Chapter Fifteen
Kaylee
Was he naked?”
Kaylee glared at Josie. “No. He had sweats on.”
“But shirtless? Does he have abs?”
Kaylee gritted her teeth, remembering the gorgeous, sculpted muscles of Rick’s chest and stomach, but there was no way she was telling Josie that, or she’d think Kaylee had been checking him out. Which she hadn’t been. She just happened to have eyes.
Eyes that had memorized every detail of his hotness, but still, no. He was the enemy.
“I didn’t notice.”
“Then why are your cheeks so pink?”
They were walking together to the town square, and with only the streetlamps illuminating their way, Kaylee doubted Josie could actually see her well, but her face burned hotter.
“My cheeks are pink because it is late November in Idaho, ergo, cold.” Kaylee emphasized her point with an exaggerated shiver.
“Right.”
Kaylee scowled at Josie, who just laughed, her round, apple cheeks fuller when she smiled.
She wore a knit cap over her blond hair, the ends curled around the shoulders of her puffer jacket.
She was a few inches taller than Kaylee, who was only five three in her bare feet.
Kaylee hadn’t realized how isolated and lonely she was until Josie, and when they found out they were neighbors, they’d been hanging out at each other’s houses ever since.
With the exception of Elasia, Josie was the best friend she’d ever had.
Except when she annoyed Kaylee by asking about her unwanted houseguest. She’d left for work and come back to Rick at her kitchen table with his laptop open, on his cell phone, and several files and papers scattered across the table’s surface.
She’d ignored him and opened her fridge only to find that the man had devoured her Flip yogurts, her string cheese, and he’d chugged every last drop of her brand-new carton of eggnog, which sent her over the edge.
A yogurt was one thing, but Darigold eggnog?
! She’d been lucky enough to grab the last one at the store, and she hadn’t even gotten a glass.
Instead of losing her temper, which she briefly considered, she had recognized that this was war and he was encroaching on her space, eating her food, and messing with her delicate hormones to break her, but she wasn’t going to let him. No matter what he threw at her, he wasn’t going to win.
Kaylee and Josie turned the corner, and the next house’s Christmas display shifted the color of Josie’s teeth from red to green, her grin wide and self-satisfied, and if she wasn’t Kaylee’s friend, she would have hip-checked her into the next light post. Nothing about this situation was funny.
She should have been on the road already, but instead she had been ordered not to leave town until they sorted this out.
Kaylee’s biggest fear was giving Rick the chance to obtain a subpoena, which he hadn’t managed to get his hands on yet.
Kaylee had no idea what his case against the Pit Vipers looked like, but if it was contingent on her testifying, it was at best weak, which meant her testimony might not even help.
At least, that’s what she kept telling herself to suppress some of her guilt.
Her parents had taught her to stand up and do the right thing, but she didn’t want to die. She’d already lost so much, including the ability to see or talk to her family. The last message they’d exchanged was when she crossed into Idaho, and she’d told them not to worry. That she would be fine.
Kaylee knew they were probably going out of their minds, wondering where she was and whether she was safe.
“Hey, you okay?” Josie asked, hip checking her. “You’re missing all these beautiful holiday displays.”
Kaylee caught her balance and scowled at Josie. “Yeah, I’m good. Just thinking a lot about my parents. I miss them.”
“I bet it doesn’t help that it’s the holidays, either.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
Josie thought money was tight, and that was why they didn’t visit, and Kaylee didn’t dare correct her. While they’d grown close and Kaylee cared about her, she had to be careful who she trusted.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring down the vibe,” Josie said, looping her arm with Kaylee’s and waving a hand toward the houses they passed.
“Back to the beautiful yards. I wish I had half the talent some of these people have. I heard that Felicity Owens actually carved out her characters with a saw and several sheets of plywood, then painted them.” Josie sighed. “If only I could be such a visionary.”
Kaylee studied the painted Peanuts characters from A Charlie Brown Christmas and chuckled at Josie’s dramatics. “I’ve seen a lot of video tutorials where they project the shape onto the plywood and then trace the lines and such, so I don’t think it’s too complicated. I bet you could do it.”
“Maybe,” she murmured as the square came into view, revealing the giant potato statue the size of a great pine tree.
It was probably twenty feet tall, with a large star on top and multicolored bulbs sticking out from its round brown body.
Mayor Barnabus Crutch stood next to the switch, shaking hands with people who approached him.
His head was shaved to the skin, and his suit seemed to be tailored to his body.
With a full black mustache covering his upper lip, and if he’d had on a top hat, he would have resembled Mr. Monopoly.
Several uniformed officers walked around, chatting and smiling, relaxed, and happy, and she realized that several of them were talking to Rick.
He was wearing a cream sweater and jeans, one hand in his pocket and the other gesturing as if he were in the middle of relaying a riveting story.
How did he manage to charm every person he met? He wasn’t Glen Powell!
Come on, you know he’s hotter than Glen.
No, the voice in her head was wrong. In fact, Kaylee shouldn’t even be thinking of him. At all. He was vapor. A ghost. She couldn’t even see him.
He caught her looking at him and waved.
Kaylee made a face and flipped him the bird.
“Ouch, girl.” Josie laughed, but Kaylee watched Rick’s expression darken, and she grinned. Take that, you eggnog-stealing dick!
Rick said something to the officers and started their way.
“Shit, he’s coming over!” Josie said.
Kaylee’s heart thundered in her chest as he approached, his gait slow and ambling, like he enjoyed taking his time. Unlike their initial encounter, he didn’t seem as hellbent on getting her back to California, and her eyes narrowed. What kind of trick did he have up his sleeve?
“Hello, ladies,” he said, his grin wide and friendly. “Beautiful night.”
Kaylee crossed her arms over her chest. “What are you doing?”
“I’m just getting to know the town. Being friendly.”
“I don’t want you to be friendly. I want you to get in your car and drive away.”
“We don’t always get what we want, do we?” Rick turned to Josie and held out his hand. “Nice to see you again, Josie.”
“It’s nice to see you too—” Kaylee elbowed her friend in the ribs, scowling, and Josie laughed. “Rick.”
“Anyway, I was going to meet your mayor and introduce myself before this thing gets started, but you two ladies have a nice night.”
Kaylee seethed through her teeth, watching him walk across the courtyard to the giant potato.
“If you’re not interested, maybe I could—”
“No!”