Page 77 of Red Boar's Baby

“Diana, I’m so sorry.” His words fell flat; there was simply nothing he could say to console that level of loss.

But Diana didn’t seem devastated. She had been quiet as they wandered around the burnt-out house, but there was nothing about her that suggested the losses were affecting her too badly.

“I’m choosing to look at it as a fresh start.” She twirled the wind spinner between her fingers. “I was pretty close to paying off the mortgage, which sucks, but it means I’m looking at a solid insurance settlement when that comes through. I could do almost anything with it.”

“Leave?” Costa asked quietly.

The mere idea of Diana going away opened up a gaping hole in his heart. But he wouldn’t blame her. He couldn’t think of a single reason why she would want to stay at this point.

Diana shook her head and turned away, still holding the wind spinner. “I don’t know. I have some ideas. I’m keeping my options open. Come on, let’s go see if my car’s still there.”

It was, parked right down the street where she had left it when they got the groceries out, a couple of days and a lifetime ago.

Diana slowed and stopped, and gave a short, startled laugh.

“So I guess my keys are somewhere out in the desert between here and New Mexico. My spare key, well ...” She waved a hand at the remains of her house. Then she put her hand over her face for a minute.

Hesitantly, Costa placed a hand on her back.

“Come on. I’ll drive this time. Okay if we go to the ranch?”

“Nowhere else I’d rather be,” Diana said with a choked little hiccup. However, when she took her hand from her face, she didn’t seem to be crying.

She brought the wind spinner with her.

Back in Tucson, Costa swung by his condo to pick up several changes of clothes and toss some perishable items from the fridge. It was starting to feel like the condo was merely a stopover on the way to other places, like a hotel room where he occasionally refreshed himself but didn’t stay.

Diana accepted the offer of some borrowed clothes of his to change into later.

“I also wouldn’t mind swinging by a Target or something. Your female relatives have things I could wear, but most of them either aren’t in my style, or my size. And I need some, uh. Intimate stuff. Underwear and deodorant and that sort of thing.”

“My lady’s wish, et cetera.”

It was a joke—but there was a much more relaxed feeling between them. Something had shifted during their time in the desert, pivoted and rearranged. Even though they hadn’t defined anything officially, hadn’t talked about the future, they had fallen into a closer harmony than they had enjoyed since their teen years.

Costa stopped by a store and Diana collected some things. Her wallet was also in the desert somewhere, so Costa took out his credit card, raised his eyebrows at her, and she sighed and shoved the basket of clothes and toiletries into his hand.

“Just as well I didn’t get pulled over on the way here, since I can’t legally drive without a license. I honestly forgot about that.”

“The SCB can help smooth the process of getting your ID and everything back.” Guilt assailed him; he had been too worried over everything else happening to her to even remember that she had lost most of her few remaining personal effects in the desert.

“I’ll take you up on that. Honestly, I’m almost looking forward to the everyday headache of dealing with my credit card company. I’ll pay you back for everything,” she added, as they went through the self checkout. “I do have a decent bank account, I just can’t get to it right now.”

Knowing how independent she was, Costa knew better than to tell her he’d buy her literally anything she wanted up to and including the moon if he could find a way to put a price tag on it. “I’m not keeping track, but I won’t be offended if you do.”

“I will,” she said, briskly taking the receipt from his hand.

Costa kissed her nose. Diana looked stunned, and he thought he’d overstepped, but she gave him a quick peck on the cheek, and they walked out to his car with their shoulders bumping.

It was just—easy. When was the last time they’d been truly easy with each other? All the hurt and anger, all the awkward uneasiness, the way he never seemed to know the right things to say and they kept upsetting each other ... all of that seemed to have been washed away during their time in the wilderness, leaving behind a renewal like desert spring.

“How do you feel?” Costa asked her as they drove out of the city.

“Fine. A little headachy, like I’m getting over being sick. Pretty normal.” She spread one strong, tanned hand on the dashboard and flexed her fingers. “Any word on Farley?”

“No. Could you use my phone to text the office? It’s in my jacket. The unlock code is—” He hesitated very briefly. “0819.”

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