Rory gasped as she tossed the sheet off, got to her feet, picked up her clothes, and entered the bathroom. Wilder winced when she slammed the door. He blew out a breath, raked his fingers through his hair, strode to the door, and knocked on it.
“Rory? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
The door opened, and she brushed past him, tucking in her T-shirt. She picked up her unpacked suitcase and walked out of the bedroom, saying nothing.
“Shit,” he said, quickly pulling on his sweatpants and running after her. He caught her in the kitchen, sitting on the bench and tugging on her boots. She stood, stomped her feet into them, took her hat off the peg, and slapped it on her head. She picked up the suitcase, opened the door, and walked out without looking at him.
Wilder closed his eyes for a few seconds, took a deep breath, and opened the door. He stepped onto the porch to see her getting into her SUV.
“Rory,” he called out, but she didn’t hesitate.
Once she got into her vehicle, she glanced at him, started it, and tore out of the driveway, throwing gravel up behind her tires.
As he stood on the porch watching her fading taillights, he saw another vehicle coming up the drive and groaned when he saw it was Nick. He entered the house with a heavy sigh, but left the door open for his brother. He knew he was in for the third degree now.
Nick entered the kitchen and narrowed his eyes. Wilder shook his head.
“What did you do? She drove by me so fast, she covered my truck in dust.” Nick folded his arms as he stared at him.
“She left.” Wilder shrugged.
“Yeah, I saw that. Why?”
Wilder shook his head again and sighed.
“I said something stupid.”
Nick laughed. “We Richards seem to do that a lot around women.”
“No truer words were spoken. I like her, Nick, and I thought she felt the same, but she just told me she didn’t think we should see each other until I solve the case.”
“And that pissed you off?”
“Yes. I don’t enjoy sneaking around either, but I want to be with her. She thinks I won’t concentrate on the case if I’m seeing her.”
“Is she right?” Nick quietly asked.
Wilder raked his fingers through his hair and nodded.
“Probably.”
“Then you can’t be mad. Solve the case, Wild, then see where the relationship is going.”
“What if I don’t solve it, Nick? Then what?”
“I can’t answer that. What happensifyou don’t solve a case?”
“We never stop looking into it, but how long am I supposed to wait for Rory if I don’t solve it?”
Nick cocked his head. “You’re in love with her.”
“No-yes.”
“Then you need to either solve the case or get removed from it. If you can’t solve it, what happens after that is up to you and Rory. Are you getting anywhere on it?”
“I know who one of them is. He told me he worked with two other men on the farm. That’s the ones I can’t figure out, but I can’t arrest Bernie without scaring the others off. It would give the other men the opportunity to leave. I have to get them all.”
“Then maybe Rory’s right. She has to be worried about her cows, Wild. Do your job and stay the hell away from her until you crack this case. That’s how she makes a living.”