by Barb Han
The realization hit hard. She had somehow been able to convince herself he would be relieved that she was letting him out of the marriage. She had told herself that he wouldn’t be as devastated about losing their child. Well, now she really did feel like a jerk.
Of course, he would be hurting. Based on the look on his face now, she had hugely underestimated how much he would be affected. Didn’t change the fact she knew in her heart of hearts he’d be better off without her in his life. Despite her heart trying to play devil’s advocate, she wouldn’t go back on her decision to let him out of the marriage commitment.
Riggs ended the call with a promise to let Colton know if by some chance Ally showed up.
“I feel like I should be doing something more,” she said to Riggs.
“You are,” he said. “You’re here, taking care of Ozzy while we figure out our next move.”
Her stomach growled despite feeling like she wouldn’t be able to get a bite of food down.
“The other thing you can do is make sure you’re keeping up your strength,” he said without missing a beat. “Is there anything in the fridge to work with?”
“To be honest, I haven’t really checked,” she admitted. “I’ve been kind of checked out ever since leaving the hospital. In fact, I could probably use a shower.”
“Why don’t you go clean up while I poke around in the kitchen to see if there’s anything in here to throw together for a meal.” He stood up and walked over to the fridge, moving with athletic grace. She forced her gaze away from his strong back—a back that she’d memorized. Every curve and scar was forever etched in her mind.
Rather than let herself continue down that road, she pushed to standing and headed for the shower. She stopped in the hallway. “You’ll come get me if anything happens, right?”
“Of course. Take your time. I’m here. I’ve got nowhere else to be,” he reassured.
Somehow, she doubted that. His family ranch boomed with activity and he’d been checking into his father’s murder along with the others. Finn O’Connor was a great man. She wished she’d spent more time getting to know him. Now she wished she’d had more time with her father-in-law.
“Thank you,” she said. “For sticking around. I don’t have a right to ask anything of you, so it means a lot that you’re willing to stay.”
The look of disappointment on his face as he nodded got her feet moving in the opposite direction. She needed to put some distance between them before she let her guard down even more. Being around Riggs was dangerous. Just being in the same room with him started chipping away at her carefully constructed walls.
No good could come of making herself vulnerable. Nothing about their situation had changed. She was done with trying to have a family and Riggs was just getting started.
Twenty minutes later, she was showered, toweled off, and dressed in something besides joggers. The sundress hugged her curves and fell midcalf. She threw on a little lip gloss and concealer. With just those two moves, she started feeling better. There was something about getting out of bed and putting on a little makeup that lifted her spirits even just a tiny bit. She reminded herself that when this was over and she and Riggs went back to their separate lives, she needed to force herself to get out of bed and get moving. Tie the knot. Hang on.
That, of course, could only happen if Ally turned out to be all right. Where could she be? It was well past four o’clock and her friend was still missing.
They’d driven past all the possible stop-offs. It was already coming up on dinnertime and there was still no word. Part of Cheyenne wanted to sit down at the table with her phone and call every business up and down the roads leading to the hospital.
Colton was a good sheriff. She had to give him time to do his job. She trusted him. All the O’Connor men were trustworthy, even Garrett, whom she knew the least. From everything she’d seen and heard, he was a good person underneath his tough exterior. Of course, he’d met the love of his life according to Riggs, and that had caused him to turn a new leaf. Good for him.
Cheyenne ran a brush through her still-damp hair before straightening her dress. This was as good as it got, she thought, before joining Riggs in the kitchen.
“I noticed you barely touched your coffee. I can heat it up or grab a glass of water for you instead.” He motioned toward the full mug.
“It’s okay.” She took in a deep breath. The smell of food was actually making her hungry despite the nausea she’d felt in the shower a few minutes ago. “Something smells amazing in here.”
“It’s a breakfast skillet. My mother used to make these when we were little. You basically throw any chopped vegetables you can find along with some spinach and green onion into a pan of eggs and sausage.”
“We have sausage?” she asked.
“You had ham, so I made that work.”
This reminded her of all those late Sunday morning breakfasts shared out on the back patio. Or in bed. The latter was her favorite. Then there was the homemade pizza in bed after a long session of making love.
She sighed. She’d really tucked those memories down deep in the last couple of weeks. Seeing Riggs in the kitchen, watching him as he moved so effortlessly, caused her chest to squeeze. She thought about the phone call she needed to return from her divorce attorney to keep the ball rolling. She couldn’t make her hands move to pick up the phone if her life depended on it. There was too much going on, and it didn’t make sense to push things forward until they knew what happened to their daughter and brought Ally home safely.
So she made a decision. There was no harm in asking if Riggs was on the same page. She would respect his position. Either way, she needed to know.
“I was thinking that while we’re investigating this...situation...maybe it’s for the best if we put the divorce on hold,” she said and then held her breath.
He didn’t turn around, so she couldn’t see his reaction. He stopped what he was doing for a few moments and she had second thoughts about what she’d just said. The last thing she wanted to do was cause him additional pain. They were already knee-deep in it.
