Knowing she’d made him crazy encouraged her to continue her attack. “Whose idea was Caddo Lake?”

“It was a good place to keep you out of sight. The rental house was isolated, and your parents wanted to give you time to sort things out and realize you’d made a mistake.”

“All of you thought that sticking me on the back of a death machine was the best way to get me to Caddo?”

“I didn’t plan on that.”

“And here I thought you planned everything.”

“Yeah, well, next time I guard a bride, you can be damned sure I’ll anticipate that she might take off.”

She couldn’t listen to any more of this, and she headed for the door. Before she reached it, he spoke again. “I got the bike from a guy in Austin. It was good cover. I rode into Wynette a few days before you arrived so I could hang out in the local bars without anybody getting suspicious. It gave me a chance to see if I overheard anything that made me uneasy.”

“And did you?”

“Mainly I heard a lot of people saying that no woman was good enough for Ted. He’s some kind of local god.”

She frowned. “I knew they didn’t like me.”

“I don’t think it was personal. At least I didn’t think so at the time. I might have changed my mind about that.”

She’d heard enough, but as she headed for the back door, Mr. Talky was right behind her. “When your great escape started,” he said, “I figured it’d only last a couple of hours. How was I supposed to know you were having some kind of existential breakdown?”

His use of the word unnerved her. She wanted burps, not verbal erudition. “It wasn’t a breakdown.” She stalked across the kitchen floor and out onto the porch. But now that she didn’t want to talk, he stayed with her, and he wouldn’t shut up.

“I could have traded in the bike for an SUV the next day, but I’d have blown my cover, and you’d have tried to pull another disappearing act. Frankly, I didn’t want to work that hard. And don’t try to pretend you didn’t love being on that bike.”

She had loved it, but she wasn’t admitting anything. She pushed open the screen door and stepped into the yard. “Unfortunately, the ferry doesn’t leave for a few hours, so I’d appreciate it if you’d leave me alone. I’m sure you have things to do.”

He moved in front of her, blocking her way. “Lucy, that night …”

She stared at his collarbone. He jammed his hands in his pockets, studied her nose ring. “I’ve never let anything like that happen with a client.”

She didn’t want to hear about his remorse, and she shot around him.