“Nope. I’m going to savor the anticipation.”
“Not even a quick peek?”
She slips a finger under the lid and peeks. “Shoot.”
“What?”
“It’s a dead mouse.”
Monster noses up between us, and she tucks the lid back on securely.
“Too bad. I was hoping it was a treasure map.” I say.
“I think it’s letters. Maybe love letters.”
“Or hate mail.”
She laughs.
I dial Ned’s phone number while we bump down the rutted path toward the exit from Heaven. Ned doesn’t pick up his phone, so I leave a message asking him to check the footage for any traffic to Wren’s cottage today. “Call us. Tell us what you see,” I tell him, then glance over at Wren, and she nods.
When I hang up, she rests her head against the window, while I wonder how long I can keep her at my place. And how long I’m going to be able to keep my hands off her.
17
HONEY
I watchthe marsh fly by as we bump down the packed sand road toward May Ranch. Monster presses his nose against the window, barking at a row of ducks paddling in the marsh. “You like those ducks, Monster?” I ask him.
John turns into an entrance with a high, sculpted wooden archway labelled May Ranch.
“We’re here?”
“That’s where Heathcliff, Danni, and Lacy live.” He waves his hand, and I get a quick glimpse of a house with large sparkling windows and a sweeping deck leading off to a dock into the lake. Then it’s gone, and we’re flying down a wide dirt pathway flanked by tall crepe myrtle trees packed with bright pink flowers. The path eventually narrows, and John slows then stops in front of an A-frame with wide, tall windows and a wraparound veranda.
“That’s mine,” he says gruffly.
“It’s cute.”
He humphs. “Cute? A grown man lives there. It’s not cute.” He switches the ignition off and turns to me, his expression unreadable. “Wren.” Anxiety twists through me as the pause grows longer than a pause, and still, he doesn’t say anything.
“You don’t have to do this,” I tell him, before he can tell me that this is too much—this sticky, convoluted, messy situation he’s decided he doesn’t want to get stuck in with me. Of course he’d want to bow out. We barely know each other. “It’s an inconvenience.”
He brushes a finger over my cheek. “You’re going to stay with me. No pressure. I’ve got plenty of room on the floor for you.”
I choke out a laugh then cover my eyes to hide the tears prickling at them.
Monster pops his big muzzle between the two of us, and John chuckles. “Yeah. You too, buddy. Room on the floor for you as well. But I need to give you two the house rules. Cowboy boots off at the door. Dirty plates into the dishwasher. No bugging a man when he’s sleeping unless the house is on fire and you can’t find the fire extinguisher. And the most important one. And this goes for the both of you. No falling in love.”
He slips out of the pickup, rounds it and opens my door. Taking my bag and slinging it over his shoulder, he eyes Monster, who’s itching to scramble out. He holds a hand up. “You gotta’ learn some manners. Let the lady get out first.” He nods, and I slide out.
“I’ll try to walk.”
“No, you won’t.” He scoops me up and carries me, Monster at his heels. As soon as we walk into the house, I feel at home. The soft tones of the walls, the cozy mismatched furniture and the warm sunshine streaming through the floor to ceiling glass on one wall.
“Let me show you where you two are going.” He leads me to the back of the house, into a bedroom with a sloped ceiling and a hodgepodge of furniture. He sets my bag and my two boxes on a bed with an antique spindle headboard and footboard.
“I love this.” I run my hands over a spindle.
