CHAPTER TEN
“Any luck with your Udall search?” Calliope was in Luna’s workshop waiting for her new and improved bio-patch.
“I’ve tracked him to New Jersey, but that’s where his trail goes cold.” Not knowing where he was frustrated the heck out of her. “He was spotted on a surveillance video near the main port there.”
“Well, don’t let it make you crazy. Boone’s mom and dad are safe, and that’s really what matters.”
“Yeah, I guess.” She hated the thought of them being in danger.
She’d texted all of that information to Boone, hoping it would bring him some solace knowing Udall was nowhere near his folks. She hadn’t gotten a response, but she assumed it was because he had a very intense training schedule today.
“You’re coming to my birthday party tonight, right?” Calliope asked. “All of the wives and girlfriends will be there.” She grinned. “Boone will be there, and I’m sure seeing you will make him feel so much better.”
Luna gave her a quick sideways glance and returned her focus to inputting Calliope’s biorhythm data into the system.
“Luna, I’ve known him for less than a year, but I’ve spent my entire life around guys, and I can tell my brother is definitely into you.
” Calliope picked up a pair of needle-nose pliers from the workbench and started fiddling with them.
“Okay, I’m about to be nosy, so you might want to prepare yourself.
” Hoo boy. Luna tried to do just that. “What’s holding you back?
I mean, he’s good-lookin’, responsible, and he’s super nice. ”
“It’s not him. Boone is great.” It’s me. Aware this was a topic she couldn’t escape, Luna saved her work and swiveled her chair to face Calliope. “I’ve got some … baggage from my past that keeps me from totally putting myself out there. Mostly where guys are concerned.”
Calliope sort of short-laughed. “Who the hell doesn’t?”
Could Luna tell her what happened? Her friend was such a strong, self-confident woman—would she think Luna was weak for being so gullible?
Sharing it with Boone had actually felt pretty okay, almost like it lessened the stigma of the whole experience.
Maybe the more Luna opened up about it, the less awful the memories would be.
“Have you ever heard of a commune called The Farm?” She wasn’t quite as tentative this time.
“I think so.” Calliope thought about it for a minute. “Isn’t it that weird place that used to be in the mountains somewhere in Montana?”
“Yep, that’s it.” Luna proceeded to share her experience and didn’t hold anything back. Even the parts about her that were less than flattering.
Calliope just listened. She didn’t interject her opinions—she just sat quietly and never took her eyes off of Luna as she shared what happened. Every awful, embarrassing detail.
“And that’s why I sometimes have trouble trusting my instincts.” She rolled her shoulder to loosen the tension.
“Holy shit.” Calliope surprised her when she said, “Girl, you are amazing.”
“Wait, what?” She sat up in her chair. “You don’t think I’m weak or stupid?”
“Weak or … Are you kidding me?” Her voice became gentler than she’d ever heard it before. “Luna, I think what happened to you made you incredibly strong. You are, like, one of the smartest people I know, and you’re such a good person. And you’re a hell of a lot nicer than I am.”
“That’s not true.” She leaned toward her a little, as if sharing a secret. “You’re just very particular about who you share your soft side with.”
Calliope leaned in and whispered, “Don’t tell anyone.”
They both chuckled.
“Seriously, though, you shouldn’t let your past mistakes define who you are now.” Calliope set her hand on Luna’s forearm. “Focus on the remarkable woman you’ve become. Trust the instincts I know you possess. I’ve seen them in real time, when you’re working, and they’re pretty fucking spot-on.”
“Yeah, I guess. Thanks, Calliope.” Luna never thought Calliope would be the person to help her see past her own insecurities. “And your secret is safe with me.” She crossed her heart and held up three fingers.
“Well, thank God for that!” And the old rambunctious Calliope was back. “So, are you coming to my party tonight or what?”
“I wouldn’t miss it,” Luna said.
She wanted desperately to see Boone. He’d been understandably upset when he left the meeting earlier, and she hadn’t seen him since.
“Excellent. And remember, no gifts.” Calliope slapped the tops of her thighs and stood. “Welp, I’d better go show those boys how to shoot.” She started toward the door, stopped, and turned back to Luna. “Thanks for trusting me with that.”
“Thank you.”
Calliope nodded once and headed out of the workshop, which was adjacent to the ops center.
Right now, the two of them were the only women who worked for Dark Ops. That would likely change as the organization grew. Until then, they were surrounded by testosterone-laden males, and having Calliope here to open up to was nice.
It also had Luna missing the fun times she used to have with Dawn whenever she went home from college during a break.
She’d been lucky to go to a school near their house, but they both felt it was important for her to get the full experience of college life, and that included living in a dorm her first two years.
She’d lived in a small, studio apartment her final years.
Luna’s therapist at the time also thought it was a good idea and a great way for her to meet people and become more independent.
For one night during the weekends or holidays when she was home, Caleb would take Cade, their adorable little boy, and go hang out with Beck and his kids. He wanted to give them space for their “gab sesh,” as he called it.
Luna and her sister would each grab a pint of their favorite ice cream—vanilla chocolate chunk for Luna, raspberry vanilla for Dawn—then they would curl up under a blanket and watch true crime stories with the lights off.
As the show progressed, they would try to figure out how the killer got away with it or if they even were the killer. They would yell at the TV, things like, “Why not just divorce her? You didn’t have to kill her!” or “What do you mean, there’s not enough evidence to charge him?”
Afterward, when the murderer was found and the ice cream was gone, they would turn off the TV, flip on the lights, and just talk.
Luna would ask how things were with Caleb and Cade, how things were at the hospital. Dawn was an ER doc, so her job was very high-pressure, which often meant high stress. Her sister would ask about her classes, life on campus, if she was dating anyone.
