Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 68058 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68058 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
“His classified story?”
I smiled. “I feel confident he’s given Jacob the security clearance.”
“He’d see Jacob’s right to know as more important than the rules of a government that fucked him over.”
“You really get him, don’t you?”
“Like I said, I made sure I knew who I was getting involved with.”
I forked up another bite of pie. If I didn’t move faster, TJ was going to finish it before I had any more. “So how much did you dig up on me?”
“You joined the marines straight out of high school when Rogue went full time on the rodeo circuit. You forced him to wait until you both graduated.”
“How the hell do you know about that?”
TJ grinned. “It was a guess. Now I know it.”
He really was scarily good at reading me. I pointed my fork at him menacingly. “No more of that shit.”
“You don’t have to tell me anything.”
“Then I’ll lie next time.”
“And I’ll know it.”
His smirk had me fuming. “Never mind. I don’t want to know any more of your revelations.”
“You love horses. You worked summers on the horse farm where your father was foreman before he lost that job. You would rather have taken his place, but you were too young for a job with that much responsibility, and you didn’t want to be parted from both your brothers. The chance to be here with them both and raise horses is what you always wanted, so even though you have to put up with men like me, it’s worth it.”
“I told you some of that shit myself.”
“And I listened. You care about your brothers. You would do anything for them. Your record in the marines was exemplary, but you left as soon as you could after your brother was discharged because loyalty to him comes first for you.”
“I missed Rogue too. Being apart from him was torture. It would have been bad enough if he was gone for stretches on the circuit, but having me halfway around the world… It was hard on both of us.”
“So do you really have one of those psychic twin connections where you know what the other is thinking and doing?”
I glared at him.
“What? I’m just curious.”
“I’m not going to talk about it if you’re just going to mock me.”
He pressed his lips together in a terrible attempt to look like he was going to listen seriously.
I pushed my chair back and rose, grabbing the now empty pie plate.
“Wait.” He wrapped his hand around my upper arm. “Tell me.”
The words were low and soft, different from the way he said them in bed, but they had the same damn effect on me. This time I was going to fight it. “I should get some sleep.”
“I want to know, and I like talking to you.”
Damn, he really knew exactly what to say. It wasn’t that Grant and Rogue didn’t like conversing with me, but they both liked doing a hell of a lot more talking than listening. TJ wasn’t like that.
“Fine, but I’m putting this in the sink before one of us starts licking it.”
“Maybe you should leave it because the only other thing I want to lick here is you.”
I raised my brows. “You’ve got to be as exhausted as I am. I know you were helping Rogue most of the day.”
“He found plenty for me to do, but I could have kept going.”
“You need sleep as much as I do.”
“But I don’t have to be up as early as you, and I find what we’ve been doing is way more exciting than sleep.”
“I’ll risk it.” I took the pie plate to the sink, rinsed it, and stuck it in the dishwasher. Then I leaned against the counter out of TJ’s reach. “Rogue and I can’t read each other’s thoughts, not like a psychic in a movie, but I can usually tell when Rogue is in serious danger or pain, and he’s the same way with me. When I got shot—”
“The scar on your shoulder?”
I nodded. “I found out he’d been frantically trying to get in touch with me because he knew something was wrong. He’d finally gotten to talk to Grant, but it still took a while to convince him I’d be fine. When he got a serious concussion falling off a bull, I had to argue with my commander so I could contact him. I finally got through to one of his friends, but it was days before I had the reassurance of hearing his voice.”
TJ looked fascinated rather than amused. “That’s incredible.”
“You believe me?”
“I do. I don’t think everything in this world has an explanation or at least not one we know of yet. Aunt Van is sure her house, which used to belong to my Nonna, is haunted, and I can’t say she’s wrong.”
“I’ve seen some things in the barn where I worked. I wouldn’t rule that out either.”