Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
ERIN
T onight was just what I needed. I’ve missed the hell out of Millie, so when she invited me to the flower class, I knew I wouldn’t say no. We laughed, had a glass of wine, and made a pretty decent arrangement of flowers, if I do say so myself.
Driving out to the ranch in the dark isn’t my favorite thing, especially since I had the deer incident a few weeks ago, but it’s an uneventful drive, and soon, I’m turning down the driveway, headed toward the farmhouse.
I’m a little surprised by how much I love living on the ranch. I knew that I wanted to get out of the big city, and the small town of Bitterroot Valley is perfect for that, but I actually prefer being out at the ranch. It’s quiet and peaceful, not to mention absolutely gorgeous. When this job ends and it’s time for me to move back to town, I’ll be sad to say goodbye to it.
“I’m not thinking about sad things,” I mutter to myself as I bring the Suburban to a stop and grab my purse and the bouquet of flowers before heading inside. The house is quiet, and I assume everyone is sleeping, so I tiptoe to my room and close the door before setting my flowers on the dresser and hanging my purse on the hook behind the door.
When I turn around, I see a sweatshirt folded on the end of the bed.
It’s a Montana State University sweatshirt, in blue and gold, and when I pick it up and smell it, it smells like Remington.
“He gave me his shirt,” I mutter before burying my nose in it once more. It’s definitely seen better days, so it’s obviously something that he once wore often.
I absolutely love it .
After a quick shower, I tug the sweatshirt over my head and hug my arms around me before I slip into bed. With the sweatshirt wrapped around me, it’s almost as if I’m lying with Remington, and that feels damn good.
Yeah, I love it here. My life is awesome right now.
It’s Sunday morning, and it’s my day to work at the coffee shop. I have the early shift, so I’m up and out before anyone else is even awake yet. It’s the one day that Rem sleeps in, so I’m sure to be quiet as I walk out the door, lock it behind me, and get into the Suburban to head into town.
I came home in the dark last night, but the sun is already starting to rise now. I love that the days are lengthening. Soon, it’ll be light out until late into the evening, and I’m looking forward to quiet nights out on the deck, watching the world fall asleep.
The drive into town is easy, and soon, I’m parked in my space behind the shop and unlocking the back door. I’ll be by myself for the first hour or so, getting things ready, but Millie will be in to help with the church rush, and then she’ll close after my shift ends.
Happy to see that everything is clean and ready to go for today, I get to work refilling napkins and cups, making sure fresh beans are in the grinder, and humming to myself as I work.
Early Sunday mornings are quiet, but when Millie comes in at eight, things start to pick up.
“Hi, Brooks,” I say with a smile when the man walks up to the counter. He’s tall like Remington, with dark hair and hazel eyes. “How’s it going?”
“Can’t complain,” he replies. “Your car’s ready. I thought I’d come in and tell you in person, and grab some coffee, of course.”
“You’re kidding.” I grin at him. “That’s awesome. ”
“Thanks for waiting so long. It’s been a busy month in the shop.”
“There was no hurry, but it’ll be nice to have it back. I can come get it tomorrow, if that works.”
“Whenever you’re ready for it,” he assures me and places his order for black coffee.
“Hey, Brooks,” Millie says with a wave as she steams some milk.
Brooks moves down to chat with Millie as I take the next customer. He’s a man I haven’t seen before, just a little taller than me with black hair and brown eyes and a little scruff on his face. There’s nothing particularly striking about him.
“Hey there,” I say with a smile. “Where are you visiting from?”
“Oh, I’m not.” There’s a southern accent in his voice. “I just moved to town a few weeks ago.”
“Welcome to town. You’ll like it here. I’m fairly new, too. What can I get for you?”
He places his order and gives me the name Clay to write on his cup, and then I move on to the next customer.
Millie and I work well and efficiently together, and before I know it, it’s almost noon when we finally have a lull.
