CHAPTER FOUR #2
“He had a temporary paper plate. I didn’t get the number. The tailgate had a dent on the left side.”
Gage stared into the distance before growling, “I saw him earlier, probably forty minutes ago.”
“Where? Here?”
He shook his head. “When I was running.”
He tapped on his phone and held it to his ear, then spoke when it was picked up on the other end.
“Sawyer, take this information.” He repeated what she’d told him about the man and the truck, then said, “My neighbor Melanie Brennan says he was taking pictures of her before she chased him off.” He listened for a second, then said, “Yeah, that’s her. ”
His gaze zeroed in on Melanie as he continued speaking.
“I clocked him earlier. I was running the ridge trail, came around a bend and he was sitting on a rock. Had binoculars and said he was bird-watching. He wasn’t.
Dress and demeanor didn’t track. Physical description matches what Melanie gave me.
From where he was sitting, he’d have a view of the back of both my house and hers.
” He listened, then said, “I told him to move on and followed him to the trailhead. Truck description matches what Melanie got, down to the dent in the tailgate. I took a picture and will send that to you. The paper plates are fake.” He listened, then said, “Got it. I’ll look on my security feed and see if he shows up. ” He disconnected the call.
“The guy is watching me.” Melanie hated the cold feeling in the pit of her stomach.
“Maybe. Or he could be watching me.”
“He was taking pictures of me, not you.”
“True.” Gage opened his phone, then held it up for her to see the image of a Tundra with paper plates and dented tailgate.
“That’s the truck.” She’d felt safe in her house, but that sense of security was now fractured. She pulled her jacket more tightly around her as a shiver snaked down her spine.
He tapped on the screen, sending the photo.
“Was that Sawyer McGrath you were talking to? Is he a cop now?”
“Yeah, that’s him.”
“I knew the McGraths when I was a kid.”
“Sawyer’s a lieutenant with the sheriff’s department. He’ll have patrol deputies keep an eye out for the truck.” He crossed his arms over his chest, his expression all kinds of serious. “Why didn’t you get me as soon as you saw the guy?”
“I chased him off, and I don’t think taking pictures of someone on a public street is a crime.”
“Next time come get me. Immediately.”
She gave an abrupt laugh. “You’re kidding, right? I’m not bothering my neighbor because someone sitting in their car is looking my way. Maybe I was a little creeped out, but that’s just me.”
The idea of running to Gage for help ran smack into her need to be responsible for herself and Addy. After the assault, her mom had become over-the-top protective and nearly smothered Melanie with care and concern. She’d been fighting for her independence ever since.
“Don’t dismiss what your gut tells you, especially now that we know the guy was also watching from the ridge.”
She didn’t want to dismiss her gut, she of all people should know better, but she also didn’t want to rely on others for protection.
Pancake returned, panting heavily, and flopped down beside them on the driveway. Ball in mouth, she rolled onto her back, closed her eyes, and groaned with her paws hanging in the air.
“Your dog is blissed out.”
“She does this in town and won’t budge when it’s time to leave. Then it’s a pain in the ass.”
He tapped the screen on his phone, then handed it to her. “Put in your contact info and give me your phone. I’ll do the same.” He must have caught her look because he said, “Looking out for one another is what neighbors do.”
He was right. That her feelings about him were a little more than neighborly was her problem. She unlocked her phone and handed it over, then input her information into his.
After giving back her phone, he said, “Anything makes you nervous, and I mean anything, tell me. If it’s safe, take pictures.”
She sighed. “Okay.” Having a way to get in touch with her neighbors made sense.
She might prefer not relying on others, but she needed to be smart, especially where Addy was concerned.
She knelt to give Pancake a belly rub. Squinting against the morning sun, she tipped her head back to look up at Gage.
“If it’s something serious, I’ll call. But I can take care of myself.
I’m not bothering my neighbor every time something goes bump in the night. ”
“Wrong way to think about it. You have a problem, call me.”
He strode back up the driveway while Pancake remained motionless.
“You’re not taking your dog?” she called after him.
“She’ll come when she’s ready.”
Well, alrighty then. Melanie stood. “C’mon, Pancake. You can come with me.”
