“Shit,” he mutters under his breath before he’s back before me, his arms pulling me into him. “Come here, baby, I’ve got you.”
Everything releases all at once, and I bury myself into his chest, letting him hold it all together.
Chapter Twenty-Six
I lay with my head resting in the soft spot between Silas’s shoulder and neck, the room dark around us with only a sliver of silvery light that flows in through a crack in the curtain. He stayed with me, his hands never moving far, even when he brewed some tea in the kitchen, he kept contact. A palm on the base of my spine, a gentle caress of his finger down the back of my hand.
He reads me better than anyone I have ever known, provides without me ever uttering a word.
Now we’re lying in bed and he’s whispering his fingers up my spine, the feather-light touch making my entire body shiver. He’s clawing little pieces ofme, capturing them and keeping them, and I’m not sure I ever want them back.
I won’t fall in love with him.
A heavy sigh leaves me as I tilt my face toward his, taking in his profile, the strong nose, the groomed facial hair and pillowy lips. His eyes are closed, but his hand is still moving. Lifting my hand, I brush my finger down the slope of his nose, committing his face to more than just memory. I trace his features with my fingers, from the stern brow and high cheekbones to his sharp jawline and strong throat, his muscles quivering under my touch as I move down his chest and then bump over his abdomen.
“Sleep, baby,” He rasps, voice full of gravel and fatigue, but it also sounds…content.But it’s the sweet sentiment, the way the four-letter word sinks under my skin, clawing yet another piece of me. With his free hand, he captures my wandering touch and wraps his own around it, positioning both of them over his strong, steady heart.
Melting into him, I focus on the rhythm, the steady thump of it beneath my hand, and I use that to help me drift into sleep, like it’s my own personal lullaby.
“These are all possible locations,” Roman peers over Silas’s shoulder, looking at the screen of his laptop. Like he knows horses, Silas also knows how to get information. His fingers had worked quicklyand without hesitation as he typed something onto his laptop, bringing up an entire list of possible locations Calvin could be looking at in Sunstone Ridge and the surrounding areas. It doesn’t look like a normal realtor site, almost like it’s a backend version with only data showing. Addresses, acreage, and the like.
“Most of these aren’t on the market yet,” Silas brushes a hand over his mouth, “And half of them wouldn’t be big enough to open a training facility.”
“That doesn’t matter,” I say without thinking, “If he can save money and cut corners, he will.”
“What else can you tell us?” Roman turns his attention to me just as Niamh comes in, handing me a cup of coffee before she takes a seat beside me. It’s close enough I feel the warmth of her body but far enough away I don’t feel stifled. It’s a move, I realize, to show me her support without being overbearing, and I don’t know how I’m ever meant to repay her for her kindness.
“Cal is and always has been cheap. He was forced to expand Scott Ranch because the business needed it, but for months he tried to figure out ways of keeping it the same size even when there clearly wasn’t the space for the number of horses and staff he had. Some of the guys ended up pitching tents behind the bunkhouses because they couldn’t stand how crowded it was.”
“That’s a violation,” Roman sneers.
But I shrug, “I know he paid a few people off to save himself the fines. They turned a blind eye and pretended they never got the reports.”
“The guys investigating him now won’t do that,” Silas flicks his eyes to me, dropping them only for a moment to my mouth. My lips are still tingling from the kiss he gave me before we came up to the main house, his hands in my hair, my spine pressed to the wall. I was ready to repeat the morning we shared together, but too soon he was pulling away and ushering me out the door so we could come up here to get started on looking into Cal more.
“I really don’t know if it will help,” I sigh. “He’s got away with this for years. I tried to talk him round, but it would always lead to an argument, and I—he isn’t a kind man.”
“It isn’t your fault,” Silas grinds out, “Surviving is never easy.”
I give him a small, grateful smile.
“Most folk around here will sniff out his bullshit and not sell to him,” Roman says, “But not all of them, or if they do, they won’t care.”
“But is he looking because he wants to try to steal your business,” Niamh says, “Or is it because he definitely knows Juni is here?”
With the question, Silas gets up and walks toward me, lowering to a crouch in front of me so he can gather my hands in his, “The choice is yours Honeybee,” He speaks quietly but I know the other twocan still hear him, “But I think it’s time we confront him on his turf. We go and get your horse, and we make sure he knows he’s lost. He isn’t welcome here.”
“He’s dangerous,” I hiss.
Silas shakes his head, “No, he just doesn’t pick on people his own size. He won’t touch you with me there, and when we leave, that’ll be the last time you see him.”
“But what about when I divorce him?” I press.
Silas shakes his head, “Even then you don’t need to see him. It can all be done through lawyers.”
“We have a good one,” Roman pipes up, “And if this investigation goes the way we hope, he will not have much to fight with.”
“We’re going to show him he’s lost,” Silas ducks his head to catch my eyes again, linking his fingers with mine, “And we’re going to give you your power back.”