“Busy morning,” Millie says as she wipes down the counter. “Makes the time go by fast.”
“Super speed,” I agree and glance at the door when the bell dings.
Summer Quinn, the owner of the floral shop, comes in, carrying a huge bouquet of blood-red roses.
“Hi, Erin. Delivery for you.” Summer grins and passes me the note. The envelope has the logo for Paula’s Posies on it. Summer bought the shop from Paula years ago but never changed the name of the business.
“I didn’t think you delivered on Sundays,” Millie says.
“Just half of the day through the summer,” Summer replies. “Open the card, Erin. It’s super sweet.”
You look beautiful today.
That’s it.
It can’t be from Remington because he hasn’t seen me today.
“I guess my brother can be sweet when he wants to be,” Millie says.
“Hmm,” is my only reply to that. “Hey, Mill, do you mind covering things for a sec? I want to make a call.”
“No phone sex while you’re at work,” Millie replies with a wink as Summer snorts with laughter. “Sure, no problem.”
“Thanks.”
With blood rushing in my ears, I hurry back to the break room and quickly dial my dad’s number. Of course, he’s likely off doing something fun on a Sunday and doesn’t answer.
So, I call again.
This time, he picks up and sounds annoyed. “Hey, baby, can I call you back in about an hour?”
“No.” I swallow back the panic and fight to sound calm. “I need to speak with you right now.”
“Okay, no problem.” He pulls the phone away from his mouth. “Gentlemen, I need to take this. I’ll be right back.”
I hear rustling, and then he’s back.
“What’s wrong?”
“Maybe nothing.” I pace the room as I break out in a cold sweat. “I need to know if you’ve been notified by the court that the asshole who stalked me years ago has been released.”
“I haven’t been, no. I can reach out to your uncle Matt and see what he can find out. Why do you ask, Erin?” His voice has taken on a hard edge, and I know the alpha is firmly in place.
“It might be nothing at all. I mean, odds are that I’m just overreacting.”
“You don’t usually overreact. What happened?”
“I just got flowers at work, and the card is very much like what he used to send me. Word for word.”
“Maybe you have a secret admirer, and it’s a coincidence.” I can picture my dad pacing, pushing his hand through his hair.
“It could be,” I agree and make myself take a deep breath. Having a panic attack isn’t going to help anything here. Hell, for all I know, I might be sounding an alarm for no reason at all. “But my gut doesn’t think so, and I need to know if he’s out of prison, Dad.”
“I’m on it,” he assures me. “I’ll call you back when I know anything, but it’s Sunday, so there probably won’t be news until tomorrow.”
“Damn weekends,” I mutter. “Okay, thank you so much. I’ll have my phone on me all day tomorrow.”
“Good. And watch your back. Don’t go out by yourself. I know you can take care of yourself, but let’s not take any chances, okay?”
“You don’t have to worry about that. I’ll be careful.”
“Love you. Talk soon.”
He hangs up, and I have to sit in a chair because I’m so light-headed. Finally, when I’ve calmed down, I walk back out to Millie and find that Summer has gone.
Without a word, I grab the roses and take them directly over to the trash and throw them away.
“Uh, are you and Rem fighting or something?” Millie asks.
“No. They weren’t from Remington.” I’m embarrassed that tears want to push their way out of my eyes, and Millie’s smile turns to a concerned frown.
“Whoa, what’s up?”
Thankfully, there’s no one in the coffee shop right now, so I lean on the counter and cross my arms over my chest.
“Do you remember when I told you that I’d once had a stalker, and that’s why I wasn’t on social media?”
“Yeah.” Her eyes go round. “Oh, shit.”
“I don’t know for sure that those are from him, but he always, always sent me blood-red roses with a card that creeped me out. Remington hasn’t seen me today, Millie. He wouldn’t know how I look. But that’s the kind of shit he would say.”
“Yikes,” she whispers. “What do we do?”
