My Spy 6: Private Eye

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Ryan goes to head back to the golf cart but I put my hand on his arm to keep him in the clearing. He looks back to me as I say, "Let's discuss this here before running off and throwing ourselves into more chaos."

"What do you mean?" He asks with his body still angled toward the cart.

"I mean, it's a nice sunshiney day. It's pleasant out, a massive Delilah-sized weight has been lifted from our shoulders and I just want to enjoy a moment with my husband. Rory is taking over our lives once again and I just want a moment before we go relay all of this to Austin and I lose you to work." I tell him and I watch him frown. I run my hand along his stubbled chin and I watch as he gives into me. He pulls me into him and we stand in the shade with a slice of sunlight warming our heads. While tucked into his chest I ask, "You're spinning out aren't you?"
He remains silent while we sway back and forth and he finally replies, "I'm wonderin' where to leave you that will keep you the safest."

"Up in a tower somewhere. Preferably with a drawbridge and a moat," I reply and I hear a throaty scoff.

"Is there one of those in Hollis?" He asks me but I shake my head. He kisses the top of my head and then pulls away from me, "I'm tempted to stick you back in the carriage house until Monday. Their house is pretty impenetrable."

I let out a light laugh, "You must really be concerned if you are thinking about handing me over to Jackson."

"Your ex-boyfriend came to warn me about your safety and I am considering calling your ex-fiancè to help protect you. Hell hath frozen over," he jokes and I pull him toward the golf cart. Once we are back inside I look to him before he starts the ignition, "Tell me one thing that's happening in your life that doesn't have to do with the trial." His hand lingers on the key stuck in the ignition as he looks at me, "What?"

"You heard me. I want to make sure Rory is not consumin' your every thought. So I am checkin' in to make sure this isn't taking up all of your energy again or that you're going to lose your shit." I tell him. As I was holding him, I could feel the tension across his shoulders. I feel him rollin' about in the middle of the night and Austin has been looking at him with caution. He slumps back onto the padded backing and replies, "I dunno, you want something that's not related to Rory? I guess...I am about to wrap up my first case as a P.I and even though I can't tell you about it, I feel like it's going to come back and bite me in the ass."

Confused, I push my sunglasses onto my head as I look to him, "What? Where is this coming from? I was thinking you were going to tell me you scheduled another tee-time with Austin or something normal."

He drops his head into his hand and pinches the bridge of his nose, his fingers pushing up his glasses. He shakes his head and then looks back to me, "Our marriage was supposed to force things back to normal. Burgers at Tansy's and drinks at Mel's but something about Hollis has changed." I'm trying to keep up with this change of subject.

"Hey I went and worked on Founder's Day parade floats and dodged Dash's questions about my love life," I tell him. "Not that much has changed."

He grimaces before saying, "I just mean that Hollis used to be...it felt like home."

"It doesn't now?" I ask him and he shrugs, "I think maybe because we're living with Austin and dealing with Rory and Sebastian and your mother hasn't been this massive presence in your life lately that it just...Can we get that normal back?" I look to him before slumping against the seat next to him. We stare ahead at the open meadow and I haven't noticed that I have been in Hollis, but not a part of Hollis since we got back.

"I guess life is a bit different now. Gus and A.B are all wonky and my mother is focused more on our wedding than society events at the moment. I haven't been to the winery since I got fired and I have been dodging town folk and their questions. But if we would have gone to the pageant today, it would have had that southern charm you've been missin'."