Mug in hand, she began pacing through the house, avoiding the kitchen so she wouldn’t disturb Cade’s research. In her mind, she tried to replay every single second of her time with Sweet. It had been brief enough, and she had a very good memory for details. Being observant had been trained into her. She even remembered every detail about the time he had looked at her in the diner.
She needed to look past the conversation, though. Yes, she’d gotten those nuggets about Houston and Boston, but that really wasn’t enough. Something in his manner, his tone of voice... Like a video camera, her brain replayed the entire encounter, once, twice, then again.
All of a sudden she straightened and hurried back to the kitchen.
“He wanted me to come out to his ranch,” she said to Cade. “He said he had a beautiful view and I should take pictures from someplace besides the top of the mountain.”
He looked up, regarding her thoughtfully. “That bothered you?”
She slid into the chair across from him. “Actually, it did. Most people have been worried we’d say something about the missing boys and make their town look bad. He slid right past that as if it weren’t going on and wanted me to come out to his place. Who else has suggested that?”
“No one,” he admitted. “And you’re right, damn near everyone has been concerned we might do a hatchet job because of the missing boys.”
“Exactly. Totally protective of their town. Not Calvin. No, he wants to show off a ranch he isn’t even working.”
“He could have just taken an interest in you. Men do that.” He winked, but in no way did it suggest that he was making light of what had passed between them.
She waggled her ring finger at him, reminding him that they appeared to be married.
He smiled faintly.
“Okay,” she said. “He wants me to come out to the ranch. Now in the context of our meeting, Gage said nothing about why I was in town. Dory, his coworker, mentioned he might get his photo in a magazine, but that didn’t interest him at all. Not even a bit. That’s rare.”
“Intensely private people...” He paused. “Yeah. Okay, it’s rare, and intensely private people include our killer type. On the other hand, mention of a photo in a magazine might have been enough to make him want you to see the view from his ranch. Maybe he’s proud of it.”
“Could be.” She put her chin in her hand, pondering. “It’s also interesting that he didn’t ask Dory what she meant. The whole thing indicates that he knows why we’re here, or at least our cover story. And he wasn’t worried we might say something bad about the place. That’s entirely possible, I guess. I’m sure not everyone around here is bursting with local pride.”
“But it’s still bothering you.”
She focused at him again. Looking at him was rapidly becoming one of her favorite things in life. “Yeah. You asked if I got any vibes, and I said no. But the more I think about it... Cade, something was off. I guess I can’t quite put my finger on it. Again.”
“Then let it go for a while. Gage is doing what he can, and neither of us is getting anywhere online... Hell, I even went to the NCIC. Nada. The guy is a shadow who leaves few traces, at least in the databases we can get to. Short of a warrant, we’re at a standstill.”
He rose and brought the coffee cake over to the table along with knives, forks and plates. “Let it rest. Something will pop out of that amazing subconscious of yours. Or maybe even mine.”