Nina clutched her robe tighter. “Here you are, after all these years, and we’re thinking you finally came to your senses, and this Adonis shows up to ruin it all.”
“He wants to marry you,” Matilda said. “We couldn’t have that.”
Oh heavens. “You think Cody and I are…?”
“But of course, dear,” Nina said. “We’ve always known. We were just waiting for you two to realize it.”
Matilda clutched her water bottle. “For a smart girl, you can be slow sometimes.”
“Jiminy Christmas.” She had lived in fear that someone would find out how she felt about Cody and think she was a pervert or had committed incest, and the whole time they were listening for wedding bells.
She assured Nina and Matilda that she had no plans for marriage to anyone and then went back to bed. Her head ached too much to worry that Cody might put a pillow over Jamie’s face and smother him.
The next time she woke, it was to whispers at the door. “That’s a good sign, don’t you think?” Matilda asked.
“Yes, but they really should be married first,” Nina answered.
Shay cracked one eye and saw fuzzy images of red and gray in the doorway. A snore erupted beside her. Shay turned her head and saw Cody sprawled next to her, one muscular arm flung across her stomach.
“Sorry to wake you, but we’re getting an early start,” Nina said. “We’ll call you from the road.”
“Tell Jeremy we’re sorry. It’s nothing against him, but he can’t marry you,” Matilda said. They waved and disappeared.
***
Shay had one toe on the floor when the door opened. “Nina and Matilda—” Lachlan stopped. “Uh… sorry. Guess I should’ve knocked. The door wasn’t closed.”
Shay jumped up, accidentally pulling the covers off Cody. Why couldn’t the man sleep in underwear? She threw the sheet back over him and stood, her face on fire. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”
Lachlan’s eyebrows settled back into place. “Nina and Matilda are gone.”
“What?” Cody asked, sitting up.
“Nina and Matilda are gone,” Lachlan repeated.
“They left early this morning,” Shay said.
“I came to tell you breakfast is ready. The others arrived last night. We’ve got meat, eggs, and more meat. I’ll tell Jamie.”
“Don’t think he’ll want to eat,” Cody said, looking under the blanket. “Matilda drugged him last night.” He explained what happened.
“I’d better check on him,” Lachlan said. “I swear that woman’s a freak of nature.”
“I expect he’ll have a headache and a half.” Cody lifted a pillow and then peered at the floor.
Lachlan bent and picked something up. “Looking for these?” He tossed Cody’s underwear at his chest and left.
Shay gave Cody an awkward glance. He dropped the sheet and stood. Shay turned away until she heard the brush of fabric over skin. What had she done? What on earth had she done? He hadn’t gotten the letters, and he hadn’t abandoned her; still, there were a lot of unresolved issues.
Cody grabbed his jeans from the floor and slipped them on. He paused, hand on his zipper. “Do you need to… uh take a shower or something before we go eat?” His gaze dropped to the rumpled bed.
She nodded.
“I’m…” Several emotions stirred in his eyes. Some she recognized, some she didn’t. “I’ll shower in the bathroom down the hall. I’ll wait for you.”
“You don’t have to. I can walk over when I’m ready.”
“No.” He picked up his shirt, looking like he wanted to say something else, but he left the room.
Shay took a long shower, hoping he would give up and go home without her. Things were moving too fast. She had gone from hating him to having sex with him. Or nearly sex. Same thing. She went downstairs and found him staring out the window, waiting.
“Ready?” he asked.
She nodded. “We should check on Jamie.”
“I did. He’s still sleeping.”
Cody’s house smelled as delicious as it was loud. They followed the sounds and smells to the dining room. Most of the chairs were occupied with people talking and laughing as plates were loaded with food. It reminded her of all the holiday meals shared here.
“You can’t walk into a hospital with your weapon in plain sight,” a red-haired woman was saying. “Any idiot knows that.”
“Are you calling me an idiot?” the man beside her said. He had reddish hair himself, tied back in a leather strap. “Like you’ve never made a mistake.”
“Would you two shut up? You’re giving me a headache.” The dark-haired man who spoke looked as if he could be Faelan’s brother, but considering how old Faelan was, Shay didn’t think it possible, unless there were two time vaults.
