Chapter 5
After the last screw was in place, Duke lowered his arm and circled his shoulder.
He hated leaving Heather at Lane’s, but he had to get the security camera installed for Mr. and Mrs. Gurly.
Every nerve in his body was set on high alert, and he fought the instinct to drive all the way to Texas and beat the crap out of his sister’s ex-boyfriend.
He stepped off the ladder and tightened his grip on the screwdriver. Anger flowed through him like a flash flood.
He should have been there. Should have been around to step in the second things got bad. Heather shouldn’t have been forced to drive fifteen hours to put distance between her and trouble.
And damn it, if he hadn’t done the exact same thing—run from his own problems—he would’ve been around to help.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Mr. Gurly asked. “Or better yet, some homemade fudge?”
Folding the ladder back to its smallest size, he remembered Suzy’s request for her favorite candy earlier. “Not sure anything in my head is worth much, but I’ll take some chocolate covered peanuts.”
“Good choice,” Mr. Gurly said and stepped behind the glass counter. “If I recall correctly, those are Lane’s sister’s favorite as well.”
He grunted a response, not willing to confirm anything before putting the ladder back in the storage closet and double checking to make sure everything was installed properly. Once he was satisfied his job was done right, he returned to the main salesfloor of the candy store.
“I’m all set. Your wife is back in the office, and I went over how to work the system with her.”
Mr. Gurly snorted. “I’m sure that was fun.”
Duke bit back a grin. He’d lost his grandmother years ago, but he couldn’t help but imagine that teaching his own grandma would have been similar to explaining how to use technology with Mrs. Gurly—swearing and all. “It was an experience.”
“Then you more than earned this.” Mr. Gurly reached across the counter with a white paper bag. “I made sure to add extra, just in case.” He added a wink as he handed over the treat.
“Appreciate that, but I insist on paying.” He dipped his hand into his back pocket for his wallet.
Mr. Gurly clicked his tongue. “Wouldn’t hear of it. You and Lane did more than necessary to help us out this morning. Besides, if you taught my wife how to use that equipment, I owe you a great deal more.”
Laughing, Duke tucked his wallet back in its place and accepted the offering. “Good point. Is there anything else I can help you with?” He glanced around the tidy shop, happy to see everything was back in place.
Except the window. Ugly, brown carboard covered the hole left behind by the busted glass.
“Nah, you’ve done plenty.” The bell chimed above the door, announcing a trio of customers. “Looks like I’ve got some mouths to feed.”
Duke dipped his chin in gratitude then sidestepped the young mother with her two children as he retreated to the sidewalk.
The punch of fresh air filled his lungs.
A quick flick of his wrist told him he’d finished his work in good time.
He’d head back to the office, see what else needed done for the day, then take Heather back to his place.
Maybe then she’d open up to him about what’d been going on in her life.
With his hands shoved in the pockets of his jacket, he made a beeline for his truck, parked in an angled spot on the street.
He could kick his own ass for not keeping in better touch with Heather—with the rest of his sisters and parents.
Hell, he hadn’t seen his nieces and nephews in years.
Yes, he video chatted with all of them as often as possible, but even that wasn’t often enough.
He’d failed. Ran from his problems and let that same problem keep him away from people he loved.
And as much as he’d tried, he’d lost touch with the people who cared about him.
Time to change that. He’d noted how Heather and Suzy had stopped their conversation the second he’d stepped onto the porch before heading into town.
He was glad his sister found someone to confide in, but he wanted her to know he was there too.
He wouldn’t push, wouldn’t pry, but he’d make it known he cared.
He cracked a smile for the first time in hours as an idea took hold.
When they were younger, he and Heather would buy as much junk food as they wanted and challenge each other to video games.
They’d sit for hours, laughing and talking trash, but the occasional deep conversation would sneak in.
He still had his old gaming console somewhere in an unpacked box with all their favorite games.
All he had to do was stop into the market and pack up enough snacks to give them both diabetes.
Plan made, he felt a little lighter as he jogged across the street and strolled to the opposite end of the town square. The Trading Post might not have everything he’d need to supply his kitchen for the week, but it would have plenty of what he wanted for tonight.
He searched through his memory of all of Heather’s favorite foods as he approached the store. A little red car turned the corner and slid into a parking spot as he opened the door to step inside.
