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Chapter 17
Late Thursday afternoon, Brody found Brett, Chase, Garrett and Frank in the barn, feeding and watering the horses. “We’re going to stop the patrols,” he said, and all four men brightened, relief evident in their expressions. “No one’s noticed a thing, and I’m going to assume that whoever was here decided it wasn’t worth his time and effort to come back.” He smiled. “Not like we have diamonds laying around outside the house. Or inside, for that matter.”
Brett, although he was clearly thankful, said, “You sure, Boss? None of us mind doing the patrols.” He scowled. “No one wants anything to happen to Phoebe.”
“I appreciate that, but I’m sure.” Brody sighed. “Losing a few hours of sleep every night is exhausting. All of us are dragging, and we have no idea who it was or if he’ll be back. So we’ll trust the alarm system to do its job and we can all get some sleep.”
“We’ll all pay close attention during the day,” Brett promised. “Look for anything out of place. Anything that might be a clue to our intruder.”
“Good idea to stay alert and watchful,” Brody said. “But let’s get back to our regularly scheduled lives.”
Brody wanted to get back to his regularly scheduled life, as well. He needed more time with Lainey. He knew he’d been aloof since his visit with Rose last Sunday. Closed off. And he knew Lainey had noticed. She’d been her normal open and friendly self, but she went out of her way to avoid being alone with him.
And he’d ducked opportunities to be alone with her. They needed to have a conversation, and he was dreading it. He wasn’t ready to share the details of his life before he’d come to the ranch. But if he wanted their relationship to progress, he knew he’d have to open up to Lainey.
As the guys scattered to finish their work before supper, he heard the rumble of a car coming down the driveway. Lainey’s car. He could identify it from just the sound the engine made.
Exiting the barn, he turned to watch her car approach, and could tell that she and Phoebe were talking. It looked like a pretty intense conversation.
When the car rolled to a stop beside his pick-up, Brody hurried to open Phoebe’s door. He always made a point of opening hers first, because he loved the way she sighed, as if exasperated with his persistence. He was looking forward to her first eye roll. It would be a sign that she truly felt comfortable with him.
“Hey, Phoebe,” he said as she climbed out of the car. “How was school today?”
“It was good,” she said with a shrug. “Jack Bickham was a dork, but I ignored him. I had lunch with Ashley and two other girls.”
Jack Bickham? Lunch with three other girls? He wasn’t sure of the significance of those events, so he glanced at Lainey. She mouthed I’ll tell you later.
“Ahh, that’s good, I guess,” he said. Teen-aged girls had been a mystery to him even when he was a teen-aged boy.
He opened Lainey’s door, and she gave him a smile of thanks as she climbed out. “Long week,” she said, stretching as she reached into the back seat for her briefcase. He watched the way her suit pants pulled taut against her ass, and swallowed. It had been a very long week. He’d missed her in his bed, but knew it had been his fault. Maybe they could reconnect this weekend.
Lainey straightened, bag over her shoulder, and said, “Phoebe and I have something to discuss with you.”
Brody’s mind immediately went to worst case scenarios. Was one of them sick? Had something happened at Lainey’s office or Phoebe’s school? But as his gaze flicked from Lainey to Phoebe and back to Lainey, he realized neither of them looked concerned. Upset. Worried. “Let’s go in the living room,” he said, opening the door and waiting for them to precede him.
Phoebe perched on the edge of a chair, and Brody sat on the couch. Lainey joined him, leaving plenty of room between them. He couldn’t help remembering what they’d done on that couch a week ago. Swallowing, he pushed the memories out of his mind. Glanced at Lainey.
“Phoebe has something to discuss with both of us,” she said, nodding at Phoebe. “Go ahead and tell Brody what’s going on.”
Phoebe took a deep breath. Let it out. “Ashley invited me to a sleepover at her house on Friday night,” she said in a rush. “It’ll be me and Tara and Regan. It’s okay with Ashley’s mom. Is it okay with you if I go?” Her fingers whitened where she pressed them into her thighs.
“We were discussing it in the car,” Lainey said. “What do you think?”
Brody frowned. What were the rules of a sleepover? What happened? What did he have to worry about? “Um, will Ashley’s parents be there?” he said. It was the first thing that came to mind.
“Yeah. They’ll be home. Ash has a younger brother, and he’ll be there, too.” Her gaze flicked between Brody and Lainey. “Ashley thinks he’s a pain, but I like him. I wish I had a…” Her mouth snapped shut, but it wasn’t hard to guess what she’d been about to say. She wished she had a sibling.
“I understand,” he said quietly. “I’ve always wished I had a sibling, too.” He cleared his throat. “Would we take you over there on Friday night? Pick you up on Saturday morning?”
“I can go home with Ashley after school tomorrow. Help her get ready. Her parents are going to order pizza for us.” Phoebe sounded painfully anxious. Excited. He wondered if she’d ever been to a sleepover, and suspected she hadn’t.
Brody looked at Lainey. “What do you think?” he asked.
Lainey leaned forward. “I think it’s a good idea,” she said, her gaze touching Phoebe before she looked back at him. “Most teen girls have sleepovers. They do… girl stuff. Stay up late watching movies. Gossiping. Playing with makeup. Phoebe wants to go, and I see no reason why she shouldn’t.”
“Okay, then I’m on board, too,” Brody said. “What do you need?”
“A sleeping bag and a pillow. I can take the one in my bedroom.” Phoebe flushed. “I mean the one in your spare bedroom.”
