Page 9 of The Outlaw's Code

I didn’t know what to do with someone like Calder. And he didn’t know what to do with me.

Daydreams were meant to be daydreams and nothing more.

4

CALDER

“You stare at him. A lot.”

“What?”

I was minding my own business, standing outside my cabin, waiting for Shane to pick me up in his UTV, a routine I was becoming accustomed to. He’d dropped off supplies for my cabin earlier in the morning, gently placing things in the middle of the room, setting a meal for me down on the stove. He’d been so quiet that I hadn’t even heard him come in, and I wondered if that was the point.

Is Shane trying to avoid me?

“You stare at him. Quite a bit.” The stranger squinted at me before a playful grin broke through. “Hi! I’m Virgil Stratton. And you must be Calder.”

“Were you standing there before or—where’d you even come from?—”

“Don’t mind that. I’m everywhere. I’m nowhere.” He shrugged. “But you? You’re here. Isn’t that interesting?”

“Only because I fell off my horse and forgot everything about my life.” I tried to laugh about it.

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

“You think I’m faking it?”

“I think something else drew you here. Something even you haven’t figured out yet.”

“Right…” I took a step away from him and leaned against the cabin.

“Why do you stare at Shane so much?” He took a step towards me, closing the distance between us. “Why do you think?”

“I don’t stare at Shane that much,” I said, lying through my teeth. The old man was right. I had been staring at Shane way too hard lately and I knew it. Ever since I’d lost my grip on that panel, I couldn’t stop thinking about Shane’s grip on me. I’d been watching the way he carried himself, the way he moved, the way his muscles worked underneath his clothes. I’d even been thinking about ways to get into his head, to make him talk to me more, to draw things out of him that he wanted to keep secret.

But I couldn’t make any sense of it. There was a woman in that photo they’d found on me, a woman who it seemed like I knew well. If I was so invested in her, how could I be attracted to?—

What did it meanif Iwasattracted to?—

“Things can change.” Virgil interrupted my racing thoughts. “Nothing needs to stay the same. No matter how much it might feel necessary that they do.”

“Uh, thanks.” I nodded at his advice. “Wait. Does this mean you’ve been watching me?”

“Don’t take it personally.” He smirked. “I watch everything. It’s the only way to stay one step ahead.”

“One step ahead of what?”

Virgil laughed as he walked away from me. “Eyes ahead, Calder. Eyes ahead.”

What a strange man.

I was tempted to follow him, ask him questions that were burning through my brain. But in that same moment, Shane showed up on his UTV, handsome as ever, cowboy hat firmly on his head. “Hey. You ready to go out?”

“Do you know a guy named Virgil Stratton?” I asked as I walked up to the vehicle. “Because he just magically showed up outside my cabin.”

Shane grinned, a genuine expression. The sight of it made my heart skip a beat. “Sounds like you met Virgil. He’s an acquired taste.”

“I take it you’re a fan?”

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