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He grins at that. “She sure is.”
It warms my heart to hear that the way few other things ever did.
“We should get going,” he says to me. “I’ve already gotten the essentials in the truck that you packed, plus a couple of other things, so we can get to LA. I want to keep you close until this psycho is dealt with. Stacey, you’re going to be packing up the rest of the house and getting that squared away, right?”
“I sure am.”
And something in his voice tells me that’s a done deal.
Stacey walks us to the door. From the corner of my eye, I spot a black car with tinted windows inching its way down the street toward us. I’m pretty sure it’s the same car that was following me that day that I went to visit Hazel. My heart started racing despite the fact that Brennon was standing right next to me.
The car doesn’t pick up speed. It just rolls slowly past the salon, going at a snail’s pace. Both Stacey and Brennon notice it too. I can’t see inside because of its black tinted windows, but I feel very watched. The way I felt every time Kevin was near. My breaths are coming in short, jagged heaves, and my heart is racing worse than ever.
It doesn’t stop even after the car reaches the corner and disappears out of sight.
“That was weird,” Stacey says.
“Do you think that was him? The stalker?” Brennon asks.
I nod. “I do. And I’ve seen this car following me before.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Brennon and Stacey ask at nearly the same time.
“I thought I was just overreacting then,” I say. “I didn’t want to panic unnecessarily.”
Brennon shakes his head and turns to Stacey. “Has he ever come this close to the salon before?”
She shakes her head. “He was never interested in me. Just Luna.”
“Maybe you should come with us too,” I suggest, and Brennon agrees.
“Don’t worry about me,” she says. “As you both know, I have my gun for protection. And I mean to pack up everything as fast as I can and follow you.”
“Be careful,” I tell her and give her a very tight hug. “Try not to stay out past dark and lock all your windows and doors.”
She assures me she will and tells me we’ll see each other soon. Then she waves as Brennon and I ride away in his pickup. I kind of hoped he’d pick me up on his bike, but that would make no sense if we were moving me to LA.
“We’ll stop at a nice hotel on the way back and spend the night,” Brennon says. “I know the perfect place.”
“You’re so good to me,” I tell him as I get in the passenger seat.
“It’s because I really care for you,” he says, flooring the gas.
He leaves it at that, but once again, I’m sure he has a lot more to say. I do too. But is it too soon?
“Back in the day, when we were in high school and spent all those afternoons studying together,” I say, “did you ever think we could be more than study buddies?”
What an awkward way of asking that. And I said, buddies. My cheeks must be beet red. Thank God for the darkness.
He laughs. “I really wanted to get close to you back then. But—”
“But I was just too nerdy and naive, right?” I say.
He laughs again. “No, it wasn’t that. You were just so smart and pretty and so well put together. I didn’t think you’d want me.”
“What?” I say and laugh. “I had the biggest crush on you. How did you not know? All that lemonade I served you. And the sandwiches and cakes. I made all those myself.”
“Those were all so delicious,” he says, grinning. “Man, we really missed out, didn’t we?”
