But I’d also always be Amber’s. She’d been the only person to recognize the woman in the scraps of nothing that I’d been. And because of that I’d keep looking for her truth. Searching threatened what I had with Reeve, but until I put her to rest, I could never wholly belong to him anyway.
He shifted next to me again, pulling the sheet up from where it was gathered at our feet. As he tucked the sheet around me he said, “I have to go on a trip. For a couple of weeks, at least. Maybe longer.”
“Okay.” His news pinched at my cloak of peace, causing my chest to tighten.
He turned on his side and dragged me into him so he could spoon. This was new too, and I loved it. I was sure it stemmed from our understanding. He felt as compelled to shelter me as I was to retreat into him.
He nuzzled at my neck, his breath warm and welcome on my skin. Lazily, he said, “You’ll come with me.”
“Okay.” Anywhere he said, I’d go.
“Good.” He kissed the back of my ear. “We’ll leave for the ranch tomorrow.”
The ranch. He was taking me to the ranch where Amber was last with him.
I’d never been very spiritual, but it was impossible not to see this as a sign. Even the gods wanted me to discover what happened to her. Even they were laying out the path to take me where I needed to go to do just that.
Or they desired that I find the same fate she did. I hadn’t completely discounted that possibility either.
CHAPTER 22
Reeve woke me up early the next morning, sending me to my house to pack a bag. “Don’t worry about bringing too much. We can get you anything you need in Jackson.”
“Okay,” I said, pulling on yesterday’s jeans.
“I’ll give you enough time to get a wax appointment. You’ve finally got enough hair to go in.” He nodded in the direction of my crotch.
I blushed. “You noticed.” Of course he would. He was down there more than I was.
“Yeah, and guess what.” He beamed. “You’re a natural blonde.”
Just as I was about to head out, he called after me. “I meant to ask you, were you in my office last night?”
I swallowed the panic rising in my chest. How the hell had he known? “I was. I got bored waiting for you and played some solitaire. Was that okay?”
“Of course. You left your game open. I finished it for you before coming to bed last night.”
My heart was still racing, but Reeve seemed genuinely unbothered by it so I forced a bright smile. “Silly me. Did we win, at least?”
His face was hard to read when he said, “Oh, Blue Eyes, I always win.”
Filip rang my doorbell at two that afternoon. I grabbed my sunglasses and carry-on and locked up while he put my suitcase in the trunk. He opened the back door for me and I slid in next to Reeve. He was dressed casually in loose jeans and a long-sleeve flannel button-down. A pair of Tom Ford Aviators hid the eyes that I was sure were brought out by the blue in his shirt.
“Where’s the cowboy hat?” I teased. The western look was surprisingly good on him. Not really surprisingly – every look was good on him.
“I’ll wear it later just for you.” He laced his fingers through mine, which was a nice surprise despite the smirk on his face as he took in my tunic zip-front dress. “Wyoming is cold this time of year, Blue Eyes. Your legs are going to freeze.”
“I have leggings in my carry-on. I’ll put them on when we land.” Reluctantly, I let go of his hand to buckle in.
“Good.” He palmed my bare thigh, an acceptable substitute for hand-holding. “Though I’m glad right now that you aren’t wearing them. Let’s hope I have an opportunity to take advantage of that.”
I might have purred. “What’s wrong with now?”
“Now, we have things to discuss.” He left his hand where it was, but his tone said that we weren’t playing anymore. This was business.
Instantly, I tensed. “Like?”
“Expectations. I thought it might be a good idea to discuss them before we have any other misunderstandings.”
“Great idea.” I had to stop assuming every serious conversation we were going to have would be a bad one. Anxiety was a natural side effect of lying, understandably. But I didn’t have to be so paranoid. “Shoot. I’m ready.”
“Kaya is not a resort like the other Sallis properties. It’s a —”
“Kaya?” I interrupted, ignoring the irritated glare he shot me. That was supposedly the maiden name of his mother, the name that Joe hadn’t been able to verify. “What’s Kaya?”
“That’s the name of the ranch. We breed and run cattle, but we do have twenty cabins that we rent along the western borders where the river runs. Mostly people interested in fly-fishing but other tourists too.”
“Okay.” I wanted to ask how a working ranch had become part of the Sallis portfolio, but he’d moved on before I had a chance.
“We’ll be staying in the main house. Guests are not permitted there. The central office is by the front gates and is where all interactions with them take place. Even without the guests, though, the house sees lots of traffic. The key staff members come up for meals and various activities. Brent, the ranch manager, lives above the office but sometimes he stays at the house. Usually when he’s drunk. He’ll be on the plane today.”
“Got it.” These weren’t exactly the kinds of expectations I thought we were going over, but they were helpful nonetheless. “In other words, I shouldn’t walk around naked.”