Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
SERENITY
It had been three days since the incident at my apartment, and as much as I appreciated Hunter going out of his way to take care of me, I was quickly starting to lose my mind.
I’d never been the kind of person who could just sit still, but that was all I’d been doing since being dropped off at his house, and I was going stir crazy.
Rory had given me the week off with orders not to worry about coming in to work until I was fully healed.
While all I wanted to do was get back to my normal life, I understood where she was coming from.
Fletcher didn’t need to see me like this.
We were doing what we could to keep the events of that night from him, because I knew he would blame himself for what his father had done, and it wasn’t his fault.
He already carried too much on his shoulders because of that man.
I wasn’t going to add to that weight. If anything, I desperately wanted to lighten the burden for him.
What I hadn’t realized the night Hunter demanded I be delivered to his house, was that any sense of freedom I had before had disappeared.
I appreciated everything he had done for me, but if I’d known I was losing all sense of privacy, I would have put up a bigger fight.
Hunter went out of his way to make me feel comfortable, and had even gone so far as to work from home the past couple of days.
But a case he had at Alpha Omega required his attention, so he had to go into the office earlier that morning.
I could see the hesitance on his face when it came time for him to leave, and I assured him I’d be okay on my own.
But right before he walked out the door, he informed me that I wasn’t to leave his house without an escort.
My eyes went big, threatening to fall right out of my skull. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I exclaimed.
He stood at the door, dressed in another pair of distressed jeans, and an old, faded T-shirt, looking like delicious sin.
Feet braced shoulder-width apart and arms crossed over his chest, he scowled at me like I was a petulant child.
“Far from kidding, Wildcat. You plan to leave this house, you have someone with you at all times. I don’t want you by yourself until that son of a bitch has been arrested. ”
I threw my arms up in exasperation before letting them flop back down and slap against my hips.
Leo and Micah had done what they could to keep me informed of the investigation, but so far there had been no sign of Cyrus Whitlock anywhere.
His neighbors reported he hadn’t returned to his home, and there’d been no sign of his car anywhere.
There was an APB or BOLO or some other cop acronym out on the guy, but so far, they’d turned up a whole lot of nothing.
The man had disappeared into the wind, and because of that I was the one paying for it.
“I think I’ve proven I’m more than capable of taking care of myself,” I demanded, bracing my hands on my hips and giving him just as a severe look as he was giving me. “You can’t just keep me in this house all day every day.”
Those unfathomable eyes pinned me in place. “The hell I can’t,” he clipped angrily. “Until I’m sure you’re safe, I’m not taking any risks. You matter to me, Sere.”
Damn it, he wasn’t playing fair, and at that confession, the wind effectively went out of my sails. I let out a pained groan and dropped my head back, feeling the tension start to throb behind my temples.
Sensing I was at my wits’ end, Hunter moved to me, placing his hands on my arms gently, until I lifted my head and looked at him.
The lines in the corners of his eyes creased deeper with concern, and his brow furrowed.
“I’m not trying to take away your freedom.
I just need to keep you safe. Can you let me do that? Please.”
The hint of desperation in his tone tugged at my chest, and I couldn’t bring myself to deny him. How was I supposed to when everything he was doing was solely to keep me safe?
As if sensing me wavering, one side of his mouth hooked up in a small smirk. “I’m not saying you have to stay here forever. You can leave whenever you want. All I’m asking is you take someone with you. Can you give me that, sweetheart? Just for my peace of mind?”
He knew he was winning, and he was pulling out all the stops to get his way. I scowled, clenching my fists at my side, but there was no heat behind my glare.
“Fine,” I relented. Goosebumps broke out across my skin as he slid those work-roughened hands down my arms and wrapped his long fingers around my wrists. The touch was gentle, meant to give comfort, but it sparked something deep inside me that only grew hotter.
“Thank you, baby,” he said quietly.
If it hadn’t been for his hold on me, that one word, spoken so tenderly, would have made my knees weak. I’d never gotten that from him before. I got sweetheart and Wildcat, both of which made my insides quiver. But that was my first baby, and damn, but I loved it.
That was how I came to be sitting in a booth at Evergreen Diner across from Stella and Sage.
I had to get out of the house. I hadn’t been able to take it for another second, so in my desperation, I’d called my sister and informed her, if she didn’t get me the hell out of here, I was executing a jail break.
My voice was finally back to normal, and the bruises had lightened enough that I was able to cover them with a healthy bit of concealer, so when Stella told me she was coming to my rescue, I darted to the guest bathroom I’d taken over in the days I’d been here and got to work.
She and Sage had shown up twenty minutes later in Sage’s fine-as-hell classic black Mustang. If I hadn’t loved her so much, I might have pushed her down a well so I could steal it and take it for a joy ride across the country.
Happy with the job I’d done with the cover-up, I skipped out of the house, feeling like I was floating on air. It was pathetic, really, how excited I was for a trip to the local diner. But I was sick and tired of my own company. I was ready to be around other people.
Silence fell over our table as I scanned the menu, trying to decide what I wanted to eat. It was always a difficult task, seeing as everything Ralph cooked was delicious. I was bouncing between the country fried steak sandwich and the turkey club, trying to pick, when Stella cleared her throat.
I glanced up, noticing for the first time that neither of them focused on their menus, but instead, were staring across the table at me like I was some sort of science experiment.
I arched a single brow, my gaze ping-ponging between the two of them. “Uh, can I help you?”
Sage looked to my sister and shook her head. “See? I told you she wouldn’t spill.”
“What?”
They both ignored me. Stella rolled her eyes. “It’s barely been five minutes. Just give her some time, would you? Be patient.”