“Look, I didn’t mean that we should stop altogether, it’s just...” She couldn’t find the right words.
“The investigation seems more important right now.” His tone was unreadable. “Is that how you really see it?”
She searched for any signs of judgment in his voice and decided she couldn’t find any. He had his poker face on.
“Yes. But we don’t have to wait. I was just thinking out loud,” she said. More like she was speaking on impulse.
“I didn’t have any interest in divorcing in the first place. This has all been your idea.” He shrugged a shoulder like it was no big deal. Was that true? She couldn’t imagine it being so. And yet it felt like someone sucked all the air out of the room.
“Okay,” she said.
“Okay,” he confirmed.
The divorce dropped in priority. Nothing was more important than joining forces to find out if their daughter was still alive. Could she risk hope?
Chapter Seven
“There you go.” Riggs plated his culinary masterpiece and set it down on the counter-height bar along with a bottle of sriracha. Cooking had distracted him for a few minutes from all the thoughts circling in his mind. Concentrating too hard on one subject was the fastest way to stay stumped. He always did his best thinking out on the land, away from distractions. Out there, his mind cleared all the clutter and answers came to him.
“Would you mind handing me a fork?” Cheyenne asked. He couldn’t count the number of times she’d said the same thing when he’d cooked breakfast on the ranch.
“Where are they?” Walking down memory lane was probably a bad idea.
“Second drawer. Or you could just grab one from the dishwasher.” She fidgeted in her seat like when she was out of her comfort zone. Any tim
e he’d tried to do something for her in the past year she’d done the same. He understood on some level, considering she was one of the most independent people he’d ever met. She’d been an only child with working parents and had learned to do things for herself early on. But they were a couple and couples did little things for one another.
He located the drawer, grabbed two forks and then handed one over. Once again, when their fingers grazed, electricity shot through him. He chalked it up to residual attraction and did his level best to put it out of his mind, which was difficult with her in the room.
During their marriage, he’d made a vow to himself that he would get her used to letting someone else do for her every once in a while. Although she was one of the most giving people he’d ever met, he’d been caught off guard at how bad she was at receiving. He’d attributed it to her fierce need for independence and left it at that.
Now he wondered if there wasn’t something more to the story. Because she seemed downright uncomfortable accepting help, which would make sense if he was a stranger. Not so much considering they’d signed up to be partners in life.
Then again, if they saw life through the same lens, she wouldn’t be asking for a divorce in the first place. When times were tough, the O’Connors came together. Garrett was living proof that no matter how far someone strayed from the fold, he or she would travel as far as necessary to come home and help out during a crisis. It was as much in their DNA as chivalry and working the land.
He fixed his own plate, opting to stand in the kitchen and eat.
“I didn’t think I could eat a bite and here I’ve cleaned my plate,” Cheyenne said after a few minutes of silence. “At least let me do the dishes.”
True enough, her plate was empty.
“It’s no trouble,” he said. There were only two plates, a couple of forks and a skillet. “Won’t take but a second to rinse these off and put them in the dishwasher.”
“It’s clean,” she said.
He cracked a smile and shook his head.
“Don’t tell me you emptied it...”
“I was looking for a pan.” A tiny burst of pride filled his chest that she sounded pleased. He’d been brought up to be self-sufficient just as his brothers had. He shouldn’t want to make her happy and told himself it was nothing more than reflex.
“Well, thank you. You didn’t have to do that.” Cheyenne moved from her bar stool and then brought her plate around.
In the tiny kitchen he could breathe in her clean and citrusy scent. To clear his head, he moved past her and managed to bump into her in the process. Not his best move. More of that electricity rocketed through him, awakening parts that needed to stay dormant.
What could he say?
He was affected by Cheyenne. It was half the reason he’d gone ahead and proposed to her the minute after finding out she was pregnant. Had he been freaked out? Yes. Did he know what to say or do? No. He’d gone with his heart and the fact that he’d never met a woman who could knock him off balance with one look before. The instant he’d laid eyes on her, he knew she was going to be important in his life.
People talked about love at first sight and he used to believe they were crazy. Then he’d met Cheyenne. He’d been hit with something so different there wasn’t anything to compare the feeling to. He’d tried and failed numerous times. There was no rhyme or reason to the heart.
Looking at her was the equivalent of a lightning strike on a sunny day. Actually, more than that, but he struggled to put the feeling into words. Riggs was a man of action. So he’d gone out on a limb and asked her to marry him.
Being married to Cheyenne had been heaven on earth. At least on his side. Clearly, she felt differently. It might be pride talking, but he didn’t want someone to stay married to him out of obligation. Their relationship had been the real deal to him.
“I better let Ozzy outside,” she said, exiting the kitchen as fast as humanly possible after loading her plate into the dishwasher. She scurried over to the table and pulled him from her handbag. She must have as much rolling through her thoughts as he had, especially after the news about the alpaca farm.
The little dog started yelping.
“You need to do your business,” she said to him, holding him tightly to her chest. She walked out the side door and immediately heard the sound of tires burning rubber.
