Chapter 31
SYDNEY
This morning, when soft light filters in, waking me gently, I’m not alone. This morning, I’m tucked into Cy’s chest. I don’t move. I don’t want this to end. So I lie on my side, looking out at the silvery gray sky.
Scarlett’s latest threat was weighing heavily on me last night, which meant I was awake when he snuck in. Sawyer still hadn’t gotten back to me and all I could think about was the clock as it ticked closer to her deadline.
A part of me wanted to send him away. To protect him—and me—from Scarlett’s wrath.
But I couldn’t. I needed him.
I needed him to make me forget. To make me feel good in only the way he can.
What would he say if I told him about Scarlett’s threat?
He’d be pissed, for sure. But it’s not his fight. He may have thought that Danny was his bodyguard, but keeping him safe is my job. And Scarlett gave me the envelope.
Even while I was considering whether to tell him, I got distracted by him. It’s a skill he’s mastered already.
“Good morning,” he murmurs, brushing his lips against my shoulder.
Tell him.
“How did you know I was awake?” I keep my voice low, holding on to what I can of the night a little longer.
He’s going to have to get up and head back to his own room soon.
But not yet.
And Scarlett doesn’t belong here with us.
I shove her from my mind and burrow closer to him.
“You have this energy when you’re awake, BB. It sort of vibrates around you.”
His answer has tears burning in my nose. I inhale deeply and blink before they can truly form.
No one has ever seen me as clearly as he does. And yet I’ve been lying to him since the day he barreled into me and dumped coffee all over my clothes.
“Did you have a good time last night?” he asks.
I nod. “Spent the night with the love of my life,” I tease him. “Maybe you know him? Cute octogenarian who loves to laugh?”
His arms tighten around my waist, his lips—and the stubble on his jaw—teasing my neck.
For the second night in a row, I spent my time after dinner with Cy’s grandpa.
This time he told me stories about the family and growing up on the ranch next door.
About the time before he and his wife Sara Jean joined the two properties under the Sunset Canyon name.
Rachel joined us, sharing stories about Cy and his brothers and all the mischief they got into as kids.
Every time I looked at her last night, she was studying me. Like she knows something I don’t.
“I didn’t realize I’d have to fight Gramps for my girl,” he murmurs, pressing his lips against the pulse point in my neck.
“He and your mom are amazing. In fact, I’ve decided I’m going to marry Cliff when I grow up,” I tell him.
“The fuck you will,” he growls. Spinning me onto my back, he claims my mouth with his.
I give myself to the kiss, dragging my fingers up his chest and shoulders and tangling them in his hair, holding him to me. His dick kicks against my stomach as we kiss, and I burrow closer, wanting him again.
Always.
He breaks the kiss with teasing pecks against my lips.
“I need to go before Mama catches me in here,” he whispers.
In response, I lock my legs around his waist.
He groans. “You’re not making this any easier on me.”
“Easy is overrated,” I tell him.
The comment is meant to be teasing, but as his eyes lock with mine, a deeper meaning unveils itself. I lower my legs, but he stays where he is.
“Can I take you someplace this afternoon?” he asks.
“Is it my turn for a date? I wondered if I’d get one before tomorrow’s compass ceremony.”
Tomorrow. My deadline.
Will Scarlett mess with us on our date?
Fuck. I can no longer ignore the very real consequences breathing down our necks. Even if he has no idea about it.
“Hey, where did you go?” He presses his lips against mine, pulling me back to reality.
I blink and search his eyes. “What?”
“You disappeared for a second there. Where’d you go?”
I open my mouth to tell him. About Scarlett. About me.
But I can’t.
“Just thinking about our date. Don’t they usually give us a date card?”
“You’ll get the card later. But I wanted to ask you in person first.”
Warmth fizzes through my body at his words. At the way he looks at me like he…yeah, no, I’m not using that word…like he cares for me.
“Will this be like our last date?” I ask.
The ATV flashes in my vision, knocking me off-kilter.
“I very much doubt that we’ll be lucky enough to be left alone again. But I want to show you one of my favorite places on the ranch. It will involve riding a horse.”
Nerves flutter in my belly. But little ones.
“I’ve never done that before.”
The idea is unnerving. But he wouldn’t do anything to put me in harm’s way. He saved me from Scarlett’s four-wheeler.
“I’ll make sure you’re okay.”
I nod. Because I don’t doubt him. “I know.”
He closes the distance, pressing another kiss to my lips, though he pulls back far too soon.
“The sun is up. I need to go. I’ll see you later?”
“Nothing could keep me away.”
At least until that forty-eight-hour countdown expires.
Because just like he wouldn’t put me in harm’s way, I won’t let his reputation be tarnished.
With one last kiss, he’s up and out of bed, tugging on his pajamas and out the door in a blur of quiet motion.
I wait until the latch clicks behind him to dig my phone out and check my text thread with Sawyer.
Nothing.
My heart sinks.
The wooden floor outside my door creaks, and I freeze, holding my breath. Do I need to hide the phone? When the next creak sounds farther down the hall, my shoulders relax.
Anything?
We’re less than 24 hours from Scarlett’s deadline.
I don’t expect an immediate response. It’s still early here, and he’s two hours behind me. But Sawyer doesn’t let me down.
SAWYER
I’m waiting on a call back from the owner of the ski lodge.
Hopefully today.
Cole and I spoke this morning. He’s aware that Scarlett has made a threat, but I didn’t give him all the details.
He’s meeting with the director at Soundview today.
Gratitude washes through me. Both of these guys are working so hard to help me. They have their own workloads to focus on, but they’ve spent countless hours helping me try to track down Scarlett’s true identity.
I owe him an explanation.
