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I didn’t question her. “Okay then.”
ChapterTwenty-Three
John
Icouldn’t sleep.
As much as I tossed and turned, flipped the pillows, and changed positions, sleep could not come to me. Micah and Dusty had not found the lady Rayna had spoken to at the bakery, telling me that the lady had left in a hurry, which smelled as fishy as could be. Clearly, West had paid the woman off.
Eventually, I sat up, slipped out of bed, and shrugged on a pair of jeans and a shirt. With my boots on, I grabbed my keys and headed to one place—or, should I say, the one person I knew could put me at ease.
Rayna.
I hoped she would forgive me for showing up unexpectedly in the dead of night like some creeper, but I could only think she would be a good listening ear to the worries keeping me up. I grabbed a few things and then left for the truck.
As I stepped outside, the night felt normally quiet, the wind whistling through the trees and the soft echo of an owl’s hoot. The crickets had long gone to bed. I put the things in my hand in the backseat and hopped in the driving seat. The drive down to town was easy as no traffic was on the road.
About two miles into the town, I saw the construction for the annual fair was on target, with walls going up, portions being sectioned off, and walkways emerging from the ground. I hope my PA had gotten my spot on the other side from West—the asshole.
Just like out of town, the roads were empty, and the only sign of life was the street light and the few colored lights coming out of the shops. I drove past the school and headed to Rayna’s cottage, and when I got there, I was surprised to see the light on.
Was she up?
I shut the truck off and headed to the doorway, and as I went to knock, Rayna opened the door for me. She was clad in a thin pink robe and must have been wearing shorts underneath it because her legs were showing from the knee down.
Rayna gave a sympathetic smile. “Can’t sleep, huh?”
“Not a blessed wink,” I replied. “May I?”
She stepped aside, and I went inside and realized the kitchen light was on and the kettle was steaming on the stove. She went to her cupboard and took down a mug. “I was just making some tea. Do you want a cup?”
“Sure,” I replied, taking one of the barstools. “It’s fair to say that today was disturbing, but was there a specific part keeping you up?”
“Samantha,” she replied while taking out the box of tea. “Even while we went shopping, she didn’t vocalize what she felt while you and West fought. I didn’t ask her, but it is bothering me.”
My gut curdled a little. I was worried about Sam, but the greater worry was for John, “I cannot help but think there was something more to West’s hypocritical presence today. Can you imagine he came to get me to apologize for something he failed to give me and with such smug cockiness too?”
“That bothered me too,” she replied, handing me a cup.
“I don’t know why they decided to turn up on my ranch when he booted me off his,” I growled. “What trick was up his sleeve.”
“You think there is one?” Rayna asked.
“There is always one,” I replied after a sip. “I just don’t know what it is.”
“And that’s another horrible thing,” she sighed. “If only we had a way to know what he was up to.”
Wrapping my hand around the cup, I looked around the room and wondered if I could sleep there or just go back home after we talked. But then, another idea came to me. “Let's get out of here.”
She looked at me. “What?”
“Get dressed,” I replied. “Shoes, shirt, whatever, and let's take a ride.”
Rayna blinked but then smiled. “Sure. Give me a minute.”
She placed her cup in the sink, then went to her bedroom, and I heard rummaging. As much as I wanted to join her, tell her I’d changed my mind, and end up fooling around in bed, I had to stifle my baser urges because not all problems could be fixed with a round of hot sex.
She emerged in faded jeans, boots, an overlarge sweatshirt, and a cap jammed on her head. “Where to, cowboy?”
