Greer turned and reached out as if he would put his hand on her lower back to direct her toward his house. She flinched. Being close to him was hard enough. She didn’t know that she could handle him touching her without going into berserk mode and blowing her cover the first five minutes she was with him.
Luckily, he clenched his fist and then brought it back to his side. He tilted his head. “This way.”
She fell into step with him, wishing she had any clue what to say. The whole situation was so unprecedented she couldn’t fault herself for feeling off-kilter. She was lying to her brother’s killer and strangely felt … comfortable. No way. Not possible. Inconceivable, unimaginable, ludicrous, implausible.
Oh, good—her brain was back on duty.
She couldn’t possibly be comfortable around this guy or in her situation. Yet … she snuck a glance at his strong profile. She might actually be … not afraid of him. If only it wasn’t him that had killed Travis. Greer exuded a calm strength and protectiveness that she’d craved her entire life. Her mind was a muddle of so many emotions and questions, but most of all trying to make sense of why she wasn’t freaking out completely at this moment.
Greer said nothing. She appreciated that he could be quiet. Maybe he could hear her mind churning a million miles an hour and knew any words could push her over the edge of insanity, recklessness, foolishness, irrationality. It was like the Cliffs of Insanity. No one could ever survive that.
She shook her head at herself, and he looked askance at her. She pasted on a smile and kept striding forward. If she could’ve been able to push away the fact the man next to her had killed Travis, she would’ve enjoyed the quiet walk and the view of the gorgeous mountain valley with the lake in the middle and some homes and barns on the other side.
“Who lives over there?” she asked, pointing across the lake.
“My parents, Papa, and aunt and uncle.”
“That’s lucky you have family close.”
He nodded. A few beats passed, and then he seemed to remember to reciprocate the conversation. There was too much intelligence in his eyes for him to be slow, but he sure didn’t seem to like to talk. “Do you have … family?”
She didn’t let herself look at him, afraid she might scream that she would have family except for him, thank you very much, and “why don’t you give me a nice paper cut and pour lemon juice in it”?
“No,” she croaked out.
He said nothing.
They walked toward a sprawling house. The front door and porch faced the mountains, and the back faced the calm lake with a beautiful stretch of grass down to the water. They came in from a side door to the garage. It was a spacious area with a variety of residents that didn’t fill the space. There was a nice four-door gray truck, a dirt bike, a side by side, a fancy Harley, and a black Tesla.
First of all, it was interesting Greer walked her in through a side door rather than show off that gorgeous front door of wood and glass that she’d glimpsed. Greer Delta apparently didn’t put on airs, or at least wasn’t trying to impress her. She glanced over at him, all relaxed and cowboy-ish, and decided it was that he wasn’t trying to impress anyone. The thought wouldn’t even cross his mind.
Second of all, she was distracted from all the angst and questions by the pressing question of why a tough guy cowboy would have a pretty boy car.
“Okay, all the macho man vehicles and toys fit,” she said. “I have to admit I love the Harley, but … a Tesla?”
He folded his arms across his chest and shrugged, a slight smile on his face. That face and upper body were impressive. Not that she was looking at him like that, or could ever be drawn to him. “Fun car.”
She laughed. “Afun car? What if I went to … your town, wherever that is, and told all the pretty girls that the tough, masculine cowboy Greer Delta drives an electric car?”
“Nobody would believe you.” His slight smile turned into a smirk.
“Nobody would believe that Macho Man who can wrestle a steer to the ground is really a sissy who drives a Tesla and wears pink underpants?” She pressed her lips together. She was acting like one of her fourth-graders, but even worse, she was teasing with this man who should’ve been her enemy. He was her enemy. She needed to stop telling him he was tough and macho. Her tongue was always a mess. She had to somehow control it around this man.
He stared at her for half a second and then he laughed. It was a rich, deep chuckle that was so melodious and infectious she couldn’t stop herself from laughing with him. They laughed together for a few seconds. It was freeing and fun and … what was she doing laughing with this murderer? She abruptly stopped laughing and stared at him.
He stopped laughing as well, but he was still smiling.
“Sorry,” she said, suddenly unable to meet his gaze, so she focused on the Tesla. “For a second there, I forgot …” Her neck got hot, and she had no clue how she was going to keep up this façade. She’d forgotten who and whathewas.
“About your ex chasing you,” he prompted softly.
She let out a breath and made herself meet his blue eyes. She nodded quickly. “Yeah.”
He studied her with compassion. “You’re safe here,” he said in a husky voice that just shouted protection.
Safe here from who? She wasn’t sure who Greer believed he was protecting her from or who she needed protection from. The confusion was back and giving her a headache. Before she could tell him she was exhausted and beg him for a drink of water and a place to sleep, he quirked an eyebrow and asked, “Pink underpants?”
“I’ll keep your secrets if you keep mine.”