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“He’s defending his ladies,” Sierra said, biting her lip to keep from laughing. “Doing his job.”
“Yeah.” Cody stared at Maurice for a long moment, then looked at her, smiling. “I think Maurice and I both enjoy the battle. It keeps things interesting.”
“Are we going into town to drop off the eggs?” she asked.
“Hell, no,” he said, leading her into the dimly lit barn. “We’re not leaving the farm. It’s secure and we’re protected here. We’re staying until your situation is resolved. The only people who know I’m here are those two kids, and I want to keep it that way.”
He walked to a refrigerator standing against one wall and pulled it open. Set the carton of eggs on an empty shelf, shut the door and walked toward her. “Laila and Jason will take care of that after we’re gone. I think they drop off eggs once a week.”
“Will the eggs be okay after a week, with all the,” she scrunched her nose, “all the dirt on them?”
“The eggs will be fine. They last a lot longer if they’re not washed before they’re used.” He glanced at her, then his gaze dropped to her hands. She wondered what he was thinking, but his face was unreadable. “We should head back inside so you can get some work done. I have some things to do, too.”
“Sounds good.” She realized she didn’twantto go back inside. She wanted to ask Cody for a tour of the farm. Find out how everything worked. How often did he feed the cows? Were there any other animals he needed to feed and water?
Really? She wanted a tour of the farm?
Sierra mentally rolled her eyes. She’d never lied to herself, and she wasn’t going to start now. She wanted to spend more time with Cody. Try to figure out why she was so attracted to him.
When he’d cupped her hands around the egg, her heart hadfluttered.The woman who’d closed off her heart a long time ago had felt that organ open its doors. Invite a man in.
The woman who couldn’t take a chance on trustinganyonehad decided Cody Parker was trustworthy.
Time to nip this in the bud. She bit her lip to keep from asking him for a tour.
Cody was right. She had work to do. And with Cody’s VPN and satellite phone, she could accomplish a lot.
She wanted to talk to Jack and her parents first, though. Check in and make sure they were okay. “May I use the satellite phone for a few calls? I need to talk to Alex and my office. A couple of other people, too.”
“Sure.” As they stepped into the kitchen, he pulled the phone out of his pocket and handed it to her. “Use it for as long as you like. But if it rings, please don’t answer it. Bring it to me.”
“I’ll do that,” she said, taking the phone gingerly. It was bigger and heavier than a landline phone. “Anything special I need to do to dial it?”
“Nope,” he said. “Just the area code and phone number. Unless you’re calling out of the country.”
“No,” she said quickly. “Just checking with a few people. I’ll work from my bedroom upstairs.”
“You’re welcome to use the kitchen table,” he said. “I have an office off the living area. You won’t be disturbed.”
“Thanks. I might take you up on that. I like to be close to snacks,” she said lightly. But she wouldn’t move to the kitchen until she’d talked to her parents and Jack.
Once she was in her room with the door closed, she dialed her brother. “Hey, Jack,” she said, keeping her voice low. “Everything okay? Problems?”
“Nope,” he said cheerfully. “I had my graduate seminar yesterday, and no one followed me while I was out of the apartment. No odd phone calls. Nothing unusual.”
“Thank God,” Sierra said fervently. “You’ll call me if anything seems off, right?”
“Absolutely. Any signs of a problem, I’m calling your new phone.”
“Great. Thanks. I’ll talk to you in a few days, unless something comes up.”
“Sounds good, Sis. Talk to you soon. Love you.”
“Love you too,” she murmured before she clicked off.
She called her parents as well, and they were also fine. Nothing unusual to report. Their guards had been told to pay close attention, and they hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary.
Sierra set the phone on the desk. Took a deep breath. So far, so good. But the edgy tickle at the back of her neck didn’t go away.
