Chapter 14
LENNON
For the first time since I’d arrived at Mercy River, the sun managed to beat me to rising. Staying out past nine o’clock might have had something to do with it.
That, and the horny, frustrated thoughts that kept me tossing and turning for another hour after I turned off my audiobook.
But then I’d slept and slept well. I woke up in an insanely good mood.
He kissed me.
The thought popped into my head with a giddy giggle before I’d even opened my eyes. I rolled onto my stomach and screamed into my pillow, kicking my feet under the covers.
He kissed me.
I wanted to dance around the room, singing songs to squirrels like a Disney princess or something. Because that kiss…that was some fairytale shit.
I hadn’t even known kissing could feel like that.
Sure, I’d seen The Princess Bride. I’d read books.
I’d even heard people talk about it in real life.
But I’d always figured they were…I don’t know…
making shit up. You couldn’t really lose your mind with the need to rip someone’s clothes off and pull them inside you right fucking now just from a kiss.
You could, it turned out.
I could.
That was a wholly new experience for me. I’d always enjoyed sex. I liked the men I was with, even if my favorite thing about them was their bank account. Sex had felt good. Kissing was perfunctory but enjoyable. It hadn’t occurred to me that I was missing out on anything.
But now I knew. I was missing out on Jeremiah.
It was like living in Alaska your whole life, thinking you knew how summer felt, and then visiting Florida in July.
A fucking epiphany, that’s what his kiss was.
I threw back the covers and hopped out of bed. It was Amos and Cecily’s day off, which made it mine, too—a weird way to think about it when the ranch wasn’t paying me to cook—and Emma had invited me over for lunch with Grace and Blair.
But that was a few hours away. Maybe I’d shower, eat breakfast at the lodge, and then go find Jeremiah for a riding lesson.
Get him to teach me cowgirl shit. Real cowgirl shit, not how to save a cowboy—although that was an appealing way to spend the morning.
But I’d been at the ranch for nearly two weeks and had yet to spend even a second on the back of a horse.
Actually, I’d never been on a horse before.
It looked like fun, though. I wanted to give it a try.
The buzz of my phone startled me. I’d turned it off every night after listening to an audiobook and stuck it in the nightstand drawer so I wouldn’t think about it.
Hector didn’t want me on social media until Benny’s mess was over, but I knew if my phone was on or within reach I wouldn’t be able to resist scrolling.
Last night I’d forgotten to turn it off.
I glanced down at my phone. Mom. Heaving a sigh, I answered, putting her on speaker. “Hi, Mom. What are you doing up this early?”
“Early?” Mom’s voice was raspy from decades of smoking. “It’s nine a.m. Some of us have respectable jobs, Lennon.”
Right. There was a two-hour time difference between Virginia and Wyoming. I ignored the dig about my profession and said, “How are you?”
The real question was what do you want? But I knew she’d get to that eventually. She always did. She liked to work up to it first. Give me a sob story I couldn’t say no to.
“Someone called for you,” she said, surprising me.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
She huffed, as if I were being purposefully dense. “I mean, someone called my phone to ask if you were around.”
I frowned. “Around…Virginia?”
“Yes, Lennon. Obviously.” I heard the metallic flick of her lighter and then a deep inhale. “People are worried about you.”
“What people? Who’s worried about me?” I demanded.
Benny knew where I was, and no one else would care.
I wasn’t a loner, but I had acquaintances, not friendships.
People I went to Pilates with or brunch.
Honestly, my social media followers were more likely to notice my absence than anyone in my offline life, which was why I had pre-scheduled posts for the month.
This had to be about Benny. And right now, anything about Benny that didn’t come straight from Hector wasn’t good.
Mom exhaled. I imagined white smoke streaming from her lips. It was something I’d seen so many times, I almost felt nostalgic for it. It was so familiar. Comforting, even.
“The man who called. Keep up, Lennon. Honestly, talking to you is an uphill battle,” she snapped.
That was familiar, too. But a lot less comforting.
“Okay, Mom. Did he leave a name or a phone number where I can reach him? Can you tell me exactly what he said?”
“Hm. You know, he didn’t leave a name. That’s odd. Maybe I missed it. I wasn’t feeling well when he called, so it was hard to concentrate—”
“Mom.” I rubbed my temple. “What did he say?”
“Just that no one has heard from you in almost a month and they’re all worried you might be in trouble or something. He gave me his number so I could call him in case you turned up.”
