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Eight
Laney
I had told Archer I could pick him up at the motel this morning. The gooseneck had a flat tire I was bringing in for repair.
I parked next to the Audi that hadn’t seen a car wash since we’d gone to Dickinson three days ago. I wondered how he’d react to getting mud on it if it ever rained again.
At his door, I paused with my hand raised. The door might have been made of metal, but the frame around it was thin with poor insulation. There was no desk, and Archer was probably working at the table by the door.
“Yes, Mr. Truitt. I understand.”
I dropped my hand. I didn’t want to disrupt a work call. As much as I disliked the Truitts, I wasn’t petty enough to mess around with his job.
“I sent the reports.” A pause. “No, I understand. It’s not like that.” I spun around to go back to the pickup, but the next thing he said stopped me. “Because I trust her. I haven’t been with anyone else either. Our marriage isn’t superficial.”
He said it with more insistence than he should’ve needed, but I would’ve done the same. After what we’d learned about each other during the last week, we understood that our first year together had been shallow. We’d skimmed the surface of who the other was, but that he was defending me on the phone to Norville, a man he admired without question? What he thought of me wasn’t superficial.
I wasn’t surprised that Norville thought I was fucking around. He was on his third wife, and he’d never waited until the last one walked out before he moved on.
“I won’t let you down, Mr. Truitt. I’ll get the reports sent by three p.m. today—No, I already touched base with the Hassan account. He has everything he needs, and his wife is reviewing it.”
I stepped back. I had no idea how long this would take.
“Understood. Thanks. Bye.” The door opened. He must’ve seen my pickup. “Wanna come in for a sec?”
I didn’t. Closed doors. Privacy. The last time I was in this room, we’d kissed. I wasn’t sure I was ready for that with him again. But I entered. The stress lining his face and the various electronics strewn over the table made me certain he wasn’t ready to leave.
“Norville’s on your ass?” I took a seat in a chair, but he sat on the bed.
“Wilson just told him I was taking another three weeks.” Archer’s gaze darkened. “I should’ve talked to him personally, but Wilson’s technically my direct boss.”
In name only. Norville kept that company in his iron grip.
“You need to stay and work?” Disappointment sank my mood. After being away from him for so long, I was quickly becoming accustomed to seeing him every day and spending time with him.
“For a while, yes.” Rare irritation flashed in his eyes. I’d seen him frustrated, but not when it came to Norville. The man was like a god in Archer’s eyes. Allan Barron must’ve been bad if Norville was the good guy. “I want to make sure I’ve got everything ready to close the Hassan deal since they’re buying a twelve-million-dollar property.” His lips quirked. “It’s only three hundred acres.”
My eyes widened. “Twelve million for three hundred acres?” That was less than a sixth of the size of Diamond UU. There was a listing outside of Mandan that was larger, and it was selling for four million.
Archer grinned. “Texas, baby.”
I shook my head. “Crazy. Maybe if I offered Ma five million, she’d actually let me have it.”
Million. Crazy.
His smile fell. “You really love your place.”
“It’s a family legacy.” Did I love it? I loved the work I did. I liked being useful. I liked the life I’d had to leave before. I was loyal. That wasn’t the same as love, but I wasn’t going to inspect my feelings any deeper right now. I slapped my hands on my legs and rose. “I’ll let you work.”
He stood. “Can I come by later?”
I nodded, but as I turned to go, he cupped my elbow and drew me close with no more pressure than a simple touch of his hand. “I’ve been dying to do this again,” he murmured.
The need in his tone kept me from putting distance between us. Because it echoed what I’d been thinking. How I went to bed every night knowing he was mere miles away instead of eleven hundred and stared at the ceiling, wishing I could be beside him.
When his lips touched mine, I realized what a bad idea this was. I didn’t have the will to pull away. I didn’t have the desire to make it stop when his hold tightened, his kiss deepened, and he spun us until my back was to the bed.
Then he lifted me. I wasn’t shocked out of the kiss; I anchored myself around him as he crawled over the bed and laid us down.
