“Bullshit,” he said bluntly, earning a shocked stare. “How did he find you in his ‘flying visit’? Tell me that.”
“Remember he’s met Colin. All he’d have to do was stake out Colin’s house and follow me.”
“You wouldn’t have noticed a car on the side of the road?”
“It was dusk. Besides, he could have been half a mile away!” She was getting mad that he wasn’t buying her little fantasy. “Using binoculars.”
It was possible, Noah could concede. But he didn’t believe for a minute that someone as obsessed as this guy would be satisfied with one nasty little trick.
“Did Colin check to find out if Ralston has been at work?”
Her eyes fell away from Noah’s. “He’s taking some vacation. Um.” She looked past him at the elevator. “Shouldn’t we…?”
“Not until you tell me what’s wrong.”
“What makes you think anything’s wrong?” she fired back, that square chin thrust out. “Colin and Nell are still newlyweds. They don’t need a never-ending guest. It was time for me to find a place to live. I did.”
He shook his head. “That’s not it.” He touched his forefinger to the puffy, bruised skin beneath one of her eyes, ignoring her flinch. “Did you sleep at all last night?”
“I can do my job!”
“I’m not worried about your job. I’m worried about you.”
Suddenly there was a sheen of tears in her eyes. Cait turned her face away from him. Bothered at his own powerful reaction, he let her take a minute to recover her dignity.
When she looked at him again, the tears had been vanquished, although a few droplets clung to lashes. “It’s not that big a deal. Colin and I had… I guess you could call it a fight. He told me I didn’t have to go, but I can’t—” Her voice broke. She squared her shoulders. “Sometimes I don’t know when to keep my mouth shut. It’s better this way.”
He wanted in the worst way to take her in his arms, but he was her boss, not her lover, not even her friend. What disturbed him was realizing he felt like both. He didn’t like knowing she had nobody here in Angel Butte.
“Was it over Ralston?” That he could understand.
But she shook her head.
He sighed. “I’ll go with you to meet the delivery guys.” He held up a hand when she started to speak. “I don’t want you opening your door when you don’t know who is on the other side of it. Then we’ll have a housewarming.” He smiled slightly. “Order a pizza.”
She looked, suddenly, absurdly young. Bewildered. “I don’t understand.”
“You don’t have to understand.” Oh, damn—he didn’t sound like a boss. He cleared his throat. “It’s in my interests to see that you settle happily into Angel Butte.” That was stuffy enough, he congratulated himself.
She continued to study him for an unnerving length of time, those dove-gray eyes soft but also more perceptive than he was comfortable with. At last she bit her lip and nodded. “If you really have time.”
“I have time.” He turned and punched the button. They both stared at the elevator doors as if they were the Rosetta stone. Same color but less absorbing. He heard faint dings from the elevator shaft. “You haven’t said anything you shouldn’t to me,” he heard himself say.
Her laugh was almost sad. “I will. Blake says—”
He almost heard the tires skidding as she stopped.
“What does Blake say?”
Cait shook her head. “He was easy to annoy.”
With a louder ding, the elevator doors opened. They both stepped into it. He pushed buttons.
“He in water systems?”
Her glance was startled and then wary. “How did you know?”
“I looked him up.” He shrugged. “Call me nosy.”
“Yes,” she said after a moment. “He’s really good at his job.”
“Is that damning with faint praise?”
He heard a little sound and realized she was trying to repress a giggle. But her lips were curved as she stepped out at her floor.
“Maybe,” was the last thing she said.