I frowned. That was odd. “He wants you to call him? Not me?”
“That’s what he said. He was afraid you’d be mad at people checking up on you. Miss Independent.” She cackled. “That’s you, all right. Always too big for your britches. Can never admit when you bit off more than you could chew.”
My jaw clenched. “Did he say anything else?” I ground out.
“No, that was it. So, what’s going on? Where are you? Are you in trouble?” The genuine concern in her voice eased some of the tension in my jaw.
“I’m fine, Mom. Just taking a vacation, that’s all.”
“Ohhh, a vacation,” she sing-songed. “Must be nice.”
My teeth clacked together again. “It is nice,” I said defiantly.
“Well, I’m glad you’re not in trouble. I thought you might be, because he sounded like a mobster.”
I rolled my eyes. “And what does a mobster sound like, Mom?”
“You know. That New Jersey accent.” Another long exhale of smoke. “Italian.”
“Well, that’s not offensive at all,” I muttered.
“Oh, don’t be so high and mighty. Stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason.”
I kept my mouth shut about stones and glass trailer houses, and I didn’t bother to explain that technically, the mafia was a Sicilian thing. That would only give her the opportunity to insult Sicilians.
“Well, thanks for passing on the message, Mom. If he calls again, tell him I’m in the Finger Lakes.”
“I’ll do that.” She dragged on her cigarette. “You know, I had to take a sick day because of his phone call. I was already feeling off, and then he called and got me all worried about you. If I don’t work, I don’t get paid, you know.”
And there it was. Every phone call came with a price. “I’ll wire you money.”
I hung up, my stomach twisting, and immediately called Hector. “What the hell is going on? Is Benny okay? People are calling my mom looking for me. My mom, Hector,” I hissed. “You tell them that if they go anywhere near her, I’ll—”
“Calm down, honey.” I had always hated being called that, but I hated it even more now that I knew how good it sounded coming from Jeremiah’s lips.
“Your mom is fine. It was just the feds trying to get information, because Benny’s not giving them nothin’.
They thought he’d plead out and give them the names they really want, but Benny’s not a snitch.
Stay low, do what I told you, and everything will be all right. ”
“Okay.”
I believed him, but I didn’t trust him, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.
“Wow, you’re pretty.” A girl I presumed to be Blair, Emma’s thirteen-year-old daughter, scrutinized my face with eyes the same pretty green as her mom’s before hollering over her shoulder, “Mom! Your friend is here! Can I do your makeup?” she asked as she turned back to me.
“Um, sure?” I stepped inside.
“Right now?” she pressed.
“No, not right now,” Grace answered for me.
She nudged her niece aside. “Let Lennon get some food first.” She gave me a hug, just like she did when we met for the first time last night, and then pushed me in the direction of the kitchen.
I had never been a hugger, but I didn’t mind when it was Grace.
“Emma is making chicken salad sandwiches.”
I glanced around as I followed Grace to the kitchen.
Emma and Blair didn’t live at the ranch.
They were on the outskirts of town, in a sweet one-story bungalow with gabled windows and cedar-shingled siding.
There was a baby grand piano in the living room and family photographs everywhere I looked.
My gaze snagged on a photo of Emma holding baby Blair while a man who looked a lot like Liam kissed her forehead. That had to be Daniel.
Emma was chopping celery when we entered the kitchen. “Hey! You made it!”
“Thanks for inviting me.” I glanced around the small, cozy kitchen. “What can I do to help?”
Emma waved a hand. “Nothing. Are you kidding me? You cook breakfast for us every day. I’m not letting you make us lunch. That would be like you asking me for a free massage. Only family members get free labor.”
I laughed. “I would love a free massage. Got any brothers? I’ll marry in.”
Emma snorted. “Nope. Grace and I are all our parents were willing to have. Though I do have a brother-in-law who happens to be single, if you’re interested.
” She went back to chopping celery. “You know, he never takes advantage of the family discount. He never comes to the wellness center when I’m working, either. Maybe he hates massages.”
Grace rolled her eyes. “Liam hates anything that requires him to relax and be less of a grumpy bastard. But it doesn’t matter because Lennon has her eye on a different cowboy.”
“I…what?” I sputtered.
“Ooo, that’s right!” Emma dumped the celery into the bowl of shredded chicken, wiped her hands on her pants, and reached for the cupboard. “We need to talk about that. But first, can I offer you something to drink? We have iced tea, water, and Coke.”