Chapter 3 #2
"No, there was one other guy in the elevator. And as it turned out, my coworkers gave me a gift basket loaded with all kinds of things, including a candle. Thank goodness, the guy happened to have a lighter." Grace glanced in her rear-view mirror as she made the turn to head to the freeway.
The red Nissan stayed behind her. Its high-beam lights flashed again.
Was Damon trying to get her to pull over just so he could get her number? Talk about desperate.
He'd sounded so confident when he insisted there was a chance they could meet again. She thought he was just being upbeat, like he was in the elevator, but maybe he meant something more sinister by it.
Grace continued to talk to her family on the phone for a few more minutes before ending the call. Her feelings of unease flared when the Nissan pulled up in the lane beside her on the freeway. She glanced over to find Damon frantically waving, pointing to the side of the road.
No way, creep.
She shook her head and sped up.
Because of a slow car the Nissan fell back, but before long, it was beside her again. Damon pointed to the back of her car this time then to side of the road again. He kept repeating the gesture, but no way was Grace going to pull over because some stranger wanted her to.
Okay, so he wasn't a total stranger, but the fact that she kissed him, and now he was following her, made it ten times worse than if it was a complete stranger.
Damon stayed behind her. Sometimes directly behind her, sometimes three or four cars away, but always behind her.
He stayed with her when the 240 turned into the 395, then he was right on her tail when it merged with the 182.
It was back a few cars when the freeway split again, and she headed north to Providence, but he took the same exit.
The sight of the ever-present red Nissan in her rearview mirror made her stomach clenched as though in competition with the tightness seizing her chest.
What have I done?
Was Damon a stalker? Would he have followed her anyway, even if she hadn't kissed him? Did he ride elevators for hours on end looking for his next victim?
The farther they got from city limits, the more the traffic thinned, and before long, the Nissan was beside her again. This time, Damon had his window down, yelling something at her. He kept motioning for her to roll hers down.
Driven by fear, she flipped her visor to the side to block him out and increased her speed again. Getting pulled over and being issued a ticket seemed like a much safer bet than letting this crazy stalker get any closer.
She grew more nauseous with each passing exit when the Nissan stayed in her rear-view mirror. It was like a nasty cold she couldn't shake.
What if he followed her all the way to Providence?
Panic set in as she passed the last exit before Providence, and she belatedly realized she should have exited to mislead Damon. Was that even his name? Now, she didn't have any other option besides leading him to her new hometown. She wouldn't lead him to her house though.
Her hand shook as she picked up her phone to call Paige.
"Hello?" Paige answered on the first ring.
"Hey, will you give me your cousin Robert's phone number?"
"Is everything okay?" Worry filled Paige's voice.
"Everything's fine. I just have a question for him, and I figured no time like the present."
"Oh," Paige rattled off the phone number, but Grace's hands trembled so badly she nearly dropped her phone and had to have Paige repeat it. "Are you sure you're okay, Grace?" Her voice was quiet now, as though trying not to be overheard by Gabe and their mother.
"I'm fine, don't worry." Grace prayed Paige didn't pick up on the tremor in her voice. "I'll be home soon. Bye."
Grace decided against turning on her signal to exit for Providence. It was best not to advertise her intentions to her stalker. Instead, she hit send on a call to Robert then waited until the last possible second to veer to the exit.
She kept an eye on her rear-view mirror, and when the red Nissan took the exit too, Grace wanted to vomit.
Robert took so long to answer, she almost hung up.
"Hello."
Relief flooded through her when his deep voice filled her car. So much so that tears flooded her eyes.
"Hey, Robert, this is Grace, Gabe's sister. You know the guy who's marrying your cous—"
"I know who you are, Grace." Humor laced Roberts words.
"Right, sorry."
He had after all helped install new cabinets in the kitchens of both homes a couple weeks ago. And he was there last week when most of his family showed up to help unload their belongings from the moving truck.
"What's up?"
"I think I may have a stalker." The words rushed out. "W-we were stuck in the elevator together during the power outage, then he f-followed me all the way from the hospital in Richland."
"Are you sure it's been the same car all the way, not just a similar car?"
"Yes, it's the same car."
"Where are you?"
"I just exited the freeway."
"Do you know where I live?"