Sage blew out a raspberry. “Please. You know me well enough to know patience most certainly isn’t a virtue of mine.”
What the hell was going on?
“Uh, hello!” I called loudly, leaning in to wave my hand in their faces. “It’s not nice to talk about me like I’m not here, so someone better spill before I lose my freaking mind.”
Before either of them could say a word, Sally came to a stop at the end of our table.
“She spilled the beans yet?”
“No.” Sage and Stella answered at the same time.
I threw my hands in the air. “For the love of God! Will someone tell me what the hell is going on?”
Stella let out a deep breath and met my gaze, biting her bottom lip before she finally announced, “There’s kind of a town-wide bet going on right now.”
My chin jerked back in confusion. “A bet? What kind of bet?”
Sally was the one to answer. “A bet for when you and that fine hunk of man you’re currently shacked up with finally get together.”
I’d made the mistake of lifting my water glass and taking a sip as she spoke, and the moment she finished her sentence, the sip I took went down the wrong pipe, and I began to choke.
I keeled over, coughing violently as I tried to clear my airway.
“The hell is goin’ on out there?” Ralph bellowed, his big, bearded face popping up through the passthrough window.
“Nothin’,” Sally shouted back. That was kind of their thing.
They were known far and wide for hilariously hollering the diner down.
Most everyone who stepped foot in the place came not only because the food was delicious, but also for the free show.
“Serenity’s just chokin’ a little bit. Mind your damn business and get back to cooking. We got hungry mouths to feed out here.”
“Sere girl is here?” Ralph asked, ignoring his wife’s order. “You ask her yet if her and her man have banged it out yet?”
Good God!
“Hunter and I are not banging it out,” I declared loudly, and through the blood rushing in my ears, I could have sworn I heard several grumbles of displeasure from the people sitting at the tables around us.
I whipped around and pinned my sister with wide-eyed shock. “You’re telling me there’s a town-wide bet on when Hunter and I are going to have sex?” I squeaked shrilly. Thank God my voice had healed, or that noise coming from my throat would have seriously hurt.
My sister had the good grace to wince at my question, but it was Sage who answered. “Not exactly when you’ll have sex, more like when you two finally get together.”
“My money’s on a week from tomorrow, so if you could hold out a little longer, I’d be more than grateful,” Sally declared.
“Woman,” Ralph bellowed from the kitchen. “You better not be connivin’ out there! You wanna win, you have to do it fair and square!”
A headache that hadn’t been there thirty seconds ago popped up behind my eyeballs.
“If it makes you feel better,” Sage began to explain, “this is somewhat of a Hope Valley tradition. People have been betting on relationships since before I moved to town. There was even a pool on when Hayden and Micah would get together.”
“Lost myself a cool hundred on that one!” Ralph shouted, and I had to admit, I was starting to find the whole thing kind of funny.
“With Hunter bein’ the last bachelor standin’, the competition is fierce,” Sally declared. “And with you stayin’ at his house and all, jaws are waggin’.”
“There’s nothing for them to wag about. There’s nothing going on between Hunter and me. We’re just friends,” I insisted vehemently, ignoring the sour, acrid taste that statement left on my tongue.
It was the truth, damn it. But what I was keeping to myself, what I refused to share with anyone, including my sister, was the fact that I was steadily and quickly falling for the man.
I’d had my heart shattered once before by a man I thought was going to be the love of my life. I’d been convinced he was The One. Capital letters and everything. I was so certain he loved me for me, that I convinced myself he would accept the truth about me and my family, warts and all.
At the time, I’d refused to pull honey traps, because it felt like cheating, but I’d still run cons, considering it was all I’d ever known.
Man, had I been wrong. Not only had he kicked me to the curb the moment he learned the truth about my family, but he’d also told all of our friends, so when I lost him, I lost everyone.
But what I’d felt for him was nothing compared to the way Hunter made me feel. That heartache had wrecked me. It was terrifying to know that Hunter not only had the power to break my heart, but also to shatter my world. If things went badly, I knew I wouldn’t survive it.
“Just friends, my old wrinkled behind,” a voice from behind me declared, and when I turned around, I saw Ms. McClintock, the blue-haired blunt-as-hell octogenarian who ran around town, stirring up trouble and spreading gossip far and wide.
“Seen the way that boy looks at you, and if that’s the look of friendship, I’m goin’ blind and senile.”
It was kind of hilarious to hear her refer to Hunter as a boy, given he was in his early forties.
“Ms. M,” I started to object, but she slashed a hand through the air and cut me off.
“You listen here, girly,” she said, pointing a gnarled, arthritic finger in my face.
“I’ve lost more money on the youngsters in this town than I care to admit, and I’ll be damned if I lose the pool on the last of them Alpha Omega men.
Now, you do what I say and take yourself back home, douse yourself in whatever perfume you kids are wearin’ now-a-days, put on your skimpiest undies, and seduce that big lump of muscle into winnin’ me my money back! ”
My mouth had fallen open in complete shock. Hell, the entire diner had lapsed into silence at her order.
All I could do was sit there, gaping up at the old lady and nod.
“Good,” she clipped. “My work here is done.” She started out of the diner but stopped to proclaim over her shoulder. “I’ll see you at the Tap Room next Friday. And I expect to see you back up on that stage, singin’ your lungs out, now that you’re healed up.”
And with that, she was gone.
I slowly swiveled back around in my seat, blinking slowly. “Can someone tell me what just happened?”
Stella was too busy giggling to get a word in edgewise, so Sage took it upon herself to speak. “Welcome to Hope Valley, honey. Where the men are gorgeous and the crazy is in abundance.”
She had that right.