“Intense.”
She nodded again. “Very.” But more. She’d had intense sex before, and it wasn’t always a great thing. Sometimes it could feel a little scary. But tonight . . . “Intense, but kind of freeing, I guess. I don’t think I’ve ever felt like that, with a guy. Wild, maybe. Not out-of-control wild, just . . . Shit, I dunno.”
He laughed, possibly to hear her swear, or possibly at the way she was dancing around an eloquent explanation but so completely failing to pin one down.
“Electric,” he offered.
She nodded vigorously. “That’s a good word.” Maybe not precisely the one she was after, but close.
Casey sighed. “Someday, honey, I’m gonna get you alone, I swear to God. In my bed, where we can be as noisy as we want.”
She smiled at that. Their hands were clasped limply, and she threaded her fingers with his, squeezing until it nearly hurt, then letting them fall slack.
He kissed her forehead, whispered, “Turn over.”
She did, enveloped by his strong arms. Enveloped in so much, it seemed. In feelings so much deeper than she was used to, and so much deeper than she’d ever expected them to get with this man.
I’m falling for him. Falling quick, and hard, and knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt, he had no plans to fall in return. The thought should have had her nervous, had her pulling herself up short, hitting the brakes.
But hearts didn’t work that way, did they? And even if this falling could only ever lead to a painful crash, after all this time it felt too good to care.
Chapter 18
Lazy winter light woke Casey a few minutes shy of seven. Beside him, Abilene was snoring faintly, a wheezy hum of a noise he knew well now. He sat up slowly, not wanting to rouse her. Soon enough, she’d wake and no doubt be proud to realize that for the first time, Mercy had slept through a full night. Casey was proud himself, come to think of it.
Neither of them had thought to switch the light off before they’d conked out, and he sat at the edge of the bed for a time, watching Abilene’s face. Her mouth was slack, her expression a mix of angelic and drunk. She didn’t look dignified, but she looked goddamn adorable.
Last night was different, he thought, remembering it all with a warm flush. Abilene had been different. Fiercer. Needier, in that way that made a man feel a hundred feet tall.
Knock it off with that shit. Whether he was ready for something serious with her, he couldn’t say anymore. But one thing was set in stone—he had no business even fantasizing about it until he got those test results.
Saturday morning proved quiet, culminating in a late, drawn-out family breakfast around eleven, once Don and Miah had finished their morning tasks. It was a somber affair, cast in the shadows of the previous night’s drama.
“One of the hands found two shell casings this morning,” Don said. “Twenty-twos.”
“No shortage of those in Fortuity,” Casey said.
Miah nodded. “No sign of a dark truck on the roads last night, but the sheriff’s going to station patrolmen along the highway for the next few evenings.”
“That’s something,” Abilene offered.
Christine delivered a plate of toast to the center of the table and took a seat. “We’ve had more than enough excitement for one week. I won’t sleep until they catch this jerk. Oh—speaking of jerks, that rep you told me about e-mailed this morning,” she added to her husband and son. “You weren’t exaggerating when you said it was a hard sell.”