Page 51 of Redemption in the Dark (The Righteous 5)
“Apart we fall,” Wolf finished before the line went dead.
Wolf leaned against the railing and watched the cows wander around, eating in the pasture. His Dad had been smart over the years, and this was a larger ranch than most people could afford. The hundred-thousand-acre ranch was certainly not the largest in Texas, but it was big enough for what they did. Between the cattle and the quarter horse breeding, they needed the space and the ability to grow their own feed.
“Are you okay?” Maeve asked as she came out the door.
“Yeah, I’m just thinking.”
“You do that a lot.” She mirrored his position as she leaned against the railing.
“I was told thinking is a good thing,” he teased, giving her a smile.
“Yes, but you worry about everything, which is bad for you,” she said, giving him her patented smirk.
“It’s in the job description to worry, but even more so when it has to do with you.”
His eyes locked on hers. For a moment, there was nothing else, just them, and all was right with the world.
“Are you ready to go,” his Dad asked as he stepped outside, breaking the spell.
The look on Maeve’s face said he was going to have to explain later, but he didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t like he could tell her his concerns with The Righteous since no one was supposed to know about them. That meant he couldn’t tell her the possible ties to his work. He definitely couldn’t tell her about the strange heavy breathing message left on the machine, which was making him jumpy. And he didn’t want to try and broach the topic of how he kept seeing flashes about her and the feelings that went with them. They made no sense.
“Yeah, we’re ready to go,” he answered and forced himself to look away from her intense stare. “Here you go,” he said, handing his Dad his phone back.
They wandered toward the truck, and Maeve’s fingers brushed his own. Even though he knew he shouldn’t, he grabbed her hand and squeezed it for just a moment. He could sense that the storm was calm in her today. It was too bad that thunderclouds were now rolling through his own mind.
“Can we make a pit stop at the gas station? There are a couple of things I need to pick up,” he asked his Dad when they started down the driveway.
“Sure.”
He needed some answers, but how did he get the answers when he couldn’t use the resources he’d become reliant on? He could see Maeve in the rear-view mirror, and her eyes said she wanted to tell him something, but she quickly looked away. He couldn’t help wondering what she was keeping from him. There was something that she was holding back, he felt it, and it might be the key to solving who and why someone was after them.
Then again, maybe she was holding back because she felt he was. Wolf was finding it difficult to navigate the building trust between them and still keep secret the things that needed to stay unknown.
Maeve waved at Wolf’s Mom as she arrived at the celebration site. Wolf warned her that he wouldn’t be around much, but she felt oddly at ease around his family. Families were not her thing. They tended to hurt you in terrible ways that only families could.
Ann, as she preferred to be called, was one of the kindest people she’d ever met. She showed her how to plant and grow new vegetables in the garden and promised to teach her how to cook some authentic dishes that Wolf loved. Ann even mentioned a few things Wolf liked and told her his birthday was coming up in November. She also made her laugh with stories of Wolf when he was younger. She’d said he had a habit of not listening to what he was told. Oh, how times had changed.
Knowing Wolf, he’d be pissed if he knew that she had the adorable blackmail from when he was just a young boy.
“You look beautiful, Walela,” Ann said. She beamed at the compliment as the woman gave her a warm hug.
“Thank you,” she choked out.
“I will introduce you around and will show you where you can and cannot go once the dancing has begun. Wait until you see Wolf in his traditional regalia. He always looks so handsome.”
“He didn’t seem too excited about having to dance.”
They made their way toward a group of women. All ages were represented, and nervousness made her body uncomfortable and hot as all eyes turned in her direction.
“Wolf has never been much for the dancing. He doesn’t like to be on display or the center of attention. Wolf’s been that way since he was young. Yet, he’s always been light of foot and so engaged with the spirit of the occasion that he’s mesmerizing. He brings a tear to my eye every time.”
“Ann….” She placed her hand on Ann’s elbow to bring her to a stop before they got within earshot of the larger group. “This may seem like an odd question, but why do you like me? Or are you just this nice to everyone?”
Ann laughed as she wrapped her arm around Maeve’s shoulders. “My dear, sweet Walela, you don’t give yourself enough credit. I like you because you’re sweet and fun to be around. I also see how you and my son look at one another, and Wolf is a good judge of character. He doesn’t waste time with people who he doesn’t value.” Ann gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Come on, my dear, we have food to eat, people to meet, and so much more.”
At first, it wasn't easy to feel comfortable around the other women, but as the day continued, she made friends with a cousin of Wolf’s and another girl married to a friend of his. They showed her one of the dances, and before long, she was laughing and enjoying herself like she was a real person and not the broken and battered soul she really was. This was how normal people lived—those who didn’t wake up screaming and didn’t crave sex to cope with the shit that ran around in their heads. She liked this normal. For however long it lasted, she wanted to hang on with both hands and not let go.
She felt eyes on her and looked across the large fire expecting to see Wolf, but swallowed down the initial excitement as her eyes met Unole’s angry stare. Maeve turned her back on the man before he ruined her night.
