“He talks a good talk for a while, doesn’t he?”
I pulled my blanket up and snuggled under it. “That’s all he is.”
“Well, I’m done talking to him,” her tears seemed to cease. “Unless it’s through my lawyer. Unfortunately, my lawyer can’t seem to get ahold of him; he’s disconnected his phone.”
That was news to me.
“I hate to ask, but do you know how I can find him?” she asked.
“Have you tried Mike’s Auto Body shop in Edenvale, Colorado? He said he was working there, but I haven’t seen him in over a week when I told him he had to be all in our all out. Sounds like he made his choice.” How was I going to tell my daughter? I hated him even more. Coward.
“We are all better off without him,” she had some fire to her. I liked it.
“I agree.”
“I’m sorry for calling so late. I just needed to clear my conscience. I’m sorry I judged you without knowing your side of the story. My own story now.”
“I hope your story has a happy ending.”
“It will because it ends with Ruby.”
“You know, my daughter would love to meet her sister.”
She thought for a second. “I’d like that. I’ll text you a few pictures you can show her in the meantime.”
“Chloe will be tickled. I wish you all the best. If you ever want to talk, I’d be happy to listen.”
“Thank you, Aspen. I might take you up on that. I’ll be in touch.”
I stared down at my phone. My life was full of twists and turns lately. While I was contemplating all the unexpected events in my life, a little ginger baby popped up on my phone. Ruby looked all of six months old and was as cute as a button. She and Chloe had the same mouth and chin. I hoped with all my heart the sweet smiley girl would never feel the hurt my own little girl had felt and would continue to feel once I told her that her dad had once again disappeared. At least I assumed he had. I should probably call that sleaze ball Mike myself to find out.
That could wait until tomorrow. For now, I was going to be carried away into the world Miles had created. It only took a second for me to be hooked.
It started with Isabella trying to escape from Dexter, who Miles led you to believe at the beginning wasn’t a good guy, except he tries to keep Isabella comfortable and he never touches her. But she’s being held against her will, so that didn’t engender any warm and fuzzy feelings between them. In fact, the insults she lobbed at him were fantastic, like,You pikey pillock.Why did everything sound better in a British accent? Dexter, for his part, took them all in stride and never retaliated, not even when she told him his mother must have been a slag. Yikes.
The only time Dexter exerted any force was when he came in to bring her food and she used her feminine charmon him. Poor Dexter was stupid enough to believe it might be real. Wishful thinking on his part. Except when Isabella did get close to him, she felt a little something and it startled her. I could relate to her. She kneed him in the groin anyway and ran away. Dexter recovered quickly enough to catch her. That’s when he started sleeping in her room to make sure she didn’t escape. And that was when things started to get interesting. Isabella meant to lure him into believing she was interested in him to gain his trust, but the more she got to know him, the more she can’t help but like him.
I read their exchanges as they talked late into every night, with him on the floor and her on the bed, asking all sorts of questions from his family to how he felt about politics. I began to see how much of Miles was in Dexter. Each man possessed a calm reassurance about himself and a deep understanding of people and situations. It made them both wise.
Poor Isabella thought she was getting the upper hand in all of this, but it didn’t take her long to realize she was losing ground. She began looking forward to their nights spent talking and sometimes playing Stop the Bus, a card game she used to play with her father. Dexter began using these moments to gain her trust, to start telling her the truth of her situation. It was enough that when they were discovered by two men clad in black who claimed to be there to rescue Isabella, she chose to flee with Dexter after some kick-butt fight scenes.
Dexter was kind of yummy. I wondered if Miles knew some martial arts. I decided not to ask. I didn’t need more reasons to be attracted to my boss. He probablyhad defined abs like Dexter too. Nope. Not thinking about it. Yes, I was totally thinking about it. And that kiss.
Focus on the book.
Isabella and Dexter fled to France. They almost kind of had a moment there. Isabella was furious with him because she felt like he was hiding something from her. She goes to slap him, but he grabs her hand before she can make contact. The unspoken words and emotion between them were totally hot. You thought he was going to kiss her, and so did she. She found herself yearning for it and she hated herself for it.Oh, Isabella, I totally understand you girl.
While in Paris, Isabella discovered a clue in her father’s journal that led them to Colorado. It had to do with a town legend involving a tree where lovers carved their names. It was said any pair to carve their name into the Aspen tree would only be parted by death. I loved that he used an Aspen tree. That was where they began to see how intertwined their lives were. Dexter’s mother’s name and Isabella’s father’s name were carved together into the tree long before either of them was born, but Isabella’s father’s name was crossed out.
At first, I was grossed out thinking that they might be siblings, but Dexter was ten years older than Isabella, and his mother died before Isabella was born. But their parents were lovers. Interesting. And who crossed out the father’s name and why?
While they tried to figure out who might have crossed out Isabella’s father’s name, Isabella and Dexter started dancing on the edge of their feelings. Miles made the cabin they were staying in at the Ranch one room, not just one bedroom. A large, single room with only a bathroom for any privacy.Inch by inch, the sexual tension between them grew. Little touches here and there. But more than that, there was an emotional connection. Isabella began to let down her guard. She owned how afraid she was that her life had been a lie. But on the flipside, she had this desperate hope her father was innocent. More than that, she longed to be able to trust someone, but she didn’t know how.
I started tearing up when she wrote in her journal how broken she felt.
These last few days, I’ve woken up before the light of morning to see Dexter inches from me, his breaths steady and deep as he slumbers by my side. He has been true to his word and not once touched me. At least, not physically. Emotionally, he pricks me, making me feel as if I’m bleeding drops of self-doubt. How can I truly trust him if I don’t even trust myself? I ache to reach out and touch his bare skin, to feel the rise and fall of his chest beneath my hand. To have his strong arms enfold me and keep me as emotionally safe as he has kept me from physical harm. Is that even possible?
I wiped my tears. It was like reading an autobiography, except I wasn’t on the run with a handsome yet mysterious man who knew everything about me. But I was working for one who emotionally and physically touched me. Who wrote words that came straight out of a chapter of my heart. How did he do that? Did it mean anything?
