AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh. Okay.”
She pulled her hand free and her phone out of her purse. He listened to her side of the conversation, which went on for a long time. He didn’t want to be selfish, but he wanted to talk to Esther himself, philosophize and theorize on whether Garret Thomson might truly be a violent criminal and an imposter. He loved talking to her and getting her insights on anything and everything, and this story was definitely intriguing and worth debating.
She hung up as they were pulling into Summit Valley. Letting out a soft breath, she leaned her head against the seat cushion and looked at him. “Is it pathetic that I’m exhausted?”
“No. This is all a lot to take in.”
“Emotionally draining for sure,” she murmured, and he feared she wasn’t only talking about the situation with Garret. Reed didn’t want to emotionally drain her. He wanted to inspire, uplift, and restore her. He was being idealistic and selfish. He needed to focus on the Garret Thomson situation, not his desperate need to woo the beautiful Esther Delta. “Did Papa find anything?”
“Not yet, but he will.”
“Should we be monitoring the guy’s activities?” he asked.
“Papa had somebody check while we were talking.”
“Papa Delta’s connections are incredible.”
She nodded. “A lot of military people owe him favors, so finding someone in Colorado Springs so close to the Air Force base was probably easy. Anyway, they confirmed with neighbors that Garret got home from work tonight about six-thirty and hasn’t left. There was a heat signature inside in the kitchen. They’ll make sure he doesn’t leave tonight and tomorrow assign a tail to him until we can clear him of any wrongdoing with the other Garret Thomson.”
“Okay.” Could he reach for her hand again? They drove to the east and up the canyon that led to the Deltas’ homes. Why did he feel like his time with her was expiring?
“Neither of us can think of any reason this would relate to the Delta secret,” she said. “So that’s good news.”
She sounded exhausted.
“For sure. We’ve had enough crazies going after that lately. No need to add one more psycho to the stack.”
Her brow squiggled, and she studied him for a second before saying, “I’m so grateful nobody in our family has been hurt yet. Hopefully Papa gets to the bottom of who’s sending men after the secret soon.”
Reed nodded.
“I hate that I’m putting more burden on him. It was annoying that Garret kept texting, calling, and leaving me stuff after the three dates and then shadowing me a few days ago, but he’s never acted violent.”
“We still need to get to the bottom of it. I’ll keep you safe.” He tried to say it all serious and meaningful, but they were still driving and he couldn’t touch her while he said it or look deeply into her eyes, so he was afraid it lost some of its potency.
Esther said nothing, which worried him. They stopped in front of Thor’s house and he pulled on his door handle.
“Wait,” Esther said. “I need to tell you something.”
Reed released his door and glanced across the console. He knew she was tired, but he wanted to walk her to the door and hold her close for at least a minute. He could wait on the kiss, but he needed her in his arms. Maybe he could walk her inside and hold her until she fell asleep and then carry her up to her room and tuck her in. His blood heated up. He doubted Thor would approve of that plan, though, even if he and Reed were close friends.
“Sure. Anything.” He made his voice upbeat even though it wobbled slightly.
Esther worried her lip, then spit out, “Reed, you’re an incredible guy and I appreciate you being so trustworthy and loyal, helping my family so much with the Delta secret, and doing this fake date situation with me, but I think we’re … past all of that.”
“Past all of … what?”
“Fake dating.” She drew in a breath. “Dating.”
Reed’s stomach flipped, and he shook his head. “Esther, I told you this was never fake for me.”
She looked straight into his eyes, and he could see how serious she was in the dim light from the dash. “I really appreciate you, Reed. You’re an incredible and kind man.” She swallowed, then said forcibly, “It was all fake for me.” She yanked on her door handle and literally jumped out of his truck. “We’ll keep in touch on the Garret situation. Thanks for all the help. Night!”
She slammed the truck door, ran around the front of his truck and up to the front porch. Within seconds, she’d disappeared inside. Reed didn’t even move. He didn’t try to stop her, chase after her, declare his love and beg her to make it real, to feel something for him.
His heart thudded dully in his chest. He was surprised it kept beating at all.It was all fake for me. It was all fake for me.Her words played over and over in his head.
How could Esther, the woman he adored, have said those harsh, awful words in such an unemotional, level tone as she looked into his eyes? He wanted to convince himself she was lying to protect her heart, or his, or maybe something with the Delta secret. He’d heard scattered talk about one of the grandchildren being made Secret Keeper. Maybe Esther had been appointed and thought she couldn’t focus on dating and love until they found whoever was sending people after the secret?
