Page 124 of Wild Sanctuary

“That might be important,” I murmur against his chest.

“It’s June.”

“You don’t know that.”

It vibrates a third time, and I reach around and pull it from his back pocket.

“How did you know?”

“’Cause she’s relentless.” He takes the phone without putting me down. “Yeah.”

I can’t hear June’s side of the conversation, but I can read Wyatt’s face. There’s a slight shift from mildly irritated to duly attentive. Then a nod, followed by another nod.

“Your truck still at the shop?” A pause. “No, it’s fine. I’ll come get you.” He glances at me. “Give me twenty minutes.”

He hangs up and slides the phone back in his pocket. “June needs a ride from Maggie’s. She dropped your Honda off at Hadley’s yesterday, thinking her truck would be ready, but neither one’s done yet. And Maggie just got called out on an emergency, so she’s stuck in town.”

“My Honda.” I raise an eyebrow. “The one you grounded three weeks ago?”

He raises one right back. “Check engine light’s not a suggestion, Daisy.”

“It ran fine for six hundred miles.”

“It ran lucky for six hundred miles.” He sets me down but keeps his hands on my waist while I smooth out invisible wrinkles on his shirt. “Come with me. Won’t take long.”

“I want to follow up on Lauren. And my phone needs to stay on the charger.” I tilt my head all the way back to meet his eyes. “Alma’s going to call. I don’t know when, but I know she will, and I need to be reachable when she does.”

He doesn’t like it. I can see the argument building behind his eyes.

“Dave’s here,” I argue. “He’s been out by the equipment barn all morning.”

Wyatt’s expression doesn’t change, and that’s when it clicks.

I step back and put my hands on my hips. “Did you send Dave to babysit me?”

“Dave wanted to check on the F-250.”

“That’s not what I asked, Wyatt.”

He holds my gaze, steady and completely unrepentant. “If he just so happened to be nearby in case you needed anything, that’s simply good plannin’.”

“And Marcus dropping by on his way to the Mason spread? Was that good planning too?”

Wyatt laughs, and it’s a low, surprised sound that changes his whole face. I genuinely lose my train of thought for a second because I’m not sure I’ve ever heard it before. Not like this. Not full and unguarded, with his eyes creasing at the corners and his shoulders shaking.

“I didn’t know Marcus was stoppin’ by.” He’s still smiling, his eyes shining in a way that makes my stomach somersault. “That one’s all him.”

I narrow my eyes, but there’s a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. “So just Dave.”

“Just Dave.” His hands slide from my waist to my hips, and he gives my ass a pat so easy and natural it makes me grin like an idiot.

“Go get your sister before I start questioning your other strategic decisions.”

He doesn’t move. His jaw is doing the thing it does when he’s running calculations he doesn’t like the answer to.

“It’s just what you said before. About someone in town.”

“Wyatt.”