Page 56 of Philly
He’d pulled on his boxers and a T-shirt, and he peeked into the room. Her eyes dropped far south of his chest this time. “Your hair still looks good to me,” he said, turning back around before she got more than an eyeful. “I didn’t know you rode horses.”
The bed creaked as she rose. He had one leg in his jeans when she walked in. “Liza taught me. I went home with her a few times while in the academy, and she has a friend with a ranch. I didn’t learn anything fancy, but I can stay on.” She paused, her hand on a clean shirt hanging on the rod. “And I like horses. I like that something so huge can be so gentle, and it amazes me how good they are at picking up emotions. Much better than most people.”
“I rode a few while in the army, but not by choice. I’m of the firm camp that, given a choice, a horse will eat me.”
She chuckled. “You know they’re herbivores, right?”
“That’s what the sneaky bastards will have you believe,” he replied, grabbing a pair of socks and heading to the bed.
She laughed again, her voice carrying softly from the closet. “Oh, Sabina texted, and Liza’s iPad arrived. They planned to look at it this afternoon. She didn’t think they’d have an update by the time we talk tonight, not if Liza had any sort of security installed, but they are working on it.”
“Good news,” he replied, stretching out on the bed. Rolling over, he did a quick scan of the books on the lower shelf of his bedside table, then grabbed an Agatha Christie.
Callie paused on her way to the shower, eyed him, then continued.
“I do read,” he called out as the door shut.
She cracked the door open and stuck her head out. “Of course you do. Your choice surprised me is all. It’s one of my favorites.” Then she closed the door again.
He glanced at the cover ofWhy Didn’t They Ask Evans?He’d read it before and it was one of his favorites, too. Before his mind started giving that coincidence any meaning, he turned to the first page and started.
He was on the fourth chapter when the bathroom door opened, and a fully dressed Callie stepped out. It was probablybetter that she hadn’t come strutting out in a towel as he had. Although, he wouldn’t have minded.
“Let me drop these in the hamper, and then we can call Sabina and Leo,” she said, holding up her bundle of clothes.
“Mine should be done washing and drying by the time we get back tonight if you want to do a load,” he replied.
She stepped back into the room with a wave of her hand. “No need. The sound would annoy me while we try to sleep. I’ll throw them in in the morning so they can cycle through while we’re away. Ready?” she asked, grabbing her phone and stretching out beside him.
“Ready,” he replied, setting his book down on the bedside table.
She dialed a number, then hit Speaker and set her device between them. Two rings in, Leo answered.
“Hang on,” he said. “Let me grab Sabina.” Rustling and a few muffled voices filtered through, then the sound of a door closing and he was back.
“Hey, sorry about that, I was in the kitchen,” Leo said.
“Hey, guys,” Sabina said.
They both greeted the pair, then Sabina picked things up.
“Before I go into what we’ve found, did you learn anything new this afternoon, Philly?”
“No, not really. I get the sense Joe is the, I wouldn’t say black sheep of the family, because he does his part for the family business and is close to Rian, if not his father. But he’s different.”
“A gray sheep?” Sabina suggested.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Callie smile. He turned and looked. She shrugged. “Yeah, a gray sheep,” he agreed. “He looks at life differently than either Rian or Aiden. Rian seems to get him, appreciate him, but not so much Aiden.”
He paused, replaying the conversations he and Joe had had while ATV-ing. They’d spent most of the four hours enjoying andcommenting on the views, with conversations about other places they’d traveled spattered in. Then an offhand comment Joe made came back to him and he frowned. “He did mention that a couple of years ago, his dad was thinking about expanding into non-textile home goods. In the end, they decided not to, but the potential partner he mentioned sounded familiar to me. I can’t place it, though. I meant to look the woman up but forgot when I got back to the room. A shower took precedence over everything else.”
Leo chuckled. “I hate ATV-ing, too. What’s the name? We can look into it.”
“Andrea Giodani.”
Sabina chuckled. “Yeah, it would sound familiar.”
“You know her?” he asked.
