Page 27 of First Date: Divorce (Wyoming Marriage Association #1)

When K.D. returned to the main room, Melody and Eric were standing.

“We’ll take a break now, although you have homework.

You’re to go for a walk together. Around the grounds.

No interacting with any other couples if you see them.

Staff knows to ignore you for this time.

I want you to think about what you’ve said in these opening sessions.

Whether you share that with each other or not is up to you.

But you are not to discuss the merits of what the other has said.

“You simply listen to the other and keep walking. Without responding to it. Then be back here in one hour.”

As they left, Lily passed them with her usual smile and cheery hello, but K.D. saw it give way to a tuck between her brows.

She dawdled long enough to see the woman go into Melody’s office.

*

Possibly a wise ploy by Melody and her colleagues to let couples cool off before their next session, but this homework put a crimp in investigating.

They paused on the back porch a moment before starting their walk. Their gazes met, acknowledging pockets of guests and staff dotted around who could easily overhear anything they said.

A path curved along the right side of the pool and past a heavily treed area, then connected with another path that appeared to run across the back of the property.

“Old railway bed,” Eric told her. “Railroad’s been gone for decades. People use it for running, horses, hiking. Goes close to the center of town if you go right.”

Their next appointment with Melody didn’t leave time to get to Jessa’s store, connect with Cully, and get back. Not to mention they had little to report.

He tipped his head to the left. “In that direction, other paths lead off it, dipping down to a creek, winding around foothills, offering views of the mountains.”

They followed the path that way until it connected with another curving path, taking them along the far side of the pool. Izzy waved to them from a chaise. Orion was not in sight.

They continued on to the front of the building, seeing no one else.

Once they had enough distance from the building to be sure no one out of sight might overhear, she said, “What were you doing before our session?”

His eyebrows twitched up at the abruptness, but he answered readily enough.

“Scoped out the offices. They’re down that hallway past the supply closet.

The layout’s definitely different from the plans Cully had.

I did identify the office of the business manager.

It’s across the hall from where Albert took his naps.

If feeding information to Gail Bledsoe is set up to benefit the organization, rather than the work of an individual, tracking finances is how we’ll prove it.

And that’s a likely target for checking the finances. ”

She side-eyed him. “Cully said to let information come to us, not to push to investigate.”

“Yeah. You really followed that last night.”

She couldn’t dispute that. Especially since she didn’t intend to quit trying to investigate, while being careful not to be caught.

Though Marriage-Save didn’t make that particularly easy with the schedule of counseling and activities.

As for nighttime…

Eric added, “Not a word said about us being out and about last night. At least to me.”

“Me, either. They might know and be holding onto the knowledge.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. But we don’t risk it.”

Maybe that would discourage him from trying.

But she recognized he hadn’t committed to caution when he changed the subject. “How’d you do with the questionnaire?”

“Not bad. Don’t know why they call it a questionnaire when it listed statements to agree or not agree with.

” The statements specified if an area was an issue for the theoretical couple or something they dealt with well.

Actually, she’d found it easy, because none of the statements applied to them, so none was an issue.

But there had been that one problem with Melody.

“Pauline missed a question in her prep,” she said.

Instead of immediately knowing what she meant and agreeing, he said, “She did? Must have missed that. Or Melody didn’t ask me the same questions.”

“She didn’t ask what attracted us to each other at the start?”

“Oh, that. Yeah, she asked that. Half, anyway — what attracted me to you. Didn’t ask anything about what attracted you.”

What did you answer? Tip of her tongue, bitten back.

“Huh,” he continued. “Didn’t even realize Pauline hadn’t asked us that. Good memory, K.D. Glad it came naturally, so it didn’t trip us up.”

She gritted her teeth, then forced herself to relax. It had tripped her up. But not fatally. Surely Melody hadn’t run off to a fellow counselor and said this couple’s not a couple because of how she’d responded. Especially not after she channeled Hilary.

“Anything that did trip you up?” she asked.

“Writing comments when the questionnaire asked for explanations or details took a long time, trying to think through the results our setup most likely produced. How about you?”

