Page 46 of Smokescreen

“I’ll get a room at the motel in town.”

“You shouldn’t be driving in this storm,” Reid said. “Stay here instead. I have the room. You can leave in the morning.”

Daphne glanced at Olive as if trying to read her reaction.

Olive made sure to keep her face emotionless.

Daphne being here would make things more complicated. But Olive wasn’t going to be the one to turn her away either, not with the weather like it was and the miles and miles of nothingness she would have to drive through to leave.

“Come on.” Reid nodded toward the front door. “Let me get you settled. But you really ought to call before you come.”

Then he cast an apologetic look Olive’s way.

CHAPTER 19

Olive waited downstairs while Reid and Hannah got Daphne situated. There was no need to put herself into the mix, especially not with Daphne’s emotions already running so high.

But she was anxious to talk to Reid alone.

Finally, he came down the stairs. Based on the dullness in his gaze and the circles beneath his eyes, he was exhausted—already. And Daphne had only been there for thirty minutes.

He took Olive’s elbow and led her straight into his office as if sensing they needed somewhere private to talk.

Once inside, Reid closed the double doors and planted himself in front of them. “I’m sorry about that.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. Daphne clearly took you by surprise.”

He removed his cowboy hat and ran a hand through his hair. “You can say that again.”

“Shall we sit?” Olive pointed to the seats, sensing he needed to take a load off.

He nodded, and they sat across from each other. But Reid’s gaze remained burdened, like his thoughts carried the weight of an entire mountain.

Questions raced through Olive’s head. Questions about Daphne. About her presence here. About their past. “How long did you two date?”

“About six months. We met on the reality show that was filmed here. I didn’t expect to click with her. We were too different. But the differences made it more exciting. Plus, let’s face it—meeting single women out here isn’t always easy.”

“It sounds like she was all in . . . except when it came to relocating to Wyoming.”

“It was a tough breakup, to say the least.” He smoothed his beard—even though it was already smooth.

“Listen, I hate to ask this, but I have to.” Olive paused, unsure how Reid would take this question. “Daphne has a lot of reasons to want you off this ranch. Could she?—”

Reid interrupted with a firm shake of his head. “No, she doesn’t have it in her to do any of the things that have happened. She’s more the type to launch a social media campaign against someone. But physical threats? No way.”

He sounded absolutely convinced of that.

Olive nodded, not feeling as confident as he did. “Okay then. I just had to ask.”

Reid’s shoulders finally softened slightly, and he turned toward her. “I know you’re just trying to find answers. This is one conflict I didn’t expect to arise while you were here. Again, I apologize for anything rude she may have said to you.”

“It’s okay. But Iamsurprised she heard you have a girlfriend. How did that happen? You didn’t put this out on social media—did you?”

He twisted his head. “You caught me. I’m a Facebook junkie. I like to put as much of my personal life out there as possible.”

Olive laughed. “I just had to ask.”

He let out a breath. “The only thing I can think of is that Daphne has been in contact with someone here at the ranch and they told her.”

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