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Caden nodded, though he couldn’t imagine anything better than what he was hearing right now. He’d be only a mile up the road from Garrett, and about halfway closer to Luke and Orly’s house. “Can you check if there are any other properties in this area?”
“With waterfront access or without?” Darla asked.
“Both.” He wanted to live closer to his friends, and while he was just about ready to put an offer on this place because of that creek alone, he hesitated because of the major renovation it was going to need. “I like this place. I just want to think about it.”
Darla smiled. “Not a problem. Would you like to see the other two properties?”
He suspected it would be a waste of both their time, but Caden nodded. They stayed a few more minutes while he took pictures of the house and the property outside to show Garrett. His friend would know how much a renovation like this would cost. If Caden could afford it, then he’d put an offer on the place as soon as possible. If not, then he’d have to keep looking.
After seeing the other two properties and almost immediately crossing them off his list of potentials, Caden messaged the photos he’d taken to Garrett, asking for his thoughts and about a possible budget to make the house livable.
Half an hour later, Garrett replied to his message with some very reasonable numbers. It looked like Caden could afford the house with that flowing creek at the back of the property. He was thrilled, but when he picked up the phone to share the news with someone, he found himself at a loss of who to call or message.
It was Friday night. His friends were probably going out or working, or in the case of Luke and Orly, enjoying their weekend together as a married couple. He was used to being a bit lonely on most weekends. It wasn’t often the guys got together since they had their own lives. But somehow ever since losing Hallie, everything seemed to hit him harder, deeper. They hadn’t even been together that long, but he missed her more than he could put into words. He ached to see her again, to wrap his arms around her, to hold her, and yes, to kiss her.
God, he wanted to kiss that woman again, and so much more. Almost three weeks had gone by since Luke and Orly’s party, and still Hallie was never far from his mind.
The badge. The job. If not for that, he would’ve never given her up. He would’ve gone after her, or come by her store the next day to ask what happened, and to explain his actions. He would’ve messaged her and insisted she respond. He would’ve told her how he felt about her and about their kiss.
He still remembered the sweetness and fruitiness of her mouth, and it made him ache, literally ache for her.
Caden was up and moving before he could think better of it. Even if nothing else happened between them, he had to see Hallie. Tonight.
Chapter 16
After another slow day at The Mystic Cow, Hallie closed the doors a few minutes early. She locked the deadbolt and turned off the lights in the display window. Then dimmed the lights in the front of the store. The street was empty and she had put off doing her quarterly taxes until the very last minute. If she didn’t at least start on them tonight, she wouldn’t be able to get them out in time before the deadline. She turned off the music, set the alarm, and sat down behind the register where she printed off her sales reports for the last three months.
The FBI still hadn’t returned her computers, but since she hadn’t heard from them, Hallie decided maybe her search history hadn’t raised any red flags, or they hadn’t found it yet. She’d put her fear of what would happen to her when they did aside, since there was nothing she could do about it. If they ended up arresting her, she’d have no choice but to tell her parents and they would undoubtedly hire the best lawyers to defend her. But until then, all Hallie could do was just live her life, taking it one day at a time.
She considered bringing the laptop home with her along with all the paperwork she needed, but she didn’t want to have to wake up early to get it back in time for Katelyn to start her shift in the morning. It was just easier to do it all here.
Glancing over her sales reports for this month, Hallie smiled at the numbers. The Mystic Cow had some great sales this week that significantly bolstered her bottom line. It gave her the hope she needed that her store was still going strong. She loved this place more than anything, and running it was one of the greatest joys of her life. Hallie couldn’t imagine having any other job where she got to do what she loved while meeting so many different people from all walks of life. There was the family who’d come from Australia last summer, another couple was from Indonesia, and many more traveled to visit Dallas from all over the world. It fascinated Hallie and she hoped The Mystic Cow would be around for a long time.
Being here late into the evenings was hard though. The store was eerily quiet and with the dimmed lighting, it was a little unsettling on nights like this. But she needed anyone who walked or drove by to know she was closed and not knock on her door. That had happened a few times before and she had literally jumped in fright.
It wasn’t even that late yet, but her eyes were starting to cross from exhaustion. She was seeing that stupid glimpse of glass shattering more often now and it kept waking her up in the middle of the night. Hallie still had no idea how or where or why it was going to happen, but seeing it more frequently was a sign that it was imminent. All that meant to her was that somewhere, somehow, a large piece of glass would shatter. It was an unsettling thought, but not knowing anymore details, left Hallie powerless to stop it from happening.
A car engine backfired outside. Hallie jolted a bit, but quickly returned her attention back to the computer screen. Then there was a loud crack, followed by a crash that sounded like a tsunami hurling toward her. She looked up in time to see a baseball bat going through her front display window as the glass came shattering into the store. The store’s alarm sounded, shrieking violently. Hallie froze. The only way out was the front door, which would take her right past whoever was out there shattering her windows. Deciding to hide instead, she bolted to the back room where she crawled under the desk and pulled the rickety chair in next to her to hopefully conceal her if anyone decided to come back here.
The awful sound of more glass shattering at the front of the store had Hallie shaking with fear. The alarm was blaring, so the police would be notified. She only hoped they showed up in time to catch whoever was doing this before the bad guys found her.
Hallie covered her ears with her hands. The alarm. The glass. It was too loud. Too much. She wanted to scream for help, but stifled herself, praying she wouldn’t be found. To make matters worse, she’d left her cell phone by the register, and she would have to come out from under the desk to reach the landline phone.
As more glass shattered, Hallie thought about how her store only had two windows, the front display window that consisted of three separate panes, and a small window pane inserted in the front door. But the smashing of glass and the sound of it shattering persisted for what seemed like hours. Whoever was doing this was likely going up and down the street, smashing the windows in every shop.
Hallie fought back tears and tried to stay calm. She was safe here under her desk, at least for the time being. Any damage done would be covered by insurance. She wasn’t sure when exactly the looters left and it got a little quieter, but Hallie couldn’t move. Even with just the alarm blaring, and no more sounds of shattering glass, she remained under the desk. Her heart pounded in her chest and her ears rang. She pushed her back against the wall, trying to make herself even smaller in the already tiny space. Hallie usually found herself feeling claustrophobic after sitting in her office for a while, but not tonight. Tonight, this small space under a desk she never really used was her sanctuary. It held her tight, and she wouldn’t leave it for anything.
Then came the sound of more glass cracking only it was a bit quieter and more evenly spaced. Footsteps? Someone was stepping on the glass. Oh God, if they were the police, wouldn’t they have identified themselves? She searched for something to use as a weapon, but the only thing she could reach was a box of staples, and some old scratch paper that had fallen behind the desk. None of those would do as weapons.
“Hallie? Hallie! Are you here?” The familiar voice, tinged with concern, jolted her from her fear. She swallowed hard, then pushed the chair out to give herself room to climb out. “Hallie!”
Hallie rose to her feet and stumbled out of the office, her knees wobbly, her hands still clammy and shaking from adrenaline. It wasn’t until she saw Caden that she finally let her shoulders drop the barest of inches. He looked so good in his dark jeans, a navy blue fitted shirt. and a black blazer.
“What...what are you doing here?” She asked, trying to speak over the blaring alarm and infuse strength into her voice. This was not how she wanted to see him again.
He took a step closer, then another, and another until he was within reaching distance. He extended his arms out to her as if inviting her to come to him. “Are you hurt?” He asked, yelling over the alarm.
Hallie didn’t move. “No.”
