Page 39 of Ford
“No problem,” he mumbled and headed down the hall.
Coco reached out with her foot and closed the kitchen door behind him. Turned to her. “Everything. I need to knoweverything.”
RJ laughed. “Wow, I missed you. Where have you been? What—I mean, you just vanished. And now you’re a super hacker in Moscow?”
“I didn’t just vanish. I had…have…family here. My, um…my dad’s family lives in Moscow, and after the Wyatt thing—”
“You mean the part where Wyatt fell completely in love with you?”
Coco drew a breath at that, as if RJ’s words stung. Her mouth tightened into a thin line. “Wyatt wasn’t in love with me.”
“Then what was the make-out session in the barn all about?”
“The one where your brother caught us and completely freaked out?”
RJ made a face. “So, there might have been a slight overreaction there.”
“Wyatt wasn’t my real brother.”
“I know. But Ma considered you her daughter. Still does.”
Coco broke off a piece of cake. “I know. How is she?”
“She’s okay. Dating, actually—a guy named Hardwin. He’s nice, I guess. It’s just…you know, the ranch isn’t the same without Dad. Knox is doing a great job running it, and I guess Reuben is going to move home and help him, but—oh, Reuben got married, finally.”
“That girl from Geraldine—the one that Knox dated too?”
RJ shook her head. “No. He married the pilot with his smokejumping team. But yeah, that fight between Knox and Reuben was rough.”
“First time I’d ever seen a real family brawl. I think every one of the brothers got in on it.”
“That’s the Marshall men—they don’t know the word for slow down, be careful, stop and think…you know, prudence.”
Although, with her words came the sharp, swift memory of diving into York’s arms. A blush pressed her face.
Coco saw it, frowned. Looked past her to the room down the hall. “You know, York was acting really strange when you arrived. He went to check on you a few times when you were sleeping and once just stood there at the door, watching you. Did something happen between you two?”
Oh. Uh. “If you don’t include him saving my life, trapping me in his safe house for a week, and dressing me like a hooker, then…no.”
“Really?”
“He doesn’t like me, I promise. He was probably standing there trying to figure out if he could dump me off at a train station.”
“He wouldn’t do that. York might seem armor-plated with all sharp edges, but under all that is a good man. At least he was when he was dating my friend Tasha. He changed after she was killed, but I know he’s still in there.”
Tasha?
Coco got up and poured herself more coffee. “Tasha was a videocaster and ran a site called the October Review. She uncovered and debunked conspiracy theories, raised a few scenarios of her own, and basically gave political commentary on current government policies. She had the audacity to believe in a truly free Russia.”
Coco turned, leaning against the sill. “I helped her set up an encrypted email box so that she could get tips without having the government watching over her shoulder. We became friends—she liked to quiz me about American policies and culture. And she liked American food. I’m not sure how she met York, but he was at her flat once when I went over to teach her how to make pizza. Maybe that’s why she wanted to learn—to cook for him, but he never stuck around long. I’m not sure their relationship was public knowledge. I know he used to work at the embassy in some capacity.”
“Security.”
Coco nodded, looked at her coffee. “He’d left by the time he met Tasha. I think he had something terrible happen to him, but Tasha never got it out of him. He’s pretty private.”
Huh.
“Tasha was killed while crossing the street to her flat one January night. They said it was an accident—a car skidded out of control and hit her, but they never found the car. And York thinks…well…”