Exasperated, she threw off the melancholy that came with exhaustion. She knew what it was about. Lack of sleep, not enough food, and an outcome that she’d never get used to. She reached the dock and stripped off, leaving her dirty clothes next to her boots in a pile, and set her clean clothes and towel within reach at the end of the dock. She dove in and let the water, warmer than the air around her, start to loosen some of the tension in her muscles and the aches that were deeper than that. She swam out a distance and then flipped onto her back, eyes closed, shadows dancing across her eyelids as the first whisper of dawn crept over the mountaintops. In another half an hour, the lodge would come to life. She ought to sleep, but her stomach rumbled. Coffee, some kind of sandwich, and she’d have enough energy to get through whatever headache of a schedule Sarah had waiting for her. She stroked leisurely back to the dock, reached up with both hands on the edge, and pulled herself up and out of the water.

“Oh!” Lily said. “Oh. Sorry.”

Chase flipped the wet hair from her face with one hand and blinked away the water from her eyes. Nope, not a mirage. Lily in a loose white shirt and shorts that stopped just above her knees, spinning around at the foot of the dock, putting her back to Chase. From where Chase was standing, she could tell Lily had folded her arms across her chest as if warding off a chill. The air was a little cool, but she didn’t think that was the problem.

Grinning to herself, she reached for the towel. “Morning.”

“I didn’t think you’d be here. I’m very sorry to disturb you.”

“I’m not disturbed. Are you disturbed?”

“I’m…” Lily still hadn’t turned around. “Are you decent?”

“Haven’t been accused of that recently.”

Lily’s hands came to her hips. Back stiff. “You know what I mean.”

“It’s just a body, Lily,” Chase said quietly as she finished drying off.

“Well, is the just a body covered up yet?”

“Working on it.” She pulled on jeans and reached for her T-shirt. “All good.”

Lily turned and Chase grinned, pulling the T-shirt over her head a second later.

“That was juvenile,” Lily said.

“Are you mad?”

“No. That would be juvenile too.” Lily came down the dock toward her, and Chase’s stomach tightened. She’d been playing with her a little bit, but she liked Lily looking at her. She’d like it a lot more if Lily touched her. She stuffed the tail of her T-shirt into her jeans as if that would somehow erase her desire for more. It wasn’t working.

“Did you just get back?” Lily asked.

“Yeah,” Chase said with a sigh. “How’s things been around here?”

Lily lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know if I could say routine or not. I don’t think there’s any particular problem.”

“Is Ford Langford causing any trouble?” At Lily’s questioning look, she added, “Her parents obviously thought she needed watching—since they angled for more on-site security.”