Raquelle grabbed her handbag and popped over to the store to pick up a few items. Afterward, she took a shower, put on a fresh set of clothes, and went to the kitchen to prepare a traditional Native American meal. It included roasted duck, wild rice with berries, vegetable soup, cornbread, and Indian pudding. She would serve sweet wine to wash it all down.
When Landon arrived, looking dashing in his clothes, she greeted him warmly. “Glad you could make it.”
“Wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” he insisted, sporting a wide grin.
And I wouldn’t want you to be anywhere else, Raquelle admitted to herself. “Dinner’s ready.”
Landon sniffed in the scent of food and declared, “Smells tantalizing. Can’t wait to eat.”
She smiled. “It won’t be long. Make yourself at home.”
In her mind, Raquelle didn’t imagine that would be too difficult, as this place would always belong to both of them. At least in spirit.
Soon, they were seated on upholstered tufted chairs at an acacia-wood rectangular table in the dining room.
“How do you like it?” Raquelle asked hesitantly, knowing just how long it had been since she cooked him a meal.
Landon regarded her while eating and waited to clear his throat before responding, “This is incredible. I love your cooking—always have.” He broke off a piece of cornbread. “Trust me when I say you haven’t lost a step in the kitchen.”
She had to laugh. “You think?”
“Yeah, I do,” he reiterated, putting the cornbread inside his mouth. “Guess I just needed to be invited to remind me of what I’ve been missing.”
Raquelle blushed. “I think that goes both ways,” she confessed, using a spoon to scoop up soup. “We gave up a lot—without fully realizing it—till it was too late…”
Landon met her eyes. “I did realize it,” he told her in earnest. “Just wasn’t sure how to get it back—or if we ever could.”
“Hmm…we’ll see about that.” She wasn’t sure where to go from there. But was more than open to seeing if they could learn from their mistakes and make up for them.
“Good.” He sliced a knife into the roasted duck and switched subjects. “We’ve been able to tie the revolver that killed Fred Davenport to the gun used to kill Lim Ramírez in the woods near Eddie’s apartment. It’s a good bet that Davenport targeted the drifter, believing him to be Eddie.”
Raquelle cocked a brow. “After he failed to blow up Eddie with his boat?”
“Yes, looks that way.”
“And all to keep Eddie from spilling the beans about wheeling and dealing in stolen and forged Native American art?” she asked in disbelief, rolling her eyes.
“That appears to be the size of it,” Landon said firmly, then sipped his wine. “Ivan Pimentel has blood on his hands, in more ways than one. We’re very close to making him pay for this, along with his cohorts.”
“That’s good to know.” Raquelle tasted her own wine musingly. “And what about Eddie? Will we ever know what happened to him? Or hear from him?” The thought of being left hanging for the rest of her life was unsettling to say the least.
“Yes, to both.” Landon lifted a forkful of wild rice with berries. “I’ll make it my business to get to the bottom of his whereabouts—and help you to deal with it one way or the other.”
“Thank you.” It was the most she could expect from him, knowing full well that he was as frustrated as her. And as determined to know the truth about her brother.
After having Indian pudding with another glass of wine, Landon got up abruptly for a trip to his personal vehicle. He returned with a guitar case and said, “I thought if you were up for it, we could play the guitar and piano together like we used to.”
Raquelle beamed. “Sounds great to me.” She was delighted to see if they were as in sync today as when married. Something told her that would be no more of a problem than in bed, where they picked up so easily from where they left off.
When the music ended satisfactorily, Raquelle invited Landon to her primary suite. She watched as he assessed the large room with its rustic decor and furnishings as though for the first time.
He turned to her and said, “It’s nice—but you were always the main attraction for me in this room.”
“Ohh…” She colored, feeling flattered. “Let’s see just how long it takes for that sentiment to come back to you,” she dared him as the desire to be intimate again had her totally at his beck and call.
He kissed her deeply and said with desire, “I promise, not long at all.”
Landon didn’t disappoint as they made love and went the extra mile in pleasing one another, as if to put an exclamation mark on their heated chemistry and making up for lost time.
