Chapter 24
CHAPTER 24
“O h, hello, my darling,” Ivory Hanks said as she scooped her Shih Tzu off the floor and into her arms. “Did you have a nice day today?”
The Shih Tzu licked her face.
Ivory was in her forties, never married and no kids, and her dog was her entire world. She looked up at Sky and Dolly. “Did Miss Penelope enjoy her cooked liver today?”
Sky nodded. “She did. I think liver’s her favorite.”
“I do too,” Ivory agreed. “It used to be chicken thighs, but we’re not such a fan of those anymore.”
Ivory sent Penelope to doggy daycare with home-cooked meals labeled with very specific heating instructions, and as such, Penelope had to be the best-fed dog in the place. Probably the best fed in Montana.
“Did she play with her friends?” Ivory asked.
“Oh, yes,” Dolly answered. “Penelope is the most popular dog at daycare. She plays with everyone.”
Ivory beamed at them while Sky bit back a grin.
Dolly was good at her job because she knew what dog owners wanted to hear, which was basically that their dog was the cutest, best-behaved and most-loved animal ever.
“Is that right?” Ivory asked Penelope. “I did watch you on the doggy cam.”
Sky’s lips twitched again. She knew the woman watched the live-stream feed of the outdoor area obsessively. In fact, Sky had heard through small-town gossip that Ivory kept the dog cam on all day beside her computer while she was at her desk job.
“Well, we’ll see you tomorrow.” Ivory walked out just as Rosemary walked in.
Sky smiled at the older woman. “Hey, Rosemary. I’ll go get Bella.”
“Thank you, dear.”
She turned, and the second she was away from the desk, the smile dropped from her mouth. Her cheeks hurt from pretending she was okay. In fact, her entire head hurt.
She hadn’t been able to get the nightmare out of her head all day. The vision of Becket in those flames…the words he’d said to her.
Dread twisted in her belly as she opened the back door. She didn’t even need to call Bella. The Chinese Crested ran straight up to her and jumped into her arms.
She chuckled. “Hey, girl. Mama’s here to get you.”
Pearl looked up from the other side of the yard. “Hey. Are you finishing soon?”
“Yeah, Becket’s coming to get me. We’re going to walk to The Tea House.”
“Oh, I’ve been dreaming of their coffee. I might grab one on my way home. Enjoy.”
She would enjoy it. She’d be ordering the largest freaking cup the woman had…maybe two. “Thanks.”
She took Bella back to the front, only to stop abruptly at the sight of Tony standing beside Rosemary.
He straightened when he spotted her. “Hey.”
“Tony…I’m working.”
Dolly cleared her throat and stood behind the front desk, taking Bella from her hands and giving her to Rosemary. “Here you go. Now, I’m going to check on our dog shampoo order on the office computer.”
Rosemary shot a curious glance between her and Tony before waving goodbye, while Dolly disappeared into the back room.
Tony stepped toward the desk. “You haven’t been answering my calls.”
“I know. Because we’re not friends. We’re not anything.” Plus, she didn’t want to encourage all of his dropping-by-her-house stuff. She hadn’t thought he’d then resort to dropping by her work.
His lips thinned with a scowl, and he looked down, pushing his hands into his pockets. When he glanced up again, there was resolve in his eyes. “Look, I just came to tell you that I’ve changed my plans and I’m leaving soon, so this is your last chance.”
“My last chance for what?”
“You know what. Us.”
Was he actually serious? “Tony, I don’t know how else to say this. There has never been, and will never be, an us .”
His jaw clenched. “It was always supposed to be us. You didn’t even give me a chance! You’re really throwing it away for that steroid-using bodybuilder?”
“Get out.”
He stepped closer.
“Get. Out!”
“You’re making a mistake,” he seethed before turning and storming out of the center.
Sky swallowed, taking several deep breaths to push down her anger. She’d just turned away from the door when the ding of it opening sounded again.
“Tony, I—” She spun around and stopped at the sight of Becket.
His eyes narrowed. “Tony was here?”
“No…I mean, yes, he was, but he’s gone now.”
The muscles in Becket’s arms bulged, and he looked like he wanted to turn around and go find the man.
Sky quickly moved forward, touching his arm. “Hey. I’m okay.”
He studied her face. And suddenly, with him so close, the scent of him surrounding her, the nightmare from last night hit her at full force. The flames. The heat. Becket in the middle of it all.
“Sky?”
She blinked to see Becket looking down at her, now frowning. “Sorry. I’ll just get my bag and we can go.” She hurried toward the office before Becket could ask if she was okay…because she wasn’t.
