Of Objects and Obsessions

Chapter 3

3

While listening to questions asked by the mother of five before confirming that Tanner’s Outdoor Adventures was indeed where they would spend their family vacation, Carli tracked the progress of J.J., and then her brother, as they carried boxes out the door of the lobby.

“Of course. Sure. Yes, the week you requested is still available. There will be someone here until seven to take your reservation.” Carli paused and listened. “Okay, Cheryl. Talk to you soon,” she said, then tapped her earpiece to disconnect the call.

Resting against the corner that jutted out to separate the lobby from the dining room, Ethan sipped his coffee. He watched his wife, a word and concept he was still getting used to, watch the Sheriff of Centennial. They’d had a brief conversation days earlier regarding Shaun’s drinking. Carli chose to defend him. The benefits, he supposed, of having siblings. Kind of like a built-in support system of people who always had your back. He again tasted his coffee before leaving his perch to approach Carli.

“He was here on time. I gave him a hug. I didn’t smell anything…” her voice trailed off.

“It’s worth watching. Maybe having a conversation.”

“Like an intervention?” Her eyes searched his face as she sought answers neither of them had.

He sighed and changed the subject. “I’ve texted Shaun and J.J. that I would be leaving tomorrow, since they were busy and didn’t join us for breakfast when I shared my impromptu travel plans. My boss initiated the trip. It appears the Bureau isn’t satisfied with the forms that were filed regarding Rutgers. They’ve scheduled a hearing.”

Carli turned toward him fully, worry creasing her brow. “What do they want to have happen?”

Ethan set his cup down and stepped to her, both hands resting on her shoulders, massaging the tension that always seemed to be there. “The opportunity to ask questions, to clarify what the report says, and ensure the FBI can’t be held responsible for Carl’s death. I was thinking,” he said as he slid his hands down her arms, his fingers entwining with hers, “you might like to come with me.”

Carli began to shake her head, “Fiona is due to arrive today—”

“And after a brief orientation, you have enough stacked paperwork in the storeroom to bury the woman for a month. And I’m sure she has a to-do list of her own regarding the job you hired her for.”

“There are guests—”

“Which J.J., Zach, and Alyssa are capable of handling. I peeked at the schedule, and no one new is checking in until next week.”

She made a face as she searched for a reason to remain behind in order to keep up with the new direction of the business, which she wasn’t convinced would survive without her daily activities to nurture it along. At the fluttering in her abdomen, she smiled. “The baby—”

Ethan gave a slight shake of his head. “If you can ride a horse, a flight to the East Coast should be easy.” He sighed. “Tanner’s Outdoor Adventures will run fine if you’re gone for a few days. But, if you would rather be here, I can call Tim and Charlie, tell them you’re not coming. He would lose the bet, but—”

She squeezed his hands in excitement. “Tim and Charlie would meet us there?”

“I thought it would give the three of you a chance to catch up in person, as you haven’t seen each other since the wedding. I’ll be in meetings at the J. Edgar Hoover Building during the day, and I didn’t think you would enjoy staying in the hotel by yourself.” Besides, I miss you terribly when I’m away from you, he thought.

Carli shrugged. “I’m pretty good at entertaining myself.”

“But this way, it won’t be with work. You’ll take the time off Doc Miller suggested and relax.”

She released his hands and wrapped hers around the back of his neck. Leaning in close, she brushed a kiss against his lips. “Yes, I’ll go and support you, if the FBI thinks you lied, or put them at legal or financial risk. I can have lunch with Tim and Charlie at some posh restaurant, then we’ll go shopping for even more baby stuff,” she said, kissing the corner of his mouth. And I won’t struggle to be okay in your absence, especially at night, she thought.

Ethan’s hands pulled her closer, her rounded belly pressing into him. “Tell me why I shouldn’t be jealous of your longest, closest friend, who will be your lunch and shopping partner.”

“Because Tim is homosexual and very much in love with Charlie.” She nipped at his lower lip, then swept her tongue inside the heat of his mouth. He tasted of coffee, and Ethan.

After a moment, he pulled back. “Who’s to say a straight woman’s fantasy isn’t being with two men who only have eyes for each other?”

She chuckled. “It might be, but it’s not this woman’s fantasy.”

Pressing kisses along her jaw, he paused to ask, “And what is your fantasy?”

She moaned as he placed open-mouthed kisses down her neck. “That I meet a handsome city man who loves to ride horses and squashes my fears. One who is relentless in his care for me, and plans to whisk me away to Washington D.C., so I can get one last big-city fix before I birth our child.”

He captured her mouth again for a brief kiss. “If the fantasy has already been fulfilled, then why continue with the relationship?”

“Because I possess the experience that informs me each day is an adventure. The fantasy is far from over.” With her fingers tangled in his hair, she let the long strands slide through them as she studied his face.

