Page 76 of Boston
“Oh, come on,” she said. “This fine brown beast doesn’t have a name?” She reached out and patted the dashboard in front of her.
“What would you name him?” Boston asked.
“Hm,” she said. “I have ridden in him a few times, but I’m not sure. I haven’t been thinking about it.”
Boston grinned over to her. “Give me another clue for your secret spot.”
“Oh, you’re trying to sneak a clue early.”
“Yes, I am,” he said. “We have some time off next week, Cora, and it might be fun to go.”
“I never have time off,” Cora said, and Boston glanced over to her again. He couldn’t tell if she was upset about that or not, but he supposed she was right. She ran Silver Sage, and it soldiered on twenty-four-seven, whether its employees did or not.
“As it happens, I have another clue ready,” she said. “And it matches your truck.” She beamed at him, and Boston simply waited for her to give him the clue.
“It’s brown too.”
He riddled through the three that she’d given him. No bug spray, no fishing pole, brown. It could literally be anything, and when Cora’s phone chimed and she dove into it with the words, “Oh, this is Jeremy,” Boston continued the drive to Coral Canyon in silence, trying to come up with where Cora’s favorite place could be.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO
Cora watched as Boston threw a pack blanket over Dolphin’s back. The horse looked at him like Boston had done something terrible, but he stayed still. Boston then fitted a platform that had a saddle-like bottom on Dolphin’s back, and he loaded the lumber, shingles, nails, hammer, and other supplies he needed to fix the roof up at the cabin near the eagle habitat.
She sat quietly on the top of the picnic table, out of the way, wondering why it felt like her best friend was leaving and never coming back.
She was the one who’d left her friends in Miami, and she’d never imagined that she’d feel as at home or as comfortable as she did in Wyoming only a couple of weeks in. He finished loading up and came toward her to get Coach, where he’d tied him against the hitching post.
“You’re meeting with your sister this morning, right?” he asked.
Cora nodded. “Yep, that’s right.”
She knew he’d run out of service around eleven, and she planned to send him the next clue about Little Brown Bear Stream, where she’d looked up the salmon run just to be surethat they were still spawning. They were, and they would be for another month, so she had time for him to guess it.
“With Kat and Momma,” she said. “And Jeremy too.”
She hopped down off the picnic table and followed him and Coach back over to where Dolphin stood, all of the supplies securely strapped down.
“I can’t believe I have to tell my brother-in-law about us,” she said. “It’s embarrassing.”
Boston glanced over to her. “I could do it if you want.”
“No, we talked about me telling them,” she said with a sigh. “I should go before all the vanilla creamer is gone at the coffee cart.”
Boston chuckled. “Sweetheart, you can just go get whatever you want from anyone. You know that, right?” He tightened down the straps on his saddle and then turned to her. “Okay, kiss me and go. Nobody likes long goodbyes.”
She grinned at him. “I kind of do. Long and sappy and romantic.”
Boston chuckled. “Oh, boy, I’m in big trouble.”
Then he swept one arm around her and pulled her close in a single breath, the movement swift and almost unexpected. Boston had always been gentle with her, but this more aggressive approach didn’t bother her at all. He leaned down and kissed her, and yes, Cora would like a longer goodbye than what he gave her. She also knew his focus had settled somewhere else, and she also had plenty to do that day.
As he settled his cowboy hat back on his head, she said, “Be safe, Boston, and text me when you get there.”
“I’m gonna make a guess tonight after I see your clue,” he said. “Right or wrong, I’ve got to start guessing.”
“Yes, you do,” Cora said.
