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It was a good suggestion. Especially since I wouldn’t live to see tomorrow if Landon thought I’d broken his sister’s heart.
“I’ll have a plan for you by the time you get home tomorrow,” Jonah informed me before hanging up.
I took a few minutes to collect myself, then I peered around the corner to gauge where everyone was. Luckily, Samantha had taken over my seat and had her back to me. Landon was facing me, but he was staring hard at his cards. As if he felt my gaze, he glanced up, and I jerked my chin toward the kitchen, then glanced at Samantha and shook my head.
“Fold,” he muttered, setting his cards down and punching back his chair. I retreated back into the kitchen and waited for him. He came around the corner scowling and muttered, “This better be important because I had a fucking full house.”
I scrubbed my hands up and down my face while I swallowed back the bile that had risen in my throat at the thought of this conversation.
When I folded my arms over my chest and looked at my friend, he observed me for a moment, then mirrored my stance. “What the fuck is going on, James? You better not have dragged me in here to tell me you knocked up my sister before marrying her.”
I shook my head.Not yet, anyway.“Hear me out before you flip your shit. I need a favor.”
He bobbed his chin in acknowledgment and did as I asked, listening to me without interruption as I told him the whole story. Unlike his sister, he had a stellar poker face, so I had no clue how he was going to react.
I’d barely finished when my phone began to vibrate, dancing around the granite countertop where I’d set it down. Jonah’s number flashed on the screen, and I practically dove to answer it. “Jonah,” I told Landon before swiping to answer the call.
“Do you know a Cheryl Novak? Worked as a forewoman for Heath Construction?”
“You have to be fucking with me,” I fumed.
“That’s what I figured. We pinpointed the phone signal, and since I assumed it had been trashed again, I sent someone to retrieve it. There was a crumpled-up plane ticket from Chicago dated this morning. When I looked her up and saw she’d been employed at one of your locations, I thought I’d run her name by you.”
“Samantha fired her a couple of weeks ago. But she’d been a little over friendly with me before that, so I was relieved to see her go.”
Landon raised a brow, and I shrugged. I hadn’t wanted to interfere in the way he ran his business. It was annoying but not a big deal. Until now, it seemed.
“I’m confident that she’s our stalker.”
“Do you have a suggestion for how to prove it?”
“It’s coming together. Take care of your side of things and call me when you get home tomorrow.”
“Thanks, Jonah,” I said in a ragged tone. I was teetering on the edge of madness, so filled with rage I wanted to murder someone and weighed down with the dread of what I had to do next.
I hung up and shoved my phone in my pocket, then met Landon’s concerned gaze. “You aren’t going to tell her,” he surmised.
“Do you really think she could fake it?”
Landon sighed and dropped his arms to his sides. “No. Samantha is an open book.”
I nodded. “I love her too fucking much to risk it.”
He stared at me for a beat, then blew out a breath. “She’s my little sister, so it’s hard for me to think anyone is good enough for her. But I believe you love her, and if I’m honest, I couldn’t ask for someone who will treat her better.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I think she loves you, too, but you better handle this real fast or this not-so real breakup will blow up in your face. My sister isn’t the most forgiving person in the world.”
11
SAMANTHA
The ride back to James’s Wisconsin home was silent and tense. He’d been withdrawn and distant ever since he’d taken his phone call earlier, but I hadn’t wanted to ask him about it in front of everyone.
I was trying not to let my imagination run amok, but it still took me until we walked in the door to finally gather my courage.
“James? What’s wrong?”
He didn’t answer immediately, pausing to hang our coats in the closet first. Then he took my hand and led me into the living room, gesturing for me to sit on the sofa.
A pang of hurt sliced through my heart when he sat but left distance between us. It was only a small space, but it felt like an ever-growing cavern. It wasn’t just the physical; he was pulling away emotionally.