“I just called my dad to find out if the asshole’s been released from jail. They were supposed to notify us. Dad hadn’t heard anything, but he’s going to look into it. My uncle Matt is a cop, pretty high up in Seattle, so he’ll have people he can reach out to, but they likely won’t be able to find anything out until tomorrow, since it’s Sunday.”
“So, we have to keep your brain occupied on other things for today. I can do that. Your shift is about over, but if you hang out and wait for me, I’ll take you out shopping and for a late lunch. Anything you want.”
“I’ll take you up on that. But rather than wait, I might just run over to check on Roger. I haven’t been over to visit as often as I thought I would.”
“Oh, that’s perfect,” she says. “But I’m going to walk you out to your car.”
“My dad’s going to really like you,” I inform her. “He doesn’t want me doing anything by myself.”
“It’s just common sense,” she replies and follows me out the back door. She waits while I get into the car, start it up, and pull away.
Millie really is the best friend I’ve ever had.
I love seeing all the spring flowers that have sprung up in town as I drive through the neighborhood to Roger’s house. I notice that someone is parked in the spot reserved for the garage apartment, and I’m relieved that he was able to find someone else to live there so quickly.
Roger answers the door, and his face lights up when he sees that it’s me.
“Erin, you don’t have to knock.”
“I figured I would. Didn’t want to startle you.” I immediately walk into his arms for a big hug and then frown when I look around the living room. It’s definitely more disheveled than usual. “How have you been?”
“Oh, I’m just fine.” He turns to walk away, and I notice that he’s limping.
“What happened to your leg?”
“I stumbled off the steps in the backyard.” He shakes his head. “I just get clumsier and clumsier.”
“Did you have it checked out?”
“It’s just a little sprain.”
“Is it your ankle?”
“The knee.”
Still frowning, I prop my hands on my hips. “Do you mind if I look at it?”
Roger pauses, but then shakes his head. “I don’t mind. It’s a little bruised up.”
But when I push his pants up around his knee, I see that it’s more than a little bruised up. It’s all black and blue and a little swollen.
“Roger, we need to ice this. It’s swollen. You sit right there, and I’ll fix you up.”
“You really don’t have to fuss.” But he doesn’t object too hard when I start making an ice pack in a towel and then lay it over the knee. “Thank you.”
“I’m sorry. I should check in with you more often.”
“It’s not your job to take care of me, you know.”
“It’s not a job at all; it’s out of love and you know it.” I lean in to kiss his cheek. “Now, while that does its job, tell me about your new tenant.”
“I don’t know much,” he says while he watches me bustle around his kitchen, making us each a cup of tea. “He’s new to town. Single guy. Does computer work from home, and he said the apartment worked because it’s furnished.”
“Oh, I’m glad that worked out.” I remember the customer from earlier today. “Is his name Clay?”
“You’ve met him?”
“I just waited on him at the coffee shop. He was kind of shy.”
“Definitely quiet, but that’s fine by me.”
“I’m making you a few ice packs, and I’m putting them in the freezer so you can just grab one and then sit and put it on the knee. Put it back in the freezer when you’re done, and it’ll be ready for next time.”
I glance over at him and find him smiling at me. “I’ve missed you, kiddo.”
“I’ve missed you, too.”
“I can’t believe I found so many new things at Polly’s,” I say as I nibble on a baby back rib. Millie took me to Rocky Mountain Smokehouse, the best BBQ place I’ve ever been to, after spending about an hour and a couple hundred dollars at A Pocket Full of Polly, my favorite dress shop in town. “I mean, I guess I need to get some things for summer, right?”
“Totally. And that sundress? The green one? Holy shit, you looked hot in that.”
I grin and nibble my rib. “Thanks. It was a good find. I have to say, between hanging out with Roger for a while, and then time with you, I haven’t had time to think about the scary things.”
“Good, and we’re still not thinking about that. So, are you having a lot of sex with my brother?”
I choke on my water and cover my mouth with a napkin as I cough and sputter, making Millie grin.
