“A hug? Is that all he gave you?”
I almost laughed but then realized he was serious. I bit my cheek to stop from smiling. “Yes. I promise. That’s all.”
Flint leaned back, that unreadable expression on his face again. He took a few deep breaths, his strong shoulders rising and falling. If it hadn’t been for my gift, I’d have no idea how he was feeling. But since my clouds didn’t lie, I felt the anger pulsing off him. Anger he was trying desperately to get under control.
After a minute, he sighed heavily and raked a hand through his hair. “You’re gonna be the death of me, woman.”
Another shiver ran through me. Something told me I wasn’t going to mind Flint’s possessiveness at all. In a way, it was incredibly arousing. “Are you okay?” I asked.
He took another deep breath. “Yeah, just give me a minute.”
It seemed to take him at least that long to calm down. When he finally did, he rubbed his face in his hands. “I hate the thought of you with another guy,” he muttered. “Sorry for going all alpha male on you.”
“I think I like it. It’s kind of hot.”
He smirked. “Kind of hot, huh?” He shook his head and grinned. “Come on, let’s go inside. They’re waiting for us.”
THE CHAIRS AND couches had been moved to form a circle in the living room. Flint and I sat on the free couch just as Di strode into the room. She wore clean black yoga pants and a long-sleeve black shirt.
“She’s definitely coming tomorrow,” Di stated. “I’m thinking she’ll be somewhere in Gunnison.” Di sat on the free chair and scooted it closer to the group.
“So we go to Gunnison,” Flint said.
Di nodded. “All in favor?”
Everyone immediately voiced their agreement. “Lena?” Di glanced in my direction. “Do you approve?”
I sat up straighter. “Oh, yes.”
“What time are we leaving?” Mica asked. “And how are we gonna all get off work? I don’t think Pete’s gonna like that.”
“Or Val,” Jacinda added with a frown.
Di glanced at Flint briefly before turning to the group. “I think it’s best if most of us stay here.”
“What?” Mica said. “Why? We always go.”
“This one’s different,” Di said. “She always seems frightened and is never talking to anyone. Not like Lena.”
My mouth dropped at her teasing tone, but Di just carried on, her face serious again. “One interesting thing about this girl, is she always has an animal with her. At least a dozen times now, I’ve seen her with a stray dog or cat. Once, I saw her with an iguana.” Di shook her head. “I think two, three max, should get her. And we definitely need a woman in the group. I have a feeling if it’s all men, she’ll run.”
“I’ll go,” Mica volunteered.
“And almost blow it like you did with Lena?” Jet replied. “I don’t think so.”
“I didn’t blow it,” Mica retorted.
Jacinda patted Mica’s hand. “You were pretty close. A few times you almost gave us away.”
“I did not,” Mica protested but not as loudly this time. I watched Mica’s growing irritation and thought back to what she’d said to me when we’d first met. I couldn’t recall exactly what was said, but I did remember others interrupting her.
“So Mica’s out,” Di said matter-of-factly. Mica crossed her arms. “Jacinda?” Di added.
Jacinda shook her head. “I think Lena should go. I mean, look at her. She’s about as innocent as they get.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“Good point,” Di said. “Okay, Lena, you’re going.”
“I am?”
“Yes,” Di replied. “Now, should another girl go? Or a guy?”
“Since Mica’s out, and since Lena’s going, I think a guy should go,” Jacinda said. “Val won’t be happy if two of us disappear from the kitchen.”
Jasper nodded. “That makes sense.”
Di clasped her hands. “So what guy is going?”
“I’ll go,” Jasper said. “And Jet can stay here. That way if we need to talk to you all, I can tell him, and he can relay the message.”
Jacinda’s eyes brightened. “Good idea, Jasper.”
“Yes, that makes sense,” Di agreed. “Okay, so Lena and Jasper will go.”
“I’ll go too,” Flint said.
“Big surprise,” Jacinda murmured and winked at Jet. Jet chuckled. Mica crossed her arms even tighter across her chest. Her gaze glued to something on the floor.
“Okay so Flint, Jasper and Lena?” Di said. “All in favor?”
Everyone agreed, except for Mica and me. Mica’s reaction made me hesitate. Finally, I said yes. Mica still didn’t say anything. The entire group stared at her.
“Mica?” Jacinda elbowed her gently. “Come on, we need you to agree.”
Eventually, she mumbled her agreement.
“So that’s settled,” Di said. “Now, we have to work out how you three are going to get her into the Suburban . . .”
THE MEETING CONTINUED well into the evening. Everyone, other than Mica, chipped in ideas on the best way to approach the new girl and lure her back to the ranch. It was also agreed that we would stay on the ranch until someone remembered something prior to the first morning we woke up. Either that, or until Di received a vision that gave us a direction to follow.
About halfway through the meeting, Flint raced up to the main house to speak with Pete and Val about a few of us missing work. Since it was Di’s scheduled day off tomorrow, she agreed to switch shifts with me. Only Flint and Jasper would miss work.
When Pete and Val asked why they needed to miss work, Flint made up some story about an old friend of ours getting in contact with us. He said we’d only just heard from her and that she was arriving into Gunnison the next day. She was hoping to join us on our travels and was willing to work on the ranch until we carried on.
