At the same time, Evan Vaughn was technically a stranger, and Reese wasn’t sure how much detail he wanted to get into with him.
“Never mind,” Evan said with a rough chuckle. “Not my business.”
“Almost a year,” he told him.
It wasn’t like he could hide it,especiallysince Evan worked for them. Hell, Reese lived on the same property where he worked, with the man they all called boss. If they didn’t know already, they’d figure it out sooner or later.
“How is it?” Evan asked. “Partnering with the same person you’re in a relationship with?”
“It’s got its challenges,” he admitted.
“I can imagine. But the two of you seem to work well together.”
Reese had thought they did, sure. But as of late, they’d been having their fair share of bumps in the road. In fact, he was wondering if that was what this was. Brantley pushing him away, keeping him at a distance. He knew the man was researching Madison Adorite, likely trying to figure out just how serious things had been between Reese and her.
And Reese wasn’t entirely innocent either. He’d been communicating with Madison. Innocuously, yes, but that didn’t mean his thoughts had remained virtuous. There were times when he revisited his relationship with Madison in his mind, trying to remember who he was before he’d met Brantley Walker, before he’d learned something about himself he never would’ve expected. Bottom line was, Reese wasn’t sure he even knew who he’d been before Brantley, and he wasn’t sure he liked that, so yeah, he would reminisce from time to time, try to decide when, where, and why things had changed so drastically.
Didn’t seem to matter how much he thought about it though, Reese never came up with the answers to his many questions.
“What about you?” Reese asked, not wanting to get stuck in that mental rut. “You ever date one of your partners?”
“No.” Evan was very matter-of-fact. “I … uh … I haven’t dated anyone since my wife died, and she was my high school sweetheart.”
Reese cast a glance over, nodded. “I’m sorry.”
He knew the story behind Evan’s wife dying, expected it was a sore subject for the homicide detective.
“I’m in therapy,” Evan said gruffly. “It’s helping.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. I didn’t think it would help, you know. Not me. Why the hell would I need someone to pick through my brain and try to fix what can’t be fixed?” Evan shrugged. “I was wrong. Grief takes time, and he’s helping me to see that.”
Because Evan felt the need to open up, Reese took advantage of it. “And wanting to do this? Will that help?”
Evan was silent for a moment, and Reese figured he’d overstepped. Before he could offer his own apology for intruding, Evan exhaled.
“If you’re asking me whether it’s personal, yeah, it’s personal. I’ve got an ulterior motive for wanting to join this task force, sure. I won’t deny it.”
Reese had figured as much. But who could blame the guy? His wife was murdered six years ago. Kidnapped, raped, and murdered by a man they still hadn’t found. A man authorities suspected of being responsible for at least a dozen other similar crimes in the past ten years.
“Will that be a problem?” Evan asked.
Reese answered immediately. “No. It’s motivation. I understand that.” He glanced over. “You just can’t let it make you lose focus.”
Neither of them spoke for a couple of minutes, the silence in the truck settling around them comfortably.
It wasn’t until they were nearing Coyote Ridge that Evan spoke up again. “What about this case? You don’t think this is related to the real estate deal.”
Reese was surprised it was a statement rather than a question, but he answered anyway. “No. I don’t. This is personal.”
“I can see it, too.”
Reese could feel Evan watching him as he drove.
“The wives you talked to? You think they have something to do with it?”
“I think it’s possible,” he confirmed. Although Reese hadn’t quite figured out how they’d done it or even why.
