Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
Valerie
"No! Fuck no!"
I glanced to the side at Ms. Daisy's sharp intake of breath and quickly apologized. "Excuse my language, Ms. Daisy." Then I turned my attention back to the reason I was cursing in the first place.
"You've gone and lost your mind if you think for even a second I'm going to go along with your plan."
"Valerie, this isn't about us, this is about your safety," Aaron pleaded. "We have reason to believe your life could be in danger."
I scoffed at the notion. Nothing exciting ever happened to me, unless you considered the evening of the speed dating. Otherwise I lived a very boring existence.
"No, your life could be in danger. From everything you just told me, it's your information that was leaked, not mine. I have nothing to do with you."
And just saying that out loud caused a pain in my chest like I've never felt before. There was a time in my life when I thought I meant everything to him.
"That's bullshit and you know it." Ms. Daisy cleared her throat loud enough that Aaron sighed. "Pardon me, Ms. Daisy," he said before continuing on with his rant. "Everyone in town knows you mean something to me."
"And whose fault is that?" I didn't bother to hide my frustration. "Besides, we both know there isn't a single person here who is going to tell a stranger that."
"These aren't exactly the kind of people who ask. They stalk and observe. They're patient enough to find out the information they want and then attack."
I crossed my arms over my chest. "So they're exactly like you, then.
" I wasn't exactly playing fair, but in my defense, I was caught off guard when he stormed into my shop and demanded that I move in with him for my safety.
I had no doubt that, physically, he could keep me safe, but mentally it would be a disaster.
And at this point in my life, I avoided anything that was detrimental to my mental health.
"That's not . . ." Aaron didn't get to finish his sentence before he was diving forward and tackling me to the ground.
"What the . . ." And that's when I heard it.
Glass shattering. Ms. Daisy screaming. Aaron yelling into his phone as he lay on top of me.
I didn't know what the hell was happening but I forced myself to turn my head away from Aaron's chest. Now wasn't the time to notice how he still smelled the same after all these years.
I wasn't sure how long we lay like that; Aaron sprawled on top of me and me noticing every inch of him that was touching me from his thick thighs all the way up to his muscular chest and everything in between.
It could've been two seconds or twenty minutes for all I knew. I would say though it felt like the latter before I heard additional voices.
"Aaron?" Maverick was the first to reach us, and dang it, I didn't want to admit that I felt something other than relief when Aaron was pulled up off of me.
"We need an ambulance over here!" Hendrix hollered and that got me moving because the only other person who had been in the store when things went to shit was Ms. Daisy.
I scrambled on my hands and knees across the store until I got to where Ms. Daisy was lying on the floor with a scowl on her face.
"I'm fine." The old woman smacked at Hendrix's hand where he was trying to place it over a spot on her wrinkly arm. Small droplets of blood marked her white blouse right where what appeared to be a burn mark seared into the sleeve.
"You're not fine,” Hendrix insisted. “A bullet grazed your arm."
"You were shot!?" I covered my mouth with my hands and screeched out the question.
If I didn't know better—and I did because Ms. Daisy had told me on more than one occasion that a woman of her pedigree would never roll her eyes—I would've sworn Ms. Daisy just rolled her eyes at me.
"Not shot, my dear. Grazed. Shot would imply the bullet entered my body, which it did not.
" The old woman looked sideways at her shirt.
"Dear heavens, they ruined my favorite blouse. "
I was sure my eyes grew three times their size at the ridiculousness of the conversation but Hendrix had the nerve to laugh. "I knew I always liked you the best, Ms. Daisy." He helped her sit up as the paramedics entered my store.
I watched, dazed, as people moved around me like it was just another day in the shop. Even the paramedics weren't in a rush and were busy joking with Ms. Daisy.
"Did I hit my head? Enter the twilight zone?" I asked no one in particular but it was Aaron who answered me.
"I don't think so." He felt around the back of my head with his hands. "I thought I got my hand behind your head before we hit the ground but maybe I'm wrong."
I slapped his hands away. "It was a rhetorical question because everyone is acting like it's no big deal that Ms. Daisy got shot."
