Mission: Without a Trace - Nicole Edwards Page 0,14
the conclusion that we were dating…”
Brantley choked out a laugh that lacked any mirth whatsoever. He scrambled to get off the bed, then went right for the bathroom.
“That came out wrong!” Reese shouted from behind him.
Brantley spun around to face him. “No, it didn’t. We aren’t dating, Reese. We’re fucking. Or rather, you’re gettin’ your dick sucked and tugged while I wait around for you to figure out what the fuck this is for you. I’m just grateful you had the decency to let me know early on.”
“I’m sorry.”
“And I don’t give a shit,” Brantley snapped. “If you don’t mind, I’ve got shit to do. And you do, too.”
With that, he slammed the door and pretended his chest heaved because of exertion and not because Reese Tavoularis had managed to do what no man had ever done before: hurt him.
***
“Well, you look like shit,” Autumn said when Reese stepped into the office a little after nine. “Didn’t get much sleep last night?”
“No.” He went to his desk, sat down, opened his laptop.
“Have somethin’ to do with Brantley?”
Reese’s eyes cut over to her. “What? No. Of course not.” He exhaled heavily, shot to his feet. “Yes. Goddammit. It has to do with Brantley.”
Autumn’s eyes had widened, but she remained in her seat. “Want to talk about it?”
“No.”
“Okay.”
Reese took a deep breath, sat down once more. He pulled up his email, skimmed the couple of things that had come in. Nothing of any importance because the majority of his job functions had been transferred to Autumn already. No, scratch that. Everything had been transferred to Autumn. There was absolutely no reason for him to still be here. Reese knew the only reason he continued to come back was because he was hesitant to take the leap in the direction his life was headed. It was a stall tactic. The last one he could hold on to before he found himself right in the middle of what was starting to feel like an alternate reality.
He turned on the out of office in his email, which directed people to Autumn, then signed out of his account, looked up at Autumn. “You need me to go over that spreadsheet one more time?”
She paused her typing to look over. “Um. No. I spent some time on it this morning. I’ve got a knack for reading formulas, so it’s easy to navigate.”
“Anything else you have questions about?”
Her golden eyebrows lowered. “I don’t think so. You’ve been a really good trainer.”
Getting to his feet before he changed his mind, Reese walked over, held out his hand. “Then I’m officially passing the reins over to you.”
“I will need to keep the truck for a couple of days,” he explained. “I’ll have somethin’ by the weekend.”
“No worries. I’ve got my truck. It’ll get me where I need to go.”
Because there was nothing more to say or do, Reese nodded. “Good luck, Autumn.”
“Hope to see you around.”
He offered another nod and headed out into the brilliant Texas sunshine.
Half an hour later, after swinging through the bakery on Main Street and grabbing a dozen donuts, Reese headed for Brantley’s.
When he got there, he parked the Walker Demo truck behind JJ’s SUV, grabbed the generic white box with the sugary crap inside, and made his way to the barn. After keying in his pass code—only briefly worried it wouldn’t work—he unlocked the doors and stepped inside.
Both Brantley and JJ turned to look at him. While Brantley’s eyes narrowed on his face, JJ’s darted to the box of donuts in his hand.
“Are those what I think they are?”
Clearly she didn’t need an answer, because she was directly in front of him, relieving him of the box before he could say a word.
“Reese Tavoularis, you are my new best friend,” she declared, going to her toes and kissing him on the cheek. “Want some coffee?”
“Would love some,” he told her, still not looking away from Brantley.
If eyes could shoot daggers, Brantley would’ve slayed Reese where he stood. There was so much anger flashing in that blue-gray gaze, Reese wondered if he might go up in flames.
“Here’s your coffee. Can I—” JJ came to a stop, eyes bouncing between them. “You know what? I actually forgot to add sugar. In fact, we’re out. None out here. No sugar. Need to go over to the house and grab some.”
Reese didn’t stop her. He doubted Brantley wanted to be alone with him, but he would take the opportunity