Chapter Seventeen
By the time she finished her shift at the grocery store on Thursday afternoon, Shayna was convinced that this had been the longest week in history. She checked her phone – Alexis had said that she’d text when she arrived to pick her up, but she might be a few minutes late.
There was nothing from her yet. Shayna smiled as she pulled up her messages with Ty. They hadn’t spoken since Salt Lake, but they texted in every spare minute. She decided to take a chance and dialed his number.
“Shay! Is everything okay?”
His deep, sexy voice sent a shiver down her spine. “It is now. I won’t keep you if you’re busy, I just wanted to say hi.”
She could hear his smile when he spoke. “Damn, girl, I miss you so bad!”
“Aww, I miss you, too. I needed to hear your voice.”
“I’m glad you called. I needed to hear your voice, too. Are you all right? Where are you?”
“I just finished my shift at the store. Alexis will be here any minute to pick me up, but I couldn’t resist the chance to call you.”
“I’ve had my phone in my hand ready to call you at least eleventy-three times every day, but I know you’re busy and I know you never get a minute to yourself.”
“I don’t. I hate this, Ty. I mean, I love that they’re all looking out for me, and I’m so grateful to them but I just want to be able to sit in my apartment by myself – and talk to you.”
“We’ll be able to do that tomorrow night, sweetheart – and we won’t have to talk over the phone. I’ll be right there with you – and they’re really okay with that?”
“Yes! Alexis has reassured me a couple of times now that they’re happy for you to stay.” She let out a short laugh. “And that they don’t expect us to stay in the house with them.”
He chuckled. “Because they think they know what we’ll be up to?”
“Err, yeah! And I intend to make sure that they’re right! I told you – this time, I’m not taking any excuses. You’re mine.”
“Damn, I love the way that sounds. And you’re mine, Shay. All mine.”
“I am. Do you know what time you’ll get here?”
“Not yet. Cash is going to let me know what time they expect to land here. I’ll be waiting at the airport and as soon as the plane’s refueled, I’ll be taking off and heading your way.”
She bit down on her bottom lip.
“Talk to me? Why’d you go quiet?”
“Just … I can’t get over your brother having his own plane and you being able to just fly down here like that.”
“I figured you might be thinking that. It’s not a big deal, Shay. It’s not like I have my own plane.”
She laughed. “See, I love that about you – you get me! I think most guys would be trying to make out that it was their plane – you know, trying to impress a girl that way. To me that just makes me feel …”
“What?”
She blew out a sigh. “You know what. It makes me feel … inadequate.”
“Well, you’re not. You’re freaking awesome, okay? It doesn’t matter what a person has in terms of money and shit, and it doesn’t matter how the world sees them. All that matters is who you are on the inside, and you, Shayna Rose, are a special, beautiful lady – inside and out.”
“Thanks, Ty. Shoot, Alexis just pulled up outside. I’d better go. She wanted me to wait inside until she texts to say that she’s here.”
“Okay. You’re teaching at the gym tonight, right?”
“I am. I’ll text you when I get home. I want to call you, too. I feel like I should make a tent under my duvet so that we can talk. Or maybe I should just get over myself; it’s not like they’d mind if I call you – I just feel a bit self-conscious about it, you know?”
He chuckled. “I do. I’d love it if you call, but no worries if we just text tonight. Tomorrow night, I’ll be there with you, and we can make a tent under your duvet and … talk.”
A shiver ran down her spine. “I doubt there’ll be much talking going on.”
“Damn, Shay! I’m hard as a rock here just thinking about it. You’d best go – you don’t want to keep Alexis waiting. I’m going to have to rearrange myself – or go stand in the freezer for a while before anyone sees me.”
She had to laugh. “Sorry.”
“I’m not.”
Her phone buzzed with a text. “She just messaged me. I’d better go.”
“Okay. Be safe. I’ll see ya later.”
“See ya later, Ty.”
~ ~ ~
After the call ended, Ty finished his prep for dinner before going out to the back porch of the lodge. He liked to come out here in his downtime. The guests didn’t have access to this area, so he usually had the place to himself.
He sat down in one of the wooden rocking chairs and took his phone out again. He was glad that Shay had called him. He loved the sound of her voice, and even though it wasn’t as good as talking to her, he could hear her in his head when he reread her messages.
He jumped when his phone rang in his hand. For a second he hoped it was her again, but it was Cash’s name on the screen.
“Hey,” he answered.
