I spun toward him. “What did you say?”
“You heard me.” Though he’d left no room for argument, he didn’t walk away. Instead, he held his position, as if he wanted to see how I’d react. As if daring me to challenge him.
There was no way I was turning down that dare. “You’re going to try to keep me here?” I took a step toward him, hinting at his sins of the past. “You said you’d never —”
I wasn’t surprised when he cut me off. “This isn’t about anything but your safety. With what happened here today, this is not the time for you to be traipsing around town unprotected.”
“I won’t be unprotected. Joe will be with me. And, considering what happened here today, I’m not sure that you can say the ranch is safer than anyplace else.”
His irritation was evident in the slant of his eyes, in the way he held his shoulders, in the heat that radiated from his body and hung in the air like a blanket ready to smother any opponent in his path. “I’m telling you not to go, Emily. You choose to do with that as you wish.” Then he turned and descended the stairs after Brent.
“So,” I said to Joe, swallowing the bubble of heartache in my throat. “Interested in taking me out?”
“Um. Sure.” Joe’s reluctant response told me both that he didn’t much care to be a pawn in my argument with Reeve, and that even so, he was on my side.
“Awesome,” I said with a smile brighter than I felt. “Give me thirty minutes to clean up.”
Joe didn’t ask where I wanted to go, and I didn’t mind. We drove into town without talking. When he’d pulled over and I looked up, we were at The Four Seasons Resort.
“Brent recommended the grill,” he said, as the valet opened my door. “More meat and potatoes, but I think that’s standard fare around here.”
Joe respectfully let me brood in silence until we were seated and our waiter had brought our drink orders. Then he stretched and scratched at the back of his neck. “You made a great point earlier about the ranch being a potentially unsafe place at the moment.”
“You think so?” It had sounded good when I’d said it, but not because I was particularly worried about safety. At least, not my own. “I’m only concerned about Amber. I’m not anyone’s target.”
“Not that you know, anyway.”
I raised an inquisitive brow. “You think that article yesterday really makes me that vulnerable?”
“Maybe.” He swirled the Wild Turkey around in his tumbler. “He’s not coming after her because of affection. You don’t win back the girl that you love by killing dogs.”
“This isn’t about love,” I agreed before taking a sip of my merlot.
“Right. It’s about exerting ownership. And I don’t think it’s just about him believing she owes him. It’s about Vilanakis wanting to take away Sallis’s prized possession.”
I cringed inwardly at the label he’d given Amber. “Which is why she’s not safe.”
“Except Amber’s not really the one who’s his prized possession these days, is she?” He let that settle over me as he tossed back his drink in one gulp.
It was an arguable point, and my first instinct was to say that there was no way that Vilanakis could know much about me, but I realized that wasn’t true. Someone had gotten to Jenkins, and that same someone could very well have seen Reeve and me arguing by the corral or embracing on the back deck or making love on the porch swing.
“No wonder Reeve hadn’t wanted me to leave the ranch. Why did he let me in the end?”
“It’s not because he doesn’t care. If that’s what you’re thinking.”
It irritated me that he could read my thoughts so easily. “Since you know so much, then why? Because he didn’t want to cause a scene? I don’t really think that Reeve cares so much about keeping the peace.”
“My guess is that he doesn’t want to worry you. Probably the same reason he doesn’t want to tell you about that e-mail.”
The waiter arrived then with our dinner and so the questions brought up by his speculation faded into musings that I mulled over as I cut into my fish. It was a nice thought – the idea that Reeve wanted to protect me from knowledge that might make me anxious. But it didn’t fit his M.O. Reeve was secretive because he liked to hold all the cards. When he wanted to protect someone he gave them “babysitters” and brought in extra guards.
I glanced around the restaurant wondering suddenly if Tabor had been sent to follow me but didn’t see him anywhere.
God, what was wrong with me? I’d been mad when he’d tried to keep me from leaving, and I was hurt when he’d let me go. Reeve was right – there was no winning with me.
I set down my fork, my appetite having vanished. “How long are you planning to stick around here? Around the ranch, I mean.”
Joe took a swallow of his water before answering. “Trying to get rid of me?”
I smiled, but it faded quickly. “I was thinking maybe it was time for me to go home.”
“Are you wanting to leave Kaya or leave Reeve?”
I didn’t want to leave either. I needed to.
But I didn’t bother correcting him. “Both?” It was only one word but it was harder to say than I’d thought it would be. I’d missed Amber, and I wanted so much to work on rebuilding our friendship. Especially after hearing how much she’d struggled with worthlessness and how vulnerable I sensed she was.