do the best I could for him.
“Listen,” Joe said. “I get why you wanted outdoor work. I’ll make sure you get some. All of us work with the hands sometimes. We all need it. Talon probably does it more than Ry and I do, but lately, I’ve been seeing my share of our land. All this shit has been making me crazy.”
I nodded. “It’s got to be good for the head.”
“It is. I mean, nothing goes away, but it helps.”
Heidi strutted back up to the bar. “I’m off in ten minutes, Bob.”
Joe stifled a chuckle.
I cleared my throat. “Busy tonight.”
“You think this guy is better than me?”
This time, Joe didn’t hold back. He laughed uproariously.
I gave him my best “fuck you” look.
“This is my best friend in the world. Heidi, meet John.”
Joe laughed again. “Yeah, John Smith. Good to meet you.”
“Are you free tonight, John?” Heidi asked with a smile. “Or both of you?”
“Sorry.” Joe held up his left hand. “Married.”
“With a baby on the way,” I added.
Heidi didn’t miss a beat. “So?”
Unbelievable. I was so glad I hadn’t done the deed with her. “I hate to be blunt, but we’re not interested.”
“No worries.” She placed the drinks Len set in front of her on her tray, turned, and then looked over her shoulder. “You two don’t know what you’re missing.”
“I feel like I need to scrub down after that,” Joe said when she was out of earshot.
“I hear you.”
“Man, you must have been desperate that night.”
I had been. Desperate to get his sister out of my head.
However, I was rapidly concluding that getting Marjorie Steel out of my head would never happen.
“I’ve got to admit,” Joe said. “It feels good to laugh a little.”
“I know,” I agreed. “There hasn’t been a lot to laugh about lately. I hate just sitting around waiting for the Spider. Isn’t there anything we can do in the meantime?”
“I honestly don’t know.” Joe swirled the brown liquid in his glass. “If we start snooping around or asking questions, people will begin to suspect we’re up to something. This isn’t anything I’m comfortable talking about to anyone.”
I nodded.
“Nothing to be done about it.” He pulled out his wallet. “I do have something for you. The Spider needed your information and mine. He wouldn’t work without knowing everyone who was involved.”
“Crap. Really?”
“My contact swears he’s trustworthy, and I trust my contact. But because he has our info, I can give you his.” Joe handed me a plain white business card with “The Spider” and an email address on it in plain black print. “I created a new email account for us. It’s written on the back, and the password is in our code.”
Our code. Wow. I hadn’t thought about that in ages. Joe and I had used a secret code when we were kids. Did I even remember it? I turned the card over. The password stood out at me. Then I turned it upside down. Yup. I remembered.
“Just in case you lose the card, no one will know the password. But don’t lose it. Memorize it, and then burn it.”
“I will.”
“We can both access that account, and that’s how he’ll communicate with us. It’s on an encrypted server.”
“Okay.” This was freaking me out. I hoped I sounded more confident than I felt.
“I mean it. Memorize and destroy.”
I cleared my throat, hoping to dislodge the lump that sat there, and simply nodded as I pushed the card safely into my wallet.
“We talk only here,” Joe continued. “Not on our cells, and not anywhere else unless we’re outside and alone.”
“Got it.”
“This is serious.”
“I know it’s serious. For God’s sake, Joe.”
“No, you don’t understand,” Joe said. “There’s something I haven’t told you. Something I’m going to tell you now.”
Chapter Ten
Marjorie
I went straight to my bedroom. For Talon or the boys to see me after a meltdown would not be a good thing. Jade, finally feeling better, was taking more of a role in the household. She and Talon could handle the boys—at least for one night.
I needed to be alone, first, so my face could return to normal, but second, and more importantly, so I could figure out my next steps.
How to get Bryce Simpson out of my head and heart? I was in love. Completely and hopelessly in love.
With a man who wanted me—that much was clear—but who didn’t love me. Would never love me.
Jade had suggested I get “out there.” Myriad eligible men worked on this ranch every single day. Plus, there were the townies—the name