Page 28 of Beneath the Dawn

“She has a lot of family still in Charlotte. And one of her cousins happens to know my sister.”

He lifted a confused brow. “What does that have to do with anything?”

She shook her head slowly, smiling. “The last thing I want is for Holly to mention to her cousin that I’m in Oregon.”

“Why?”

She smiled and leaned closer. “Because her cousin might run into Kara and mention it to her. My family doesn’t know I’m in Oregon. They think I’m in London.”

“London?”

“Yes.”

It suddenly occurred to her that she might have told Dante too much. She tried cleaning up what she’d said by adding, “I needed to get away from everything. And I didn’t want anyone knowing where I’d gone. You know how it is when family members think you have ‘spare time’,” she said, using the air quote gesture. “One of them would be sure to visit, and I wanted total privacy.”

He chuckled. “Trust me, I understand. Although my godbrothers know where I am if they need to reach me, they also know that I deserve this time to myself. But that hasn’t kept them from calling to check to make sure I’m good. I think they have forgotten I’m a lot older than they are and can take care of myself.”

Dante looked at his watch. “It’s close to ten now. I’ll call the Devonshire Ranch and ask them to have the horses ready around two. Will noon work for you? That way, we can grab lunch at the Salty Dog Diner first.”

“That’s an awesome idea, and yes, noon will work,” she said, glad they had changed the subject. “I am so looking forward to this.”

***

“So, Dante, do you have any other questions about whether or not I can ride?”

Dante threw his head back and laughed. He’d had a sampling of her riding skills in the bedroom last night, and now he was seeing just how comfortable she was on a horse. “I take it you’ve had riding lessons.”

“I confess,” she said as they slowed their horses down from a gallop to a trot. They had just raced across the beach, and although he had won, she had been close to his heels. “Kara and I both did. Our parents believed there were certain things we should know how to do, and riding horses was on the list. We also took dancing lessons.”

He thought about the way she had danced last night, how she’d moved her body in a rhythm that was both graceful and sensual at the same time. In fact, he was pretty sure she had later used some of those moves in the bedroom. “You want to give the horses a rest?”

“Good idea,” she said. “And I want to thank you.”

“For what?”

“Giving me this experience. It’s something I always wanted to do. To race along the ocean shore on horseback while the waves crash against the sea stacks… It’s like something out of my dreams. I wish there was a way I could extend this trip for longer than a month.”

He glanced over at her. “Why don’t you?”

She chuckled. “Only a person who has accumulated close to four months in vacation time would ask a question like that.” She paused for a moment, then added, “I’m self-employed now. I have clients who depend on me for business and financial advice. They don’t have the resources to invest in just a risk manager, so they hire me. I pride myself on offering other necessary services, in addition to taxes and audits.”

“Sounds like you’re a valuable person, Marti Goshay.”

“You’re just figuring that out, Dante Avera?”

“I figured it out the first day I saw you on the beach,” he said, returning her smile.

She was definitely a keeper. Unfortunately, that was the last thing he wanted in a woman.

Still, he was amazed at how well they got along, and he loved spending time with her. Even his morning coffee ritual, which was usually solitary for him, had been more enjoyable because she’d shared it with him.

But there was something she wasn’t telling him. He just knew it. He had gained a lot from their conversations, and everything he had told her had been the truth. He had run into an old classmate while in Portland last month. However, he’d had a reason for mentioning it to Marti. He’d wanted to see where she’d go with the subject, if she’d give anything away.

She had.

She had told him about her family, that they all thought she was in London instead of Wild Rose Point. The reason she had given for doing that made sense, but he couldn’t help feeling there was more to it. She was close to her sister—she’d said so more than once. So why wouldn’t she want Kara to know her location, if for no other reason than in case of an emergency?

“There are portable corrals up ahead. That would be a good place to stop,” she said, getting his attention.