Mission: Without a Trace - Nicole Edwards Page 0,9
to go over the Excel spreadsheet that tracked their production and cycle times. She was leaning over his shoulder while he walked her through a couple of the calculations when his cell phone buzzed, the screen lighting up with a text from Brantley.
Thought maybe you’d let me buy you dinner tonight.
His hand shot out to cover the phone, instantly darkening the screen, but he knew Autumn had seen the message.
“Got a hot date with Brantley tonight?” she asked casually.
“Date? No. Of course not. He’s just a friend.” Feeling both awkward and anxious, he flipped the phone over, grateful when she stepped away.
“Well, don’t let me keep you,” she said. “I’ve got you for the rest of the week. Plenty of time for you to transition all that knowledge over to me.”
“You headin’ home?” he inquired, desperate to shift the topic.
“Not yet. Figured I’d swing by Moonshiners, grab a glass of wine, relax a little. Drivin’ back now’ll take me an extra half hour with the traffic.”
“Why don’t you let me buy you a drink?” he offered.
Autumn’s gaze slid to his phone briefly. “You sure? Don’t wanna mess up your plans.”
“No plans. Just a friend. He owes me a dinner. That’s all.”
As for why he continued to ramble on unnecessarily, and rather defensively, Reese wasn’t sure. Probably had something to do with the strange tightness in his chest. He couldn’t explain it, damn sure didn’t want to think about it. The urge to be so self-justifying surprised him. This was the first time anyone had made an accusation that tied him to Brantley and he wasn’t sure what to do about it, wasn’t sure how he felt about it.
“In that case, I’ll take you up on the offer. Gives me a little more time to pick your brain.” Autumn pulled out the bottom drawer of her desk, dragged out her purse.
“I’ll meet you there.” He motioned to the computer. “Just need to finish up a couple of things.”
“Sure thing.”
It wasn’t until Autumn stepped out the door that he exhaled his relief, glancing back at his phone. He knew the right thing to do was to send Brantley a text and politely decline, but that choking sensation was still gripping him by the throat.
His gaze strayed to the door Autumn had exited through. What would happen when others started questioning his relationship with Brantley? How was he going to answer their questions? Denial? Just thinking about everyone inquiring as to the nature of their relationship bothered him. Wasn’t like he could shrug it off and say it wasn’t anything serious. That would imply there was something that might be serious at some point.
It wasn’t prejudice that had him concerned, because Reese was the last person who would judge others. He respected every race, ethnicity, sexual preference. However, he’d never had to justify his own before. Especially when he didn’t understand it himself.
His heart was beating a rapid tattoo against his ribs and he didn’t like the feeling. He didn’t like that he was inclined to deny that he even knew Brantley, much less that they were sleeping together.
Christ Almighty. This was too damn hard.
He glanced down at his phone. No, he couldn’t respond to Brantley right now. He’d grab a beer, relax for a few minutes. Then he’d let Brantley know something came up. They’d get together tomorrow. It would give him some time to think about this irrational reaction and what the hell he was going to do about it.
Yes. That was what he would do.
And maybe by then, some of the weird tension would ease.
Chapter Three
After spending the better part of the day helping JJ track down addresses for the list of people who knew Lauren Tyler back when she had disappeared, Brantley was looking forward to spending some time with Reese. Casual time, away from the house, away from the barn. Dinner and a couple of beers. He’d yet to take Reese out on a real date and had gotten himself worked up with the idea.
It wasn’t that he was really the dating type, but he wanted to prove to Reese that this wasn’t just about sex for him. He was genuinely interested in getting to know the man, doing things they both enjoyed. Outside of the bedroom.
Only his offer went unanswered.
Brantley waited an hour, figuring Reese was in the middle of something at work, before he shot another text, checking in.
Still no response.
A little concerned, he dialed Reese’s number only to be kicked to voicemail.