“When you two peeked downstairs, did you find Gus?” I asked, finishing up the story. “I haven’t seen him since last night.”
Poppy shook her head. “If Gus had been here, things wouldn’t have been so odd. It was mostly suspicious that Ranger X was hanging downstairs by himself.”
“We thought that you and Ranger X might have requested some alone time.” Zin winked. “We couldn’t think of any other reason that Gus would stay away. He loves that storeroom.”
“I told you, X and I are not a thing,” I said. “But if you want to keep teasing me about it, then let me bring up the fact that Gus went on a date with your mother last night.” I swiveled to face Poppy and raised my eyebrows. She turned white, and I gave a half smile. “That’s what I thought.”
“We’ll agree to tone down our teasing if you stop mentioning that tidbit,” Poppy said, glancing nonchalantly at her nails. “Enough dating talk. Where’s Gus?”
Chapter 17
“Hey,” I said as I made my way down the stairs a few minutes later. “How’d you sleep?”
Ranger X smiled at me over a cup of black coffee, his gaze somewhat tender, compared to the fierce expression he’d worn after discovering the body last night. “I’m fine, I can sleep anywhere. What about you?”
I gave a one-shouldered shrug. “Not awesome, but I’m not sure that awesome could be expected after the day I had.”
“I made coffee.” Ranger X stood up and moved toward the coffee pot. “Have a seat. Mimsey whirled in here a moment ago shouting about breakfast.”
My eyes fell on the table where he’d brought my most favorite mug in from the outdoor bar and had it waiting for me. My heart melted at the thoughtfulness behind the gesture. As he stood and reached for the coffee pot, I waved him off. “Thank you. I can take it from here.”
“Let me pour you a cup,” he said, sounding so proud of the fact that he’d managed to brew a proper pot of coffee that I found myself sitting and saying thank you without argument. He looked up anxiously as steam rose from the top of my mug. “How is it?”
I took a sip, the coffee brew as dark as the devil and as bitter as a lemon, but I managed a smile. “This is delicious.”
“Really? I didn’t know how many beans to use,” Ranger X said nervously. “Are you sure I didn’t go overboard?”
I forced one more sip of the concoction down my throat. “Really brilliant. Thank you.”
The smile that bloomed on his lips at my approval made every second of drinking the pile of sludge worth it. “Oh, I’m glad. I know you need your coffee. Gus says so, at least.”
Internally, I sighed. Ranger X paid attention to my little quirks. He remembered things people said about me. He made the effort to keep me safe, make me comfortable, and tell me the truth. For a Ranger who could never marry and wasn’t interested in a relationship, he would make a darn good boyfriend. Shame.
“Thanks for staying last night,” I said. “I really appreciate it. I know...I know you could’ve gone with your men to look for the murderer, but instead you stayed here.”
“I would never have left you like that,” he said softly, our eyes locking over the curl of steam reaching for the ceiling. “I’ll always be here when you need me.”
“I know. It makes all the difference. I wouldn’t have gotten any sleep without you down here.”
“You look tired.”
“I am tired, but two hours of shut-eye is better than nothing.” We shared a quiet smile, the late morning more peaceful than usual, as if the wake of the crime had cleared all activity away.
“Eggs?” Mimsey called. “Who wants eggs?”
Ranger X looked to me. “Would you like some?”
“I’m okay,” I said. “Still feeling a bit queasy from last night.”
“You really need to eat,” he said. “You didn’t sleep, you probably burned through all of your calories, and you need strength. Have some eggs.”
A loud noise sounded overhead before I could agree. It sounded suspiciously like two pairs of footsteps. Ranger X raised an eyebrow first at the ceiling, and then at me.
“That’s nothing,” I said quickly. “But sure, I’ll have some eggs. A lot of eggs.”
Still giving me skeptical expressions, he stopped lecturing me about eating after I fixed him with my most innocent stare. When he turned to give Mimsey our orders, I shot a murderous glare through the ceiling, wishing I had the power to freeze my cousins in their tracks. Unfortunately, I didn’t know a spell for that.