“Billy. You’ve been dancin’ around every topic that you think might lead to him, and it’s exhaustin’ me. I’m not gonna ask you about him. You’ll talk about him when you’re ready.”
“I doubt I’ll ever be ready, Jace. There isn’t much to talk about, even if I were.”
She looked straight at him, waiting for him to raise his eyebrows, or do something else to indicate he didn’t believe her. That’s what Billy would’ve done, but Jace didn’t. When he said he wouldn’t ask about him, he meant it. When he said he was tired of dancing around it, he meant that too.
“Thanks, Jace.” She kissed him.
“It’s okay, I get it.”
Jace did get it, and would let her be, it was just part of his easygoing nature. Billy was never easygoing. When he wanted to talk about something, he wouldn’t relent until they did.
“Stop comparing me to him.”
Her eyes snapped to his. “What does that mean?”
“I can see you doing it. I’m watchin’ the wheels spin. You’re thinkin’ about him right now. You don’t want to talk about him that’s one thing, but thinkin’ about him when you’re in bed with me? That won’t fly with me, Irene.”
Jace moved over her and gently pinned her arms above her head. “Do you understand me? When you’re with me this way, you think about me.”
She looked into his eyes and nodded her head. “I’m sorry, Jace.”
In early August Jace and Renie had another opportunity to go to Glenwood Springs on a rafting excursion. She couldn’t wait to spend time with him without looking over her shoulder every time he smiled at her to make sure no one was looking.
They repeated what they did on their first trip, and booked a couple’s massage in their room at the Colorado Hotel. Afterwards they ate at Juicy Lucy’s.
“Tate talked to me about you the other day,” Jace said during dinner.
Tate was the ranch manager. “Uh oh. What did he say? And why are you telling me about it now?”
“It wasn’t that bad. Mainly he wanted to know what our plans were at the end of the summer.”
“Plans?”
“Yeah, where I’m going. Where you’re going. That kind of thing.”
“I haven’t thought about it much, other than going home.”
“To Crested Butte?”
“That’s the only home I have anymore.”
Jace’s family lived in Aspen. He and his brother had a condo there, although both of them were gone most of the summer. He was there during the winter, though. Last year Jace helped train a group of competitive skiers, he told her. This winter he planned to spend more time at the rodeo than he did on the ski slopes.
“It’s a nice drive over Kebler Pass, especially in the fall. Maybe we can make a couple of trips back and forth.”
“Yeah, maybe.”
“You don’t sound too sure about it.”
“No, that sounds nice.”
“Again, missing the enthusiasm factor, Irene. Does this have anything to do with the mysterious Billy?”
It had been a while since they talked about Billy. She wondered if she still talked in her sleep. She definitely still dreamt about Billy, all the time.
“It doesn’t have anything to do with him.”
“Aha, so it does have to do with something.”