Bucked (The Invincibles 6)

“Why’s that?”

“He lives on top of a goddamn mountain, and it isn’t the kind you hike on.”

“Enough said. Anything else?”

I couldn’t help but wonder why Decker had asked Buck to put the phone on speaker. So far, none of this had anything to do with me.

“Stella, you there?”

I chuckled. “Yes, Decker, I’m here.”

“I wanted you both to know that I expect Cope and Ali will be showing up at the ranch sometime in the next two weeks.”

“Okay,” I murmured, my eyes meeting Buck’s.

“Also, I’ve made arrangements for you both to have access to some of the Invincible’s proprietary online resources. You’ll be able to get into the facial recognition trackers along with a few other things you may find useful. Buck, you’ll need to take care of getting Stella logged into the system.”

“Roger that,” he said like I’d heard earlier.

“Stella, it’s somewhat complicated, but I’m confident young Buck can handle it.”

“Gettin’ tiresome, old Deck.”

Buck and I laughed when he did.

“One other thing. Rip mentioned he and his team are going to start working on the other cabins.”

“Decker, I—”

“He also told me you were worried about paying them. Since they’re already on the Invincibles’ dime, don’t worry about it.”

“I appreciate this, Deck, but—”

He sighed. “Stella, would you please set him straight?”

“I’ll try,” I answered, laughing.

“And if you’re going to be out of contact, will you both please tell someone, so I don’t send the cavalry out looking for you?”

“We’re going to be out of contact,” blurted Buck. I looked at him with wide eyes. “I’ll check in periodically, but we’re taking a couple of days.”

“Copy that. Don’t forget to check in.”

Buck hit end on the call, dropped his phone on the table, and pulled me into his arms. “Before you freak out on me, hear me out.”

“I’m listening.”

“We can work all you want, but I want us to take breaks. That’s what I meant by being out of contact. There are things we’re waiting on, which means that there’s no reason to keep spinning our wheels, trying to make something magically appear out of nowhere.”

I got his point. In fact, I’d felt that way when I was re-reading Barb’s emails. I’d “magically” wanted them to tell me something—anything—that they hadn’t the first few times I’d read them. I knew there were clues buried in them, but I’d be damned if I could figure them out. “Okay.”

Buck smiled. “Okay?”

“That’s what I said.”

“Then, the first place I want to take you to be out of contact is right in there.” He pointed to the bedroom.

After spending the rest of the morning naked in Buck’s arms, he suggested that it was time to venture farther off the Roaring Fork. While I got dressed after the bath we’d taken together, I overheard him talking on speaker to Rock.