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“I’m a very good actress,” she explained. “So, no. But I suspect he had questions since I was shaken up. Before he could ask, I brushed the whole incident off.”
Darren’s silence hurt her feelings because he gave a small nod of agreement about her being a good actress. She didn’t have a right to be mad at him. She’d kept a secret from him years ago when his uncle had first offered her an internship. She’d had to conceal the information or risk being shut down by her grandfather. And, honestly, talking to Darren face-to-face might have made her change her mind and stay. Dating Darren’s uncle had been her worst regret. Matias Ossian had been the opposite of everything she’d known in Cider Creek. He wore hand-tailored suits and shiny shoes. He drove a sports car when she was used to pickup trucks and SUVs. On top of that, he had connections to a world in which she desperately wanted to belong.
The Hayes family had money, so his show of money wasn’t what had impressed her—it was the way he carried himself. He was older, mysterious. In the beginning, though, she had no idea they would end up dating. Being alone in Dallas without family or friends turned out to be harder than she realized it would be. Matias had offered to bring over dinner a few times, so she wouldn’t have to eat alone. Slowly but surely, he’d broken down her defenses and preyed on her loneliness. In fact, he’d played her like a fine instrument, all the while betraying her behind her back. She’d done it to herself, too, and was far too proud to admit she’d made a mistake. Tucking her tail between her legs and going home hadn’t been an option. Not to someone with a stubborn streak a mile long.
Mistakes were always hard to admit, even harder to face.
He started the engine and put the gearshift into Drive, then pulled onto the farm road leading toward his home. He mumbled something about wishing he could spend five minutes alone in a locked room with the bastard. She assumed he was referring to Phillip, since he couldn’t exactly read her thoughts. There’d been a time when she would have sworn he could. But that was a long time ago, he’d been proven wrong and a lot had changed since then.
Missed opportunities were the worst. But then, looking back, if she had stayed and—on the off chance—had actually married Darren, then he wouldn’t have his beautiful twins. His life would look very different, and as much as he complained about being tired, his eyes lit up at every mention of those babies. So much so that Reese wanted to meet them to see what the fuss was all about. She’d never been much of a baby person. There were no longings about being pregnant or fantasizing about a wedding. Her brothers seemed to have found true love and she was happy for each and every one of them. Those things were great for other people.
And yet, being around Darren now did have her wondering what life might have been like if she’d made a different choice. But she couldn’t have him and Dallas. Leaving Cider Creek had been a necessity and she was proud of herself for the career she’d built so far. She’d needed to know she could not just survive on her own, but make something of her life outside of Hayes Cattle. Surely, Darren could understand.
“Once we get back to my place, I’ll do a little digging into Phillip Rhodes’s current situation,” he finally said. “He’s a bastard but that doesn’t mean he abducted Camree Lynn or Tandra. To be honest, I think I blanked out most of that time period of life.”
“Same for me,” she admitted. At least he was talking again. The silence had given her mind too much time to spiral. “A lot of the details are fuzzy.” The thought of digging into her friend’s disappearance made her stomach tie in knots, but she would face anything at this point for answers.
He nodded as he stared out the front windshield at the stretch of road in front of them.
“For what it’s worth, I never had to ‘act’ when it came to how I felt for you,” she said.
“Okay,” he responded. The one word combined with his serious expression gave her the impression he would never be able to put the past behind them. She didn’t expect him to run toward her with open arms, but a small hope had been building inside her that they could be friends. The wishful thinking was off base. She needed to remind herself of that fact every hour if necessary until it sunk in.
“WHATAREYOURthoughts on Aiden Archer?”
The question from Reese yanked Darren out of his heavy thoughts. Those thoughts had gone on a path of their own the minute she mentioned being a convincing actress. He could personally attest to her abilities, considering he’d been the last to know she was planning to shred his heart and leave town. The breakup text from her had come when she was already halfway to her new city.
“I have no idea what he’s up to these days. I never really liked the family, but that doesn’t make one of them a criminal,” he said.
“True,” she responded. “As far as Phillip goes, I’d be interested to see if it’s common for someone like him to escalate to something as extreme as kidnapping. I mean, I read somewhere that Peeping Toms actually do progress to break-ins and raping victims.”
He nodded and mulled over the information on the rest of the ride home. It was getting late and Reese had had one helluva long day, so she needed rest.
As he pulled up in front of his home, he said, “I’m good without sleep for a few hours. Why don’t you grab a nap and then I’ll have an update for you.”
“What about the girls?” she asked.
It was probably wrong to allow his heart to be warmed by the fact that her first thought was his children. “They’ll be fine. I’ll swing by at some point in the morning to check on them.” He didn’t like going more than a day without seeing them for himself, which had been a challenge during calving season without Hazel.
Reese didn’t wait for him to come around to the passenger side before she exited the SUV.
She waited at the door for him to unlock it. The move surprised him at first, because he couldn’t remember the last time he’d locked a door. With everything going on, he felt the need to now. He thought about increasing security with cameras and possibly an alarm, and hated the thought that his daughters might grow up in a world where they didn’t feel free to come and go as they pleased.
Once inside, exhaustion started to hit him, too. He bit back a yawn, figuring he had another hour in him before he’d need to grab a few minutes of shut-eye.
“Mind if I curl up on the couch?” Reese asked as she twisted her fingers together. “The thought of being alone in a room right now...” She shuddered.
“Go ahead and make yourself comfortable while I grab a pillow and a blanket,” he said, then exited the room. He returned a minute later to find her standing at the kitchen sink, drinking a glass of water. “Are you hungry?”
“A little bit, but I should probably get some rest,” she said. “I’m so tired my legs ache.”
He nodded, then made up the couch. It looked comfortable enough, although he couldn’t imagine fitting on it with his six-feet-three-inch frame.
“I’ll just change back into sleeping clothes,” she said. It was her turn to disappear for a few minutes. He shouldn’t like seeing her wearing his AC/DC T-shirt as much as he did, but Reese was a beautiful woman and they had a lot of good history before the one big bad event. It had been a heartbreaker, to be sure, but the old saying “don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater” was beginning to seem relevant here. This was good. It meant he was starting to get closure. He’d mentioned to Stacie that he might be ready to move on and dip his toe in the dating waters. Shedding the past might allow him to open up to something all the way this time, instead of holding a piece of his heart in reserve for someone who was never coming back.
Reese positioned herself on the couch as he walked into the kitchen to make coffee.
He had no idea what her sleep habits were since they’d practically been kids when they’d dated and a lot could change. “Will noises bother you?”
