7. Evan #2
When she didn’t close the door in my face, but also didn’t speak, I cleared my throat. “Tonight is Sunday supper. Family dinner.”
She scoffed. “ Family dinner?”
“Yeah, well, it’s all the family we’ve got right now. Ma doesn’t cook worth shit, but Robbie is decent. Those of us who stay here sit around and enjoy each other’s company on Sundays. You should come.”
“I may be staying here, but I’m not anyone’s family.” I sensed a hint of sadness in her tone, and my jaw clenched.
“Come.” The word came out harsher than I’d intended, and her eyes whipped to mine. I cleared my throat. “Please.”
With a huff, she moved away from the door, not opening it, but also not slamming it in my face.
I used the opportunity to push the door open, and I was immediately enveloped in her scent.
Val’s room was tiny—a bed, one dresser, and one nightstand.
I heard her move around the small attached bathroom as I took in her space.
Clean and organized, there was nothing out of place, but also nothing personal.
If she’d packed up her bag and left, there’d be no sign she’d ever lived here at all.
“Settling in, I see,” I teased .
Her eyes followed mine around the empty room. “Yeah, well ... some of us aren’t staying.” Val pulled a sweater out of the top dresser drawer and sailed toward the door.
I happily followed, my eyes flicking down to the curve of her ass only once. We walked in silence down the hall. Val tapped a rhythm against her thigh with her thumb.
I placed my hand in front of her, stopping us both. “Why are you nervous?”
Her pretty face twisted. “I’m not.”
My fingers caressed beneath her chin as I tilted her head up to examine her face. My voice skated over gravel as the intensity of her eyes bored into me. “Bullshit.”
Val puffed out her chest in fake bravado, causing her breasts to push against me. I stepped forward, reveling in the feel of her pressed between me and the wall in the darkened corner of the hallway.
“I will never lie to you. Don’t lie to me.”
The sweet, peppermint fragrance of her breath hung between us, and I wanted nothing more than to devour her right there. I brushed my fingers against her temple and dragged them down the slender column of her neck. Her pulse jumped.
“I’m a cop. In a house full of criminals. I doubt I’m someone they’ll welcome with open arms.”
“When you’re with me, you don’t have to worry. I’ll take care of you.”
At my words, her face hardened, and Val planted her palms against my chest and shoved me away. As she sailed down the hallway, she shot a glare over her shoulder. “I don’t need anyone taking care of me. I can take care of myself.”
Goddamn, that woman is infuriating.
I pressed my forehead against the wall and let her walk alone toward the dining room. After gathering my resolve, I steadied my pulse and walked toward the laughter in the lodge. Only steps behind Val, the conversation died when she made her entrance.
Wary glances were thrown her way, and it pissed me off that she was partially right about them. Every single one of them was tight-lipped and cold. Val’s shoulders squared, and as she turned to leave, I stepped up beside her. Unable to get around me, she rolled her eyes.
“Well, there you two are!” Ma cut in just before Val could do something crazy like knee me in the balls just to get around. “Val, grab a plate. It’s family style around here, so take what you like, pass what you don’t.”
Val smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Thank you, Mrs. Brown.”
“Oh, stop with that. Call me Ma, just like everyone else. Mrs. Brown is my husband Robbie’s mother, and between you and me, she’s a real bitch.”
That got a chuckle out of Val, and I could breathe again, knowing the tension was leaving her shoulders.
I grabbed my plate and found a seat. Val sat across the table and a few seats over.
“Gem.” I nodded at my sister, who playfully stuck her tongue out at me before plopping into the seat next to me.
Conversation was slow and easy, mostly about life on the ranch and the work we needed to get done. Val stayed quiet, not contributing to the conversation in any way, but no one engaged with her either. Several times I saw her staring at Gemma.
Gemma noticed too. “What the fuck is she looking at?”
“Watch it with that mouth.”
“Whatever. She’s creeping me out.”
“She’s allowed to. ”
She stared at me with disgust. I continued, “That’s Officer Rivera . As in, saved-your-ass Officer Rivera. Treat her with a little respect.”
“Oh shit . . .”
“Yeah. Oh shit.”
Gemma toyed with the inside of her lip and looked nineteen again. “Should I go talk to her? Thank her or something? She looks so different.”
“I’m sure she would say the same thing about you.” I tugged on the ends of her newly blonde hair. I thought about her question. “Give her some time. She needs to settle in before you adopt her and trick her into playing Barbie makeover.”
“I do love a good makeover. But she’s pretty enough.” Gemma’s eyebrow raised. “Don’t you think?”
I gave her only the satisfaction of a grunt before moving the conversation in a safer direction.
“Hey, Ev—” Scotty, an agent assigned to the ranch, cut in with a whisper. “He’s on the move. Asking a lot of questions. As far as we know, your position hasn’t been compromised.”
Darkness crawled over my shoulders at the mention of my brother. My jaw ground together so hard that it ached.
The thick, raspy sound of Ma’s voice silenced my response. “No business at family dinner. Take that shit outside.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I nodded at Scott. That conversation was far from over.
Dinner passed, and the tensions in the room seemed to fade slightly. A time or two Val laughed at the conversation around her, and the tinkling sound brought a lightness to my chest that I hadn’t felt in a long fucking time. Maybe ever. It was the prettiest sound I could imagine.