Chapter 16
LENNON
The stars had faded into the purple-gray dawn by the time Jeremiah ventured to my cabin.
I had lingered longer this morning, hoping he’d show but bracing myself for disappointment.
It had been quite the mindfuck yesterday to wake up giddy over this man only for those feelings to slowly fizzle away as the hours crept by with no sign of him.
Whatever business he’d had with the sheriff, it hadn’t taken all day.
He’d been back by late afternoon. He could have found me feeding the goats with the other ranch guests, but he hadn’t.
He could have found me in the dining hall at dinner, but he hadn’t.
He could have swung by my cabin after nightfall.
I’d left the lamp on so he’d know I was awake if he happened to come my way. But he hadn’t.
Men came in all sizes, shapes, and attitudes, but this much had always held true: they didn’t do shit they didn’t want to do. If Jeremiah had wanted to, he would have. Clearly, he didn’t want to.
But I stood under the cold, dark sky anyway, because I wanted to. Because that kiss wasn’t enough. I wanted more.
And now here he was, and my heart gave a little jump of hope that he wanted more, too.
He stopped when he saw me. “Hey.”
My lips parted, but no sound came out. Literally no sound at all. I couldn’t push a single syllable out through the sudden dryness of my mouth. I cleared my throat and swallowed. “Hey.”
He crossed the yard. My heart picked up speed with every step that brought him closer to me.
Shit. Shit.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had an actual crush on a man. But that was exactly what this was. Rapid heartbeat. Sweaty palms. Giggling and kicking my feet. I was crushing harder than a fourteen-year-old girl meeting her best friend’s older brother.
How fucking embarrassing.
“I thought you were avoiding me,” I blurted out.
His head tilted as he studied me in the dawning light. “What made you think that?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe the fact that you were avoiding me?” I teased.
I figured he’d deny it, maybe smooth over the awkward moment I had created with a pretty compliment and then let me down easy.
But he chuckled softly under his breath. “All right. But in my defense, I didn’t know what to say.”
“Hey seemed to work pretty well,” I pointed out.
His lips quirked under his mustache. “True. Maybe I’ll try it again sometime.”
I was wearing his coat unzipped—it was warmer this morning—and he grabbed the placket and tugged me closer.
“You don’t have your earrings in,” he remarked as he locked the hems together and slowly zipped me up. Oh, god. There was that awful, embarrassing, fluttery feeling in my chest again. “Did you find the missing one?”
“I looked around the cabin in case it fell out when I was changing or something, but no luck. It could be anywhere. I think it’s a lost cause.”
He checked his watch. “I have a few minutes. I’ll see if I can find it.”
“Right now?” My eyebrows pinched. The sky was streaked with pink and gold, but the sun hadn’t crested the mountain ridge yet. “It’s barely light outside.”
“I’ll find it.” He wrapped his arms around my waist, and before I knew what was happening, he’d lifted me off my feet and marched up the path with me. “I have a theory.”
“What’s that?” I asked breathlessly, arms looped around his neck, because where else would they go? My mouth hovered near his temple. The strangest urge came over me to kiss him there, on that cluster of golden-brown freckles along his hairline. My stomach felt all swoopy even thinking about it.
God, crushes were dumb.
“Monday morning. The rainstorm.” He set me down, then took a step back.
“You were standing right here, where I am now. I think that’s when you lost it.
” He pulled a headlamp from his coat pocket, flipped it on with his thumb, and handed it to me before dropping into a squat.
“Move the light around. See if you can pick up something shiny.”
I let the light follow his hands as he brushed them over the dirt and short grass. “Why do you think I lost it in the rain?”
“You did this thing with your hands. Dragged them over your hair and face like you were trying to squeegee the water off you.” He shifted further onto the grass, off the dirt path. “It would have bounced, but not far,” he muttered to himself.
I squatted next to him to get closer with the light. “I don’t remember that.”
“I do.”
His gaze flicked to my face, then to my chest. He couldn’t see my shape hidden beneath his coat, but the sudden pink on his cheekbones made me feel like he could.
I didn’t hate it. If I hadn’t been buried in his coat, I would have been squeezing my boobs together, propping them up to give him a better view.
A rainbow reflected on his black coat, and I gasped. “Wait—I think—” I wiggled the light, and the rainbow danced.
“Got it.” He plucked the earring from the grass, holding it up between his thumb and forefinger.
I gaped at it. “Holy shit. I can’t believe you found it. That’s incredible.”
“Things have a way of coming unhidden, if you know where to shine the light.” He turned the earring over in his hand, studying it. His jaw clenched. “The sheriff—” He broke off, frowning.
The sheriff? Why had he brought that up now?
My throat squeezed. Outside of vaguely hoping everything was all right, I hadn’t given a second thought to why the sheriff had needed Jeremiah.
It wasn’t any of my business—but what if it was?