Luckily, the Henderson’s bought the story and were willing to give the new girl some part-time work. They didn’t ask any other questions, thankfully. It had been a lucky break. If the ranching couple had been adamant none of us miss work, or hadn’t been willing to welcome the new girl, we all would have had to pack our bags and sneak out during the night. I didn’t like the thought of that, especially since that was how their previous help left.
By the time the meeting finished, a pitch-black sky stretched outside. The dim light from the two lamps in the living room cast a somnolent glow.
“Meeting adjourned?” Di asked.
Everyone stood. Jet groaned loudly with a stretch, while Flint leaned down and whispered, “Going to bed?”
“I guess.”
He trailed a finger along my cheek. “We could go for another walk. It’s not that late.”
Everyone was preoccupied with rearranging the furniture and chatting about the new girl. No one seemed to notice when Flint and I sneaked out.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
We took off at a brisk walk. I unconsciously headed toward the barn, and Flint followed.
“What do you want to do?” he asked.
I shook my head as I realized where I was going. “I always go to the barn when I leave the cabin. Habit.”
“We can go there.”
We walked quietly across the grass. I knew Flint slowed his speed, since he almost ambled beside my hurried pace. He didn’t swing me up on his back, thankfully. The butterflies flapping in my stomach were hard enough to swallow, and the fast walking helped.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked when we reached the base of the hill.
“Butterflies.”
He raised his eyebrows.
“Metaphorically speaking.”
He just shook his head and smiled.
As we climbed the hill, I breathed heavily. Flint wasn’t even winded. At the top, I took a deep breath and wiped sweat from my brow. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that hill.”
“I could carry you.”
&n
bsp; “I’m not that incapacitated.”
Chuckling, he entwined his fingers through mine. “Do you want to go into the barn or out back?”
His question took me a minute to process since all of my thoughts focused on the feel of his hand. “Um, out back.”
He tugged me in that direction.
We wandered to the back of the barn. I walked toward the gate, but Flint pulled me to the nearest fence. “This will do.”
Before I could ask what he meant, his hands locked around my waist. A sailing sensation took my breath away. A second later, I was dropped on the other side. I shook my head. “You like doing that, don’t you?”
He shrugged. “Maybe.” With a bend of his knees and a rush of air later, he stood beside me. He’d jumped the fence as if it were only a foot tall.
I gazed at him in amazement. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to that either.”
He just chuckled and clasped my hand again.
We walked down the pasture along the fence railing. Tall grass brushed along our calves, making a swishing sound. The horses stood in a huddle on the other side of the field. Moonlight washed over their broad backs.
Flint pulled me toward the center of the pasture and stopped at a large boulder poking up from the earth. “Here okay?”
“Sure.”
He cupped my waist and lifted me onto the rock. At least this time, he did it at a normal speed. My head didn’t spin when he set me down. Once I was settled, he easily climbed up beside me.
Spreading his legs, he pulled me to him so my back snuggled against his chest. I closed my eyes. The feel of his hard abdomen and steely arms looped around my middle made heat flare in my veins. He brushed my hair away from my neck, his fingers trailing along my skin.
“Is it in the way?” I reached up to move my hair.
“Yes, but I like that. Leave it.”
His dominant tone made me shiver again.
“Cold?” Flint murmured.
He seemed to mistakenly think the breeze was the cause of my shiver. “No.”
Flint pulled me closer, his scent everywhere. He swiveled me around until we faced each other, and his lips found mine. Once again, emotions completely took over when he kissed me. It was as though a fire burst to life deep in my belly and the longer his lips explored mine, the larger the fire roared.
When he finally pulled back, I panted. We sat like that, only inches away from one another. The mountain air flowed around us, scents of milkweed and grass carried in it, the soft knicker of horses in the distance. Our breaths puffed and swirled together.
“Do you think we knew each other, before?” he asked quietly.
I gave a small nod. It was all I could manage.
He grunted and kissed me again. This time, I could feel that he held nothing back. I met him every step of the way, not caring that we were out in a field, on display for anyone walking by. My entire world became him and me on the rock. The energy around him grew, pulling me into its power. It pulsed and throbbed, as if in sync with our desire.
He abruptly stopped, his breathing harsh. I squirmed, wanting more.
“Damn, woman. You’re going to make me forget that we’re in the middle of a field.”
I was breathless when I replied, “The grass is pretty tall. Nobody would see us if we laid down in it.”
He chuckled and nipped my ear. “I’d love that, and I’d do that right now, except for one, tiny detail.”
“What?” My eyes closed again when his lips blazed a trail down my neck.
“I don’t think I’d be able to stop.”
“Would we need to stop?”
He groaned. “Damn, woman.”
I wiggled closer to him.
He stilled my hips. His large hands pressed hotly into me. I could practically feel his heat through my jeans. “Not here. Not like this.”
A rush of air and blur of movement later, and he stood twenty feet away from me. He did it so fast, I blinked a few times. The rock felt hard, cold and entirely empty.
“Come back,” I said.
“Give me a minute.”
