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Chapter Thirteen
"Mr. Winterman. " Sarah had appeared at his elbow. Tyler wasn't sure how long she'd been there. He'd been sitting in the lounger at the pool house since Marguerite left, staring at the pool cleaner making its way back and forth. Apparently he'd been watching it for a long while, because it was full dark. Sarah's face was like a ghost's, the pool lights the only illumination.
"I thought I mentioned - "
"That you didn't want to be disturbed. You didn't want any calls. Yes, you certainly did. But this is the third time Miss Sieman - Mrs. Nighthorse has called. She indicated that if I didn't make you answer she was going to have me arrested for obstruction of an official police investigation. "
Tyler lifted a brow, took the phone from her hand. "Pay no attention to her, Sarah.
We're outside her jurisdiction and she's just being a pain in the ass. " He raised the phone to his ear.
"Didn't you say I was your best friend about twenty-four hours ago?" Violet sounded amused.
"I was feeling sentimental and foolish. "
"I'm crushed. What are you doing?"
"Working on a very important production plan for a script I'm investing in. "
"That's funny. Sarah said you've been supervising the pool cleaner for the past three hours. Since that's that little bug thing that automatically runs around the pool sucking up algae, I assumed you might have time to talk to me. " Tyler glared at Sarah. "You're fired. All women are a pain in the ass. Tell Robert I'm switching sides. He's looking pretty good in his garden shorts. " Sarah smiled and left him with a pat to his shoulder.
"She calls me Mr. Winterman but she treats me like her son. I'm probably less than ten years younger than she is. "
"She called me Mrs. Nighthorse. " He could almost see Violet's silly grin.
"You're being a goofy newlywed again. Why are you pestering me?"
"Cop sense. I thought the weekend might be going a little rough, so I wanted to check in. Sarah said Marguerite left early. "
"Yeah, well. " He watched the pool cleaner make another lap. "I can see the road but there's a force field there I can't get through. And the couple of times I bullied through it, the road changed, went all dark. I feel like I'm missing something. She won't let me in her head, Vi. I got into her body, so to speak. "
"So to speak, or actually speak?"
"Briefly, yes. The latter. But I push to a certain point and everything shuts down. I haven't figured out the key. If I'd had more time. . . "
"You expected to get an invitation into a woman's soul in the course of a weekend?"
"At least a foot in the door. "
"Cocky bastard. Tyler, from everything you've told me, there's nothing easy about Marguerite Perruquet. Maybe - and yes, I know you don't want to hear it - you're barking up the wrong tree. You could be wrong. She may not be a switch. And if she isn't, you guys don't suit. "
"Damn it, that doesn't matter. That's not the issue. " Rising, he went to the end of the pool house seeking air, the salt laden breeze off the Gulf. "I just. . . "
"You want her. " Violet filled in the lingering silence, surprise and understanding in her voice. "You want her so much that being away from her hurts. "
"Yes. And if that can happen in a weekend, then I don't think it was unreasonable to think I could get further with her in the same space of time. "
"This has been building a while for you and you know it. You've had longer off the starting block than she has. And if you can't have her?"
"You don't feel like this if it's not meant to be. "
"It is if she doesn't want it. I know how strong a Master you are, Tyler. Don't push this into dangerous waters. "
He stopped, his hand on the door latch. He wanted to deny it but the brief wrestle in the garden flashed through his head. "You warning me as a friend or a cop?"
"Both. The cop who's your friend. "
"When she can look me in the eye and say she doesn't want me the same way I want her, then I'll let her go. You should be goddamned proud of me. I let her go today. "
