tray down on her nightstand, she slipped into bed, cracking an inward smile. He crawled back into bed with her and they devoured the sweet treat while watching the TV show and stealing playful glances at one another.
“Lauren.”
“Yeah?” She ate a forkful of the cake as some bizarre, unsightly creature that lived inside a tree hole crept about on the screen, searching for some poor girl in hiding. The whole scene made her almost forgo finishing her dessert. Aries seemed completely undeterred.
“In the morning,” he said around a mouthful of dessert, “I want you to go to one of my father’s properties with me.”
She slowed her chewing and looked at him. “Of course. You know I will. Benjamin’s lawyer said—”
“Yeah, I know what he said, baby, but this is more for me than anyone else at this point.” He paused, his forehead wrinkled and his face serious now. “I feel like you had a good idea earlier today about it, and just maybe, you’re onto something. Maybe we’ll find something,” He shrugged. “And then again, maybe we won’t. Regardless, I want you by my side, every step of the way.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
If Wishes Were Horses
Dumb men tell lies. Smart, yet untrustworthy, men mix deceptions with the truth. Great men tell the truth, but may die for the consequences…
Smoke eddied from Aries’ cigarette, forming languid clouds, as he rested his arm outside his truck window. Bad English’s ‘When I See You Smile’ played softly on the radio, humming in competition with the motor of his truck. The all-too-familiar odor of motor oil clung to him like an extra layer of skin, but he hadn’t wanted to waste time getting cleaned up and changed, so he’d washed up quickly at his shop before heading this way.
Lauren sucked noisily through the straw as they drove along, making small talk. Since they’d made love, their relationship had acquired an additional layer, something he hadn’t quite expected. It was as if things had become heavy, like cake batter, and slowed him down, though there was comfort in all of that. He now had to stop and think, check his impulses. He felt so much closer to her.
He shot her surreptitious glances out the corner of his eyes, listening to her enjoy the last of her strawberry banana smoothie. Her small brown hands, the nails painted light blue, gripped the big cup she’d purchased from a neighborhood juice shop after he’d picked her up from work not too long ago. His mind was in a bit of a daze as he made sense of everything that had happened between them.
Lauren fiddled with an assortment of papers that lay across her lap. The sun was still fairly high, but he knew their time was limited and the sooner they got out to this farm, the better.
Tell Road was located right outside of Atlanta, and his mission was to look around the farm one final time and rejoice in the fact the property was sold, then they could be on their way. If he found anything of interest, it would be a miracle, considering it was nothing but a huge plot of land featuring a big, empty barn housing with a few old pieces of rusted out horse equipment. Why Benjamin had owned such a place was beyond him, but from the records, many years prior, he’d used it to rent out stable space.
Time ticked on and he kept smoking, his thoughts jumping around from one thing to another. I hope Aiden cleaned up his bathroom like I told him. I better not come home and see it in the same condition that it was this morning.
He’d asked Aiden if he’d wished to join them on the little evening excursion. He wouldn’t have minded swinging by to get him, but his son had insisted on staying home to eat their leftover chicken tenders and play video games with his friends. Dad was lame. Such was life.
“So, I have some news for you,” the woman broke the silence. “After you gave me more information last night as to what property Benjamin actually owned, I studied the Japanese aesthetic principles a bit more in depth, and now, I think I have a better idea.” She placed her empty cup down in a holder and smoothed the papers across her lap.
“And what better idea is that?”
“Well, I was thinking initially that maybe we need to go in a certain order but that’s not necessarily true. Like, which property is the oldest to