She sighs and places her phone back on the side table, then pinches the bridge of her nose. After a moment, she looks up. “That was my aunt. Someone’s been looking for Weston, and they’re worried as he hasn’t been in touch.”
Well he wouldn’t have been. Satan’s Devils know their stuff. Weston is beyond the reach of anyone now, and not where anyone can find him.
“Who was asking for him?”
She shakes her head. “No one my aunt or uncle knows. I did ask.” Worried eyes meet mine. “I may have done wrong. I told her he came here six or so weeks ago, but obviously didn’t say anything else.” I breathe in sharply, but before I can suggest whether she’s done wrong or right, she carries on, “After all, we did go to Brook’s Diner together. If they start circulating his picture saying he’s missing, there was a girl I vaguely knew from school there and she might remember.”
I immediately come down on the side of right. “You did good, Cat.” Approaching her, I put my arms around her. “It’s unlikely anyone will do much about Weston, but you were correct. If there’s a chance of exposure, you minimise it.”
She leans into my chest. “My aunt thought it strange he would come visit. If anything, it worried her more. It was out of character.”
“What did you tell her?”
“I suggested he might have wanted to see whether there was a chance he could get money out of the house. But my parents didn’t leave a will and the inheritance laws would be hard to challenge.” She huffs. “It wasn’t a reach for her to accept that excuse. She knows exactly what Weston is like.” She pulls back a little, looking into my eyes. “There is a danger though. Before he went inside, Weston was a boxer. A good one as well. Though objectionable, he won fights. People might remember if she starts a search.”
I know she’ll think I’m changing the subject, but I’m not. “The roof is all fixed, Cat. Maybe it’s time you approach a real estate agent and put this place on the market.”
“And get away from any heat?” She catches on fast. “But are you ready to go back to Utah?”
That’s the question I keep asking myself. Releasing her, I turn and start to pace, thinking aloud. “I wanted to find out more to take back, even if it was something I needed their help to solve, but as you know, I keep finding more questions than answers. The only headline is you’re no risk to them anymore. They’ll have already found that I fixed it so it looks like a fake account was set up to rent the fishing cabin, presumably by the perpetrators themselves. They won’t be worrying about that.”
“Will you ever be able to find something to justify you not just leaving, but staying gone?”
If Utah was a club full of men who loved their old ladies like Tucson, maybe I would and they’d understand. Love? That pulls me up. Old lady? Pressing my lips together, I get distracted for a moment, asking myself if I want to live a life with her in it, or returning to being my lonely self. As if a lightbulb has been switched on in my head, I realise not having her with me would be like losing part of myself. I want to keep her. Which means I need to build a future with her in it.
The world’s my oyster, but what would I be without my brothers at my back? I thought I could do it, but as more time has passed, I feel a restlessness inside of me. I was never meant to be a civilian.
But how can I go back to the Devils?
Cat walks toward me, her hands reaching for my biceps, her fingers curling into the muscles. “What if you had an excuse for your behaviour?”
I snort. “I don’t think there’s any excuse for me being an ass.”
“Yes, there is,” she says, adamantly. “I think you and Pooh were set up. If you can find out why, that would explain why you felt so helpless and did what you did.”
Me? Helpless? I bristle and straighten, ready to contradict what she’s just said, but as I open my mouth, I wonder if she’s right. I hadn’t trusted anyone because I didn’t understand how everything had got so fucked up.
Cat moves closer again, raising her hand to cup my face. “It’s classic PTSD, you know? Pushing people away who can help. That might be enough of a sympathy card.”
I don’t have PTSD. I don’t. “Is that your official diagnosis?”
“Yup. Something happened you had no control over, so you protected yourself by making sure it could never happen again. A therapist would suggest you look at what you can control and try to cope with what you cannot. In your own way, you tried to do that. You say your brothers served. They’d understand.”
Damn it. She makes sense. But I’m not a man who runs crying to anyone else. But what if I discovered a reason for why it had all gone so wrong and returned to explain? It wouldn’t stop the beatdown nor that I’d have to prospect for six months, but maybe I’d once again have brothers at my back and actually want them there.
“I need you, Cat,” I tell her.
“I’ll be right by your side.” It’s a promise.
“I’ll start digging again. I’ll go back to the beginning. See if I can find anything. Or at least get my thoughts in order.”
“I’ll begin to get the ball rolling here, starting with trying to find a good home for Star. There’s a local farmer who’d take the chickens, he might take him as well.”
“I’m sorry,” I tell her, knowing how much she’ll hate leaving her horse, particularly after she lost her dog. I know she still misses him.
It’s her turn to straighten her back. “It is what it is, Finn. He can’t move with us, and I can’t stay here just to look after him in his retirement. If I find him a good home, I’ll still be able to come back and visit.”
And I’ll make sure to scare the shit out of the person who takes him on. If that horse isn’t properly cared for, they’ll know they have me to answer to.
“Come here.” I wrap my arms around her, leaning down to take her mouth. My cock, which always seems to harden around her, starts to swell. There’s more than one benefit to living with Cat.
I’ll never get fed up with her pussy. Never before have I wanted to go back, but having experienced hers, I know I have no need for another. As our encounter starts to become heated, and I call it a day and lead her to bed, I realise that I’ve changed since I’ve known her. For the better, I’d definitely say.
“Need me to do anything today?” I ask the next morning. Things I’ve thought about in the dead of night still going around my head.
“No, you go do your thing. I’ll go get some groceries and call on Seamus to see whether he can take the animals for us.”
“You okay doing that alone?”
Predictably, she rolls her eyes.
I grin. Of course she is. Cat is made of strong stuff and doesn’t need me to always be behind her.
When she leaves, I note the healthier sound of the truck, now running much better since I serviced and tuned it. I make myself a coffee and take it over to the desk. Time to start digging.
Gun. Why did he get out before the rest of the team was taken out? When I first found out, I had no suspicions. Now I wonder whether I was wrong to discount the coincidence. I start to dig, and then dig deeper.