My phone rang a little after ten the next morning. I was still at the motel, halfway through a second cup of coffee and staring at the same four words from the email.
When I saw Rhys's name on the screen, I answered without thinking.
"Hey," I said.
"Hey yourself," he said casually. "You sound awake. Did you actually sleep after I told you to stay put?"
"I slept fine." I set the coffee down before I could knock it over. "Two bottles of that cheap beer from the gas station helped. I might have called you while I was finishing the second one. Sorry about that."
He gave a quiet laugh.
"You were pretty chatty. Told me the stars looked brighter out here than they do in the city… and that my voice sounded nice. Then you got even more honest. Said you can't stop thinking about me, that I'm in your head all the time, even when you're trying to focus on the land or your paperwork or whatever else you've got going on."
"Oh, really?"
