Bucked (The Invincibles 6)

“If you don’t want to go to this other ranch tonig

ht, just say no. I’m sure it’s far more complicated than Flynn or even I know.”

“It’s fine.” He walked over and opened the refrigerator. “You hungry?”

“I had a piece of toast.”

I watched as he pulled out a carton of eggs and different kinds of produce.

“How’s an omelet sound?”

“Um, good. Although I’m not that hungry.”

“You had a piece of toast, and you’re not hungry?” Unlike before, Buck wasn’t teasing me. He sounded irritated.

“That’s right.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

I realized that, like Irish had done, he was hardly looking at me. “Buck?”

“What?”

I got up and joined him in the kitchen. Before he started chopping vegetables, I put my hand on his arm. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.”

“Then, why won’t you look at me?”

Buck shoved the food back into bags and put them and the eggs back in the refrigerator. “I’ve lost my appetite.”

When he stalked out of the cabin, I didn’t follow or even go to the window to see where he went. I sat down in front of my laptop and continued my research. Like I’d told him—and myself—I didn’t have time for bullshit distractions. I not only had a job to do, I had to figure out who killed my aunt and why.

I wasn’t sure how long Buck had been gone when I heard a knock at the door. I thought about hollering for whoever it was to come in, but I was here under the auspice of needing protection.

“Hey, Rock,” I said when I saw it was him standing on the porch. “What can I do for you?”

“Buck had a few things to take care of, so he asked me to cover for him.”

“I see. Do you want to come in?”

“Thanks.” He walked past me and over to the refrigerator. “Buck told me to make sure you eat something.”

For God’s sake. Seriously? “As I told him, I’m not hungry.”

Rock walked over to the table and pulled out a chair. “You don’t eat enough.”

“And this is your business, how?”

I caught his grimace and felt a tinge of guilt for snapping at him. However, I was a grown-up and hadn’t starved to death yet. On the other hand, I did exist on a diet of almost exclusively takeout food.

“Just let me make you something to eat.”

“Thanks, Rock.”

He brought me a sandwich and salad and sat down beside me. “How’s the research going?”

“I’m coming to a lot of dead ends, but that’s what I expected.”