Page 31 of Sackett (Demented Souls #17)

H e turned to face her on the sofa, so he was mirroring her, except he kept his feet off the upholstery, as he still wore his boots and even though it was a hotel room and not someone’s personal property, he had better manners than that.

“You suggested we drive home instead of flying. My first question is why?” He didn’t want her to do it just for him. Or maybe he did, but he couldn’t believe she would. They didn’t know each other well enough for that. And even if they did, they didn’t have that kind of relationship.

She took a deep breath, looking away from him. He wasn’t sure if she was gathering her thoughts or trying to find a way to tell him something else.

“I’m not ready to go back to regular life yet.

” Her voice was soft, but not so soft he couldn’t hear her clearly.

“A lot has happened here, and I am still processing it. Once we get home, people will be calling, needing things, I have to go back to work full time. As long as we are here, or even on the road, it’s like I’m in a bubble, somehow separated from it all.

” She looked at him once more, making him think she was about to say something important.

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m going to put this behind me and move on.

I just need a couple more days to finish processing.

On top of that, I originally considered driving for the whole trip and decided not to take the time, partly because I didn’t know how much time everything up here would take, but also because it’s a long drive to make by yourself.

But with two of us to drive, it won’t be so bad.

” She smiled. “Besides, I haven’t done the Durango train ride either and it sound like fun. ”

He narrowed his eyes at her, trying to decide how much of what she was telling him was truth, and how much was crafted to manipulate him into doing what she wanted. He considered what it was she wanted, and what she would get out of it, other than what she’d told him.

Nothing immediately jumped to mind. He could think of possibilities, but nothing that was realistic, from what he knew of her character.

“You want to take three days to get back to give you that time?” he asked, possibilities still speeding through his head.

On the other hand, he hated flying. He hated letting someone else, someone he’d never met and didn’t know their history or if they were going to do something stupid, in charge of the vehicle he rode in.

He felt the same way about road travel, which was why he didn’t do things like busses or get in a car with a stranger.

Hell, he’d even driven her around here in Boulder, despite her knowing the town far better than he did.

Could he let her drive on the trip home?

He wouldn’t know until he tried. But was he willing to try?

“I do.” She nodded her head as she spoke. As if it was an example of her commitment.

Sackett took a deep breath and let it out, a list of things he needed to do running through his mind.

“All right. Let’s do it. Do you have a piece of paper? I want to make a list.”

Selena frowned. “Sure.” She went to her briefcase, pulled out a legal pad and a pen then gave them to him. “What kind of list?”

“I need to do a couple of things actually.” He scooted to the edge of the couch, put the pad on the table in front of him and started his list, top of which was to contact Tuck and let him know the plan.

“We’ll need rooms for the trip. Do we want to spend both nights in one place, or different ones?

How close to the middle of the trip is Durango?

” As he asked her these questions, he wrote them down.

Because right now they were popping into his head one after the other, but he knew when he slowed down to actually do them, he would forget something.

“Do we want to leave after your meeting tomorrow or wait until Friday and get started first thing in the morning? Do we need to get tickets for the train in advance? And if we do are there even any still available?”

He finished writing out these questions and things to do, then added more before he looked up to find her staring at him, eyes wide.

“What?”

She blinked several times then shook her head as if she was shaking off a weight on her mind. “Nothing. I just didn’t realize that other people’s minds did that too.”

“Did what?” He watched her for a second, then looked back down at the pad that was more than half filled with tasks and decisions that needed to be made.

Now, he scanned them, wondering if there was anything he’d missed, before glancing up at her.

“Is there anyone you need to contact and let them know you won’t be back until…

When? Sunday some time, maybe Saturday if we leave tomorrow. ”

“No. I only have my sisters, our parents are already gone, and I already told them not to expect me until next week. The office already has me here for the rest of this week.”

“Do you need to contact them with how things have gone here?” He held the pen between his index and middle fingers and tapped it against the paper in a rapid staccato as he waited for her to answer, and at the same time tried to decide if he was missing anything.

“I’ll write up my billing and correspondence to each client, but I can do that in the car, on my laptop. Nothing I need to contact the office or any of my partners about.”

“Good. I need to reach out to my president and let him know how things are going here and when to expect me back, then I can tackle the rest of this.” He dropped the pen on the pad and leaned back, reaching for his phone.

