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Lark made a show of dumping the water into the machine. “That only adds to the flavor. It will make the best cup, I assure you.” Since she already claimed to need help improving her skills, her claim had Dove and Rain laughing harder. It seemed like she really wanted to sport that mauve outfit.
Once the pot finished brewing, Lark passed out small cups for them all to sample. When Dove took a sip, she stopped before wrinkling her nose.
The guys weren’t as forgiving. “Ack! That’s disgusting,” Quaide said.
Dove elbowed him in the ribs, and Clay leveled him in a glare as he drew the cup to his lips and sipped the brew his significant other had made. “I don’t see a problem here.”
Lark spun on her man. “You’re the one who told me to find a new technique!”
His eyes danced. “Don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said in a show of loyalty.
“Okay, let’s dump the pot. Next, I hand the baton to Rain.” Lark made a show of emptying the coffee down the sink drain and then passing the pot to Rain.
She selected a better bag of grounds but the first sip made them all gasp and wince.
Dove thumped a fist against her ribs. “That’ll put some hair on your chest.”
Laughter exploded around the room. Something that momentarily blew away the dark storm coming.
ChapterEleven
Quaide stared at the computer monitor, a sick feeling spreading through his chest and sinking into his stomach. The article in the newspaper explained the crime and made mention of Dove and Rain.
The secret that Dove had kept from him all this time left him shellshocked, and he’d seen a lot of horrific things.
Of course the FBI would have known this when she was hired, but her information was never disclosed to him for privacy reasons. That the woman had survived such a thing and come out as well as she did stunned him.
It also left him with a bad taste in his mouth when it came to Rain. He’d misjudged her—very wrongly. Now her childish behavior made so much sense. He didn’t have a psychology degree, but if he did, he was pretty sure she had frozen in time at the age of sixteen after that trauma in her life.
It also explained Dove’s reasons for being so protective of Rain. When her parents were gone, she stepped into the role of parent and caregiver, and Rain leaned heavily on her.
He sat back in his chair and rubbed a hand down his face. To think all this was going on without him knowing it hurt. He could have helped her so much more. Could have been there for Rain too.
Maybe then she wouldn’t have gotten involved with Dom.
“Wow, that’s some bad news for some poor family.” The voice over his shoulder made Quaide turn to find Julius standing behind him, staring at the story splashed across the monitor.
Quickly, he closed the tab and spun his desk chair to face him. “Keep your voice down. It’s Dove and Rain’s family.”
Julius’s face blanked. “Goddamn. I’m sorry to hear that happened to them.” He scuffed his knuckles over his jaw. “It explains some things, though.”
“Yeah.”
“Like Rain’s behavior.”
“Yup.”
“And why Dove doesn’t want to let her sister go to the ranch alone.”
He nodded.
“Did you uncover that info on your own?”
“No, she told me.”
“Well, I do tend to run on the gory side of things, but I have no interest in reading more about what happened in their family.”
He gave him a stiff nod. “You and me both.” But he was fully prepared to let Dove take refuge in his arms while he handled things until she was strong enough to do it herself.
