no telling, but I wouldn’t be too surprised to find a Texan, doing placer samplings here and there.”
She smirked at him with impetuous impertinence. “Are you watching him, too?”
He surprised her with a sudden grin. “No. The man’s an open book. I don’t have to.”
“Unlike me and Carl,” she said, eyes flashing a sense of barely concealed resentment.
He didn’t bother confirming her accusation, but it was more than true. He’d been following Carl when he’d come across Torie doing the same and he had to make the call—the lady or the tiger? He could only choose one. He’d gone with the one he would rather be with, and that had probably been a mistake.
See? Too tempting. Too dangerous.
Still, he might be able to get information out of her he would never get out of Carl. From what he could tell, there was little rhyme or reason for the way Carl was zigzagging all over the estate, looking for who-knew-what. What he couldn’t figure out was—why was Torie tailing the guy as well?
“Just what is Carl looking for?” he asked her again.
She shrugged. “You got me.”
He frowned. “You’re the one who brought him here.”
“No. I used him to get here, but that’s as far as it goes.”
He studied her as well as he could in the darkness. Basic instinct told him she was telling the truth. What the hell—he was going to take a chance on that instinct. It usually worked out best when he did, despite his natural inclination to want to see proof for everything.
“I wish I could figure the guy out,” he told her. “I saw him leave the house and then I checked your room and you weren’t there, so I took off after him.”
“Where did he go?”
“Nowhere that made any sense.”
She frowned. “So you thought you’d follow me for a while to see where I was going?”
“Why not?”
She groaned. “This is crazy. We’re all running around in the middle of the night following each other. It’s like a Keystone Kops episode. Going in circles, getting nowhere.”
“I’m not getting nowhere.” He gave her a twisted smile and reached for her hand. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?”
“Somewhere.” His hand curled around hers as though he didn’t trust that she would come along if he didn’t force the issue. “Back into the house. I want to see what you were doing in there.”
“No.” She pulled back, obliging him to turn. “You know what? It’s none of your business what I was doing in there. You can’t stop me.”
She knew she sounded childish. She felt childish. Maybe that all went along with her being in her childhood home. At any rate, it annoyed Marc enough that he yanked on her hand, pulling her in close and glaring down into her eyes.
“While you are here, you are my business. I thought we’d already established that. But in case you’re still not convinced, let me say it again. I can kick you off the estate and send you home any time I want to. And I don’t have to ask Marge first.” He gave her that twisted smile again. “So be nice to me.”
“I’m always nice,” she protested, but her breath was coming faster.
“Prove it.” His voice lowered huskily. “Tell me why you’re out here in the dark, dark night. Tell me what you hope to achieve.”
She drew in a sharp breath. He was obviously stronger than she was and he could force her to go along with him if he wanted to. But he didn’t need to force her. She could probably use his help. So she traded in complete rebellion for the chance to be a smart aleck instead.
“Wisdom,” she said crisply. “Revenge. Closure. Truth.”
He looked at her for a long moment and then he grimaced and his shoulders seemed to relax.
“That’s a tall order,” he said, his voice lighter. “Life doesn’t usually give out free passes. I’m afraid you’re probably going to have to work very hard for all those things, and never actually be satisfied with the results.”
She closed her eyes, but a complete and detailed picture of him stayed in her mind. He had it all—looks, strength, a natural honesty that might be a façade, but was still impressive as hell. She wanted to trust him. Could she take that leap? She stared down at the hand that held hers and pondered that question.
Her first impulse was to keep it all to herself, not to let him in. But she didn’t have time to wait this out. The only way she was going to get into the attic was if someone helped her. The only someone she could even halfway trust right now was Marc. Could she take the risk? What choice did she have? Besides, he was going to see the ladder and make his own assessment.
Should she go ahead and tell him? Why not? What did she have to gain by avoiding it? She made the decision and suddenly, she felt calm inside.
“Okay. Here goes.” She raised her face to him again. “I’ll tell you what I was doing. I was looking for something, anything, that might give me a new lead on finding out what really happened when my father was fired.”
He stared down at her and shook his head. “Torie, that was a long time ago.”
Her chin rose. “About time we got to the truth then.”
He drew in a long, deep breath. “You really loved your father, didn’t you?”
“Oh yes. Above all else.”
He winced and she frowned, wondering why. Didn’t he ever love anyone? Didn’t he know how brave it could make you?
Or was it the other way around? Did he think no one had ever loved him that way?
She couldn’t help all that. She had to move forward. If she could bring him along, so much the better.
The front door was standing open, just as she’d left it when she crept out. Moving quickly, they walked right in. Marc turned on his flashlight and did a quick survey of the empty room.
“There’s nothing here. What’s it been, fifteen years? What did you think you would find?” He looked at her. “Or were the walls going to talk to you? Spill all the secrets.”
“I want to get into the attic,” she told him. “The door seems to be sealed.”
He moved closer, searching the depths of her green eyes. “What’s in the attic?” he asked softly.
She had to steel herself not to start shivering again. “I’m not sure.”
He shook his head. “You’re going to have to do better than that. You must have something in mind.”
She shrugged and it felt like surrender. She would tell him what she had to, but she couldn’t tell
