Once she was gone and Kody’s breathing evened out some, I leaned across the table and told her, “You don’t know that. We don’t know who was in the car, or if the car was even headed to the farm. But you finally gave me a lead to follow. If a car like that came through Loveless, someone was bound to notice.” It was also certain it would pop up on any one of the surveillance cameras from the shops around Main Street, which would lead to a license plate number. “No use getting worked up until we have the facts.”
She growled at me and jumped to her feet. Her palms landed on the table once again, making some of the leftover coffee in her mug splash out.
“Don’t tell me not to get worked up. I’m not a heartless robot like you, Gamble.” With a flip of her hair, she stormed out of the booth, leaving practically everyone in the diner staring after her. Whispers erupted as soon as she was gone, and I had to bite back a groan as attention turned my way.
She knew how to make an exit, that was for sure.
The accusation that I was cold and unfeeling was nothing new. But the words hurt, and they weren’t true. I was far from being a robot where she was concerned. I felt too much. Always had, and that was the problem. The more she’d called me, heartbroken and heartsick, when Aaron was going through a rough patch, the more I’d struggled to keep my feelings for her in check. I wanted to protect her. I wanted to save her—from my own brother, which made me feel guilty as hell. I had to pull back before I did something I regretted. Yet here I was, years later, and I still wanted to save her, to hold her and tell her that everything would be fine. I wanted to chase after her, wanted to explain why I’d behaved the way I had all those years ago, but I stayed in the booth, my eyes focused on my cooling coffee as my heart twisted itself into painful knots. She still blamed me for what had happened to Aaron, and I couldn’t dispute that I should’ve handled things better. Maybe if I’d been honest about how I felt, she would have understood why I had to walk away. But it was too late to turn back the clock, no matter how desperately I wanted a do-over.
Slurping down the rest of my coffee and smothering a yawn, I told myself I could sleep as soon as I tracked down any footage I could find of the Tesla. Hearst was going to be pissed when I called and told him we were looking at another all-nighter.
Chapter 5
Kody
The weather on the day of my father’s funeral was beautiful. Bright and sunny. Hot as hell, without a cloud in the sky. It was almost as if the universe were mocking what was supposed to be a sad and somber occasion. The temperature also made dressing in head-to-toe black seem ridiculous, so I refused to do it. I didn’t own very many dark, single-colored garments as it was, and there was no way I was making a special trip into Austin to buy something new in order to say goodbye to the man who had ruined my mother’s life and made mine a living hell. I settled on a long maxi dress striped with varying shades of gray and light pink. It wasn’t as in your face as most of my outfit choices, but it was still vibrant enough that I didn’t feel like I was toning it down to appease the busybodies and curious onlookers who were bound to show up for the viewing.
Initially I’d planned on skipping everything having to do with the funeral. None of us really understood his instructions to leave him for eternity on the land that had been in the family for generations, instead of next to my mother in the cemetery on the outskirts of town. I, for one, was grateful my mother’s eternal peace wasn’t going to be tainted by her having to share her resting place with the man who had made her living days miserable. But I also wanted nothing to do with the property if my father was going to be forever a part of it. Last night over too many beers, Crew drunkenly mentioned that was probably the old man’s plan all along. None of us had any good memories of that farmhouse, and we wouldn’t want to keep it in the family. But how could we get rid of the property if our father was buried there? The man was always just as clever as he was mean.
However, when Aspen mentioned how hard the day was going to be for my brothers, especially Case, I realized I couldn’t take the easy way out. Case and Crew had both gone above and beyond for me whenever I needed them to. I couldn’t justify hiding away from the rest of the world because I was uncomfortable with my feelings. Luckily I wasn’t required to play hostess. Della and Aspen slipped into the role easily enough, having no trouble faking smiles and accepting false condolences from the nosy townsfolk. My brothers picked the women they were going to spend the rest of their lives with wisely. When the time came for Della and Aspen to protect their men from the outside world, they didn’t hesitate to do it. If those loving, protective instincts had been operating under any other circumstances, I would have been glowing with pride. Our family was growing in the best way possible.
“Here.” I looked up at Crew when he suddenly appeared by my side. While both my brothers resembled our father, Crew had an easy, careless charm about him that he’d clearly inherited from our mother. He was the risk-taker in the family. The daredevil. And up until he met Della, he was the one I worried about the most. Now he was the one worrying about me as he stealthily passed me a small silver flask he’d had hidden somewhere in his dark gray blazer. I wasn’t the only one who refused to wear black.
“Thanks.” I took a sneaky drink and tried not to wheeze as the whiskey burned on the way down. Clearly our father’s funeral didn’t call for the top-shelf stuff.
“Who are you waiting for?” Crew took the flask back and tucked it away just as Aspen cut us a curious look from where she was hovering protectively between Case and Hayes.
Surprised, I turned to face him. “What? I’m not waiting for anyone. I’m anxious for this circus to be over so we can get on with our lives.”
Crew arched a black eyebrow as he tucked his thumbs in the front pockets of his dark jeans. “Oh. I noticed you keep looking at the door whenever someone new comes in. I thought maybe you invited that biker friend of yours.”
I blinked in surprise. “Shot? No. I didn’t ask him to come today.” He’d offered, but I’d firmly told him not to come. While riling my brothers up and pushing all their buttons was typically my most favorite pastime, I knew today wasn’t the time for it. There were too many emotions running high and far too much testosterone in any scenario involving Shot and my brothers for it to end well. “I guess I’m wondering if Hill is going to show up. Don’t you think that would be part of his investigation? Doesn’t the killer usually show up at the victim’s funeral?”
Crew gave a soft chuckle so as not to be overheard by the lurking busybodies. “I think that only happens on TV. He’s been out of town for the last few days. I know Case has been trying to track him down for info on the investigation, but it’s been tricky. Sounds like he’s working himself to the bone on this case.”
I reached up to tug on my lower lip, remembered the way he’d stumbled and fallen in front of his motel the last time I saw him. Hill had had dark circles under his eyes and looked like he hadn’t slept a full night in weeks. Somehow concern for his well-being got buried under the alarm at my visceral reaction to seeing him shirtless in the small room. The sight of all those rippling back muscles, some marred by very visible and prominent scars, made me forget why I’d absently followed him into the room in the first place. He’d always been too good-looking for my peace of mind, and now I knew for certain it wasn’t just his artistically carved face, with its sharp cheekbones and chiseled jaw, that had aged with superiority. The man was built like a professional athlete, big, strong, and capable. I had to get out of that room before I did something stupid like reach out and touch him.