Page 38 of Cheyenne

She would never be the same after this week with Micah Jamison.

He brushed his lips against hers, taking her hands and squeezing them. Then he pulled back and then winked at her. “How about I pick you up just after lunch tomorrow? I have some things to do in the morning, and then we can return the amulet. Hopefully we will make it to the dinner cruise, as long as we can get out of the crypt.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m already scared. But I’m glad you have the amulet so I won’t have any crazy dreams tonight.”

“Ghosts don’t haunt me. They’re too afraid.” Micah lifted an arm and flexed his bicep.

Cheyenne burst out laughing. The move was so like something her brothers would do.

He lowered his arm and smiled. “I’m glad you get a kick out of that, Cheyenne Cross. I think that means we will get along.” He leaned in and brushed her lips with one more kiss. Then he pulled back. “Good night.”

If this were a cartoon movie, she’d be swooning over the hero. She would’ve brought her hand to her forehead and leaned back against the door as she watched him walk away. But she didn’t want him to see her do that, so she quickly turned and walked inside. Only when the door was safely shut did she lean against the door and swoon.

She giggled and pulled her phone out. Samantha would lose her mind when Cheyenne told her about this new development.

A knock sounded on the door behind her. She hadn’t pressed Samantha’s number, so she quickly pulled it open, thinking it might be Micah wanting to give her one last kiss.

No luck. There stood Eli, with a grumpy look on his face and his arms crossed. “I suppose you didn’t realize that I watched you walk up to the door and kiss him. Seriously?”

She wanted to just toss the door shut, but she said, “Eli. We were done last year. I don’t know why we have condos next to each other, but it doesn’t mean anything. I’m dating someone else.”

Eli scoffed. “You mean to tell me that you’re dating him two days after you met him? I don’t think you kissed me for, like, a month.”

This time, she did slam the door in his face.

He banged on it with a fist. “I deserve an explanation,” he called from the other side.

Because she didn’t want a domestic incident, she cracked the door open and said calmly, “Eli, we are done. Go build houses, have fun on your spring break, and please leave me alone.”

For a long time, he glared back at her. Then he shook himself and turned away. “Fine. I don’t know why I went to all the trouble.”

Cheyenne shut the door. What was that about? Did he regret going to the trouble of taking her out to dinner? Or was he talking about their relationship in general? A weird feeling passed through her, and she brushed it off.

She locked the door and rushed up the stairs, getting back into the giddy mood she’d felt before the Eli encounter. She couldn’t wait to tell Samantha everything.

An hour later,she lay in bed on her side, staring out the window. She enjoyed listening to the nearby crashing of the ocean, but she couldn’t stop thinking about Micah.

As if her thoughts had triggered it, her phone buzzed. Who could it be? It was past midnight. She was a tad disappointedwhen she saw it was her brother Nash. Reluctantly, she answered it. “Hello.”

“Chey, what’s up?”

“It’s late.”

“Not for me. It’s just past ten.”

Right. Her family was still on Central Time. She sat up. “What’s up with you?”

The click-clack of a keyboard sounded over the line. “Nothing.”

“Are you working on a case?” she asked. Nash had taken a job with a law firm in Salt Lake City recently.

“Yep. I’m just doing some pro bono work for the firm right now. They put all the grunts on this kind of stuff.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means free work so the firm can give back to the community.”

“Oh.” She was learning. “Do you like it?”

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