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“But you ran.”
“Of course, I ran. I don’t remember shooting him, and I certainly don’t plan to pay for crimes I know I didn’t commit, Rhett. Deep down I know it.” She presses her open palm against her chest. “I loved my father. I never would have killed him.”
“Is there a chance he’s alive? Did you search for him?”
She nods, almost absentminded. “That’s what I did for the first week. I took the gun and the photos, packed what I could and hit the road, but I didn’t go far. I searched all over for him. For any trace that he was still alive, but he’d vanished. No trace. No chance of finding him. That was when I knew I was in trouble. Because whether I did it or not, someone planned on making me pay for it.”
Rhett
Eliza. Short for Elizabeth. I brush the hair from her eyes while she sleeps. Funny, she doesn’t look like Elizabeth to me.
She’s my Sunny.
She always will be.
She draws in a sharp breath but relaxes again in the next second. Missing memories, hazy dreams, no wonder she’s looked haunted since she arrived. Sunny weasels a little closer in her sleep, wrapping her arm around me. She fell asleep shortly after her explanation about her life. Though the couch arm makes for a lousy cushion, I don’t mind being her pillow once more.
I feel like I still have a thousand questions, but they can wait until morning. For now, I’m content to hold her and watch over her while she sleeps. I hope she feels safe with me. I hope for the first time in months she can actually sleep without feeling the need to keep one eye open.
Tomorrow we’ll have to face reality. We need a plan. Someone clearly wants to pin a murder on Sunny, one I don’t think she committed. But wherever this threat started, they have a head start on us. We can’t waste any more time.
I bend and press a kiss to the top of her head. But tonight, she deserves to rest. I have a feeling things are just getting started.
Chapter 25
Rhett
T
There’s no hope of here’s no hope of sneaking out without waking her first. Somewhere in the night, we became a little more tangled than when we started. Still, I don’t want any rumors starting, and while my absence from the bunkhouse won’t be unusual, walking there from Sunny’s cabin would get some gossip going and none of it would be true.
“Hey,” I nudge her shoulder, “it’s morning.”
She draws in a deep breath, chest rising and falling against mine. “Five more minutes.”
“Five more minutes and the whole bunkhouse will be up.”
Sunny’s head snaps up, like she just realized who was talking to her in the first place. I grin, loving the way her hair goes every which way after a night of sleep. “I stayed a little too late, I think.”
Using my chest to push herself to an upright position, Sunny moves away from me. I feel her absence like someone cut off my right arm. The couch wasn’t comfortable but holding her came naturally.
“Geez, I’m gonna be late.” She hurries to her bedroom, shutting the door quickly. A second later a tiny scream burst through the heavy door. My feet hit the floor, ready to defend her. “My hair! I look terrible!”
I laugh as my heart rate starts to adjust to the lack of emergency. “You’re still beautiful to me.”
Her door pops open enough for her head to pop through. “I look like a llama with a hangover.”
“You’re not either.” I reach for my boot and slip it on. “You’re always pretty.”
She rolls her eyes like it’s too early for flattery and I have to laugh again. I yank on my other boot and start to leave but I get another idea in my head. It would be nice to have breakfast with her alone. If I hurry, I might be able to get something from Cookie and bring it back. It feels like the sort of thing a boyfriend might do. And I would very much like to earn that title.
“I’ll be right back,” I call to her, loud enough to carry through the door.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m getting you some breakfast.” I slip out before she tells me not to bother. I don’t care if it’s a little extra work. I don’t care if she’s a little late to the barn. All I care about is five more minutes pretending we don’t have the world caving in around us.
I make it to the bunkhouse without anyone noticing. I slip in the back and catch the screen door before it snaps shut.
