“Enough to tell me what it’s about? I’ve covered up stuff I can’t even explain. Like that drug bust in Albany. Those men in that hotel weren’t… normal. I feel like I’m the freakin’ X-Files.”
“I know. If you want me to, I’ll explain after all this is over, but you might wish I hadn’t.” The clan wouldn’t like it either, but Sam deserved some answers.
“Nothing would shock me concerning you. I’ll try to keep the grave robbing away from the press, but I can’t promise anything. This stuff stirs up public interest, and it’s getting close to Halloween.”
Cody hung up, took a quick shower, and headed back toward Shay’s room before Jamie got back and monopolized her time. All the while, Cody thought about Shay’s fake grave and how close she’d come to having a real one today. He had just replaced the brake pads and rotors on his truck the week before. Had he screwed something up? If this was his fault— His train of thought was interrupted when he ran into Lachlan, Marcas, and Ronan on their way out.
“Heard from the mechanic yet?” Lachlan asked.
“No. He towed the truck. He’s checking it out now.”
The nurse appeared at the top of the stairs, carrying a tray. She glared down at Cody, who had one foot on the bottom step. “Where do you think you’re going?”
The woman acted like it was her bloody house. “To check on Shay.” He glared back, daring her to stop him.
“You can’t. She has someone with her. He requested a few minutes of privacy.”
Cody bounded up the stairs, head exploding with visions of the blond intruder. He heard his brothers and Ronan behind him.
The nurse planted herself in the way, and Cody stopped, rather than plow her down, which is what he would have preferred to do. The door was cracked. Cody saw Jamie lean over and press his lips to Shay’s forehead.
“What the hell is he still doing here?” Cody asked. “I thought he left.”
“He’s her boyfriend,” the nurse said, as if Cody had misled her into believing he was Shay’s husband.
“Boyfriend, my ass.” He started toward the door, but Marcas grabbed his arm.
“Give him a break,” Lachlan muttered. “Jamie’s a good guy.”
“If he’s a good guy, why did he take advantage of her? He was sent to protect her, not—”
Marcas lifted one brow, the way he always did when he knew more than he let on, which was most of the time. “Sure you want to go there, little Brother?”
Cody had sometimes wondered if Marcas knew the truth about him and Shay.
“Yeah,” Lach agreed. “Who went and told Shay her whole life was a lie, before the clan even had time to prepare her?”
Cody looked at Jamie, feeling the knife twist inside. Shay had spent months with Jamie, talking with him, sharing her life with him. He gritted his teeth. Sleeping with him. Maybe getting pregnant by him. “I’m going in,” he said, brushing the nurse’s hand aside. “Time’s up, Waters.”
Marcas and Lachlan followed. Ronan put his hand on the nurse’s back. “We’ll just be a minute,” Ronan said, winking at her. “What can it hurt? She’s sleeping.”
The nurse flushed, looking at all five men dwarfing the room. She rolled her eyes. “Five minutes, then I’ll toss all of you out. I don’t care how big or how good-looking you are.”
***
“Come on, Cody, we don’t have all night.” Shay glanced over her shoulder as she ran toward the barn. The weather was warm for October, and the smell of fall reminded her of pumpkins and the haunted trail they used to make every Halloween. They had grown too old for monsters and demons and fake swords. She missed it. Missed the closeness. They were all growing up, and it scared her. She was afraid she would wake up one morning and they’d all be gone. How would she live? They were her family, her whole life.
“I thought Nina already checked the barn,” Cody grumbled behind her. He was home from college for a few days. He seemed different, older, as if he knew things she didn’t, and it bothered her. They’d always shared everything. He looked different, too, taller, his shoulders broader, and muscles popping out everywhere. He was also grouchy as a bear. He had barely spoken two words since he arrived. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought he was avoiding her. It made her sad, since he was all she had thought about for months.
“She didn’t check the hayloft. The cat might have gone there to have her kittens.”
Cody held the narrow ladder for her and then followed. “You check this side; I’ll check over there,” he said when they reached the top. He turned away, but not fast enough. Shay didn’t miss his quick glance at her breasts.
That was strange. The last thing Cody MacBain would be interested in was her breasts. She was the one with the obsession eating her alive.
They spent several minutes searching. “There’s no cat here,” Cody said, leaning over a stack of hay bales, stretching his faded Levi’s across his rear.
She was so preoccupied with his butt, she caught her foot on a piece of twine and fell flat on her face.
“You okay?” Cody asked.
“Just winded.” She rolled to her back, trying to catch her breath. She realized how stupid she must look and glanced up at Cody, expecting to see him laughing at her. He wasn’t.
The muscles in his jaw tensed as he leaned down and stretched his hand out to help her up. She slipped her hand in his, gave a nervous laugh, and tugged, hoping if he fell too, it would wipe that somber look off his face. Caught off balance, he tumbled forward, landing on top of her. Once again, her breath whooshed out. His eyes were dark, and she could see a muscle ticking in his jaw. His gaze dropped to her mouth and he licked his lips a moment before lowering his head.
Shay woke to voices, one of them Cody’s. At first she thought it was the dream, and then she saw the men arguing near the bed. Cody and Jamie were in the middle of the fray.
“Stop it,” Shay said softly.
Cody whirled at her voice, and both he and Jamie rushed to her side. Lachlan, Ronan, and Marcas were behind them.
Shay’s eyes sought Cody’s, mentally comparing this version with the Cody in her dream. It was like comparing a tiger to a house cat.
“How are you feeling?” Cody asked, stepping in front of Jamie.
“I’m fine.” It took a few seconds to shake the heaviness of the dream. In the hours since the accident, every time she closed her eyes, she had jumbled dreams; the accident, the past, Renee, and the glowing man she couldn’t see, who wanted her to do something she couldn’t understand. She couldn’t do anything about the accident or the past, and she couldn’t make sense of the glowing man, but she could do something about Renee.