Did insurance cover shootings? Did my plan cover a customer getting shot? I considered myself a pretty savvy business owner but even I didn't think about adding bullet wounds to my coverage.
"Trust me, we are taking things very seriously."
I turned my head and gave Aaron the strangest look. What the hell was he talking about? Taking what seriously?
Aaron must've understood my silent questions because he was quick to answer. "Ms. Daisy getting hurt. I assure you everyone is taking it very seriously."
Shit, I forgot we had been talking about that before my mind wandered off to insurance and all the things I was going to have to do now that this happened.
"Over here!" Aaron waved to another set of paramedics. "I cradled her head when we hit the ground but I think you should check her out anyway." Aaron spoke about me like I was a child and not an adult the same age as him.
For the second time today, I slapped at a set of hands that tried to probe my head.
"I'm fine. I didn't hit the floor that hard.
" Maybe my ass was bruised but I wasn't about to tell either of these men that.
Aaron didn't deserve to know a damn thing about my ass and the paramedic was young enough to be my son, if I had been lucky enough to have kids, and I had watched his mother change his diaper a time or two.
Not exactly someone I wanted looking at my backside.
"Ms. Moore, with all due respect, it's my job to make sure you're okay."
"Well, Ryan," I emphasized his first name to show just how much it aggravated me that he was being so formal, "as the patient, I'm telling you I'm fine. I'm sure you have a refusal form of some sort that I can sign."
"I don't think signing a refusal is a good idea," Aaron had the nerve to say.
If looks could kill, the one I was currently giving him would set his body on fire. "No one asked for your opinion."
Ryan—who was clearly uncomfortable with the confrontation—grumbled that he would be right back before hightailing his ass back out the front door.
"Why are you being so stubborn?" Aaron sighed.
"I'm not the one being stubborn." I pointed at myself. "I said I was fine and I meant it. If I thought for a second I needed the medical attention, I would say something."
Aaron looked at me like he didn't believe me, and maybe that was smart of him. I couldn't say with certainty if I would seek help in that moment.
Ryan came back seconds later and shoved a clipboard at me. Without even looking at the paper, I scribbled my signature where Ryan indicated.
I could tell by the shake of his head that the young man didn't agree with how I was handling things, but like the smart man he was proving to be, he kept his mouth shut.
Aaron was kind enough to wait until we were alone before he started in on me. "Do you believe me now?"
For obvious reasons I wanted to say no, but it was clear there was a threat that needed to be taken seriously. That didn't stop me from arguing though. "How do I know they weren't after you and not me?"
He let out a frustrated sigh as if he was tired of this argument.
Well, too damn bad. I wasn't the same naive girl I used to be.
"Does it really matter at this point? Anyone with a set of eyes can see that hurting you would hurt me."
I scoffed at the notion. "So basically you put me in danger." I immediately regretted the statement as soon as it came out of my mouth, and when I saw Aaron's face fall, the guilt only further ate at me.
"Yes, and for that I'm sorry." He looked me square in the eyes. "Please let me make it right by protecting you now."
I chewed on the side of my mouth for a couple of seconds. I already knew I was going to cave but that didn't mean I enjoyed telling him he was right. "Fine, but we stay at my place."
I was going to need home field advantage if I was going to survive being this close to the man who once owned my heart.
"That's fine as long as you have a guest room." Aaron stretched out his back. "Not sure I could survive on a couch in my old age."
Aaron was aiming for humor but it fell flat. One, because it was obvious he kept in shape. Even I could see that under his Henley and jeans. And two, because I did not in fact have a spare bedroom.
"Uh . . ." was all I could manage to say to that.
He looked at me like he knew exactly what I was thinking and the asshole probably did. He never had any issue reading my mind.
"My place has a spare bedroom," Aaron said in a soft voice.
Closing my eyes, I pinched the bridge of my nose. It was a good thing we were still sitting on the floor, otherwise I wasn't sure my legs would be able to hold me up with all the emotions swirling through me.
"Okay," I finally relented. "Your place it is, but I need to stop at mine and pack a bag."
I opened my eyes and found the sweetest upturn of Aaron's lips. It was the same look he used to give me when we were younger and he got his way.
I knew in that moment that I was screwed.