“Then your fantasy man will have to make sure the adventures don’t become predictable.”

“That would require him to be boring. My darling Ethan, you are anything but,” she stopped speaking and kissed him.

Her hands traced his shoulders, then down his torso to his hips. Both her hands dipped into his back pockets. How could it be that no other man sparked such feelings in her? She loved him more than she thought she was capable of and knew it was more than her pregnancy hormones that made her always so eager to be naked with him. Or, as she remembered particular places and times when they couldn’t keep their hands off each other, partially clothed.

A male voice, followed by the start of an engine then boot heels on the veranda, had Carli shifting her hands to Ethan’s waist, then easing away from him. A cool gust of wind preceded J.J. into the lobby. Carli turned around, her fingertips covering her lips, swollen now from Ethan’s kisses.

J.J. paused, no longer embarrassed or felt forced to make excuses when he, going about lodge business, found Ethan and Carli in an embrace, or evidence that he had interrupted the progression to something more. He left the door open since Shaun would follow to grab another box.

“Zach is on an airport run. Taking the Higgins family from cabin two,” he said as he continued down the hallway to the stack of boxes. “Then he’s stopping in Laramie to pick up the office supplies you thought Fiona might use,” he said as he returned to the front door.

“Alright. Thanks,” Carli acknowledged as she stepped behind the guest counter to check the schedule and busy her hands with something besides Ethan.

J.J. held the door as Shaun entered. Ethan, cradling his cooled coffee again, said, “Carli will be coming with me to D.C.”

Shaun glanced at his sister. “Good. Maybe she’ll relax and forget about the lodge for a few days.”

“Excellent idea,” J.J. agreed, then headed toward the storage room.

Carli glanced up from the clipboard and narrowed her eyes. “What is this, Anti-Carli-in-Charge-Club?”

Shaun returned with a box and paused before stepping outside. “Nope. This is a group of people who are concerned you’re under too much stress and need to take it easy.”

“Being pregnant is not ‘under stress’.”

“It is when someone has been through what you have the past six months.” He glanced at Ethan, then went out the door.

“True story. Everything here will be fine. You’ll get a few days of rest, win back the hundred dollars Tim won on your last wager, and return feeling relaxed and renewed.” He gave her a moment, and when an argument wasn’t readily on her tongue, he withdrew the keys to the FBI vehicle he kept parked at the lodge and walked toward the door. “We leave tomorrow. It’s as cold there as it is here, so pack something warm… something that won’t hinder you on your adventure.”

She watched him cross the lobby, all flowing grace and power beneath his jeans and flannel shirt. He paused by the door to pluck his coat from the rack. For a man that had been born and raised in the city, he had adapted quite well to rural life in the short time since he had moved to Wyoming. It was becoming easier for him to navigate not just on the Preserve, but through all of southeastern Wyoming, as if he had lived here for years. His hair had grown a little longer, to keep his ears and the back of his neck warm, he explained. She knew he spent time with the horses, working in the barn, he claimed, but J.J. reported the gist of the conversations he had overheard Ethan having with Samson. Months earlier, the big gelding had reared at the sight of a bear, causing Ethan to fall and earn a few stitches in his scalp. A few days later, Samson had carried Ethan on a race after Ray’s car down the driveway. Since then, man and horse had formed a bond. Tipping her head a little to the side, she studied how well Ethan wore his new country life.

“I have some things to take care of at the office in Cheyenne before we leave. I’ll be back for dinner.”

She smiled a little wistfully as he descended the veranda steps, having left the door open for the box carriers. A word was exchanged with J.J. as the Preserve manager returned for another carton of files, then Ethan climbed into the SUV and disappeared down the gravel drive to the highway.

Having closed the distance between the shed and J.J., Shaun came through the door. Glancing at Carli’s expression, he turned to look over his shoulder at Ethan’s taillights. He recognized the love that showed on Carli’s face. A thought tickled his mind at the probability of him finding someone, then was shoved away as he knew he was unworthy of the emotion. Stepping aside as J.J. exited with yet another box, he shook himself from his thoughts and moved to pick up the last carton. As he returned to the lobby, he shifted the weight so he could close the door behind him.

“You may want to get started on your packing for Washington, and the list of things J.J., Zach, and Alyssa need to do while you’re gone. Otherwise you’ll be calling every few hours and the $300 spa day will be for nothing.” Shaun could tell by her expression she wasn’t privy to that piece of information. “s**t, Carli. I thought you knew.” He sighed heavily. “Be surprised, will you?” He waited until a small smile appeared and she nodded, then he closed the door to the lodge.

She grabbed her cell phone from the desk in front of her and, knowing she wouldn’t have to pretend to be surprised with the gift of a spa day, texted Samantha.

I got it!

At the end of the long driveway, Ethan pulled out his phone and sent a text to Tim.

I got her.