Not even a twitch. With a sigh, Melanie left Pancake splayed out on the driveway, looking like she was at the beach getting a suntan.
***
Even with the evening looming before her, Melanie had a productive day.
She’d wrestled a difficult scene into shape for her manuscript and that felt like a win.
More times than she wanted to admit, she’d picked up her phone, ready to text Chase and cancel.
But that felt cowardly. She needed to grow a spine.
Her biggest hang-up was his comment about wanting to see her socially. She’d only agreed to go out with him to gather information, and now she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was using him.
She’d be honest and make it clear she wasn’t interested in anything romantic.
She’d say it kindly, of course, but she’d still make sure he got the message.
As sincere as Chase seemed at the bank, the memory of him slamming that boy into the lockers remained stuck in her head.
She wondered if he remembered she’d turned him down when he’d asked her to prom junior year.
She’d declined, nicely, she thought, but remembered the flash of fury on his face.
That afternoon he’d been in a fight and broken another boy’s nose.
After that she’d steered clear of him even though their social circles overlapped, as they had at the bootlegger.
Those memories made her even less enthusiastic about the evening ahead. But it was too late to cancel without being rude, and she’d committed herself to learning what she could about the night she’d been assaulted. Talking to the people who’d been at the bootlegger was the obvious place to start.
Addy’d finished her mac and cheese and was leaning on the miniscule bathroom counter watching Melanie in the mirror as she used a brush to apply eye shadow.
“You’re putting makeup on. Are you going on a date?”
“Not a date. I’m meeting with someone I knew in high school.”
“A man someone?”
“Yeah, a man someone.” She studied Addy’s reflection. “Does that bother you?”
Addy shook her head. “Is he like Gage? Does he have a dog like Pancake? Are you going to marry him?”
Melanie laughed at the barrage of questions. “No, he’s not like Gage.” Chase didn’t spark a fire in her belly simply by looking at her. “I’m definitely not marrying him, and I have no idea if he has a dog.”
“You can’t marry someone unless they have a dog. Dog people are good people.”
Who knew a six-year-old could be so wise?
“Why the question about marriage?” Melanie asked while Addy examined the palette of eye shadow shades.
“Lots of kids have parents who are married.” Addy cocked her head to the side. “Did you know girls can marry girls? Lucy in my class has two moms. Can boys marry boys?”
“They can. Since I don’t plan on getting married anytime soon, we can set marriage aside for now. Are you okay with it being just you and me?”
Addy gave her gap-toothed smile. “Dad hardly ever visits, but that’s okay. You and me are the best together.”
“We absolutely are.”
If there was a solution to Phil’s inconsistency regarding his daughter, Melanie would grab onto it and make it happen.
He paid child support but seemed to think that’s where his obligation ended.
He was satisfied with a few visits a year and didn’t care to actually know his daughter.
All of which made Mel question her judgment in men.
She and Phil had been together for almost five months when she’d found out she was pregnant. In all that time, why hadn’t she recognized how self-absorbed he was?
Not that she was blameless. She didn’t need Esme telling her to know she’d kept her few boyfriends at a distance emotionally, and, unsurprisingly, when they eventually broke up there was barely a dent in her heart.
Addy picked up a sponge applicator. “Can I try?”
“Of course. We’ll need to wash it off before we leave. I think Grandad would have me arrested if you showed up with makeup on your pretty face.”
Addy giggled. “Makeup’s not against the law.”
“We’ll have to ask him to make sure. Do you have your overnight things in your backpack?”
Addy nodded as she smeared blue shadow on her eyelids.
“Nana said she has a project to make real soap that we can use in the bath. We can even put flowers in it. And Grandad said he has a movie picked out for tonight that comes from a really long time ago. He said the nineties. When were the nineties?”
“Not that long ago and now you’re making me feel ancient.”
“Well, even though it’s real old he says it’s still good.
We’re making popcorn. And Grandad says he’s cooking up pancakes with chocolate chips for breakfast because they’re my favorite, and you’re invited, but you need to bring strawberries because strawberries are the best with chocolate chip pancakes. ”
“I can do that.”
And what did it say about her that Addy’s plans sounded a lot more fun than hers?