Page 16 of Hell of a Mess
Think, Lace. What was it?
Wait…he’d asked me if I’d been to Houston. Why was he asking me that? He knew I didn’t remember.
I shook my head. “I, uh, don’t know,” I stammered.
“Not a big fan of Texas myself,” he said. “You’re not missing much.”
Although his words seemed casual, it felt as if they were important. He was hiding something. Or masking it. I didn’t understand exactly. Maybe I’d just stared at him too long and thought I was seeing things in his eyes that weren’t there.
“I wouldn’t know,” I replied.
He took a drink of his beer and continued to watch me. I had to remind myself to breathe. When his gaze was focused on me, everything else faded away. He was all that mattered. What he said. What he did. It became my sole interest.
After a moment, his attention dropped to my mouth. “That accent isn’t strong, but I can hear the telling twang, all polished over with what I assume is wealth and breeding. What about Dallas? Fort Worth?” He paused. “Rodeos?”
At the wordrodeos, an image of a white horse flashed in my head, and I sucked in a breath. It was nothing more but the singular picture; however, my chest was suddenly tight. That white horse was important. Mine. It was mine.
I had a horse?
“I-I—a white horse,” I told him, feeling anxious. “A quarter horse,” I corrected, surprising myself. “Griffin!” I blurted, my eyes going wide. His name was Griffin.
A slow, approving smile spread across his lips. “You had another memory.”
It wasn’t a question, more like a statement, but I nodded my head.
“Yes. I have a horse, and…and I think I’ve been to Texas,” I said, although I wasn’t sure why I thought that. I had no memory. Nothing more than an image of a horse and a name.
“I’d say you were raised in Texas, Ocean Eyes,” Luther replied, placing the bottle to his lips again.
A small thrill shot through me, and I shivered slightly. He’d called me Ocean Eyes. That was a compliment. At least, I thought it was. The idea that he might like my eyes enough to call me that made me want to grin like an idiot.
“I hear it now that you pointed it out,” Locke said. “The Texas drawl.”
Texas drawl? Were they saying I was from Texas?
I glanced over at Locke to find him studying me as if the answer were about to appear on my forehead.
“It’s hard to pick up on it. You’re right; it’s polished,” he added.
My heartbeat, which had been acting silly over every move and thing Luther said, started pounding in my ears as heat rose upmy neck. My breathing became short and rapid. Almost as if I couldn’t get enough oxygen.
What was wrong with me?
A sharp pain in my head made me wince, and I pressed my fingertips to my temples and closed my eyes, trying to ease it.
“I might not be the boss, but I’m going to stop this. She doesn’t need to be prodded anymore.” Jayda’s voice was firm but felt far away.
Why was I struggling to breathe?
My hands were moved away from my temples, and I squeezed my eyes tighter as the ache increased without the pressure. Then larger fingers, warm, slightly callous, were pressing where mine had been.
“Breathe in deep, then let it out slow.”
Luther’s voice was close to my ear, and if I wasn’t having some mental break, I would soak in the nearness. But as it was, I needed to get oxygen into my lungs.
“Easy, Ocean Eyes,” he said. “You’re okay. Now, breathe for me.”
Even in my current state of panic, I wanted to please him. I tried to focus on the earthy scent, mixed with tobacco, the sound of his voice, the way his touch felt against my skin. I pictured the way the corners of his mouth crinkled with his almost smile.
