Page 21 of Shadow Sabotage
“I’m sure he’d rather have some privacy,” I began.
But Mom glared at me and he kept grinning like he knew I was in a bind and had no intention of helping me out of it.
“Fine,” I said, giving Mom my sweetest fake smile. “Save me some apple pie?”
“Of course.” She beamed at me.
I took the chili from her hands and stalked off, telling myself for the thousandth time that I absolutelyhadto move out and get a place of my own.
Chapter Eight
Vance
Deputy Hawkins marchedbehind me as I made my way to one of the only vacant hay bales left. She plopped down beside me, keeping her eyes straight ahead and putting as much distance as she could between our bodies.
She hadn’t wanted me here. I’d known that and I’d come anyway, letting curiosity dictate my decision. Seeing the complete misery on her face made me regret it.
“Your mom seems nice,” I said, trying to smooth things over.
She ignored the comment, letting out an irritated huff before words bubbled out of her so quickly I could barely follow them. “Listen, you should know that she’s desperate to set me up with someone, and for whatever reason, she just picked you. I would apologize for that, but you didn’t exactly help the situation, did you?” She began shoveling chili into her mouth like she was a prisoner eating her last meal.
I laughed out loud, surprised by her honesty. “What do you mean I didn’t help?”
She glared at me. “I gave you alook.Don’t tell me you couldn’t figure out what it meant.”
Oh, I’d known what it meant. But I had been too curious to walk away.
“Now she’s met you, and you’re all”—she gestured impatiently at me—“you know,you,and she knows we’re working together, so you should be warned. She’ll be a nightmare.”
I raised an eyebrow, trying to interpret her comment about me beingme. Me as in … what? Did Claire find me attractive, despite her obvious disdain? The thought was strangely enticing.
I winked at her. “Should I take that as a compliment?”
She shot me another look—one that saiddon’t be stupid. “Only if you consider it to be some sort ofcomplimentthat you’re a male without a wedding ring on your finger.” She gave me an exaggerated eye roll. “Congratulations. You’re a manandyou’re single. We should alert the newspaper on your incredible achievements.”
This girl had a mouth on her.
A mouth I suddenly found very appealing.
“I see,” I said, amused. “So is that why you wanted me to eat at Whiskey Creek? So that your mom wouldn’t know about me?”
“Yep.” She let out a little growl. “I wouldn’t even have told you about the guest dinner, but I knew whoever checked you in would, so you’d find out anyway. And if Mom found out we were working together and Ihadn’tinvited you, I would never hear the end of it.”
“Well, for future reference, if you don’t want me to come to something, you should just tell me outright. Trying to manipulate me just makes me curious.”
She flattened her lips. “Yeah, I realized afterward that I’d messed up there.”
“Lesson number one. Partners have to be honest with each other.”
She gave me a look I couldn’t quite read. And as I gazed at her, I stopped trying.
Her green eyes sparkled in the fading sunlight, the deep swirls of green, blue, and gold reminding me of the sea. Like the ocean in Maine right after a storm, when the sun finally broke through the clouds again. Those faint freckles spattered across her skin reminded me of the constellations that would soon appear across the Wyoming skies, a sight I’d fallen in love with the first time I’d set foot in this state. It was like she spent so much time underneath them that they’d marked themselves on her. With her hair down again, flowing from beneath her brown cowboy hat, she looked freer. More relaxed than she’d been in uniform.
She was absolutely beautiful.
Her cheeks turned pink. She dropped her gaze, then turned away from me.
I shook myself, realizing I’d stared too long, and followed her line of sight to where a gray-haired cowboy was crossing the yard. He walked quickly, despite a slight limp, heading straight for Naomi. When he reached her, he pulled her into an embrace and kissed her right in front of everyone, dipping her down and earning a cheer from the crowd.