“Hey there, cowboy.”
The familiar draw was like fingernails raking over a bed of broken glass. It couldn’t be. He ran too far, too much time had passed. Slowly, he glanced over his shoulder and his eyes connected with a tall blond with big, blue eyes and pouty lips.
She stood beside her car, her mouth in a hesitant smile and gave a little hip-high wave.
He fisted his hands at his sides and reigned in the temper threating to snap every shred of patience he possessed. “Chrissy? What the hell are you doing here?”
She lifted one slender shoulder. “I wanted to see you.”
Suspicion grew inside him like a wildfire. “How did you find me?”
“Heather told me she was coming up to see you, so I followed her.”
At least she had the decency to cringe at the admission.
“Why?”
Giving him a tiny shake of her head, her lips curved in a sad smile. “Don’t you think it’s time we put all of our issues behind us?”
“I put you behind me a long time ago.”
She took a step forward, and he instantly took one back.
“Are you sure about that?” she asked.
He ground his teeth together as every act of emotional warfare he’d endured at her hands flitted through his mind. “Absolutely.”
A flash of anger darkened her eyes to cobalt. “Well, I haven’t, and I deserve to be heard.”
A thought ignited and stoked the flames of his suspicion to raw, hot anger. “You did it. You’re the one who wrote that threat on Suzy’s car. I don’t know what game you’re playing, but I don’t want any part of it.”
Plans for the evening forgotten, he turned from The Trading Post and stomped back to his truck. He needed to put distance between him and his past before Chrissy took things way too far.
Just like she always did.
Even if the morning had been filled with a number of unexpected interruptions—both bad and good—Suzy still had work to do. As hard as it was to concentrate, she sat at her desk in Lane’s home office and double checked the schedule for the upcoming week.
She balanced the phone receiver between her ear and shoulder while she spoke. “We have a window of time open Wednesday afternoon if you’d like to come in and speak with the guys about your needs, Mrs. Carpenter. Does that work for you?”
Mrs. Carpenter sighed. “Yes, I suppose that will do.”
“Would you like to come to our office or have one of the guys to come to you?” she asked while typing Mrs. Carpenter’s information into the computer.
“Well, this cold weather really has my hip acting up. It’d be better if they come here if it’s not too much of a bother.”
Even though no one could see her, Suzy rolled her eyes. She’d known Mrs. Carpenter most of her life, and the older woman’s theatrics were known by everyone in a three-county radius. “No bother at all.”
The front door banged open then shut followed by stomping footsteps. Duke stormed into the office, his handsome face drawn into a scowl. He darted his gaze around the room before his narrowed eyes landed on her.
“Uhm,” she stammered into the phone, trying to remember what she was saying. “I have you down for 1:00 on Wednesday. Call if you need anything before then.”
Hanging up, she focused on Duke. Before this morning, she’d never seen the man rattled.
He oozed charm and sarcasm, usually appearing to be unbothered by anything that crossed his path.
This side of him turned her stomach, making her want to do whatever she could to put that sexy smirk back on his face.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” she asked.
He grabbed the brim of his Stetson and tossed it on the chair in the corner. “Where’s Heather?”
“Out in the barn with Celine and Parker. She’s helping with the feeding.”
Duke blew out a frustrated breath. “I should have known this would happen. Should have expected it.”
She tried to keep up with his muttering. “Did you hear something from the sheriff’s department?”
He huffed out a humorless breath. “Even better. I ran into my ex-girlfriend.”
She wasn’t sure which was more surprising, Duke’s ex showing up in Wyoming or his strong reaction at seeing her. “I’m guessing that took you by surprise?”
He went back to muttering, pacing the length of the office.
Keeping her comments to herself, she watched him work through whatever it was that had gotten him so upset.
Curiosity gnawed at her gut, but if he wanted to confide in her he would.
Besides, the rush of jealousy crashing over her like a wave muddled the relevant questions from ones she should keep to herself.
As if realizing Suzy was watching him, Duke stopped and shoved a hand through his tousled hair. “Sorry. The morning was crazy, but it just got crazier. I need to talk to Heather. I need to know if she was aware Chrissy followed her here.”
“Chrissy?” The name tasted bitter on her tongue.
“My ex. I haven’t seen her in years, for many reasons, and now she’s here. Said she talked to Heather and wanted to see me for closure.”