It’s probably more than time for him to get karmic justice after all the shit I gave him while he worked on Hannah Grace’s case.
SAWYER
You’ll do it when you can.
I’ve made a decision.
My fingers stumble over the screen.
If we get too close to the deadline, I’ll leave.
I don’t want Scarlett to make good on her threat.
I don’t want Cy’s name to be dragged through the mud with those pictures.
I’ll need you or Cole here to protect him.
Just in case.
The messages are riddled with so many typos that even autocorrect can’t decipher what the fuck I’m saying and doesn’t offer suggestions. By the time I get everything typed and sent, I have another response from Sawyer.
SAWYER
Don’t rush into a decision.
I haven’t.
All night long, as I dozed in Cy’s arms, the need for a decision was never far away.
I made several decisions.
Rather than respond to Sawyer’s text, I pull up my thread with Jessie and Leigh.
I’m going to tell him the truth.
LEIGH
What?!
Why?
Because lying to him feels wrong.
He deserves to know.
While Leigh may assume that my truth revolves around why I’m here, I mean the whole truth. All of it.
JESSIE
You guys are up way too early.
Are you sure about this, Syd?
No. But I can’t keep lying to him.
100%
JESSIE
When?
We have a date this afternoon.
I don’t tell them about Scarlett’s threat. About the timer ticking above my head, its razor-sharp edge like a guillotine.
LEIGH
We’re here if you need us.
JESSIE
What Leigh said.
Between Sawyer and Cole, Leigh and Jessie, I’m surrounded by people who love me. And fuck if I don’t need that reminder right now.
Love you both!
Another message pops up on my screen as I’m navigating out of that thread.
SAWYER
Owner of ski lodge is out until next week.
No one else knows anything about who arranged the rental while you were filming in Big Bear.
Well, fuck. My shoulders sag with disappointment
We may still get answers from Cole’s meeting.
But will that meeting give us any new information?
Just like Cy said, my date card arrives with a bang while Jade, Josie, and I are sharing breakfast with Rachel.
Sydney, welcome to Texas. I’d love to explore our connection further while showing you my roots. Be ready at 2. -Love, Cy
At 2:05, I’m out on the front porch like a girl waiting on her prom date. If prom involved wearing jeans and boots.
“You, okay, honey? You look like you’re about to be sick,” Rachel says from her chair. She’s been “reading” a book and enjoying the fall weather.
She’s not fooling anyone, though.
She’s here to witness this, to watch Cy show up for our date.
A horse comes into view, with Cy in the saddle. He’s got two sets of reins in his hand, the second belonging to the pure white horse at his side. Two guys from the camera crew follow behind, each on their own horse, their cameras perched on helmets strapped to their chins.
“You ready, darlin’?” Cy asks, his Texas drawl on full display.
Heaven help me. If I wore panties, they would have just incinerated.
“Been ready. I thought our date started at two?”
There’s a flash of heat in his eyes and I can almost hear his accompanying thought.
Fuck that mouth.
It’s one of the few things we haven’t done.
Quit thinking about blowjobs and focus.
Cy dismounts and stands beside the white horse. “You ready, BB?”
I shoot a glance at Rachel, who nods, her expression warm. “It’s okay, honey. You’ll love her.”
As I approach, I eye the horse warily. Fuck, it’s big.
She. Rachel said she.
Cy shoots me a gentle smile. “It’s okay. This is Mama’s horse. She’s a sweetheart. Sydney, meet Dove.”
He reaches for me, and I allow him to pull me closer and guide my hand over the animal’s silky white coat.
We stay like that for several heartbeats, his hand connected to mine.
Eventually he brings them both down, but he doesn’t let go. “You ready to mount?” he murmurs.
I snap my head up, finding him wearing a mischievous smile.
“I’m ready to ride something,” I whisper back, loving the tick in his jaw as my words hit their mark.
“You fight dirty, BB.” He finally releases me and tugs at his belt to adjust the fit of his jeans.
“I never said I wouldn’t.” It’s a miracle I can keep the banter going when the information I need to give him sits like a rock in my stomach.
I can’t help but soak in his reaction, questioning what his response will be when I tell him the truth.
Focus on the now, Syd.
“You’ll help me?” I ask.
He nods and leads me to the saddle.
“Left foot here,” he says and points to the stirrup.
I lift my leg up—way up—and he lifts me.
“Swing your other leg, sweetheart.”
I want to argue with the “sweetheart.” But my nerves are getting to me, and I think it’s more of his Texas twang coming out. Instead, I do as he directs. When my other foot is in the stirrup on the other side, I smile down at him.
“I’m riding.”
His eyes are lit up under the brim of his cowboy hat, his responding smile sending the butterflies in my stomach fluttering.
“Yes, you are.” He shows me how to hold the reins, introduces me to his horse, Echo, and mounts.
Only when I tell him I’m comfortable do we move. As the animals lead us away, I peer back at Rachel. She gives me a wink, then lowers her head and goes back to her book.
Our slow walk takes us by the barn, then into the hills. The only evidence that we’re doing this for a TV show are the two quiet camera guys behind us, recording as Cy points out landmarks, carrying the conversation as I consider a dozen ways to tell him the truth.
With every new place he points out, I change my mind.
It isn’t until he brings Echo to a stop and Dove does the same without my direction that I focus on where we are.
As I take in the scene around me, I gasp.
The beauty of the pond or small lake in front of us is overwhelming, and behind us, the red rocks of the canyon loom tall, with water dripping along them, eroding each one little by little.
Cy shifts his attention to me, excitement clear in his wide smile.
“Welcome to one of my favorite places at Sunset Canyon, Sydney.”
“We need to talk,” I blurt out.
Between one blink and the next, his smile fades.
Shit.
This is already going so well.