Page 76 of Spilling the Tea

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Chance saw the lights on in the cabin. He hadn’t seen Zoey’s text until he’d returned to Teakwood Ridge. She had sent it three days ago. She’d had no way of knowing he’d been out on the range all that time. Did she think he had ignored her message?

He could hear music the moment his feet touched the steps. There were motion lights surrounding the property and a generator in case of a power outage. Although Chance didn’t like the idea of Zoey being out this far from civilization alone, at least he was closer to her than when she was at her hotel.

Her text said she’d moved into the cabin on Tuesday. What had she been doing with herself since then? Had she met with his great-grandmother this week? Had she kept her lunch date with Kenna, Sam, Mac, and Skye? It was still fairly early, barely nine o’clock. He hoped she wasn’t a person who went to bed early.

Chance had thought about her a lot since he’d last seen her on Sunday.

He knocked on the door.

“Who is it?”

The sound of her voice had his heart thumping erratically in his chest. He’d never braced himself for his reaction to a woman but was doing so now. He needed to pull himself together. “Chance.”

When the door opened and she stood there, he thought being interested in her was an understatement. It was more than that. He needed to understand why now and, more importantly, why her? Mama Laverne had said a romantic involvement was the last thing Zoey needed while trying to regain her memory. As far as he was concerned, Zoey was old enough to make her own decisions and didn’t need anyone, not even his great-grandmother, making them for her.

“Zoey. I should have called first before dropping by. I hope I’m not interrupting you.”

She moved aside to let him inside. “I thought it might be you. It’s not like I have a lot of neighbors around here, and no, you’re not interrupting anything.”

He followed her into the living room and tried not to notice how well her jeans fit her backside. But then they alwaysdid. “I saw your text when I returned home today. I’ve been out on the range a few days.”

“Ms. Felicia Laverne told me. I met with her again today. Would you like anything to drink? My refrigerator is stocked with wine coolers, beer, and water.”

“No, I’m good.”

She nodded as she sat down on the sofa, and he sat beside her but placed what he considered a decent distance between them. “So, how did your meeting with Mama Laverne go?”

“Great. I learned a lot about my great-grandmother Deedra. She was a twenty-two-year-old widow from Laredo.”

“Widow? How did her husband die?”

“He was struck by lightning. A bad thunderstorm came up while he was out riding. A bolt of lightning killed him and his horse. According to Ms. Felicia Laverne, she was in town visiting, and she and my great-grandfather Waylon met at church and were married close to fourteen years before she got sick and died. Gramma Arabella was twelve at the time.”

“Arabella was their only child?”

“Yes. After Deedra’s death, my great-great-grandmother Penny assisted Waylon in raising her. When Arabella became more of a tomboy in Penny’s eyes, she persuaded Waylon to send her granddaughter to an all-girls school in the East at fifteen. Ms. Felicia and I will meet again next week, and I can’t wait.”

“I’m glad you’re learning about your ancestors,” he said.

“I’m glad, too. Diamond invited me to stay for dinner, and your cousin Clayton and his wife, Syneda, were there. Syneda invited me to lunch with her and the other cousins’ wives in the next couple of weeks.”

“That was nice of her, but then Syneda is a kind and thoughtful person. Have you recovered any memories since you moved in here?”

“No, and I spent most of yesterday by the lake.”

“What about dreams?”

Zoey shifted in her seat, thinking she’d had dreams. Plenty of them. However, all of them had been of him. Of course, she wouldn’t tell him that. “No, not a one. I checked in with my therapist on Monday and told her about the flashback I experienced on Sunday. She thinks that’s progress, but not to force my mind to recall anything. She wants me to unwind and relax and feels that when I do, the flashbacks will come naturally.”

“I believe that, too.”

Zoey couldn’t help but grin. “You’re a therapist now, Chance?”

He chuckled. “I’ve been known to dabble occasionally. But seriously, I’ve heard the benefits of relaxing and unwinding are that they relieve stress and are good for your memory.”

“I hope so.”

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