“I can get started on some of it. Let me get my laptop and I can take care of the research and reservations part.” She got up and went back to her briefcase, coming back a moment later and sitting beside him.

Sackett dialed Tuck’s number, he listened to it ring twice, then was sent to voicemail. While not particularly sensitive, this wasn’t something he wanted to leave on voicemail. He sent a text letting the other man know he was delayed and would be in touch about when he would be back in town.

They worked their way down the list, each marking off an item as they completed it, or writing down the answer if it was a question.

He was still working down the list when Tuck called him back.

“What’s up?” His president didn’t bother with greetings, instead getting down to business, so Sackett did the same.

“There’s been no more trouble here, at least not so far, but we’ve decided to drive back rather than fly.”

Tuck was quiet for a moment. “When should we look for you?” he said when he spoke again.

“We’re not entirely sure yet, but it will be late Saturday or sometime Sunday. I’ll let you know.”

“Sounds good. Let us know if you have any trouble or need help.”

“Will do.”

He hung up the call and glanced over to find Selena watching him.

“What?” he asked as he rolled his shoulders back, stretching and releasing some of the tension in his shoulders.

“I’ve got some answers and things to talk about.” She pointed to the pad that they’d both been using to mark down what needed to be done, the answers and list additional things to be done.

“Okay, let’s see.” He picked up the pad and pen, then twisted on the sofa to face her. He scanned the list, reading what she’d added, then looked up. “So we don’t need to get the tickets for the train in advance. That’s good.”

“It is. The drive home is about fourteen and a half hours, add in food, bathroom, that kind of thing and I figure at least sixteen.” She took a deep breath and let it out in a rush. “This is where it gets a little sticky.”

“How so?”

“Durango is about seven hours from here, which is doable in a day.” She twisted around in her seat, putting her feet on the cushion between them and propping her laptop up on her knees.

“We drive down, spend the night, ride the train. That part’s easy.

But Durango to Tucson is about nine hours, which is, at least to me, a long day, so we have a couple of options.

I wanted to check with you before I start making room reservations.

” She looked over the top of her laptop at him.

“Nine hours is doable, but you’re right, it is a long day. How long is the train ride?”

“Round trip, time up in Silverton, we’re looking at a nine-hour trip, so another long day.

There are options that we’ll discuss later that can vary the time we get back but let’s finish this part of the planning before we look at that one, because that decision doesn’t need to be made until the morning we ride the train. ”

“Another long day but in a different way. I’m guessing the question is whether or not to spend the second night in Durango or to go farther south before stopping for the night?”

“That and where to stop. That’s limited.

Farmington is about an hour from Durango, there are a few hotels, but the options are limited.

The next option is Gallup, which has a lot more options, but it’s almost three hours away.

” She had been consulting something on her screen, then looked up at him, as if looking for his opinion.

He wondered if she wanted him to make the decision or just wanted his input.

Opting for the latter, he decided to talk out the timeline with her.

“Well, if we leave tomorrow after your meeting, let’s say we get out of town by noon, that puts us in Durango about six.

That’s not too bad. Ride the train on Friday.

Nine hours, even if we start by nine, puts us back by six.

Driving another hour isn’t too bad, but three puts us a bit late, especially if we’re looking at another drive the next day.

” He paused a moment, watching her face, then continued, “Can I suggest a third option?”

“Sure, I’m open to other ideas. I just have to be home in time for work Monday morning.”

“What if we spend tomorrow and Friday night in Durango, then drive as long as we want on Saturday, find somewhere to stop when we get tired, and finish the trip Sunday? I’m sure if we get tired, we can find somewhere to stay.

It might take another hour or so to reach a town, but we can find something.

” He kept his gaze on her, trying to see how she felt about the idea.

Was she in a hurry to get home or would she be okay with it taking a little longer?

Her cheeks turned pink. He wondered what she was thinking, but he didn’t have long to wait, at least about what she’d thought about the trip.

“I like that idea. It makes reservations for the rooms both easier and harder, but I can manage. I’ll book rooms for us in Durango, and then we’ll wing it on the last night.”

“One room,” he reminded her. “I’m not leaving you unguarded until you’re home safe. Who knows who might be out there watching or what they might try.”