Luna only dated one guy during her college years, and he turned out to be a complete and total douchebag.
Apparently, his male ego was threatened by the fact she was so far ahead of him academically.
He had the balls to cheat on her, then blamed Luna for it.
He whined about her spending more time studying than with him and couldn’t understand why she couldn’t be as chill as the other girls at school.
Boo-frickin’-hoo. Another excellent choice on Luna’s part.
She snatched her phone off the workbench and dialed her sister’s number.
It rang a few times, and Luna figured she must be at work. She was preparing to leave a voicemail message when her sister answered.
“Hey, girl!” Dawn sounded winded. “Sorry it took me so long to answer. Cade was doing his impression of a Cirque du Soleil act on his bed. I got to him just as he was about to do some kind of spinning jump onto a pile of his stuffed animals. That kid is too much like Caleb.”
“Do you want to call me back later?” Luna had missed hearing her sister’s voice. And no matter how much she screamed for her independence, she missed seeing her whenever she wanted to.
“Heck no! I passed that little hellion off to his daddy and told him to keep him occupied so I could talk to my sister.” She could hear the sound of Dawn’s bare feet on their tile floor, followed by a huff. “Okay, phew, I’m sitting down. What’s up? Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything is great,” Luna said.
“What’s that I’m hearing in your voice?” Dawn’s sister-radar had always been very accurate and finely tuned.
“It’s spooky how you do that.” Luna couldn’t hide anything from her. As a teen, she’d found it somewhat annoying. “Okay, so, the thing is … there’s this … well, I think I’m sort of interested in a guy.”
“What do you mean, sort of interested?” Dawn asked.
“Well, he’s nice. He’s a gentleman. He’s really good-looking—”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“What if he’s not … I mean, what if I’m making a mistake again?” She was two for two in the picking-crappy-guys department.
“Oh, Luna. Honey, you need to stop doubting yourself.” Dawn flipped from sister mode to mom mode. “Tell me more about this guy you’re sort of interested in. Maybe I can help you get over your uncertainty.”
“Well, he’s great with animals, he grew up on a ranch, and—”
“Oh, my God! You like Boone Langston?” Her sister lowered her voice to a whisper and repeated what she said. “You like Boone Langston?”
“How the heck did you know I was talking about him?” Luna asked.
“Uh, hello, ‘He grew up on a ranch.’” She could hear the unspoken duh in her sister’s voice. “Unless you’ve been hanging out at rodeos or something, who else could it be?”
“He really is great, Dawn, and when I told him about what happened, he was totally understanding.” Luna thought back to their time beneath that old weeping willow tree. “He didn’t think less of me at all.”
“Wait a minute … you … you told him?” She was surprised because Luna avoided telling people about that time as much as possible. “That’s pretty meaningful, Luna.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“I met him at Molly and Michaleen’s when we were all up there, and I was very impressed.
” That was saying something, because Dawn wasn’t easily impressed.
“He was so polite, said ma’am and sir whenever he spoke to Molly and Michaleen, carried loaded platters from the kitchen to the table out back.
Then after dinner, he actually sat on the grass and played with the kids, and he really seemed to enjoy himself while he was doing it.
It’s obvious his parents raised him right. ”
For some reason, the thought of Boone sitting on the grass, playing with a group of little kids, had her ovaries doing a jig. Which was silly, because she was only twenty-four and wasn’t planning to have kids for a few more years.
“He had a bunch of us out to his ranch for a big barbecue, and he actually made homemade ice cream that we ate by a huge fire in his firepit.” She was excited to tell her the best part. “Guess what I did? I actually rode a horse! Totally by myself!”
Luna told her all about Patience and how sweet she was. Dawn laughed when she told her how Sassy tried to buck Hawk off her back, but he was too skilled of a rider to fall for it. Luna gushed about how beautiful the sunset was at his ranch.
“And, oh, my gosh, he grilled steaks from his family’s ranch, and they were a-mazing.” Seriously, she’d never had steak that tasted better. “Did you know the name of their ranch is Wind River Ranch? Isn’t that cool?”
“Luna, I don’t know if you realize this, but when you’re talking about him, you sound happier than you have in a long time.”
She thought about it and realized her sister was right. Luna couldn’t remember the last time she’d been that relaxed or had that much fun.
“What is your gut telling you?” Dawn quickly added, “Don’t think about it, just tell me.”
“That I don’t need to be afraid—of him or what he makes me feel.” Holy crap. That was easier than she expected.
“Seems to me your instincts are pretty spot-on.” Dawn was always honest with her, so if she said it, it must be true.
“Oh, shoot. I’ve got to get going. We’re heading over to Beck and Gwen’s place for a few days.
They put in a swimming pool, so I’ll give you one guess what Cade wants for his birthday. ”
“Let me guess—a swimming pool?” Luna laughed.
“Yep, but as you know, our backyard isn’t big enough for a regular pool.
So we compromised and got him an inflatable one that he can splash around in.
” Their son was almost three and very energetic.
“Luna, I’m so glad you called. I know you’ve only been gone a few months, but things aren’t the same around here without you.
Let yourself have fun with Boone. If something comes of it, great. If not, I know you’ll be just fine.”
“Thanks, Dawn.” Luna was glad she’d called her sister. “Give Caleb and Cade a big hug from me, okay?”
“You got it,” Dawn said. “Love you!”
“Love you, back.” She ended the call.
If something comes of it, great. If not, I know you’ll be just fine. Her sister’s words played back in her head.
The only problem was, with the way Luna was beginning to feel about Boone, she wasn’t sure she would be fine if they got together, then crashed and burned.