Riggs jumped into action, bolting toward the door. Adrenaline kicked in and his pulse thumped.
Cheyenne dove inside and he caught her before she landed, softening her fall with his body. For a split second, their eyes met and locked. Hers were a mix of fear and something else...regret? Or maybe Riggs saw what he wanted instead of what was really there. It could explain their marriage and recently paused divorce. Ozzy had been spared from being accidentally tossed across the room by Riggs’s fast thinking.
Not wanting the vehicle to get away, Riggs rolled onto his side. Cheyenne scrambled off him and comforted the little dog, who stood there shaking. No need to take him outside again. Ozzy had done his business right then and there.
Riggs hopped to his feet in one swift motion. He bolted to the window. Swiped the curtain to one side with his right hand. Too late. There wasn’t a car or truck in sight.
One good thing to come out of this situation was that no one was hurt.
He fished for his cell phone and updated Colton via text.
“Someone is watching the house,” Cheyenne said. Her voice was stilted. Shock?
“I should have seen this coming,” Riggs said along with a few choice words he didn’t care to repeat in mixed company.
Colton’s response was instant. Get out of the house.
“No one tried to shoot.” He’d expected to hear a shotgun blast.
“That was my first thought, too.” Cheyenne picked up the little dog and took him to the sink. She gently cleaned him before returning him to her handbag.
By the time she returned to the living room, Riggs was already on his hands and knees cleaning up after the little guy.
“Here. I can—”
“It’s not a big deal, Cheyenne. Seriously. Cooking up a little breakfast and cleaning a pan and a pair of plates are nothing to make a fuss about, either.” The words came out a little more bitter than he’d intended. What could he say? He was taking the breakup of his marriage hard and his mind was reeling after all the new information they had.
“Oh.” She stopped in her tracks.
“Stay below the window line in case someone comes back on foot.” He motioned toward the front windows.
“Right.” She dropped down almost immediately. “I wasn’t trying to offend you, by the way. It’s just...”
“What? Weird for the man you married to make a meal for you?” He sat back on his heels. He shouldn’t have said that. It was out of bounds. Their situation was complicated, and he didn’t want to make it worse. For the time being, they were working together. “Forget I said that, okay?”
“I can’t.” She folded her arms across her chest like she was defending herself from the world. “Like I can’t forget a lot of things said between us in the past few weeks.”
“What has been said between us? You haven’t given me the time of day in case you hadn’t noticed. I’ve been told I’m getting a divorce and I’m still scratching my head as to why you went down that road.” He issued a sharp sigh, needing to get a handle on his outburst. It sure as hell wouldn’t make anything better between them and he didn’t want to ruin all the ground they’d been making today.
But what could he say? He couldn’t exactly take any of it back and wouldn’t want to anyway. Part of him needed her to know exactly how he felt. It wasn’t like he’d been given the chance to clear the air before the call from his attorney came to let him know what was going down.
“Mind if we have this conversation at a later date? Right now, all I can t
hink about is finding my friend and possibly getting answers to what happened to our daughter.” There was no anger in her words, just resolve.
“Why not.” It wasn’t like he had any easy answers, either. Even if they could get back together and that was a laughable if, how would he ever believe her again?
* * *
CHEYENNE GOT ON her hands and knees beside Riggs and finished wiping up Ozzy’s mess. Being this close to Riggs was a problem, but she needed to learn to deal with it. If she wasn’t attracted to him or didn’t feel a pull so strong her body ached to touch him, she would be worried. There’d been enough attraction and chemistry between them for her to throw all logic aside, decide to have a baby together, and get married.
Thinking all that would dissipate overnight would be downright crazy. Even now, her stomach clenched and her chest squeezed in his masculine presence.
Taking in a deep breath, Cheyenne tried to rebalance but only ushered in his scent. He was all outdoors, campfires, and dark roast coffee. Speaking of the latter, it had always tasted better on his tongue. He was the reason she’d taken up coffee drinking because she missed tasting it on his lips so much her heart ached.
“Where do we go now?” she asked sitting back on her heels.
“We could go back to our house.”
She started shaking her head before he could finish. It was one thing to be around him for the foreseeable future. It was quite another to go back to the home they’d shared on the ranch that belonged to his family, a ranch she’d loved.
“Hotel. There’s a decent one over by the highway that has suites. We could rent one of those just until we get answers or Ally contacts us,” he offered.
“I’ll leave her a note...in case.” She stood. “I’ve already sent a few texts, so no need to go down that road again. Once she turns on her cell, she’ll know I’ve been trying to reach her. I know the odds of that happening aren’t great, but I have to find some reason to hope she’ll turn up.”
It was wishful thinking on Cheyenne’s part to believe it could be that simple. That Ally would somehow magically realize her cell was off, turn it on, and return home with one of her you-won’t-believe-how-stupid-I-can-be stories. Ally had managed to lock her keys in the car while it was still running. She was probably half the reason most new cars made it impossible to do that now.