“Hey, Ty. Have you heard anything from your girl?”
“Just talked to her a little while ago. Do you have anything on this asshole?”
“Amelia thinks she might – but she’s asked if Shayna will send him another message. Amelia can get a better bead on him with more recent data.”
Ty scowled. “Does she have to?”
Cash laughed. “Of course not. But it might help. Unless – do you reckon she’d give you her login so that we can do the messaging? That’d be better, if she will. That way she doesn’t have to engage with him, and we can control the exchange – learn more about him.”
“I’ll ask her and get right back to you.”
“Maybe ask her and give her a bit of time first?”
“Why?”
“Think about it – she might have been talking to other guys before she talked to you. She might want some time to delete stuff before she gives you her login.”
Ty gripped his phone tighter. “She said she hadn’t talked to anyone else.”
“And I’m not saying she did. Don’t get all wound up about it, squirt. I was thinking out loud, that’s all.”
“Yeah. Sorry.”
“That’s okay. It says a lot that it bothers you.”
“Does it tell you that I’m a jerk?”
Cash laughed. “No! It tells me that you care. You need to chill a bit. Give her a call. Ask if she’ll give you her login. If she doesn’t want to, there is another option but I don’t think you’d like it.”
“No. Tell Amelia that she can’t hack Shay’s account, Cash. I don’t … that’d … just no … all right?”
“Received loud and clear. And for what it’s worth – I’m glad. I’ll go tell Amelia now before she gets it into her head that …”
“Yeah, you do that. And do you know what time you’ll be here tomorrow?”
“If it’s just me and Trav, we should land around five. If Grumpy and Grumpier decide to come, we could get there earlier.”
Ty laughed. “Do you call them that to their faces?”
“Damn straight I do! At first, I hoped that it might get through to them, but I was being too optimistic – they know they’re a pair of miserable bastards, and they just don’t care. But never mind that, talk to your girl and let me know, okay?”
“Will do.”
After the call ended, Ty stared at his phone. He didn’t like the idea that Shayna might have been talking to some other guy – or guys – before he messaged her for the first time, but even if she had, he needed to get over it. It was a dating site after all. Then again, what would bother him if she had been talking to someone was that she’d told him she hadn’t. He pulled up their text string. Even if that were the case, it shouldn’t be a problem – she’d told him that before they really knew each other – he needed to let it go.
He stared at the screen for a moment, wondering how best to approach this. Then he smiled; he’d approach it the same way he did everything – head on.
Ty: I’m a bit leery about asking you this – because I don’t know what you’ll think. But you know me, I’m just going to dive right in. How would you feel about giving me your login for the dating site? Amelia wants to see if we can get this asshole to send more messages. You could message him if you want, but it might be better if we let her and Cash handle it. I want to include myself in that but I’d no doubt screw it all up by getting mad at him. No worries if you’re not comfortable sharing your login. We can find another way – or you can send the messages yourself if you prefer.
He watched the screen, wondering if she’d want to take her time – if she’d need to think about whether she was comfortable with letting him – or Cash and Amelia – into her account. He was relieved when he could see that she was typing a reply.
Shayna: Of course! The username is just my email address ShayMRose1@ gmail.com and the password is 82*&L4DhaP We just got back to the house, more in a second.
If Ty had felt relieved that she replied so quickly, he was even more so that she sent him her login with no hesitation whatsoever.
Ty: Thanks. I’ll send it straight to Cash if you’re sure you don’t mind.
It took a few minutes before she replied.
Shayna: Sorry. We just got back to the house, and Alexis wanted to talk about what’s happening tonight. Apparently, Davin and his buddy, Adam, are going to work out in the gym while I teach my class. So, they’ll be taking me and bringing me home again. I really am grateful, but I’m starting to feel like a package that’s being shunted around!
And of course I don’t mind – I’m really hoping that Cash and Amelia will be able to figure out who this guy is. I mean the only other way we’re going to find out is if he approaches me in person and … ugh, that thought scares me! It’s not likely to happen though considering that I’m never by myself. It’s like a stalemate. We won’t know who he is unless he comes near me but everyone’s making it impossible for him to get near me.
Ty: Amelia’s the best in the business. And I like the idea of being able to track him down through technology way better than the idea of him getting anywhere near you. I just sent the details to Cash, and they’ll get on it. Have to say I’m impressed by the password – and that you seemed to know it well enough to be able to type it straight into a text. It worries me a bit though – if you use that same password anywhere else, you should probably change it. Not saying that Cash or Amelia would use it but it’s best to have a unique one for every different site.
