Page 42 of Forever After All

Okay, so the bridges were metaphors, but the rest was real. When he met Ryan in Memphis, they’d been a matching pair with a thirst for destruction. The cops knew their descriptions and their aliases, but it took the law three years to catch them.

That’s when the real fires started. Literally and figuratively.

Linc slammed the side of his fist against the wall. The old wood pounded but didn’t budge. Ryan was out, and Linc knew exactly what the guy wanted. It wasn’t a meetup for old time’s sake.

No, Ryan had a reason to come after Linc, and it had nothing to do with chatting over a beer like old times.

Linc looked around the tack room. Everything was in its place, and this chore wasn’t holding his focus anymore.

The rumbling of a truck outside had him raising his chin. It was a diesel, but it wasn’t Jess’s. Linc turned off the light and locked up. He’d just opened Jess’s office door when Brett walked in.

“What are you doing here so late?” Brett asked.

It wasn’t unusual for Linc to be at the barn well after dark, but Brett had been spending more time at home in the evenings since marrying Thea. He couldn’t blame the guy. Linc would probably stay home more too if he had a wife.

Too bad that kinda life wasn’t in the cards for him. Getting married, settling down, and even having a family sounded like heaven these days.

“Just cleaning up the tack room. I’m headed out.”

Brett jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “I’ll lock up the office when I’m done. You go home.”

Linc studied Brett for a second. “What are you doing here?”

“Thea thought she left an email unsent this afternoon from Jess’s address. I told her I’d check it since it was a feed order.”

“Right. Speaking of Jess, have you heard from her tonight?”

Brett whirled around and narrowed his eyes at Linc. “I wasn’t talking about Jess. I was talking about Thea and Jess’s email.”

“You said Jess.” Linc wasn’t prepared for Brett’s mind games tonight, and he’d walked himself right into a trap with that one.

Brett slowly turned and headed into the office. “I haven’t heard from her. She asked Thea to wrap things up because she was going to Cody for something. Why?”

Linc averted his eyes. Brett would know something was up if he dug around too much. That guy saw everything, and Linc had promised not to tell anyone at the ranch that Jess was dating.

He’d never betray her trust. If she didn’t want word getting around, Linc would lock it all up and throw away the key. Zip his lips. Cross his heart. All the things.

“Just wondering. See ya later.”

“Good night. Sweet dreams!” Brett shouted from the office.

The night was pitch black without a moon in sight. The ranch was eerily quiet in the off season. He didn’t have any love for the crowds, but he liked escaping into the mountains with just the horses and a handful of folks for a few days. It had been months since he’d been on a trail ride, and the wilderness was calling his name.

Linc closed himself in the cabin and hung his hat and coat by the door. The cabin was quiet since Brett moved out, and it was the kind of peace that dreams were made of.

After showering, Linc went straight to bed. He’d gotten up early and worked well over twelve hours. Sleep should come as quick as a wink.

But this was the longest wink of his life, and staring at the ceiling was incredibly boring. If he just had some kind of confirmation that Jess made it home from her mysterious date okay, he could shut the engine down.

For once, he wished he was a part of Ms. Landry’s phone tree. Half the town probably knew Jess’s date’s height and hair color, as well as the make and model of his truck.

She might even have the license plate number.

Linc flopped onto his side and stared at the wall. This was ridiculous. He had no reason to care if Jess hit it off with the guy on her date. It wasn’t his business.

But making sure she made it home safely was a legit concern. He sat up and rummaged on the nightstand looking for his phone. Where’d he put it?

Throwing the covers off and launching out of bed, he checked the pockets of his jeans until he found it. The screen lit up the dark room. No messages.

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