But she should be. It was just a nightmare. And she needed to shake it off.
Dolly sat in the corner of the room, filing her nails. She looked up. “Oh, done with Mr. Not So Right?”
“Done. And Becket’s here, so I’m heading out now.”
“Full house today. No worries, darlin’. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow.”
As soon as she returned to the foyer and saw Becket again, that familiar nausea hit her belly.
Stop it, Sky. It was just a dream. The past isn’t repeating itself.
She forced a smile to her lips. “Ready to go.”
“Great.”
They stepped outside, and he slipped his fingers through hers.
“How was your day off?” she asked.
“Good. After coffee, I went to the station with Jesse.”
She glanced up at him. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. There have been a few fires lately.”
She almost tripped on the sidewalk. “Fires?”
“Jesse’s on it. He’ll figure out who’s been setting them. Me and the other firefighters just need to be on guard until he does.”
Figure out who’s setting them? So it was arson. Someone in the small town of Amber Ridge was setting fires.
That was a big coincidence, wasn’t it? That’s she’d left Cheyenne after a fire at her work, then her home, and now fires were being set in her hometown?
Her pulse picked up speed, and she was so caught up in her head that she didn’t see the step down to the road in front of her. She stumbled and would have fallen flat on her face if Becket hadn’t caught her. Although, her bag wasn’t so lucky. She dropped it, and its contents scattered everywhere.
“Whoa, Peaches, are you okay?”
She swallowed. “Yeah. Sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was walking.”
His brows drew in, but he nodded. Together, they gathered up everything from the street. She was standing when she saw her lip balm near the center of the road. She started toward it just as a car raced around the corner.
She opened her mouth to scream as a body hit hers, throwing her out of the way. She hit the asphalt hard but ignored the ache to her backside, looking up just in time to see Becket get sideswiped by the car, his body flying and hitting the asphalt.
Everything in her stopped. Every movement. Every breath. Even her heart felt like it had halted in her chest.
Then reality hit, panic rushing through her system, and she pushed to her feet and ran.
Other cars stopped around them. People climbing out, a couple of them pulling out phones and making calls.
But she could only focus on Becket.
Sky dropped beside him. “Becket! Are you okay?”
He growled as he pushed up. “I’m fine. Are you?” He scanned her body, looking for injuries.
“I wasn’t hit by a car .” Her voice broke on the last word.
When red started to seep through his shirt, she reached out and tugged up the material to see a large scrape across his stomach, bleeding.
He wasn’t okay. He’d thrown her out of the way of a speeding car, and in the process had been hit.
She’d been right to be scared. It was happening again. The accidents…those around her getting hurt.
* * *
The hustle of footsteps and the smell of antiseptic surrounded Becket as the nurse busied herself wrapping his wound. He should be focused on her. On what she was saying about caring for the patch of road rash.
He’d barely heard a word she’d said. It was a scratch, and he’d had far worse injuries in his life.
Sky took all his attention. She stood a few steps away, arms wrapped around her body, nails digging into her waist. Her skin was too pale. Her eyes too worried. And she was staring at his wound. Frowning at it.
What was going on in her mind? She’d barely said two words to him since the incident.
Incident…no. It wasn’t a fucking incident. Someone had sped around the corner and almost hit Sky. Rage tightened his throat. Sky had come so damn close to being hit. Too close. And with the speed that car had been driving, she might not have made it out alive.
The nurse stepped back. “Okay, all done. Any questions?”
He shook his head. He had no idea what instructions she’d given him, but he had enough medical training to look after himself.
“Great.” She tugged off her gloves. “You’re free to go when you’re ready.”
He dipped his head. “Thank you.”
The second the nurse was gone, he rose, but Sky’s eyes widened at his movement and she rushed forward, pushing him back down. “Becket! Slowly. You just got hit by a car.”
“Sideswiped.”
“Same thing.”
“Not the same thing.”
She huffed an exasperated breath. “You can still go slowly.”
“I need to find out what’s going on in your head.”
Her eyes flared, something akin to fear flicking over her face. “What do you mean?”
“You’re pale.” He gripped her hips. “I’ve barely heard you say anything, except for when you forced me to come here. And your nails have been digging so deep into your waist, I’ve been scared you’re going to break skin.”
She wet her lips, her gaze lowering to his shoulder. “I just hate what happened today.”
“No. It’s more than that.” He touched a finger to her chin and tilted her face up. “Tell me…please.”
Her gaze shifted between his eyes. “I—”
The door opened and his brother walked in.
Goddammit .
Sky pushed against his chest and took a hurried step back, forcing his hands to drop.
