Free Because You Love Me by Mari Carr Page B

the coffee table in front of him and sat up. “Actually, I’ve been trying to convince Rodney to go bowling with me tonight.”
    “I told you,” Rodney said, “I suck at bowling.”
    Bridget knew the words for a lie, not because she’d ever been bowling with Rodney before, but because she could tell when he wasn’t telling the truth. There was a definite gleam of longing in his eyes. She wished they were here for a different reason. Wished both of them could take a chance on what they desired.
    Matt tossed his hat on a table by the wall and ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s not the bowling you need to go for. It’s the root beer floats. Ellie Parker makes the best floats…” He paused and glanced at Bridget.
    “In the universe?” she supplied.
    He nodded. “Yep. Universe.”
    She laughed, then noticed a strange look on Rodney’s face.
    “Ellie Parker?” he asked, cueing her in to the vital comment she’d missed. Ellie? Ellen?
    “You should go,” she said quickly. “You’ve been sitting around here for three days while I was having all the fun. Why not take some time for yourself?” She tried to act light and casual, but this was their first break on the Ellen clue. She knew Rodney would never take her into town, never expose her to so many people. It wouldn’t be a big deal, however, for him. He’d gone to town several times already.
    “Well,” Rodney hedged. She could see he was torn between his duty to protect her and his desire to find the flash drive.
    “If the guys don’t mind, I’ll just hang out here with them until you and Jacob return.” She knew Rodney would feel safer if she was in the care of the twins. Over the past few days, Rodney admitted he’d loosened his guard a bit because of how closely Matt and Mark watched her—even without knowing the danger she was in.
    “We can all eat dinner together. Then you guys can hit the bowling alley and we’ll hang around here and watch a movie until you get back,” Matt offered. “Got a couple new ones from Netflix. If we’re lucky, they won’t be any of the crap ones Jake picks.”
    Jake threw a punch at his older brother’s arm. “I guarantee you Bridget would rather watch a movie I picked than one of your stupid horror flicks.”
    “Horror?” Bridget asked. Back in New York, horror had been her favorite genre after romantic comedy. However, since Lyle’s death, she’s lost her enthusiasm for it. She had enough fodder for her nightmares without adding someone else’s fictional fears to the pile.
    Mark grinned. “Don’t worry. I think we got the new True Grit in this pile. That was my pick. Nothing like a good old-fashioned western.”
    She laughed. “Great. More examples of why the country beats the city. Can’t wait.” She looked at Rodney, hoping she’d convinced him to go. “Sounds like a fun night. What do you say, Rodney?”
    He was quiet for a moment, then he sighed. “I say what’s for dinner? I’m going to need some nourishment before I make an ass of myself at the lanes.”
    Jacob laughed. “I took out some chicken. Thought I’d make curry.”
    “Damn,” Rodney said, rubbing his stomach. “That sounds good.”
    Jacob looked at his brothers. “Why don’t the three of you clean up while Rodney and I get supper going? Bridget, you can use the bathroom in the guest bedroom if you want. I bet you’re itchy after spending all that time in the barn.”
    He wrinkled his nose as he said the word barn. Bridget laughed. “The ranching gene sure missed you, didn’t it?”
    Jacob didn’t take offense. “I figure it hit two of the four of us. Caleb’s no fonder of the ranch than I am. Fifty-fifty’s not so bad, although my dad might have disagreed.”
    Jacob’s comment about his father sent a string of questions running through her mind. There was so much she didn’t know about Matt and Mark that she was curious about. Hell, she sighed. She wanted to know everything about them—their histories,