Page 19 of The Inquirer

No, that wasn’t entirely true. One of the main reasons I’d agreed to stay a little longer was because I actually liked Shadae and Brew. They’d been good to me. Leaving them hanging because I’d fucked things up with a guy would’ve made me as bad as Bradyn clearly thought I was.

“One of the first things we’re going to do is prove the Mae-Traylor connection,” Min continued. Another thing she and I had talked about. “We plan to get a DNA sample from one of the Traylors and match it to Kathie. After that, we’ll work toward who knew what.”

“I think I’d like to see what Nyx turns up then,” Brew said. “Before I make a decision.”

The conversation continued on, but my mind had shifted focus. I didn’t know how I was going to get Traylor DNA. I didn’t want to ask Bradyn, especially since I doubted he’d give me one without demanding an explanation. I didn’t want the Huxleys to have to do it either, though. It wasn’t their job. It was mine.

Well, I was the one who’d decided this was the job I wanted. That meant I had to do the shitty work as well as the stuff I liked.

Dammit.

Ten

Bradyn

All day yesterday I’d waited for something to happen. I’d been sure that when I returned from my parents’ place that Shadae would find me for answers about why Nyx had left.

I’d prepared myself to give a vague but realistic answer, for having to explain why Nyx would’ve left without talking to them, or even flat-out lying about whatever excuse she’d given them. Except neither Shadae nor Brew had seemed to notice when I arrived home.

For hours, I’d had thoughts running through my head about all the possible ways Nyx could’ve messed up the Huxleys’s lives. When I’d showed up at the big house for dinner, however, Nyx had been helping Shadae with the food as if nothing had happened. As if I hadn’t told her to leave.

The weirdest part, though, was that they’d all stopped talking the moment I walked through the door. I’d heard their voices as I’d come up the steps but hadn’t been able to make out any words. Then they’d stopped. Dead silence for several seconds before Brew had greeted me.

This morning at breakfast, the same thing happened. As soon as I’d set foot in the kitchen, whatever conversation they’d been having ceased. No one had looked at me either. Yeah, they’d looked in my direction, but it hadn’t actually been at me. No eye contact at all.

If this kept up, I was going to get a complex. Clearly, there was something going on that no one wanted to tell me, which meant I would have to get to the bottom of it myself.

I needed to find out who Nyx Phoenix really was.

The first step would be to talk to the Huxleys alone. I’d tell them about the phone call I’d overheard, the argument Nyx and I’d had in New York, what’d happened between Nyx, Isaac, and myself, all of it. Hopefully, that would get them to realize that whatever information she was feeding them – probably about me – wasn’t the whole story.

And I’d also tell them the whole reason I was working for them. I couldn’t expect them to believe me over Nyx if I was hiding things. Besides, nothing about what I was doing would negatively affect them. I wanted to show the truth about the most prominent families in Savannah, and when it came to knowing the real character of people in the spotlight, it usually wasn’t their ‘peers’ who had the answers. The Huxleys had been around as long as some of the families I was focusing on – longer than a couple, actually – and could offer me a unique perspective I wouldn’t be able to find elsewhere.

Once I realized that Nyx hadn’t left, I hadn’t expected to be able to talk to them at breakfast since Nyx also ate with us. My schedule was booked solid with lessons, so I’d asked if I could take them out for dinner at the Cotton Exchange. A ‘thank you’ for everything they’d done for me. I’d always intended to do something like that when I finally told them about my film. This clusterfuck with Nyx had just moved up the timetable.

When I went out to my first lesson, I was determined to put everything else out of my mind and concentrate on teaching my students. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done.

Nyx had gone back to her cabin after breakfast, and I’d assumed I’d see her getting a ride into the city, off to do whatever she did there. I was just glad it’d keep her from filling the Huxleys’s heads with even more bullshit before I could talk to them.

At the end of my first lesson, however, I was walking back to the stable with Melodee and Starbright when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. It was Nyx, walking back to the big house, a bag in hand. A rectangle sort of bag that looked like it probably held a laptop and some papers. Shit. She was up to something, and I had no idea what it was. No way to find out, either. Not without making a bigger mess of things.

Deserting my work and interrupting something I hadn’t been invited to wouldn’t do any good for anyone, which meant I stayed where I was. Even so, I couldn’t stop myself from looking over at the house all morning, waiting for her to come out.

I really needed to get this damn woman out of my mind.

“Thank you for this, sugar,” Shadae said as she settled into her seat next to Brew. “How’d you know I’ve been cravin’ seafood all week?”

“You know you didn’t need to do this,” Brew said, even as he opened up the expansive menu. “You’ve become more than just an employee while you’ve been with us.”

We chatted about mundane things, and I waited until we’d gotten our meals and taken a few bites before bringing up the first reason we were here.

“I have to be honest. I can’t say my motives for dinner were completely selfless. I really did need a job when I came to the ranch, but I’ve also been working on a new film, and I think you both could be important contributors.”

“Us?” Shadae looked surprised. “What sort of things could Brew and I contribute to a movie?”

“For the past two years, I’ve been gathering information for a documentary about Savannah’s oldest and most prominent families, but I want to show the truth of who they are, not just the face they present to the public.”

Brew wiped his mouth and chin with his napkin. “Now, we might both come from people who’ve been here for a long time, but I don’t think we can be called one of the city’s most prominent families.”

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