I ducked my head, trying to make contact with those hazel eyes. “Was it something you pushed her towards?”
Boden’s hand tightened around mine. “No. Drugs were never my scene.”
Relief swept through me at that. “Then it’s not yours to carry.”
“It’s more complicated than that.”
I waited for Boden to say more, but he didn’t. I didn’t want to push, not tonight. Instead, I reveled in the simple feel of my hand in his. The comfort it brought. It was that sense of comfort that had another question slipping out. “Will you go with me to the memorial tomorrow?”
Boden’s hand spasmed in mine. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
I tugged my hand free, bringing it back to my glass.
“Laiken—”
“You don’t have to explain. It was a dumb idea. You’re trying to keep a low profile. I get it.” But it didn’t stop the sting.
19
Boden
The bladesof the rocker made a meditative sound as I tipped back and forth in the chair. The sound soothed, but not enough. I tried to focus on watching Ramsey working with the mare, but I wasn’t having much luck there either. I tried to force it, picking up my phone and sending a text to the film’s screenwriter.
Me:I think we need to leave room for more silent spaces in the film. Really show the connection between man and horse. I bet Jack can work up something amazing with the score.
A few seconds later, my phone vibrated in my hand.
Angela:I like that idea. I’ve been tweaking the love story thread. I want you to have a look at that too. Sending you the pages tonight.
Me:Send them whenever you’re ready.
The last thing I wanted to look at was anything to do with feelings of the heart in any way. Amber eyes full of hurt filled my mind. Laiken and I had continued our dinner last night, but she’d put a wall back up. I didn’t blame her for it, either. I’d pushed for more, and then the first time she’d asked for something, forhelp, I’d cut her down. All because of cowardice.
I wasn’t sure I could face a coffin at the front of a church or rows of mourners curving around a gravesite. So, instead, I’d left her to face it alone.
My phone rang, and I hurried to pull it from my pocket, hoping to see Laiken’s name flash across the screen. I bit back my disappointment and slid my thumb across the glass. “Hey, Dad.”
“How are things?”
Amazing. Horrible. Messy. “Good.”
“Never did like single-word answers.”
That had me fighting a grin—the first one since Laiken had pulled away last night. “One-word answers were always worse than cursing up a storm.”
“Damn straight. So, give your old man a little more detail.”
“I’m sitting on my front porch, watching a man work miracles with a horse.”
“Now, that’s better.”
I heard a bark in the background and knew Dad must be throwing the ball for his lab, Lex, while we talked. Something about that soothed. I could picture him on the lawn that overlooked the ocean, the dog running back and forth.
“I met someone.” So eased by the familiar image of my father and his dog in my mind, the words simply slipped out.
“This someone of the female variety?”
“She is.”