"I don't know which house is yours, but don't you live on the same street as Paige's Aunt Charity?"
"Yes, my house is the fifth one on the left side. Drive straight to my house. I just got home, so I'll wait out front for you."
"Thank you!" Grace ended the call and swiped away the tears on her cheeks.
She heaved a sigh of relief when she spotted Robert—still in uniform—standing in front of his house. He motioned for her to pull into the driveway.
She did so and rolled down her window when he approached her door.
"Are you okay?"
"I d-don't know yet." Her voice was as shaky as her hands.
Robert lifted his head and looked up the street. "Is the red Nissan the car that followed you from Richland?"
"Yes."
Robert straightened and rested his hands on his gun belt as he watched the car come to a stop at the end of the driveway.
It's stopping! Seriously?
Robert's lips turned up. He waved at the driver as he climbed from the car and darted up the drive. The next thing Grace knew, the stalker from the elevator had wrapped Robert in a bear hug that involved a lot of back slapping.
Then suddenly Damon was crouched by her window. "I'm sorry, Grace, I didn't mean to freak you out by following you all the way from Richland. But when you pulled out of the hospital parking lot, I noticed your rear passenger side tire was low. Like dangerously low."
Robert circled the car and studied the tire. "He's right. It's also very worn. You're lucky it didn't blow on you during the drive from Richland."
Grace squeezed her eyes shut. She'd needed new tires for a while now, but the move had made it easy to keep putting it off.
"I just wanted to make sure you made it home safe." Damon rapped his knuckles on her door. "I'd be happy to help you get it fixed tomorrow." Then with a wave to Robert, he was gone, darting back to his car and driving away.
Robert grinned as he looked at Grace. "It wasn't a stalker after all. It was just my cousin, Damon."
The air whooshed from Grace's lungs. "Your cousin?"
I kissed Paige's cousin? The one that's in the Army and is coming all the way from North Carolina for the wedding?
The one she was supposed to walk down the aisle with?
Damon felt bad for scaring Grace, but the last thing she needed after being trapped in the elevator was to have a flat tire and be stranded with no help.
Her dubious look said she didn't believe his only motive for following her was to make sure she got home safely.
It wasn’t.
He was ninety-nine percent certain Grace was Paige's soon-to-be sister-in-law, but it was that one percent that made him follow her, rather than speeding home to his mom and her cinnamon rolls. He hated to think he’d never see Grace again.
Damon pulled into the driveway of his childhood home—down the street from Robert's—and climbed from his rental car. He studied the neighborhood as he stretched before reminding himself this was Providence, and he didn’t need to be so vigilant.
He grabbed his duffel bag and sucked in a deep breath. It was good to be home. Even the air smelled fresher here. Dry, but clean.
His mom knew he was coming, but he gave a quick knock on the front door before opening it.
"Damon?" Mom met him in the entry way. "I'm so glad you finally made it home."
He dropped his duffel bag and swept his petite mother off the floor. How she'd managed to stay so slender after all these years of owning a diner that served the best food around was beyond him.
"It's so good to be home." He inhaled deeply, soaking in the smell of fresh baked goods and happiness. Mom never wore perfume, but she always smelled so good. Today, cinnamon accompanied the baked goods scent.
His mouth watered. He loved that she never let him down.
She let out an oomph and patted his shoulder. "Okay, I’d like to breath now."
"Sorry." He set her down. He didn't make it home very often, so he had to let the people who mattered most know how much he loved them when he was here.
"Throw your bag in your room and meet me in the kitchen." She went one way as he headed the other. "I'll reheat your dinner!"
He paused in the doorway of his childhood room.
Except for the bedding, little had changed since he left, after high school.
He'd told his mom multiple times she could take down the car and sport posters, but it was as if she was afraid of change.
After his dad's sudden death five years ago, he didn't blame her.
When he walked out of his room, the empty room across the hall caught his attention. It hadn't been empty for years, and it felt like something was missing.
"Where's Aunt Faith?" He asked as he walked into the kitchen.
After his dad passed away, Aunt Faith, who was also a widow, moved in with Mom so she wouldn't be alone. His two older brothers, who lived in Providence with their families, kept close tabs on Mom, but Damon appreciated knowing she was never alone.
"She bought the Langston house down the street. I told you that two weeks ago."