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“Let’s go.” She took off, setting a brisk pace down Rogue Canyon Road.
He maneuvered to the other side of her, putting himself on the outside where any cars would pass. His protective instinct never quit.
Casting a sidelong glance at him, she admired his excellent posture and the fit of his T-shirt stretched taut over his muscles. With his powerful stride and those big hands, he seemed like he knew his way around a woman’s body.
He looked at her.
Busted. Caught her ogling.
“Rocco told me that you left your aunt and uncle’s house at seventeen. Right after you graduated high school.”
“Yeah.”
“He said you bounced around a lot. About every two years.”
Rocco talked too much. “That’s right.”
“I had to move a lot, too, with the military. Not by choice. Why so often for you?”
She shrugged. “Thought I wanted the hustle and bustle. Action. Kept trying different places. New York. Los Angeles. Miami. Chicago. Denver.” During her time in Colorado, she’d met Orson.
“Is that why you haven’t unpacked everything at your house? Too used to leaving?”
“I guess I like mobility.” She hadn’t really thought about it before. “But the big cities drained me.” Inevitably, it felt as if her soul was being sucked dry. “I feel grounded here. Something to the great outdoors. The simplicity.” She never thought the wild west, the landscape and cowboys, would be for her. Glancing at Brian with mountains as the backdrop, she was glad to be wrong.
“You’ve been in Laramie a while. Almost three years.”
She nodded. “Uh-huh.” Long time for her.
“Think you’ll stay?”
What was this, twenty questions? “USD is the closest thing to putting down roots.” That was the best, most honest answer she could give.
She picked up speed, determined to nix the conversation.
With their ridiculously fast pace, they made it to the range and back to his house in almost no time.
Once they reached his driveway, she bent over and clutched her knees, catching her breath. Somewhat recovered, she stood upright. The sun cast sharp shadows over the hillside and mountains. A cool breeze stirred the trees around them.
Charlie closed her eyes, tipping her head back and inhaling a deep breath; the scent of sweet wildflowers hung in the air. “I love this smell. Different in the morning than at night.”
When she opened her eyes, she looked at Brian. His back was to her. A sheen of sweat covered his skin, but he wasn’t winded, breathing hard like she was.
He spun on his heel, strode up to her and threw his arms around her in a tight hug.
She went rigid, startled by the intimate contact. Then she found herself melting against him, curling her fingers in his damp T-shirt, soaking in his masculine, sweaty scent.
It felt good to be close to him, too. Scary, but good. She could stay like this a while, wrapped in his arms.
He pressed his mouth to her ear, his breath warm on her neck. “We’re being watched. When I let you go, look to your two o’clock. Behind the peachleaf willows. There’s a car. Black compact SUV.”
She swallowed hard, a knot twisting in her gut.
“It wasn’t there when I got home last night,” he said. “But it’s been there since we left.”
He let her go and bent down, pretending to adjust his shoelaces.
Charlie couldn’t tell a peachleaf willow from a weeping one, but he’d told her enough to properly orientate her.
