AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I don’t know what to feel yet.” That was a lie. I’d felt a lot of things when I was back in Cade’s arms, none of which I wanted to talk about with my dad.
And shamefully, I wanted to feel it all again. No man had ever made me respond like Cade could. One look from him set my body on fire, sent my heart into overdrive, and turned my brain into love-drunk mush.
As for being in his arms again? I hadn’t wanted to leave. I’d had to force myself away from him. He made me feel safe when I had been beyond scared. Plus, he looked as handsome as he always had.
I’d never thought I was one of those women who was attracted to a man in uniform, but I was wrong. He was sexy as hell in his Sweetbriar PD jacket, dark jeans, and that thick belt with his badge and gun clipped to it. Plus, his body was ridiculous now; it felt like I had pressed myself against a brick wall when we hugged.
Maybe I should wreck another car and see if he would show up? I mean, I was surrounded by cars in various states of repair right now. I had plenty to choose from.
He sighed. “I get it. You probably don’t want to talk to your old man about stuff like this. But make sure not to keep it all inside, okay?”
“I won’t.”
He hesitated. “And honey?”
“Yeah, Dad?”
“I miss you around here, all of us do, and I can’t help but wish you’d stay for good this time.”
I let my eyes drift around the familiar living room and over the dark wood floors, big comfy furniture, and the family pictures. So many pictures... “I missed you guys too. And—”
His eyes lit up on the “and,” and he nodded, encouraging me to finish.
“I’ll think about it this time, I promise.”
“It would mean the world to me, to all of us.” He got up and flicked the TV on for me. “I don’t want you getting off that couch today, princess. I’ll be at the shop. I have a few engine rebuilds on the schedule and can’t get behind, otherwise I’d be here to take care of you myself. Text me if you need anything, and at least one of your brothers will be here in the house all day. Put ’em to work.” He winked.
“Okay, Dad.” The shop was on the same property as the house. My brothers, except for Hunter and Deacon, the two oldest, still lived here with my dad. I would be safe here with them around.
For now, anyway.
This morning shook me up. And I doubted I’d get unshaken anytime soon.
Because I had a stalker.
I also had a couple of police reports and a seemingly useless restraining order against one Mr. Douglas Winthrop, pain in my ass and current ruiner of my life.
Trent, my college best friend and second ex-husband, suggested I get out of New York for a while to let Winthrop cool down and hopefully forget about me.
He had also encouraged me to take Krav Maga classes and buy a taser, both of which I did. My taser is cute and purple and I carry it in my purse. I also have a mini keychain pepper spray canister and am not afraid to spray the shit out of old Douggie McStalker if he gets in my face again. My new toys, my brand-new set of self-defense and fighting skills, and the fact that I grew up with five older brothers meant I could kick some ass, if need be.
Trent and I had always been platonic, even during our marriage. He’d needed a wife to claim an inheritance from his old-fashioned, stick-up-his-butt grandfather. We stayed married for a year, Trent got his fifty million dollars, then bada-bing-bada-boom—divorce. It was straight out of a rom com, except neither one of us had gotten laid and we never fell in love. Mostly, we just lived together in his fancy penthouse apartment and ate take-out in front of the television every night—much like we did before we got married.
Ironically, Trent had sort of become my stalker’s stalker after I left New York. He kept an eye on him for me and made sure he stayed in New York so I could have some breathing room back here in Sweetbriar. Hiding out in my hometown, finishing my book, and hanging out with my family would be just the thing to get him to forget about me. Then I could go back to New York and continue living my life.
So far, so good. My nom de plume—Keli, my middle name, and Marlowe, my mom’s maiden name—still concealed my identity, and he hadn’t yet managed to track me to Sweetbriar.
But the crash this morning had me worried. Trent would have been on a plane the second he had any new information. At the very least, he would have called to let me know to watch out. I had called and texted and hadn’t heard from him yet, which was freaking me out.
I had rented a townhouse when I came back but in this moment I couldn’t help thinking maybe I should have chosen a bigger place instead. One with a high fence and a yard that I could put a few guard dogs in, and perhaps a piranha-filled moat with a big-ass portcullis. My paranoid imagination sometimes got the best of me. It served me well as a writer, but it sucked when I was trying to fall asleep in the dark of night.
I curled up on my side as I blindly watched whatever was on TV. The fear I tried to keep on the outer edges of my thoughts had encroached into my daily life again this morning and it pissed me off.
I had lost my focus, which meant I wouldn’t be able to write today. I couldn’t even relax in my childhood home for a minute while surrounded by my five brothers and father who all still treated me like a baby and would stomp anyone who messed with me into the ground.
Apparently, it was foolish to think I could ditch him by moving back home. I’d had a few blessed months without Douglas Winthrop’s weirdo stalker schtick, and it had been wonderful.Ugh, even his name was creepy. On principle, I didn’t like to say it or think it. I didn’t want to give it the power to influence my life.
I didn’t know for sure he was the one in the Subaru behind me this morning, but I would be an idiot if I didn’t assume it was. And I was nobody’s fool.
