to?"

He smiled at her gently. "Nicole, I thank you for feeling this way about me, and I feel the same. But I know that if you truly want to solve the murder and help me, you start in there. Get in my parents' good graces, make them like you. Even if it means making them think you hate me. I have a lot of suspicions that I'm going to keep to myself for now, but as soon as I feel I can, I'll tell them all to you." He drew her closer and kissed her hair. "Now, go in there and meet my dad."

She pulled back and looked up at him, a sly smile spreading on her face. "Right after he probably saw his son kissing my head?" She snickered and Ashton chuckled with her. With a sigh, she turned towards the station. "Fine. I'll go see him."

Without another word, she crossed the street. Inside the lobby were about five desks, but only three of them were occupied. The man at the nearest desk looked up and squinted. "Can I help you?"

She put on her best smile. "Hi. I'm Nicole Downs."

Before she could say anything else, the guy at the next desk looked up and smirked. "Oh, hey." She looked at him, and barely managed to not groan aloud. Deputy Mason Spurlock rose from his desk and walked over to her. "What brings you here?"

She forced a smile and resisted the urge to take a step back. "Hi. I'm poking around, but I also wanted to see if I could do anything to help the investigation about the little girl." She frowned. "I can't stand that she died."

The officer nodded. "I know. Do you have information?"

She fidgeted. "Not exactly. I just wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help. There's nothing I could really add to the case information-wise right now."

Mason tapped a finger against his chin as he studied her. She was only glad he couldn't hear how hard her heart was pounding from lying to him. "Well, I'm not sure how the boss will take you wanting to help with the case, but he'll be back any minute and you can ask him." Nicole nodded and the deputy looked out the glass door behind her and frowned. "What's he doing out there?" he muttered under his breath.

Nicole turned and looked. Ashton hadn't gone far. He was leaning against the building across the road and seemed to be waiting for her to come back. "Oh, Ashton is waiting for me to come back. I told him I wanted to stop and say hi to you, but he wouldn't come in here."

Mason turned narrowed eyes to her. "You're hanging out with him? That won't win you any points in here." With a furtive glance at the other two officers, he leaned closer but still said loud enough for the others to hear, "Once we find the rest of the evidence, he's going to be arrested. He's the one that killed that little girl."

Nicole watched his eyes and saw doubt. She heard the uncertainty in his voice. Maybe he'd help her instead of hurt her. "He's not my friend in the strictest terms. More like a guy I met that likes me and he tells me everything." She raised her eyebrows, recalling Ashton's advice. "Do you really think I'd trust him? You didn't see his reaction to them finding that girl. I did." She shook her head. "Not the reaction of the innocent."

The officer seemed to relax. "Then why are you hanging out with him?"

She smirked, mentally apologizing to Ash already. "Keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer."

He smiled back, but it didn't reach his eyes. He bought it. She couldn't believe it. "So you're gonna sell him out?"

She nodded and kept her smile, even as her stomach threatened to show her the last thing she ate. "I'd do anything to put someone guilty behind bars, where they deserve to be."

Mason grinned at her. "Good. You know, you really could be useful. I'll talk to Clive when he gets in. Shouldn't be long. I'll come find you later and tell you what he says. Where do you plan on going?"

She shrugged. "Mainly Ashton's house to keep things going, but I'll be having dinner with my family tonight about 6. We're staying in the cabin closest to the woods."

He nodded. "Okay. I'll see you later, then." He turned and walked back over to his desk.

Nicole walked outside and took Ash's hand. "How did it go?" he asked as they began walking in the general direction of his home.

She shrugged and didn't say anything else until they got to his house. Once they were there, she ran up the stairs and tugged at the door, only to find it locked. She began scanning the woods around them, looking out for Mason. The moment Ashton opened the door, she put her hand on his back, making him hurry into the house, and she quickly followed, locking the door behind them.

He looked at her, startled. "What in the world is wrong?"

She chewed her trembling lower lip before launching herself, crying, at Ashton. Surprised, he put his arms around her, holding her to his chest. "I'm sorry" was all she could say, over and over, against his chest. He stroked her hair and made comforting noises. After a few minutes, she stopped sobbing, but she kept her face buried in his chest.

He waited another minute and sighed, pulling her away from him. His hands cupped her face and she felt embarrassed for him to see her like this. Then again, he was the only one she would show this face to. "What happened?" he asked in a low, soothing voice.

She took a deep shuddering breath and forced herself to look at him. "I kind of, well, um." She shook her head. She just couldn't look at him and say this. Her gaze fixed on his chest. "They think I'm going to sell you out to them. They think you did it, so I played to that so I could get in with them."

His reaction wasn't what she feared. He simply sighed and pulled her closer. His lips brushed the top of her head and down to her ear. "I'm not mad," he breathed, his breath tickling her, making her shiver. "You did what you had to." She closed her eyes. His touch had begun to feel electric, like every place his body made contact with hers was laced with electric currents.

She wrapped her arms around his neck. Her cheek was pressed against his. He pulled back and kissed her nose. His eyes opened and when she didn't feel his lips, she opened her eyes, looking deep into his.

He gave her a weak smile and pulled away. He ran a hand through his hair and studied the floor. "I don't think we should kiss yet – it's not how I was raised, remember? My mom always taught me to respect girls, and the best way to do that is to wait to even kiss her until we're-" he paused, glancing up at her "-engaged."

Nicole thought her heart was going to pound out of her chest. She found that she cared more than she thought she would. The more she thought about it, though, the more at peace she felt with it, though. It made her feel special. Treasured, even. Not to mention that the way he said it this time made it feel like something that would really happen in the future. "Okay," she said, not feeling as bad now.

He studied her for a long moment. "You're not upset?"

She smiled at him and put a hand on his chest. "Ash, if that's what you want, I can respect that. It's not a problem." Especially when she thought about how much he cared for her. She kissed him on the cheek. "I kind of need to go – Hailey and I were going to hang out on the beach near our cottage."

He nodded and smiled a little at her. She hated leaving him, especially when she could see in his eyes that he didn't want her to leave just yet, either.