Wade brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles.“Do you want to?”
“Yes,” she said.“Someday.”
He stretched out on his back and pulled her down next to him.She curled up beside him, warm and soft.
“What about you?”she asked.
“What about me?”
“Do you want a family?”
“Yes,” he said, because he did.He wanted the normalcy he’d never had.He wanted to give the love he’d never felt.Maybe that was a better way to heal than attempting to connect with his parents.
She’s in love with you.
His mother’s words echoed in his ears, and he considered the possibility.Upon reflection, he believed that Wynona had it backward.She’d sensed the emotion between them correctly, but not the source it was generating from.
Hewas in love withher.
Meredith would bolt if she knew.She was skittish and cautious.Even if she returned his feelings, she wouldn’t want him to pressure her about it.He’d have to build trust, day by day, until she opened her heart to him.
She rested her head on his shoulder and stroked her hand down the center of his chest.Her fingertips traced the smattering of hair around his nipples.“I like this.”
“What?”
“Your chest hair.”
“I used to shave it.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.Maybe I got traumatized by that hairy guy at the pool.I was worried I’d end up like him.”
She touched the hair on his stomach, which caused a predictable reaction.When he tried to capture her hands, she evaded him, laughing.He wrestled her into submission easily, then let her go in hopes that she’d get physical again.He loved her strength, her will, her passion.She stared up at him, flushed and bright-eyed.
He knew then that he hadn’t been in love with Natalie.He’d never felt anything like this, for any other woman, in his entire life.He didn’t know how to tell her that without scaring her away.So, he attempted to show her, using his body instead of words, and lost himself in the pleasure of the task.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Meredith slipped outof the barn quietly, careful not to wake Wade.
Their passionate interlude had lasted several hours.Night had fallen.She snuck into the house and tiptoed to the office.Once there, she booted up the laptop.
She’d given Wade a lot of details about her past, and he was a smart man.If he searched for missing women from surrounding states, he’d find the article about her disappearance.He would uncover her real name.
But what would he do with the knowledge?Would he file an official report, or take the law into his own hands?Would he make it his mission to arrest Tripp, or would he let it go?The bottom line was that she couldn’t afford to take the chance.At some point, Tripp would catch up to her, and Wade would put himself between them.She would never forgive herself if he got hurt trying to protect her.
Wade had mentioned her sister, who was now a college student at Oklahoma State University.Amanda had probably reported her missing.Meredith didn’t participate in any social media sites, for obvious reasons, but she knew that Amanda did.Meredith typed the wordsAMANDA ROSE OSUinto the search bar.
She found a page with a shocking message, posted this morning.Meredith couldn’t puzzle out the title, but she could read her own name and the wordmissing.There were several photos of her at various ages.
Worse, Tripp Gilley was mentioned.
In a panic, Meredith used the screen reader app to listen to the words at low volume.The title wasMissing Rose.
Hello friends.I’m hosting an event to spread the word about my sister, Meredith, who’s been missing two years.She wrote a letter about joining a religious cult, but she never arrived at their commune.We haven’t heard from her since.I suspect her former boyfriend, country music star Tripp Gilley.I think he knows something about her disappearance.Let’s work together to find her!
Beneath the message, Amanda had offered a link to the lyrics of “Poison Rose” as evidence of the connection to Tripp.She’d added details of the event, including an address.It was happening tomorrow at the university’s clock tower.