If the FBI knew I was here, they’d want local law enforcement’s cooperation, wouldn’t they?
Maybe? I didn’t know how any of that worked.
“Was it about me?” I blurted out.
There was no surprise in his expression at the question, just a calm sort of focus. “Is there a reason the sheriff would be asking about you?”
My laugh sounded fake to my own ears. “I can’t think of any crimes I’ve committed lately.” Running away before they could ask me about crimes other people had committed wasn’t a crime in and of itself, right? I sure hoped not.
He regarded me quietly, not rushing to more questions. Giving me time to expound on my answer. I shifted nervously. Those blue-gray eyes were as good as a shot of truth serum in my veins. Any second now, I was going to vomit out the whole story.
“Here’s your earring.” He dropped it into my hand.
“Thanks,” I rasped, my throat dry.
He turned to go, then paused. “You want to go for a ride this afternoon?”
I blinked, surprised. “Yes. But I’ve never ridden a horse before.”
“That’s okay. I’ll give you a lesson.”
I watched him go, feeling excited and uneasy at the same time, and then ran inside to get dressed.
Hopefully, Cecily and Amos wouldn’t care that I was late.
It wasn’t like I was getting paid, but they were counting on me.
I hated letting anyone down, but especially Cecily.
The way she’d made sure I felt safe with Jeremiah before leaving the bar had been so sweet.
It wasn’t until I was pulling on my boots that I realized Jeremiah had never told me what the sheriff wanted.
The kitchen was eerily quiet as I pushed through the swinging doors.
Cecily and Amos were already there, which normally meant Cecily’s cheerful recounting of the latest episode of whatever TV show she was watching, interspersed with grunts from Amos—who pretended he didn’t care but was fully invested in her recaps—and the metallic scrapes and bangs of kitchen work.
I had always been good at reading a room, and right now the room was telling me something was very wrong before I even opened the door.
“What’s going on?” I asked, my gaze darting between Amos and Cecily.
“Lennon!” Cecily spun away from the prep table and threw her arms around my neck, sniffling back tears.
“Whoa.” My wide eyes met Amos’s over her shoulder. “What happened?”
His mouth flattened into a grim line. “Miguel—he was supposed to work Monday but didn’t show up.” I nodded. “He was in an accident. Cecily found him yesterday morning. Barely alive. Poor kid.”
“Oh my god.” I rubbed Cecily’s shoulder blades.
That must have been why the sheriff was with Jeremiah.
It was about Miguel, not me. Guilt chased the relief away.
Not everything is about you, Lennon. Don’t be so selfish.
No wonder Jeremiah had looked at me like I had disappointed him. “Is he going to be all right?”
“They say so. His parents are at the hospital with him, and they’ll keep us informed,” Amos said.
Cecily pulled back, her eyes red-rimmed and glassy.
“It wasn’t like him to miss work and not call.
He’s been here three years and only missed work one day when he was sick, and he called, you know?
He doesn’t ever just not show up. I knew something was wrong.
” Amos handed her a paper towel and she wiped her nose.
“I should have checked on him sooner. That’s what you do for friends.
You don’t leave them for dead by the side of the road. Who would do something like that?”
It must have been horrifying for her to find him the way she did.
I didn’t know Cecily well enough to have the perfect words to make her feel better, so imperfect words would have to do.
“You did everything you could, Cecily. I know it’s easy to get dragged down by the weight of all the things we should have done, but think of what you actually did.
You spent your day off looking for him. You got him help. He would have died without you.”
Her head bobbed rapidly as she moved the paper towel through her fingers, looking for a dry spot. “I didn’t let him die. He’s going to be okay.”
“Gotta get to cooking now. Whole lot of hungry cowboys and guests wanting breakfast.” Amos’s voice was as gruff as ever, but he dropped a large hand on Cecily’s shoulder and squeezed. “You need to sit this one out?”
“No.” Cecily shook her head. “I can do this. Miguel would smack me upside the head if I sat around crying over him, especially now that he’s going to be all right.” She wiped her nose again and looked up at me. “Maybe we could go visit him in the hospital this afternoon? Could you drive me?”
Before I could answer, Amos said, “I talked to his dad this morning. He’s out of surgery, but they’re not allowing visitors who aren’t family yet.”
Cecily’s shoulders drooped. “Oh. Okay.”
“Jeremiah is giving me a riding lesson this afternoon,” I volunteered. “If he has any updates on Miguel, I’ll pass them on. Give me your phone number.”
“You’re going riding with Jeremiah? Just the two of you?” Her brows furrowed. “He doesn’t usually do that. But that’s good. He was with Sheriff Sherwood yesterday, after the sheriff took my statement. I want to know what the sheriff plans on doing about this.”
She looked heartbreakingly young. Her shiny eyes tugged at my protective instincts. I wanted to tell her that everything would be all right.
But I couldn’t shake the feeling that trouble had followed me here.