“Jesus, that was an abrupt change in subject.”
“Go on, answer the question.”
“We make time for it,” I reply. “Usually when I get back from taking the kids to school.”
“That’s handy. I think my parents are planning to offer to take the kids for the weekend next week. They want to go to Spokane for a few days, do some shopping, and visit with my aunt Melissa.”
“Oh, nice. The kids will love that. How far away is Spokane?”
“It’s about a six-hour drive is all,” she replies. “Pretty easy. The kids always love staying in hotels with a pool.”
“Of course, they do. Do people not have pools here? I grew up with one in the backyard.”
Millie watches me for a minute and then laughs. “No. We only get about three months of good weather. Four if we’re lucky. It’s a waste of time and money to put in a pool.”
“That makes sense. Well, they’ll have fun.”
“And you’ll have a whole sexy weekend to yourselves.” Millie wiggles her eyebrows. “Score.”
That makes me laugh, and then I sit back and pat my stomach. “I’m full. ”
“Too full for cheesecake?”
I bite my lower lip. “Are we sharing?”
“Fuck no, we aren’t sharing.”
“Yeah, I want cheesecake.”
It’s late when I get back to the ranch. Millie and I ended up staying at the restaurant for a while, just chatting away the hours.
I haven’t done that in a long time, and it was fun.
I did text Remington to let him know not to expect me for quite a while, and he just told me to have fun.
He’s not suffocating, which I really appreciate. He doesn’t even bat an eyelash when I say I want to spend time with my friends. Not that he should , but some would.
I’m glad he’s not a jerk.
When I walk into the house, it suddenly hits me that I’m so, so tired. What an emotional rollercoaster of a day, between getting the flowers, discovering that Roger had fallen and was hurt, and then the fun few hours with Millie.
It was all over the place.
I want a hot shower and comfortable clothes, so I head for my bedroom first and make a beeline for the shower.
Thirty minutes later, bundled up in sweats and Rem’s sweatshirt, I make my way to the kitchen for a glass of wine. I’ve just taken a glass out of the cabinet when Remington walks in and smiles at me from across the room.
Holy shit, that smile is devastating.
“How is it that you can make my heart go pitter-patter with just a smile?” I pull the cork out of the bottle and pour half of a glass. “Would you like some?”
“No thanks.” He’s in a simple white T-shirt and red flannel pajama pants, and he pads on bare feet over to me. “You like the sweatshirt.”
“I sleep in it.” I sip the wine. “It smells like you, and it’s comforting.”
He cups my cheek and rubs his thumb over my skin. “Something’s bothering you. Didn’t you have fun with my sister?”
“Yeah, we had fun. We shopped and ate; what’s not to like?” I set the glass down and then step into his embrace, enjoying the way his arms come around me as he holds me close. My head rests on his chest, and I can hear his heartbeat. I’m all talked out when it comes to the potential stalker, and I don’t really have anything to tell him anyway, so I decide to wait to fill him in until I hear from my dad tomorrow. “It was kind of an all-over-the-place kind of day. How about yours? How are the kids?”
“They’re passed out.” He kisses the top of my head. “We took the horses out today and then helped my mom plant some flowers.”
“Nice.”
“My parents are taking the kids next weekend.”
“Millie mentioned that. They’ll have fun.”
Rem tips my chin up so I’m looking up into his face. “So will we.” His eyes narrow. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Just tired. It was a late night last night and an early morning today. All I need is a good night’s sleep.”
“Want to watch a show for a little bit?”
“Absolutely.” I grab my wine and follow him into the family room and get settled on the couch while he finds us something to watch. We end up on a blind dating show, where at the end of the season, the couple has to decide if they’re getting married. “I love stuff like this.”
“Reality TV?”
“Yeah. It’s like crack to me.”
Curled up beside Remington, with my head on his arm and my hand in his, we watch TV until I fall asleep before the end of the first episode.