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“I am, of course I am.” She wrapped her arms around his neck, felt his arms slide under her robe to encircle her waist. “You know that.” She sighed, then kissed him full on the lips.
“That’s better,” he teased, and patted her on her rump.
“Chauvinist.”
“I’ve just missed you.” His eyes sparkled.
“It’s just that—”
“That your curiosity got the better of your manners.”
“Okay, fine,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Of course I missed you. I’m glad you’re home. But I still want to know what’s going on.”
Reed disentangled himself and bent down to pet the dog who was wiggling at his feet. “I’m glad to see you, too,” he told Mikado, and then when the dog raced to the slider, Reed opened it for him and the dog shot outside. “You’ve been watching the news.”
She nodded. “Do you know anything else? Is Bronco’s death related to the Duval girls’ homicide?”
“Don’t know yet.” He slid out of his jacket and shoved a hand through his hair.
“But he found the bodies. And the land was owned by the Beaumont family. And he probably used his grandfather’s key and—”
“You heard the interview,” he said, shaking his head. “I wondered.”
Not only had she heard parts of it, but she’d recorded it and gone over it bit by bit, using what she’d learned from Jasper Cravens to do some more research.
“Couldn’t help it.”
He sent her a sharp look and she held up a hand.
“Okay, so I eavesdropped. The car window was open.”
“And you didn’t bother to shut it.”
She wanted to argue but couldn’t. “No, I didn’t.”
“Sit down,” he said, and took a seat at the table, waving at the chair opposite him. “Look, before we get into the investigation, don’t you think we should talk about the fact that you found a dead body, that you were at Bronco’s house, obviously looking into the Duval girls’ murders and—”
“Pierce, I—”
“And all that talk about doing research on the Beaumont history was a cover. I figured so at the time, but I didn’t want to hear any more lies.” She didn’t argue and he grabbed one of her hands. “We can’t go on like this.”
“What?”
“You know it and I know it.”
“No, you’ve got it all wrong.”
“I haven’t, so just hear me out.” He took one of her hands. “We’ve been through a rough patch. More than a rough patch. And a lot’s been going on. Maybe I’ve been a little testy, but you’ve pushed me.”
“I didn’t mean to—”
“Just hear me out. Okay?”
“Fine.”
“I’ve thought things over and I decided that yes, I’ll give you an exclusive on the story when the time is right.”
“So we can work together.”
