“I’m fine with that. I’m okay with helping you. Just not as a married couple.”
“If we don’t go in married, I can’t guarantee they keep us together. We need this so that I can protect you. It’s very easy for people to quietly disappear. And we already know that’s something they do. They’ve managed to lose a large portion of their youth.”
Remi closed her eyes. “It’s just a ring.”
“Yeah. It’s just a ring. You could wear it on your pinkie or in your nose, for all the significance it has to you and me. To the Friends, however, it means something entirely different.” He held out his hand. “Give me your ring.”
She set it in his palm.
He took the ring and turned it over a couple of times, then lifted her hand and put it on her ring finger again. “Why are you never getting married?”
She hated the feel of the ring on her hand. Hated that he always asked the worst questions. “Because I don’t want to.”
“What if you find the right guy?” His cinnamon eyes caught hers. His interest seemed legit, not more of the profiling she suspected he’d been doing since the beginning.
“I won’t. Know why?” she asked. He lifted a brow. “Because I’m not looking.”
“Not looking? Or hiding from the possibility?”
“Why do you think marriage is so important? It isn’t everything.”
“I never said I thought marriage was everything. You’re scared of something, and I’m trying to figure out what it is.”
“It’s none of your business. Haven’t you been scared of anything before?”
His voice was a whisper. “Only ghosts. Only that.” She had to strain to hear it above the wind buffeting the overlook.
Remi pressed her lips together. “We better get going.”
Chapter Fifteen
Remi parked in the small dirt patch set aside for visitors a half-mile off the county road. The Friendship Community village was still another half-mile away, reached by a narrow buggy trail through a forest of aspen and ancient evergreens.
Greer looked around the parking area, noticing the treads from different motorcycles. He didn’t mention it to Remi—she was tense enough as it was.
A bell began ringing before they were even in sight of the village. It had the sound of an old ranch bell hand-rung by someone. When they came out of the woods, the village was alive with kids and a few adults who were coming to greet them.
Greer had observed the village for several days, but watching it from afar and entering it were entirely different experiences. It was like walking back through time. The kids that surrounded them were white, with flushed faces and happy eyes. They wore the simple clothes of their people—homespun cotton shirts, trousers, skirts. Both boys and girls wore black boots with heavy socks.
Greer looked over at Remi to see her reaction to the kids. She had an easy smile on her face, but her tension showed when she looked at the adults. One of the women smiled at her, then gave him a curious once-over.
“Dr. Chase! How happy we are to see you!” the woman said as she shook Remi’s hand vigorously.
Remi exchanged greetings then introduced Greer to Mrs. Dunbar and the Haskels. “Mrs. Dunbar’s husband is the village’s mayor. And the Haskels both serve on the town council,” she told him.
“You’re married? We didn’t know that was in the works for you!” the first woman, Mrs. Haskel, exclaimed.
“Yes.” She laughed like acting was first nature to her. “He talked me into it at last.”
“That’s wonderful! But you didn’t take your husband’s name?” Mrs. Dunbar asked.
Remi looked over at him, then shook her head. “I’ve established my professional reputation under my maiden name. We thought it best if I kept it.”
Mrs. Haskel shook her head in a disapproving way. “Things are very strange in your world.”
“Speaking of which, how is your article coming along?” Mrs. Dunbar asked.
“That’s why we’re here. I was hoping to wrap up my research by spending a little more time with you, if that wouldn’t be too much of an imposition.”
“Not at all,” Mrs. Dunbar answered for the group. “You know we’ve been looking forward to more visits with you.”
“Thank you! I’ve been compiling my notes from our conversations and have a few more questions and things I’d like to have clarified.”
Mrs. Haskel slipped her arms through Greer and Remi’s and led them deeper into the village. She leaned over to Remi and whispered loudly, “Your husband’s quite the beefcake.”
Remi’s blush made Greer laugh.
Mrs. Haskel squeezed Remi’s arm. “Ask anything. You know we’re proud of our community. I wish there were more like ours in the world.” She gave Remi a sad look. “Every time we travel into Cheyenne for our market days, we learn such stories about murders and war and drugs and terrible things in your society. It’s reinforcing our mission here in our own community. I think we’re all excited for our story to be told.”
Greer knew Max was hearing and seeing all of this from his magic sunglasses and comm unit. It wasn’t the fearful greeting of a community who had anything to hide…which didn’t necessarily mean they didn’t have anything to hide, only that they were good at hiding it.
“You’ll stay overnight, won’t you? I’d hate for you to make the long trek here and back all in one day,” Mrs. Dunbar said.
Remi looked at him, then answered. “We’d love to. Thank you.”
“That’s settled, then,” Mrs. Haskel declared. “We have bread rising that we have to tend to. Our husbands can retrieve your things and get you settled in the guest cabin where you stayed last time. You come with us, dear. Ask us your questions while we work.”