She debated the right thing to say. There had to be a reason why he was so upset, but she didn’t understand the problem. Unless he didn’t want to put his ex behind him. “Isn’t closure a good thing?”
“For normal people, yeah. And I’ve had it since the day we ended things. But she’s not the typical woman. She’s…trouble.” Cringing, he dropped his gaze to the carpeted floor.
Her stomach muscles clenched. “What do you mean by trouble?”
He finally met her gaze head on. “She might be the one who left that threat. I called Deputy Goodwin and let him know that on my way here, but I need to speak with Heather. Figure out what she knows about Chrissy’s sudden appearance.”
“Chrissy’s what?” Heather practically screeched the question in the doorway.
Duke spun around. “She’s here. In town. I ran into her when I was going to get snacks.” He let his head fall back and squeezed his eyes shut. “Damn it. I forgot the food. I planned to take your mind off things tonight with junk food and video games.”
Despite the obvious tension smothering the room, Suzy couldn’t help but grin. Lane would do anything for her but leave it to Duke to think of such a fun and sweet way to cheer up his sister. “That’s so cute.”
Duke glanced over his shoulder and a whisper of the smirk she loved lifted one corner of his mouth. “We used to do it when we were kids.”
Heather strolled further in the room and placed Duke’s hat on the floor before sitting on the oversized armchair. “He always picks the games he can win so it wasn’t that nice.”
“Too bad I wasn’t around,” Suzy said. “I bet I could give you a run for your money.”
A twinkle in Duke’s eyes curled her toes. “I bet you could.”
“But anyway,” Heather said. “Chrissy is in Hillmore?”
Sighing, Duke sank into the bucket seat across from where Suzy sat at her desk. “Yep. Said she wanted closure.”
“Oh good grief,” Heather said, tossing her hands in the air.
“You two have been broken up for like two years. When I ran into her on my way out of town and mentioned coming to see you, I never imagined she’d follow me.
But maybe if you just talked to her, finally give her the reasons why you broke things off, she can put you in her past.”
“It’s not as simple as you think,” Duke bit out through a clenched jaw.
Suzy wanted to ask him to explain what it was then, but kept that sentiment to herself. There was clearly some bad blood between Duke and this Chrissy chick.
“Well where is she now?” Heather asked. “Where’s she staying?”
Duke shrugged. “Don’t know. Don’t care.”
“You didn’t even ask?” Heather’s jaw dropped open.
“I’m done talking about this,” Duke said. “I have work to do. Stay here until I’m done, then we’ll head back to my place. Lay low. We still don’t know who’s to blame for that threat, but it might not be who we originally thought.”
“You can’t really believe your ex-girlfriend drove all the way up here to leave a message on Suzy’s car?” Heather said. “That wouldn’t even make sense when you’re the one she came up here to see.”
“But if she saw you with Suzy when you two were in town, she’d know that threat would get back to me.”
Suzy’s mind spun as she struggled to keep up. “Either way,” she said tentatively. “We need to be careful and keep our eyes and ears open. Heather and I can hang here. Celine will put Parker down for a nap soon. We can open some wine and have some much-needed girl talk.”
Duke glanced at his wrist. “It’s one in the afternoon.”
“What’s your point?” Suzy asked, eyebrows raised high in challenge.
Chuckling, he shook his head.
Heather gave three tiny claps then kept her palms pressed together under her chin. “Oh, I love that idea. Then Suzy can help me kick your butt in video games tonight.”
“Oh, no. I didn’t mean to invite myself over,” Suzy said. “I’m sure you guys have a lot to catch up on.”
“Nonsense,” Heather said. “Like you said, we need to be careful. No need for you to go home alone. Safety in numbers and all that. Right, Duke?”
Duke finally flashed his signature smile, amusement dancing in his eyes. “Absolutely. Besides, victory will be much sweeter when I beat you both.”
Suzy met his grin with one of her own. “Challenge accepted.”
He dipped his chin, grabbed his hat from the floor, and walked out the door.
She stared after him, hating the somersaults in her stomach. He’d invited her to his place out of obligation—hell, his sister was the one who’d insisted she go. Logic told her not to get excited. To play it cool and have zero expectations for where the night could lead.
Because no matter her reason for heading to Duke’s place later, he was still off limits. And nothing would ever change that.