The announcement caught Blaize off guard. He crossed the kitchen in a few quick strides to where Carys had been perched for the past hour on her laptop. Kit and the baby were resting before dinner, so he was alone with Carys.
“Does she look familiar?” She angled the screen toward him as he took the seat next to her. Their outer thighs brushed, causing electricity to pulse up his leg, his body’s reaction to her amplified by the length of time it had been since he’d had sex. It was the only explanation that made sense. Blaize was no stranger to sex within the bounds of a relationship, but no one had stirred a reaction like this one.
He studied the screen. Kinky red hair. Too much makeup. Mole on her right cheek. The mole resonated, but she had on so much makeup it was hard to tell what features were hidden underneath the mask. “There is something familiar about her.”
“Makeup can do wonders to change someone’s appearance. She has used contouring makeup just about everywhere on her face. For instance, see here.” She pointed to Stephanie’s nose. “This is making her nose look thinner than it is.”
“The hair is throwing me off.”
“Looks like she has a perm, and it’s possible she colored it. That doesn’t look like a natural redhead.”
“I’d have to see her in person to know for certain, which is clearly not possible under the circumstances.”
“Well, no, but we could visit some of the bars you used to frequent in Austin and ask around. Maybe a bartender will know her and be able to provide a name,” she said.
“What would we do with Rue?”
“Kit needs someone here for support in case she falls again,” she said. “Maybe they can watch over Rue?”
“My grandmother might have someone who can step in for a day while we head to Austin,” he said.
“Right. Ranchers are the rare breed who still watch out for each other. Too bad everyone isn’t like that.”
“Many of us still do.” He thought about what Kit said to him earlier about not knowing what made Cormac turn out the way he had. If the man started out being a good human, it must have been something horrific to turn him into the person he became. Someone who’d lost touch with his roots, his humanity.
Did Blaize really want to know what happened? Would it do any good? You couldn’t go back and change the past. He learned the lesson a long time ago. Didn’t everyone have some kind of trauma in their background? There was no excuse for the way Cormac treated people.
“We should make a list of the bars you used to go to.” Carys’s voice cut into his heavy thoughts.
“That’s easy. There were three—Deep Roots Bar, Peggie Hays, Chord Street Bar.” He’d stopped off at a handful of others. Not long enough for someone to remember his name unless this Stephanie or whatever her name was figured out another way.
Nope. Not possible. He always used cash at bars. No one needed to know his business, and credit cards could be traced. He didn’t appreciate how easy it was to stalk someone online or memorize their habits. A determined criminal could get most everything they wanted to know about a person online.
With social media, folks volunteered personal information about their lives on an almost daily basis. Where they ate. Whatnight was date night. What their family looked like. Where they went on vacation. What school their kids attended. Information was endless, which made Stephanie more interesting since there wasn’t a profile for her anywhere near Maverick Pass or Austin.
Blaize had one too many a couple of times at bars. Not enough to sleep with a stranger, and especially not enough to sleep with a stranger and then forget it happened. He would have remembered. He hadn’t kissed anyone in the past year except for Carys.
“When Kit wakes, I’ll have her reach out to a neighbor to see if they can come sit with her and Rue. It’s Saturday night, so the bars will be open late. We can make the drive and hit all three in one night if traffic obliges.”
Carys glanced at the time on the computer. “We’ll have to leave soon.”
“I know.”
The sound of gravel crunching underneath tires got Blaize up and moving to the window. He grabbed a knife on the way. It might’ve been the sheriff finally showing up to pick up the barbecue fork, but he couldn’t be sure.
Nope.
He didn’t recognize the dark blue pickup. The driver, on the other hand, was Raiden.
“Who is it?” Carys asked, walking up beside him.
“My brother.” Blaize set the knife on the counter and headed toward the back door. He didn’t have the first clue if Raiden would be happy to see him. Time to find out and see if the damage done to their relationship could be repaired.
“Should I wait here in case Kit or Rue needs something?” Carys asked.
“Would you mind?” he asked. “I’m not sure what kind of reunion this is going to be. Might be better on both fronts if I go by myself to face my brother before introducing him to you.”
“I’ll be right here if you need me.” She touched his arm as he walked past. The contact sent electrical impulses zinging through him. “You got this.”
