Page 83 of High Water

“Have you talked to your dick about the rain check? I don’t know if he’ll make it.”

“He’ll—” He lets out a sigh of amused frustration. “I’ll be fine. I’d rather wait. I know it’ll be worth it.”

I roll my lip into a soft pout for a moment, sad that I don’t get to watch Bishop come apart at the seams tonight. But I’ll just save my energy for next time.

“All right. I’ll be good.”

Fuck having bad one-night stands when you can have Bishop fucking Bradford in your bed. I don’t know why any woman would want someone else if she had the choice. Least of all me.

THIRTY-FOUR

Bishop

“How long does she think this will take?” Levi looks at me as he peers out, shielding his glasses from the glare of the sun as his sister paces back and forth with the machine we pulled off the truck for her this morning.

“It depends on how fast she finds something, but she said it’ll take a few hours to map this whole area. Just a lot of methodical walking back and forth.” I answer him with the same explanation she gave me.

Aspen’s using GPR, ground-penetrating radar, to map the area on my family’s ranch at my best guess for the location of the sword. It’s been so many years that I can’t say for certain, and the wildfire tore through this exact area a few years back, erasing many of the distinguishing landmarks.

“Did they clear enough space for her to get a good look?”

“Yeah, she said this is about what she can handle in a day on her own. She’s used to having help, I guess. I said I could run it, but she prefers someone who can read the output on the screen.”

“I guess we need to talk to Charlotte and Zephyrine about hiring some archaeologists for their team.” Levi smirks.

“Wouldn’t hurt.”

“You think Aspen would take it if they opened it up for her?” Levi asks me.

“Your guess is as good as mine. I know she hates the commute up to Denver on class days and has said she’d like to find something closer. But there’s not much out here for her. Unless she wanted to give up archaeology, and I’m not about to suggest that.”

“No. You shouldn’t. I suppose if she works with Charlotte, the commutes will be even longer, but then, they’d also be less frequent.”

“Maybe…” I watch as she crosses the field ahead again, her eyes glued to the screen in front of her as she slowly paces over the next spot of the grid she’s laid out. I want more time with Aspen, any and all that I can get, and I know she’s frustrated with the step back she’s taken in her career at the university, but I want to be out of the way of her choices. “I’ve already made a big ask of her, so if you and Charlotte want to bring that up, it’s up to you.”

“We all made a big ask of her. She doesn’t seem to be hating it entirely.” Levi gives me a sideways glance. “How’s that going anyway?”

“As well as it can so far.” I shrug. Levi doesn’t want details about his sister and me, obviously, but I know he wants reassurances that we’re not making each other miserable. “She seems to be taking it all in stride, and Fallon is warming up. Very slowly. But again, it’s better than I imagined it might go.”

“She’ll warm up to you. She’s like Aspen in a lot of ways though. Slow to trust and lots of quiet observation before she makes a decision on anything.” Levi smirks. “Unless it’s horses. She loves them. Have you tried going on a ride with her? I know Hazel used to take her whenever she visited us. Even when Ramsey and Hazel were separated, she’d invite Fallon over because she loved them so much.”

“We talked about horses, but that was before the wedding.”

“It’s just a thought.” Levi shrugs.

“How are things with Zephyrine? She doing okay?”

“She’s worried about what her brothers are up to. Hoping we make quick work of things out here. She’s coming by later. We talked about maybe camping out here if you all wanted company.”

“Camping? She doesn’t seem like the camping type.” I’m surprised.

“She liked the cabin just fine.” Levi smirks.

“I don’t think I want to ask.”

“Probably not.” His grin spreads.

“It’s good to see you smile. How’s the shoulder holding up?”