Shay: I do, don’t worry. I know it might look complicated, but I make them up in ways that make sense to me so that they’re easy to remember. And lol, I don’t want you thinking that I know it off the top of my head because I used it a lot. I didn’t, I’m just good at passwords. I couldn’t understand why you thought I might not want to tell it to you, and it’s only just hit me. I have nothing to hide, Ty. I promise. I did get a bunch of messages on there, but I didn’t reply to anyone before you. Lol, I deleted them all – but tell Amelia that if she can recover deleted messages, she’ll get an eyeful.
Ty: What kind of eyeful?
Shay: You must know! I bet you got the same kind of photos that I did.
Ty: Oh! You mean women wanted to show you their nips?
Shay: Hahaha! No. Men wanted to show me their dicks!
Ty: And that wasn’t enough to make you want to fall into bed with them?
Shay: Ha! No! I hate to break it to you, but I’ve never heard of a girl who was impressed by dick pics from a stranger.
Ty: And here I was thinking that I’d never get anywhere with you because I’m too shy to send you any.
Shay: 1. You are sooo not shy! 2. I don’t believe you ever have or ever would send them to a stranger online. 3. Please tell me I’m right about 2! 4. You know damn well you’re going to get somewhere with me – tomorrow. 5. I hate it, but I have to go. Sorry. Need to shower and eat and be ready to go to the gym soon.
Ty: 1. No sorry needed. 2. You go do your thing. 3. You’re right about 2 and 1. 4. As for 4 – I don’t know damn well – but I’m hoping like hell! 5. Enjoy your class, be safe, and let me know when you’re home.
Shay: Will do. TTYL and finally I can say SYT!
Ty stared at that last part. He didn’t get it. What was she saying?
Shay: Ha! You don’t know what it means do you? Get your mind out of the gutter, it’s just See You Tomorrow!
Ty: Oh! FFS! Told you I wasn’t much of a texter. Or I wasn’t till I met you. TTYL.
He added a heart emoji with a smile. He was getting desperate to say those three words to her. But the time would come soon – just not soon enough.
~ ~ ~
“Okay, everyone. You did a great job tonight. Keep up your practice until next week, and I’ll be here same time, same place, waiting to see your smiling faces,” said Shayna.
It’d been a good class. She’d managed to get out of her head for what felt like the first time since she got back from Salt Lake. She loved teaching Pilates, and this was a good group. They were all at different stages and different abilities, but they gelled well and encouraged each other.
“Will you be bringing these two with you again?” Lizzie Morgan asked with a smile. She pointed to Davin and Adam, who’d finished their workout and were helping to stack the mats. “I believe we could probably double attendance levels if you do.”
Shayna had to laugh. She’d been worried at first that some of the women might feel uncomfortable having Davin and Adam there, but that hadn’t been the case. They might have been something of a distraction but, judging by the appreciative looks a few of the women sent in their direction, a very welcome distraction.
Davin smiled through pursed lips. “We’ll be a regular fixture until we get this business with Shayna cleared up.”
Lizzie looked more serious as she and most of the other women gathered around.
Shayna had explained at the beginning of the session why Davin and Adam were there, but she’d brushed off the women’s concerns so that they could get the class started on time.
“What do we need to know?” Lizzie asked. “And what can we do to help?”
“I wish we had more to tell you,” said Davin. “All we know is that someone’s been watching Shayna. He followed her once that we know of – and from some messages that he sent her, we’re not prepared to take any risks. So, we’re making sure that she’s not by herself.”
“What does he look like?” Lizzie asked.
Davin looked at Shayna.
“He’s probably in his late thirties or early forties. He has brown hair and he’s maybe five-ten or eleven.” She made a face. “There’s nothing distinguishing about him.”
“What can we do to help?”
Davin shrugged. “Just be alert. Watch out for yourselves, most of all.” He smiled at Shayna. “We’ve got Shay covered.”
Another of the older ladies, Anne Hemming, smiled at Shayna. “You’re in good hands. These two are good enough to take care of Clay McAdam’s security.”
Shayna nodded. “I’m not worried. How could I be with these guys on the case?”
“Even so,” said Lizzie. “We’ll put the word out so that everyone can keep an eye out for you – if we see any suspicious characters …”
Davin winked at Shayna before turning back to the women. “That’ll be great – just don’t get overzealous. You might see an unfamiliar face with Shay this weekend, but don’t immediately assume he’s a bad guy! She has a friend coming to visit.”
