Page 72 of Guarded Secrets
Squaring her shoulders, she went on. “My feelings are my own and not your responsibility. I’m not sure if I can handle being friends. We’ll have to see.”
***
After a quiet shift at Easy Money where she tried to minimize contact with Owen, Keeley lay in his beautiful bed between his soft cotton sheets and stared into the darkness. She’d fallen in love with a man whose heart had been shattered. Because of that, he’d closed himself off to whatever had been building between them. She was an optimist by nature, but how could she get past Owen’s steadfast refusal to ever love again? Was it possible to grieve for something that never was?
CHAPTER TWENTY
Sitting on the porch with the blanket wrapped around her, Keeley sipped from her coffee mug. She’d had a restless night. She hoped the bright morning sunshine would burn off some of the sadness left over from yesterday’s conversation.
She heard the door open and footsteps approach. Owen didn’t look like he’d gotten any more sleep than she had.
His hands were jammed in the pockets of sweatpants worn low across his hips. His hooded sweatshirt was unzipped over his bare chest. She deliberately looked away. She had to find a way to smother her feelings so her heart wouldn’t ache so badly.
He checked the coffee level in her mug. Wise man. He stared out over the valley, waiting through the appropriate level of caffeine consumption before finally speaking.
“Come with me today.”
Her heart gave a hard knock of excitement and she sighed. Damn her stupid heart. “Where to?”
“Tahoe.” He held up a hand at her raised brow. “Hear me out. We’ll take a road trip. Totally platonic. No hand holding, no kissing. Just friends spending the day together.”
“I told you I’m not sure I can be your friend.”
His gaze held hers. “I don’t want to lose you.”
She looked away. She knew it wasn’t healthy for her to go with him, but the idea of spending a day together made her yearn. She had absolutely no self-discipline where Owen was concerned.
“What about Easy Money?”
“Jen asked for more hours, so she’ll be fine being in charge tonight. You aren’t scheduled to work. It’ll give us both a break.” He frowned. “There’s something else. Sawyer texted. Romero made bail this morning.”
“I see. A road trip is your way of keeping me safe from Jaxon.”
“I don’t need a road trip to keep you safe. That’s merely a side benefit.” Owen sighed. “Look, when I was a detective and a case wasn’t coming together, if I could swing it, I’d take a ride on my motorcycle. It helped me clear my head and get a fresh perspective.
“I’ve got the Bronco now, but you and I can talk through the case and see if we can come up with an explanation about what’s been happening. You’re the connection, and we need to figure out how and why.”
Keeley didn’t want to be the connection. She wanted all bad guys to forget she existed and leave her alone. Because she had no willpower, she said, “I’ll go with you, but why Tahoe? It’s on the other side of the mountains and a long drive.”
“It’s a little less than an hour and a half one way, so not too bad. I got a text from my cousin Zoey. She and her husband and kids have a cabin on the lake for a couple days and invited me to hang out.”
A drive over the Sierras in spring would be beautiful, and meeting Owen’s family sounded intriguing. But she was honest enough with herself to acknowledge what she really wanted was time with Owen.
“We’ll need to check on Iggy on our way out.”
Keeley called her mom and chatted while making sandwiches, letting her know Iggy was doing fine.
Bruce was doing well and having a good visit with his sister. Abby thought they might extend their stay. After an update on what they knew about the attacks on Keeley, they signed off.
Keeley added Fritos and a baggie of sliced strawberries to a tote bag and figured they had lunch covered.
She dressed in jeans and low-heeled boots with a green fleece sweater over a t-shirt, and because mountain weather could changerapidly, she’d grabbed her down coat and tossed it in the backseat of the Bronco.
After leaving Iggy with fresh water, a full food dish, and a good pet and snuggle, they started the drive, taking Highway 50 east out of town.
Keeley relaxed and took in the gorgeous scenery. The winding highway split through stands of tall pines crowding the road then straightened as they flew past wide meadows bordered by tumbling creeks.
The sky was the deep dark blue of high altitude, broken only by crows and an occasional hawk circling overhead. There weren’t many other people out today, and occasionally they passed cars coming the opposite direction.