Jesse stopped. “Sorry. Am I interrupting?”
Becket’s “yes” came out at the same time as Sky’s “no.”
“I can come back—”
“No,” Sky said again, cutting him off. “This is important. Come in. Did you find the car?”
Jesse moved into the room, his gaze shifting from Sky to Becket. “Unfortunately, a gray Toyota wasn’t enough to go by.”
Fuck, Becket wanted to kick his own ass for not getting the plates. But he’d been too focused on Sky.
“No one reported a speeding Toyota past that point.”
Becket’s eyes narrowed. So the asshole had only sped on that street, at them . Coincidence?
“There have been too many incidents in the last couple months.” He stood. “Her break-in. The bridge. And today’s almost hit-and-run.”
Sky paled further and he watched as her breathing quickened.
Becket’s jaw clenched. He just wanted some fucking answers. It felt like Sky was being targeted, and he didn’t like it. He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Thanks, Jess.”
Jesse nodded. “Your stomach okay?”
Sky’s gaze flew back to him, and she visibly swallowed.
“It’s just a graze,” he said firmly.
Jesse nodded. “Good. Okay, call if you need anything.”
The door closed behind Jesse, and Becket turned back to her. “Sky—”
“We should go.”
He gritted his teeth in frustration. He wanted to push. To demand to know if she was just rocked by the accident or if there was more…and he would push, just not here and now.
“Okay, Peaches. Let’s go.”
As they left the hospital, he tugged Sky into his side and scanned the parking lot.
Three incidents in the span of a month, all involving Sky, and all of which could have ended really badly for her.
It all left an acid taste in his mouth. He’d wanted to talk about it more with his brother, but Sky had already been too pale, so that wasn’t the time.
He’d call Jesse later. He’d also make sure Sky stayed by his side. He didn’t want the woman out of his sight until they got to the bottom of this.
Sky insisted on driving, and she kept her focus on the road.
When they reached their houses, she pulled into her driveway but walked toward his house, and he followed. He didn’t care which damn house they spoke in. They just needed to talk.
Inside, she went straight to the kitchen. “I’ll make you some coffee.”
He closed the door and dropped his keys before walking slowly to the kitchen. “I need you to tell me what’s going on in your head, Sky.”
She stilled, back ramrod straight.
“Something’s not right.” A few more slow steps forward. “I need to know what you’re thinking.”
“We have to stop seeing each other.”
Her words slammed into his midsection, making him flinch.
“I’m not talking about just dating.” She shook her head, her words running into each other. “I’m not even sure if we are dating. But we need to stop all contact.”
“Turn around, Sky.”
She didn’t. She clenched the kitchen counter so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
“Sky…” He stopped behind her, hands going to her waist. “I need to see your face.”
One more second and finally, she turned. There was the glint of tears in her eyes, and so much sadness that he could have fucking drowned in it. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“I told you, we can’t see each other anymore.”
“Why?”
“Because you were hit by a freaking car today, Becket!” She pulled out of his hold.
If she thought he was letting her walk away from him without so much as an explanation, she was dead wrong.
He caught her arm before she could leave the kitchen. “What does the car sideswiping me have to do with us seeing each other? If anything, it’s reason for me to stick closer.”
A tear fell down her cheek. “It’s not just the car. You also jumped into a river to save me.”
“I’m well-trained to do things like that.”
“I’m not safe to be around.”
What the hell was she talking about? “Sky—”
“Ever since Eloise died, bad things have been happening to me. I told you that. It feels like I was supposed to die, and because I didn’t, the world is coming for me!”
“You know that’s ridiculous, Sky.”
She shook her head, another tear rolling down her cheek as she pulled her arm free. “No, it’s not. In Cheyenne, there were so many incidents after Eloise’s death. I ignored them, and Charlie died. What if I ignore them again and you die too?”
“I’m not going to die,” Becket growled.
“I’m leaving, and you have to let me go.”
“ No .”
“You don’t have a choice.” She turned and moved quickly toward the door.
He sure as hell did have a choice. He moved after her and gripped her hips before she reached his door. “Sky…don’t do this. I can protect both of us.”
“I dreamed about the fire in Cheyenne. But it changed. You were stuck in the flames and there was no way out.”
That’s what her nightmare had been about last night? “It was a just dream.”
“If anything happened to you because of me—”
“ Nothing will happen to me. Don’t do this.”
She hung her head again, her hands touching his.
Take it back, Sky. Tell me we can handle this together.
“I’m sorry. I have to go. Please just…give me some space.” Then she grabbed his hands and gently pulled them off her before stepping out of his house.