Page 50 of Shadow Sabotage
Chapter Seventeen
Claire
When I got backto the house, I managed to avoid my family, sneaking upstairs to jump straight into the shower. The hot steam calmed me and cleared my mind.
I’d invited Vance to dinner. Not because I felt like I should…
But because I’d wanted to.
One day and my feelings toward him had shifted radically. I’d gone from thinking he was the worst and being furious at him for cutting me out of the case to actually … liking him.
Alot.
Yes, he’d underestimated me, just like so many other people had. But unlike most of them, he had changed his mind.Apologized.Started treating me like a legit partner.
More than that, it felt like we were starting to become friends. He needed one. But until today, I hadn’t realized how much I’d needed one, too.
Things were changing. Cheyenne would always be my best friend. But she was moving on to a chapter of her life that Icouldn’t understand. I’d still love her just the same, and I knew she’d love me, too. But things would be different. For her, the change was joyful. She still had me, but she had more, too.
For me, it felt like loss.
I lathered myself in soap, thinking back to lunch with Vance and how different it had been talking to him instead of Cheyenne. I felt like a traitor for thinking it, but the difference was one of the things that had made it so nice.
Cheyenne held all my history. We’d been friends for practically our whole lives. I loved her unconditionally, and I knew she felt the same. But that history colored over everything for us. It was amazing to have a best friend who’d been there for everything, but it also meant she’d had a front-row seat to all the stupid things I’d done in my life.
Vance hadn’t. He only knew this version of me. And this version of me had been able to quickly earn his respect. Histrust.
That gave me a confidence I hadn’t felt in a really long time.
After my shower,I pulled on jeans and a thick red sweater. The temperature had dropped today. It broke my heart a little.
When the weather turned cold, I always found myself dreaming about living somewhere like Miami, where I’d never have to deal with Wyoming winters again. Sunshine and warm days in December—the thought of it made me want to pack my bags and hop on a plane.
The summers there were probably brutal though. No crisp mountain air, wildflower meadows, or wild horses.
I couldn’t imagine life without those things.
The people who’d figured out how to have it all, they were the lucky ones. Maybe I should go back to school, I mused as I towel-dried my hair. Become a nurse and sign up with a travelnursing agency. Spend the winters down south and the summers up north. See the country. Save lives in a different way.
It wasn’t the worst idea, actually. Except for the whole four years of school thing. Four years of sitting in a classroom, studying textbooks, and taking tests was a high price to pay for a little freedom.
I looked at myself in the mirror and decided to add a touch of makeup. Nothing crazy, just a swipe of mascara and lip gloss. Maybe a hint of blush. There were times when I loved going all out with makeup, really dolling it up with a smoky eye and red lipstick. But I avoided all of it for work, knowing that even a trace of makeup would get some sort of comment from Trey. Thankfully, I was lucky to have Mom’s gorgeous skin—although mine was dotted with freckles because I could never be bothered to put on sunscreen. Even so, a natural tan and lip balm was usually enough to satisfy my vanity.
Tonight, though… I wanted a little more.
I tried not to think about why.
Satisfied with my appearance, I headed downstairs to eat. I paused halfway, hearing Vance’s deep voice coming from the kitchen. He’d gotten here early and had been intercepted by Mom.
That made me very nervous. There was no telling what stories she might have told him about me. The last time I’d brought a date over, she’d actually pulled out mybabybook to show him.
I leaned my head back and let out a long sound of frustration, steeling myself before heading down. Beth appeared at the bottom of the stairs and grinned as she headed up to meet me.
“Agent Weston said you invited him to dinner personally.” She winked, giving me a knowing smile. “I’ve always known you to move fast, but family dinner already? That’s gotta be a new record.”
I glared at her. “Knock it off. He’s a coworker. A friend. That’s it.”
Beth’s head jerked back. She was the one person I never snapped at. “I was just kidding.”
