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“Yeah. I realize that.” Silas continued to stare out the windshield and she couldn’t see his eyes behind his aviator shades. “Your brother would probably shoot me. And like you said, it was amistake.”
His voice dulled on that last sentence, but his unreadable expression didn’t change. His face might as well have been carved in stone.
“Maybe Thatch already knew it was me.” She tried to focus on the road. “Maybe he recognized my voice and he’ll slip and tell someone.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of Aiden and Thatch. They’re not going to find out.” How could he be so calm? Not one inflection in his voice. “So what’re you gonna tell the police?”
Tess wanted to ask how he planned to keep Aiden from finding out about That Night, but he clearly wanted to change the subject, so she let it go. “I’m going to tell them someone shot a wild horse on my property and they’d better get their butts up there and figure out who before I do.”
Silas finally turned to face her, his electrifying grin stretching across his lips.
Warmth crept up her neck. “What?”
“That’s what I love about you, Tess.” She could feel his stare, even through the dark lenses of his glasses. “You’re not afraid to tell it like it is.”
Loved. He could’ve saidlike. She told people things shelikedabout them all the time. But he’d said loved. And he was wrong about her. Shewasafraid. Especially when her heart beat in this dangerous rhythm whenever she was close to him.
“I’m not kidding. If the police won’t do something about this, I will.” She had to keep the conversation focused on the horses. Not on the things they loved about each other.
Wait.Werethere things she loved about him? The answer hit her much too quickly. His unyielding loyalty. His dedication to the things he cared about most. His smile. Definitely his smile.Oh God.
“Easy there, Maverick.” Silas faced forward again. “You’re not doing anything alone. I said I’ll help and I will. So we’ll take on those assholes together.”
Tess reached forward to turn on the air conditioning. Sure, it was only fifty-five degrees outside, but her body temperature kept rising. “Aiden said you’re thinking of going away? Taking a vacation?”
Silas didn’t look at her, but she noticed a reaction in his posture, a straightening of his spine. “I don’t know. Maybe. But I won’t go anywhere until these horse bullies are brought to justice. I promise.”
They rolled down Main Street and Tess slowed the truck, her gaze searching for an open parking spot in front of the police station. “Well, where do you think you’ll go if you take a vacation?” And how long would he be gone? She shouldn’t wonder. She shouldn’t care…
“Don’t know.” His shoulders still seemed rigid. “I’ve never been good at taking vacations. I can spend about three hours on a beach before I start getting restless. I like to be busy, on the move. I like to work.”
“I used to feel the same way.” Tess parked along the curb. “But that was before my daily life felt like so much work.” Before having kids. Before becoming a single mom. While it was her favorite job ever, raising kids was intense and exhausting sometimes. Full of blessings but also stress and fear. Especially doing it on her own. “Nowadays? I could use a week at the beach.” She laughed… not that she’d been joking.
“Then you should go.” Silas unclicked his seat belt and got out of the truck, waiting for her to join him on the sidewalk outside the police station. “Why not? You have a whole army of people who’d take the girls. Go do something for yourself.”
Why? Did he want her to leave? He wasn’t smiling as much as he used to in her presence. And he hadn’t tried to make her laugh all day. Everything was different now. So messed up. “Yeah, maybe I will go away somewhere.” She could use a vacation from him right about now. “Anyway, let me do the talking in here.” She soldiered on to the door but Silas hurried to open it for her before she got there.
“I wouldn’t dream of talking for you, Tess.” He followed her inside. “I know better.”
Before she could ask him what that was supposed to mean, Terry Gladstone, the receptionist, came around the desk to greet them. “Tess! I haven’t seen you in forever. How are those girls of yours?”
She hugged the older woman. “They’re doing really well, thanks.” The blessing of being able to say that was never lost on her. For all the girls had been through, they were resilient and thriving. And much of their recovery after losing their dad had to do with this community they were a part of. “Is Chief Holbrook around by any chance?” While she loved Terry, she didn’t want to get into one of their half hour–long chat sessions right now.
“Sure. You can go on back.” The woman moved from her to Silas. “Do I get a hug from my favorite SEAL too?”
“Come on, Terry. We all know I’m not your favorite,” the man teased. “I heard you made a batch of your oatmeal raisin cookies for Thatch last week.”
“Yours are coming, sugar,” Terry said with a wink. “And I’ll add in some chocolate chips toproveyou’re my favorite.”
Oh please.Tess openly rolled her eyes. Silas had all the older women in town eating out of the palm of his hand. He was too much of a charmer for his own good. Or for her own good. She should remember that.
Leaving him behind, she walked down the short hallway to Natalie’s office, shaking her head the whole time. Tess paused outside the half-open door and knocked.
Natalie lifted her gaze away from her laptop screen. She was young for a police chief—barely thirty—but Tess had always respected the woman. She had a unique blend of compassion and badassery. No one ever wanted to mess with Chief Holbrook, but people also often came to her for advice.
“Hey, come on in.” She gestured for Tess to sit in the chair on the other side of the desk. “What can I do for you?”
“We’ve got a wild horse with a gunshot wound at the ranch right now.” No point in beating around the bush. She was on a mission here. “I was out for a ride in the high meadow when I heard gunshots coming from the west.” She sat on the edge of the chair while Silas came to stand behind her. “Then the horses flooded my property. Dreamer spooked so I had to ride home. When Silas and I went back up to check on the herd later, we found a young mare with a hole through her nose and head.”
