I feel more than see Tristan’s flinch, and I feel bad. He’s done everything he can to make Leo and I feel welcome, and now we’re talking about escaping his home like it’s a prison cell. Added to that, having his mates at the center of all this negative attention must be taking a toll. “Is this dangerous for you, Tristan? Playing decoy, I mean.”
“Nah, it’ll be a breeze,” he replies with one of his sunny smiles. “They’llthinkI’m going to City Hall, while I’ll actually drive straight to Kaysie’s and order myself a peppermint mocha.”
I smile, imagining how my best friend will eat up the drama, while doting on Tristan at the same time. “Then let me introduce you to my truck. She doesn’t always play nice with strangers, but she’s never let me down yet.”
I manage to keep my doubts at bay as we set the plan in motion. It’s after nine by the time we’ve eaten, changed into travel clothes, and packed both the truck and the SUV. Leo is understandably confused by the sudden urge to take a mini vacation, but he’s too sleepy to argue as we climb into the SUV. We sit in the back, Leo’s head cushioned on my lap, while Otley and Cooper quietly discuss the quickest route to the lodge in Canyon Springs, which is about a three-hour drive across the border.
In terms of making our escape, the plan seems to go off without a hitch. While we can’t see the gate from where we’re waiting, one of the guards relays the action to Cooper’s phone. I can imagine that Logan cuts an imposing figure as he stalks into the crowd of paparazzi, telling them to back the hell up so I can go make a statement at City Hall. The news gets everyone scrambling, and I blink when a few minutes later we’re informed that the coast is clear.
We pass through the gate without incident, and once we reach the highway, we drive for a while in comfortable silence. Leo is snoozing in my lap, his soft snores earning a grunt of amusement from Cooper. But less than ten minutes later, both men are sitting tensely in their seats, Otley glaring lasers at the rearview mirror.
“Are we being followed?” I ask softly, my hand stilling in Leo’s curls. “Did they work out that the trailer was a decoy?”
“Seems that way,” Cooper murmurs, then glances at Otley. “No point in trying to outrun them. The darkness helps, but there aren’t a lot of highways around here. Want me to turn around and head back to the house?”
I reach forward, careful not to jostle Leo, and touch Cooper’s arm. “There’s a truck stop about three miles up this road. Can you speed up enough to give us a chance to switch vehicles?”
Otley twists slowly in his seat, his gaze intense as it meets mine. “You have an alternate plan, Lily?”
“Just hitching a ride with a friend,” I reply, enjoying the flash of surprise in his eyes. I don’t think it happens very often, and I bite my lip as he cocks a questioning brow. “It’s Zander,” I explain, holding up my phone. “We’ve been texting the last couple of days, and he told me he was still in the neighborhood if we needed a hand.”
“Zander Reece,” Otley repeats, sounding even more surprised. “I didn’t think he owned a phone, let alone knew it had a text function.”
“Oh, he uses all the emojis,” I tell him breezily, then tap Cooper’s shoulder again as we enter the crowded truck stop. There’s a fifties-style diner at one end of the lot, with lots of crowded booths behind steamy windows, but I point him in the opposite direction, where shadows cling to a line of 18-wheelers. “Over there. His trailer should be parked behind those rigs.”
“Got it.”
I meet Otley’s gaze, a warm glow blooming in my stomach at the admiration I see there. “Can you carry Leo for me? I think it’s easier to just transfer him than wake him up and explain it all.”
“Of course.” A soft smile plays around Otley’s mouth before he quickly snaps back into mission mode. “Cooper, help switch the bags over and then head down that side road. Hopefully, they’ll waste time checking out the diner, but if they see you, they’ll think we’re trying to make a run for it.”
It’s my turn to be surprised. I thought Otley would want to get back to Tristan as quickly as possible. “You’re coming with us?”
Otley doesn’t look back at me, but I can clearly hear him murmur, “Wild horses couldn’t keep me away.”
I smile as I text Zander that we’re here, and as we round the last big rig in the shadowy lot, the door to his twenty-foot trailer pops open. He told me it’s a top-of-the-range horse float and camper, with a kitchenette, bathroom, and sleeping quarters, along with enough room for two very pampered horses. As we come to a stop beside him, Zander gives me a sly smile from under the brim of his cowboy hat. “I knew you couldn’t resist coming to meet our girl.”
“She’s here?” I gasp.
“All tucked up in bed with her new best friend.” He nods a welcome to Otley as he lifts Leo from my lap and carries him into the trailer, placing him carefully on one of the twin beds. I quickly follow, helping Cooper load our bags before he dashes back to the SUV. When Otley doesn’t follow, Zander looks at him curiously. “You comin’ along for the ride, Mr. James?”
“Of course.” Otley glances at me. “Where are we going exactly?”
Zander snorts and I feel my cheeks redden. “Um, Colorado. Zander’s dropping off the horse Ellis bought, so I thought we might tag along.”
I can’t resist a quick peek at Leo, who’s sleeping happily on his bunk, and Zander squeezes my shoulder. “Horses,” he corrects me in his gravelly voice. “Now, you want to say hello, or not?”
I look longingly at the dividing door between the living area and the float at the back. “We need to get some distance from the car tailing us. But I’d love to get acquainted later, if that’s okay.”
“Perfect,” Zander says, then cocks a brow at Otley. “You stayin’ back here, or you want to ride up front?”
“Back here,” he replies without even glancing at the older man, and Zander snorts again, but just nods at the kitchenette. “Got it stocked with all the beef jerky a cowboy could want, so help yourselves.”
Otley doesn’t try to hide his grimace, and Zander chuckles all the way out the door and into the truck hitched at the front. As soon as I feel the trailer jerk into motion, I sit down at the small booth and rest my elbows on the table. After the anxiety of the last few hours, it’s comforting to be surrounded by the scent of horses and the hum of the road under the trailer tires. I think Otley must feel the same way, because his shoulders relax as he pushes up the sleeves of his Henley and sits in the seat opposite. The booth is so small, his knees brush mine under the table, but neither of us move away.
“This is a really good plan,” he says in something close to a purr. “I’m impressed, Lily.”
“Thanks.” I’m guessing I’m as red as a firetruck right now, but it’s not every day I get to surprise someone like Otley James. “I know it’s all kinds of forward to just turn up at your ranch like this…”
