I wished I knew exactly where Carson lived. I would go there first to see if he was home. But if he wasn't at Trilogy today, hopefully they would call his home number for me and I could get in touch with him that way.
I ran inside quickly to take a shower, washing the day of travel off my body. I dried off and pulled on clean jeans and a black cashmere sweater and my black boots. I re-did my makeup and grabbed my coat and ran out the door again.
As I drove out of my neighborhood and toward Trilogy, a case of nerves attacked me. What if he had changed his mind and decided that he didn't want me anymore? No, that couldn't be the case, could it? Surely that wouldn't have changed in less than a week? He had said I was in his blood–all these years I had been in his blood. A thrill shot down my spine. He was in my blood too, and I could hardly survive one more minute without him knowing that.
He hadn't been with anyone else in all this time. A lump formed in my throat and I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I considered the fact that neither one of us had had sex with anyone else since each other. I had half a mind–and plenty of hormones–to make that the first priority, right after I told him I wanted him.
Oh God, what if he had taken Kira up on one of her offers in the last couple days since he left my house? I wouldn't have blamed him, really. But it sounded like she had been making it known she was available before I walked into his office, and he hadn't done anything about it then. No, I couldn't allow my mind to go there right now. But my head was clear and the confusion and guilt that had been clouding things ever since I laid eyes on him again vanished. He was mine. And I wanted to be his. That was all I needed to focus on right now.
Except… something was going on with him and this case I was working. I couldn't figure it out and I knew that if things were going to go anywhere with us, we'd need to talk. Somehow though, that didn't feel like the priority. Suddenly, I knew with every fiber of my being that whatever was going on wasn't anything that was going to make me run. I trusted him. I trusted the man that he was. Despite the time and the distance, I knew he was good and decent. I knew it. And so whatever was going on, it would be okay.
I pulled into the garage at Trilogy and found a space. I walked quickly up to the lobby and then through the casino to Carson's office. With each step, my heart rate quickened and my excitement grew.
I rounded the corner to the hallway where his office was. The hallway was deserted and the door was closed. I stopped in front of it and took a deep breath and took a second to calm my nerves. I knocked lightly and waited. No answer. I knocked one more time, but when it became clear that he wasn't in, I bit my lip and turned around haltingly. I guess I would go to the front desk and find out if he was in at all–maybe somewhere else in the hotel or casino.
As I started walking away from Carson's office door, a tall, young, blond man wearing glasses turned the corner toward me. His eyes traveled over me and he smiled a warm smile. I smiled back and when I noticed that he was going toward Carson's door, I said, "Oh, do you work with Carson?"
"Yeah, can I help you?" he asked, stopping.
"Um, well, I don't know. I'm looking for Carson, but he's not in his office–"
"No, he's gone for a couple days. He'll be back next week. Do you want me to leave him a message? I was just going to leave some other paperwork in there for him," he gestured toward his office door.
My heart dropped and my shoulders sagged, disappointment washing over me. "Oh," I breathed out.
The man was looking at me closely. "Wait, are you Grace?" he asked.
My eyes snapped to his. "Yes," I said. "How did you–"
"I'm Dylan," he said. "I work with Carson now, but I also lived with him in L.A., before he went into the Navy."
"Oh!" I said, surprised and still not fully understanding how he knew my name, but finding it interesting that another friend of Carson's worked at Trilogy.
"Well, it's nice to meet you Dylan." I smiled. "Do you know where Carson went or how I can call him? I just wanted to… tell him something kind of important."
He paused. "I do know where he went, but you won't be able to reach him by cell. I've tried a few times today and evidently he isn't getting reception."
"Oh," I said, leaning against the wall behind me and biting my lip.
"Okay, well, can I leave you my phone number so you can give it to Carson if you get ahold of him?"
He paused, looking like he was considering something. Finally he said, "This something that you have to tell him, will he be happy to hear it?"
I laughed slightly, holding back the tears that threatened. "I think so," I whispered. "I hope so."
He studied me again for a few seconds before saying, "Well, Grace, if you're up for a six hour drive, I can tell you where he is. I don't think he'd mind that." He smiled.
I straightened up. "Really?" I said, my heart picking up speed again.
He laughed. "Yeah, if I know my friend… yeah. What kind of car do you have?"
I frowned, surprised by the question.
"Um, a Honda Accord."
He shook his head. "Switch with me. I have four-wheel drive. Just take care of her."
He started walking back toward the casino and gestured for me to follow him.
I ran to catch up, asking, "Where is he exactly, Dylan?"
He looked over at me as we walked toward the elevators to the garage. "He rented a cabin in Snowbird, Utah. Wait until you see that boy snowboard." He grinned and held the garage door open for me.
"He rented a cabin to go snowboarding by himself?" I frowned.
He nodded. "That's Carson for you. We're all working so none of us could go with him. He hasn't been in the snow since he was discharged. He was itching for it."
"We?" I asked, referring to his comment, 'we're all working.'
He nodded as he stopped next to a large black SUV. But he ignored my question and instead handed me his keys. I took them and then dug around in my purse for my own.