“I didn’t write comments. Figured that was safer.”

“Good thinking.” His mouth lifted. “That way mine’s the official narrative. What on-the-brink-of-divorce man wouldn’t like that.”

“Yeah. Is the path to town shorter than going by the road?”

“Probably a little longer. Not by much, though, and it takes us to the rear entrance to Jessa’s store.”

“Good. We should get around back, so we’re ready to start with Melody again. Let’s hope there’s time to look around and ask questions after this next session.”

*

Just as well K.D. didn’t want to go to the store yet. What would they say about last night?

Eric expelled a breath. Which he savored after last night’s wind-knocked-out-of-him episode.

He could imagine Cully’s comments about their lack of cooperation leading to getting marooned in a supply closet overnight.

And that would be a lot better than what Cully might say about how K.D. and he ended huddled together in sleep.

If Eric was stupid enough to tell him. Which he wasn’t.

But Cully had a way of ferreting out that kind of thing.

Maybe — maybe — the sheriff had a right to know about last night’s would-be investigative efforts. He sure as hell had no right to know how K.D. had turned in her sleep toward Eric in their few early morning hours in bed.

Which might not stop Cully from ferreting that out, too.

Even when it didn’t mean anything because she’d been fast asleep.

True, it kept Eric from sleeping, but that didn’t mean anything, either.

But try to tell that to Cully Grainger.

If he found out.

Which was less likely to happen if they delayed their first trip to Jessa’s store until they had something to report. Something to distract the sheriff from … other matters.

They’d returned to the back of the building and walked toward Izzy in silent accord.

As they greeted her, he noticed a man two chaises down with a tray on the table beside him, taking an item from it and beginning to peel.

Standing behind K.D., Eric took hold of her upper arms to shift her farther away from the offending fruit and block her view of it.

She resisted. “What are you doing?”

“Banana.” He finished the move as her resistance waned.

She started to look in that direction, stopped herself, and said, “Thanks.”

Izzy’s eyes brightened with curiosity. “Oh, you must explain.”

When K.D. finished a brief, light recounting, the woman clapped her hands to her chest. “That is so sweet of you, Eric. Looking out for K.D. that way.”

If K.D. thought that it was sweet, too, that probably gave way immediately to the thought that sweet moments between them were a mistake.

And she was right.

“That’s me. Knight of the Banana Order, reporting for duty.” He grimaced. “Mostly a habit.”

“Yes, such chivalry.” K.D. followed the sarcasm by turning toward Izzy. “I noticed what you said last night about the staff and their names. Lily told us her name — both of us. Is that…?”

“Oh, Lily. Well, yes, she does tell guests her name. She’s not a counselor, but she does enough administration and such that she’s part of the team.

So, don’t worry, dear. That doesn’t mean she’s making a play for Eric.

” She tipped her head. “Doesn’t mean she’s not, either.

He’s quite an attractive young man your husband. ”

“I’m not worr—”

K.D. broke it off. She could have finished the thought. It worked with their cover story.

But she hadn’t.

Izzy clicked her tongue as if K.D. had finished the thought and the older woman took her to task for it, but K.D. redirected the topic.

“I heard Marriage-Save didn’t used to be here. Did you and Orion ever go to it in Oregon?”

She nodded. “Our first visit. We like this area better. We went to Yellowstone Park after our time here one year and down to Cheyenne another year. Plus, this has more amenities.” Her gesture took in the pool area, patio, and the view to the mountains.

She winked. “Can’t beat the cowboys around here, either. ”

“I’m surprised they could find enough counselors in this area.”

“They came with when it moved from Oregon. Most of them, anyway.”

“Only the counselors? Or did all the staff come from Oregon?”

“The professional staff did, but not wait staff and cleaners and what I suppose you’d call support staff. The people here are much nicer than the ones they used to have. So friendly. You know that, don’t you, Eric, living around here like you do.”

Before they could ask how the woman knew where he lived, Ms. Smiley — Lily — called from the door, “Mr. and Mrs. Larkin, Melody will see you now.”