Shayna smiled. “He’ll be easy enough to recognize though – he’ll more than likely be wearing a cowboy hat.”
“Ooh!” Lizzie grinned at her. “Have you found yourself a cowboy?”
Shayna nodded slowly. She didn’t mind the question, but she didn’t want to get into all the details – or hold everyone up from getting home.
Davin came to her rescue. “Sorry to break this up ladies, but we need to get home, and I imagine that you do, too.”
Lizzie chuckled. “Of course. Get home and take our big noses with us.” She touched Shayna’s arm. “I didn’t mean to pry – I’m just excited for you.” Her smile faded. “Excited about your cowboy – and more than a little angry that someone’s been making life difficult for you. We don’t need that kind in Summer Lake. We don’t usually get them either.”
Anne nodded solemnly. “We’ll put the word out – see if we can’t find out who he is and run him out of town.”
Adam chuckled. “Thanks, ladies. Davin and I can only do so much – and the way you guys network will give us another angle, I’m sure.”
When the last of the women had gone, Davin raised an eyebrow at Shayna. “Are we good to go? Have you done everything you need to?”
Shayna got up from the computer at the front desk where she’d been updating the attendance chart. “Yep, all done.”
Adam shook his head. “I forgot that you used to work here, didn’t you?”
“I did.”
He grinned. “And I’ve never said thank you.”
She gave him a puzzled look. “What for?”
He chuckled. “Long story, but you giving up your hours here played a big part in me and Evie getting together.”
“Really?” She grinned. “Oh, that makes me happy!”
“Me too,” he returned.
“Me three,” said Davin as he checked his watch. “But can we get going? If we’re not quick about it, Alexis will start to wonder what’s taking us so long.”
“And you don’t want to worry her,” said Adam.
Shayna laughed. “More like we don’t want her riding out here like an avenging angel when there’s no need.”
Davin grinned at her. “Right, we’ll save that for when she is needed.”
Shayna climbed into the back seat of Davin’s truck and let Adam ride shotgun. He and Evie only lived a few doors down from them, so they’d picked him up on the way in.
She rummaged in her backpack for her phone, wanting to text Ty to tell him that she’d be back at the house soon. She really wanted to hear his voice.
Davin and Adam were talking about Alec, the guy who worked with them. He lived in the guest house at Clay’s place and …
She frowned as she peered out of the window. There was a figure hurrying away from the gym. Was that him? Her heart was pounding as she watched. She couldn’t see his face. He looked to be the same build but …
“Shay?” Davin’s question broke through her racing thoughts. He met her gaze in the rearview mirror. “What’s wrong.”
“Nothing. I … Maybe. Shoot, I don’t know. See that guy?” She pointed, but the guy disappeared down a side street. “I think it might be …”
Davin put his foot down. When the truck turned the corner, they were just in time to see the figure going into the alley that ran behind the stores and businesses on Main Street.
“I’m on it,” said Adam. Before the truck had come to a stop, he was out the door and running toward the alley.
“Crap, Davin! I don’t want him to … That might not be him – it could be anyone.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Davin told her. “He won’t hurt him.”
He parked the truck at the end of the alley. There was no sign of Adam or the other guy.
“Do you think you should go and help him?” Shayna asked. She hated to think that Adam might get hurt. It’d be all her fault and …
“Calm down, Shay. Take a deep breath.” Davin had turned in his seat to look at her.
She did as he said, and he smiled. “It’s all fine. Adam can take care of himself. And I’m not going to leave you in the truck by yourself.”
“I could lock the doors. I …”
Davin checked down the alley and pointed. “He’s okay, look.”
She blew out a big sigh. “I didn’t want anything to happen to him because of me.”
“Relax. He’s fine.”
Adam might be fine physically, but he looked pissed when he got back to the truck. He climbed into the passenger seat and slammed the door. “I lost him. He cut back through to Main Street and by the time I made it out there, there was no sign of him.”
Davin shrugged. “We don’t even know that it was him.”
“I was,” said Adam. “I know it.” When he turned to look back at Shayna, she nodded too. There was no way that they could know, but she could feel it somehow. She shuddered.
Davin started the truck and turned it back around. “We’ll just take a cruise up and down and then head home.”
She was grateful that he didn’t want to give up straight away, but just as she knew that had been the guy – Shay’sGuy, as he’d called himself – she also knew that they wouldn’t find him now.