I waited in the chilly breeze until he returned. With one powerful leap, he sat beside me again. My eyes widened even though the field appeared empty.
“How do you know nobody can see when you do stuff like that?” I asked.
“Because we’re alone up here.”
“Are you sure?”
“The guests know this barn is off-limits, and all of the cowboys finished for the day when we did.”
“I never knew this place was off-limits.” I thought about the day I’d climbed the blasted hill and met Dean. Technically, I wasn’t on staff at that point.
“That’s because you didn’t read the guest handbook.”
His tsking expression made me laugh. “And you did?”
“Cover to cover.”
I rolled my eyes. “You and Di with your rules.”
He pinched my side gently which got a squeal out of me. Chuckling, he replied, “At least one of us has to keep you out of trouble.”
Flint draped his arm around my shoulders. Another spark of desire flowed through me, but I made myself ignore it. Slow, steady pushes of his energy still pulsed into me. I knew I wasn’t the only one having a hard time reining in my need.
We both obviously needed a distraction.
“So . . . what do you think the new girl will be like?” I asked.
He took another deep breath and then another. Slowly, his energy subsided. “Not sure.”
“Di hasn’t told you about her visions? When she sees her?”
“Yes and no. She tells me when she sees her, but she doesn’t give me details, not real details anyway. Only the generalized stuff, like what she told us at the meeting.”
“Oh.” I thought for sure Di told Flint everything. “Why not?”
“Di’s a very private person.”
“But aren’t her visions something we should all know?”
“Not really. Di sees people at all times of the day. Sometimes she sees people in situations most wouldn’t want to be seen in. She takes her visions seriously and feels it’s a betrayal of that person’s privacy if she divulges every detail.”
I hadn’t thought of it like that. “Is that why she’s always so serious?”
He shook his head. “That’s probably because she’s always stressed. Di feels a lot of responsibility for our group. If she wasn’t able to locate all of us, none of us would have found each other.”
I chewed my lip. Again, I hadn’t thought of it that way. “I never considered that.” We were quiet for a moment, then I said, “What did she say when she saw me? Did she tell you anything?”
“She didn’t tell the rest of the group anything other than what they needed to know, but she told me a few details. More details than she usually does. Such as you had long, red hair. Wild and the color of fire, were the exact words she’d used. She also said you were dirty and very thin.” His tone changed, growing rougher. “I think that’s why she opened up to me. She couldn’t figure you out. After she told me more about you, we guessed you were naturally a thin person, not realizing you were homeless and starving, but neither of us knew how thin you’d be. We couldn’t figure out why you were so dirty, though.”
I remembered my homeless days all too vividly.
“She also said you were always talking to people. Lots of people.”
“Meeting people was the only thing I enjoyed in my travels.”
Flint grunted. “When you started hitchhiking, Di got really confused. She kept seeing you with a new person every time she saw you. Since it never occurred to us you wouldn’t have money to travel, we figured you sought people out and liked the company. We never guessed, or even considered, that you were hitching rides.”
“Well, there is some truth in that. I did like the company.”
“I know.” His energy picked up again. A hot wave rolled over me. “I still never want you doing that again.”
<
br /> I put my hand over my heart. “I won’t. Promise.”
WE CONTINUED TALKING well into the night. When we walked back to the cabin, Flint offered to swing me up on his back.
In the black night, I knew no one would see, but nerves churned inside me anyway.
“We’ll be fine,” Flint whispered. “If I move fast enough, I’m a blur and then no one can see me.”
He wasn’t kidding. When we reached the cabin, I felt sick. He’d run much faster than he had the previous night. “Are you okay?” He gently lowered me down.
I sank onto the porch step. “So much for not getting motion sickness.”
He frowned and sat beside me. “I’m sorry.”
I took a deep breath and shook my head. “It’s okay. It just took me by surprise.”
He helped me stand, then led me inside the dark and quiet cabin. Everyone was asleep so we tiptoed into my room. Mica snored softly. I almost giggled when she started talking in her sleep, mumbling about horses and Jasper.
Flint smiled. “Is she always like that?”
I shrugged. “No idea. I’ve never heard her talk before, so if she is, I probably sleep through it.”
I walked to the bunk bed, and Flint followed silently behind. “Do you need to get undressed?” he whispered.
“Yeah, I should.”
Bright moonlight flooded the room, making shadows around us. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. Hot energy rolled toward me. With a start, I realized he planned to stay that way.
My eyes bulged. “You want to watch?”
He nodded.
A burst of self-consciousness fired through me, but the heat in Flint’s gaze melted it away. He found me sexy. I could feel it. His energy couldn’t lie.
Taking a deep breath, I unbuttoned my jeans and slowly shimmied them down my hips, letting them fall to the floor. I kicked them to the side before removing my top. For the first time, I was thankful for the shopping trip Jacinda insisted on. I wore a lacy bra with matching panties, both a deep navy with lime-green trim.
I also sent up silent thanks for all of the abundant food as I no longer resembled a skeleton. Soft skin and smooth curves had replaced the bony prominences and muscled planes that had been there only a month before.
The Complete Lost Children Series Page 17
