Page 68 of Whirlwind

“Damn straight.” He grins before his expression sobers. “In all seriousness, I know this is a weird situation, but I’ll tell you what I told Ryker. He’s a smart man, a good man, but he choseto cross a line with you regardless of the situation. I don’t believe he would have done that if he valued his teaching career over you—I know him enough to know that. And I think, deep down, you do, too.”

My gaze softens, and my lip twitches. “Ryker isn’t the only smart and good man.”

Joey kicks his feet at the ground. “Aw, shucks. People may think I got straw up here, but it’s all brains.” He knocks on his head.

“So many brains,” I say.

He pulls me in for another hug and rubs my back. “I was serious about keeping in touch and chasing together—let’s be more than social media friends.”

I squeeze him back. “Deal.”

Before I can walk away, he stops me again. “Sharkie?”

“Yeah, Sparkie?”

“Don’t worry so much—it’ll all work out. I say, go after your man. Life’s too short.”

“And if it doesn’t work out?”

He shrugs. “Then it doesn’t work out. But if you don’t chase the storm, you’ll never know if you’ll catch it or not.”

I smile at his analogy. “And you?”

“Me, what?”

“Are you going to chase your storm?”

A devilish smile appears on his lips, and he tips the brim of his cowboy hat. “He’s chasing me, darlin’, but I think I’ll let myself be caught.”

We hug one more time, and I wait till he’s inside before I head back to Ryker’s truck with too many thoughts swirling in my head. When I open the door, a song by Journey plays quietly while Ryker types out a text on his phone. He looks up at me and studies my face, worry etched across his forehead.

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” I say, but honestly, I don’t know if I am. This weekend has been a lot—more than I ever could’ve imagined.I’m ready for a long nap and my favorite pint of coffee chocolate chip ice cream.

But there’s a part of me that wants to lean forward, kiss Ryker, tell him to quit his job, and insist that we’ll figure everything out as we go like Joey urged me to.

Instead, I do the rational thing. I buckle my seatbelt and settle in for what I know will be an awkward drive back to Kansas.

Chapter twenty-five

Ryker

It’s been a miserabletwo weeks since I dropped Finley off at her apartment. We’ve emailed to discuss the data and structure of the research paper since school is out for the summer, but she hasn’t agreed to meet with me privately to talk aboutus. She’s still saying she needs time.

Part of me—the professor—understands and respects her choice. But the rest of me, the part obsessed with Finley Buckley, doesn’t get it. I hate that all our interactions have been strictly professional. The only glimpses I get of the real, non-student Finley are in the group chat Joey created for our team (plus himself and Finley) named “TT Upgrade.”

Officially, we haven’t asked Joey and Finley to join the team permanently, but I know Ezra and Hawk would be on board—so would I. They both made valuable contributions and fit in perfectly with us. But the uncertainty of what Finley and I will decide about our future hangs over that decision—especially when it comes to her place on the team. It’s not that I wouldn’t want her to join—Idowant her to join—but I can’t be sure she’d even want to.

No matter how I look at it, the limbo we’re stuck in weighs on me, keeping me in a constant state of frustration—a fact Hawk is quick to point out after I snap at him and Ezra over a simple question.

“Either quit your job, show up at her apartment doorstep with some grand romantic gesture, or stop pouting. I can’ttake it anymore, Ryker. You’re being a grump—and frankly, it’s annoying.”

“I second that,” Ezra says from beside me.

I scowl at them, leaning back in my chair. We’re sitting at my kitchen table with our computers and paperwork in front of us, planning out our next chase while going over data.

“I told you both, she wants to take it slow. Take time to figure things out.”

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