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Mila
It didn’t take long for me to feel comfortable, even though it had been years since I rode a horse. When I left Texas nine years ago, I left more than the memories of my attack behind. I left everything—as much as I could anyway.
I donated my riding boots and most of my jeans to a local women’s shelter. Anything flannel went to them too, or into the trash. I did my damndest to lose my accent, and when I arrived in Boston, I hit up every thrift store I could find, in search of the kind of clothes I saw my classmates wearing.
Like Adler, I’d been anxious to return to the East Coast shortly after our plane landed. Looking into Decker’s eyes at the airport, realizing who he was, finding out my sister’s death wasn’t an accident, made me want to stay. I couldn’t say for how long; I still had a life in Boston to get back to. I needed answers first, though. Starting with, where the hell had Adler disappeared to?
“Everything okay?” Decker asked when we were almost back to the barn.
“Thinking about Adler.”
When he growled, I laughed. “Don’t tell me you haven’t wondered what he’s up to.”
“I’m hoping that’s part of what Rile needs to speak with us about.”
When I dismounted, a man was there to take Sage’s reins.
“Mila, this is Boon. He’s the barn manager.”
“It’s nice to meet you.”
Boon tipped his hat and then removed it. “I was sorry to hear about your sister. I knew your mama.”
“Thank you,” I murmured, taking Decker’s hand when he held it out to me. We walked out of the arena and into the barn.
“Go ahead and change back into your other clothes,” he told me. “If we ride out again today, it won’t be until much later. It’s getting too damn hot for anyone to be out there.”
When we rode back in, I’d noticed men checking water supplies in some
of the pastures we passed. Instead of on horseback, they’d been on ATVs.
Decker was waiting for me when I came out of the tack room.
“I’ll just put these back,” I told him, holding up the handful of clothes I’d worn.
“I’ll take care of it,” said Edge, who I hadn’t seen standing nearby.
I was about to argue that I could handle putting the jeans, shirt, socks, and boots back where I’d found them, but when I saw the look on Decker’s face, I let it go.
He led me inside to where Rile and Grinder were waiting in what looked like a formal dining room.
“Here you go,” Grinder said to Decker, handing him an envelope. He set it on the table and then pulled out the chair next to Rile for me.
“Thank you,” I murmured, looking over my shoulder at him. He kissed my cheek and then sat next to me.
Within a couple of minutes, Edge came in and joined them. Once he was seated, Rile leaned forward, resting one arm on the table and looking directly at me.
“We cut our conversation last evening short. My intention is for us to continue at this time.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
“I asked what you knew about Adler Livingston’s parents, and as evidenced by your reaction, you know very little.”
“That’s right. I never met them.” I rolled my shoulders trying to let go of some of the tension that always settled there.
“When is the last time you heard from Adler?”
I looked at Deck and then took out my phone to check. “The day before yesterday.”
