We leave the guesthouse and walk to my truck. It’s an old pickup that I’ve had for almost ten years, but it runs great and I love it. No need for a new one until it dies. I have a dark-green Dodge Viper for when I drive off the ranch, but it lies dormant in the garage most of the time.
I open the passenger side door for Ashley, and because it’s a high step, I help her inside.
That’s the only reason I help her.
I get in and start the engine. “Settle in. It’s about a half-hour drive to the vineyards.”
“This place must be huge,” she says.
“An understatement. When I first came here, I couldn’t believe how big it was. My brother and I had been living in a tiny cracker box in North Denver with our mother.”
And after that, in a dark room where we feared for our lives. But I’ll keep that tidbit to myself.
“It must have been a big adjustment.”
“It was.” For reasons she’ll never know.
She clears her throat. “I’m sorry about… You know.”
I hold back shock. She can’t know about my past. Dee doesn’t even know. “What?”
“Your mother. I mean, your real mother. Diana told me.”
I stare straight ahead at the road. “Jade is my real mother.”
“I know that. I only meant—”
“I don’t talk about that.”
“I’m sorry. You just said you’d been living in a tiny house with your mother, so I thought—”
“You thought wrong.”
Yeah, I’m being an ass again. She’s right. I brought it up. I stop the truck on the side of the road with a jerk.
Then I turn to her. “Look. This is only going to work if you understand something about me.”
Her eyes are wide as she nods.
“I’m a closed book, okay? I prefer my own company to anyone else’s. That’s just who I am, and it’s served me well for thirty-five years. I’m not going to change for anyone.”
“I never asked you to—”
“I know that. But it’s little things. Like you asking why I didn’t do a DNA test on Penny. Or talking about my biological mother.” Or talking about all the other things I keep trapped inside.
“I didn’t mean—”
“I said I know. I’ll help you through this internship. I’ll do my part. But I don’t want to get personal.”
She sighs. “I don’t understand. I saw you with your family. You’re at ease with your dad. With Diana and Bree.”
“I am. I’ve had twenty-five years of practice with all of them.”
“What about your uncle?”
I huff. “Ashley, I just asked you not to get personal. That includes asking me about my family.”
“But—”
“Oh my God.” I riffle my fingers through my mass of hair. “You’re not hearing me.”
“How can I not hear you, Dale? Your voice is all I hear. It’s all I see. It’s a deep red pouring over me as long as I’m in your presence. Trust me. I fucking hear you, okay?”
Right. Her synesthesia. I don’t get it.
“Though I only heard it for the first time a few hours ago,” she continues, “your voice is like a drug to me. Even when you’re angry. But God, when you laughed… I swear I felt the high.”
I still don’t get it. And the fact that my voice is a drug to her doesn’t affect me at all.
At least I wish it didn’t.
“I’m sorry if my voice bothers you.”
“Now you’re not hearing me. It doesn’t bother me.”
“You said it’s like a drug.”
“Yeah. Like a good drug.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Come on, Dale. Haven’t you ever gotten high?”
“No,” I say. “I haven’t. Never had the desire to do any kind of drugs, other than the occasional drink. I enjoy a good bourbon, and of course I love wine.”
“I don’t do drugs either,” she says, “but I’ve experimented in the past. The best high, though—for me, at least—is after a long hike to the top of a mountain. Muscles burning as I see the beauty of the scenery. That’s when my mind rests and the colors are finally silent. Rather, that’s the second-best high.”
“What’s the first, then?”
“I just told you. The sound—and color—of your voice.”
Chapter Nine
Ashley
His green gaze burns me.
Have I gone too far? I just met the man, and I have to spend the next three months working beside him.
Maybe I should have saved that “your voice is my drug of choice thing” for another time.
His lips are so full, and he parts them slightly.
I want to kiss him. I want to feel his lips slide over mine, his tongue touch mine.
I squirm. God, I’m tingling all over, and especially down there.
I have a massive sex drive. Massive. But even I don’t get there just from a look.
But damn, I’m getting there now.
Already I know I’m wet.
Does Dale know?
Does he have a clue what he does to me?
Do I have any effect on him at all?
I fear the answer is no.