Chapter 16 #2
Sarah was in a fragile place. Erin would offer her whatever hand she could to get through this time. Although, it would be good to know more about that boy Remy asked her about—Lucas. She hadn’t found a private time to quiz Bethany about him.
“Excuse me?” A man stood at her back step, near the potted rosebush. “You still open?”
He stepped inside on her just-mopped floor, his big work boots not staying on the mat.
Had he been one of the film crew hands? She thought she knew just about everyone in town and she didn’t recognize this florid-faced man.
She didn’t peg him for an antiques customer, but maybe he’d come in to check it out for a wife.
“No.” She checked her watch. “We’ve been closed for almost an hour, but we reopen at ten tomorrow.”
“I just had a quick question—”
Didn’t they always? She sighed inwardly and straightened a display of yellow-hued Carnival glass.
“Maybe you can tell me if you’re the woman responsible for my girlfriend leaving me?” His tone turned hard. Angry.
Her hand slid behind the counter to find her cell phone. Her heart beat faster as she walked her fingers along the desktop not finding the phone.
His face flushed red. Heavy eyebrows slashed inward as he glared at her.
“Excuse me?” Her eyes flicked to the open door behind him. If she needed to call out, someone might hear her.
But for now, the man stayed where he was. He didn’t approach her. She would not panic. She needed to get closer to the door. Or find the damn phone. Where was it?
“I heard from my sister that the woman running this store gave my Jamie all new clothes and set her up with a fancy job. Now she doesn’t need me anymore and she’s acting like a single woman again.” His big fists clenched at his side.
Erin’s throat convulsed in a swallow-choke that wouldn’t have allowed her to speak if she wanted to. Why hadn’t she locked the door when Sarah left?
Although, thank God, Sarah wasn’t here. She would never forgive herself if anything had happened to her after all that Remy had been through.
“Well?” he bellowed.
She swallowed again, forcing her voice to stay steady. “I’m sorry, sir. I sell clothes here, but I don’t remember selling any to your girlfriend. And—” A panicky stab of fear cut off her words for a moment. “To be honest, you’re making me nervous, so I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
Maybe he would go. Maybe he had simply needed to vent and complain. She prayed that was all.
Prayed…and tried to remember where she’d laid that hammer she’d used earlier.
“It’s funny you say that, because I’m going to have to ask you to tell my Jamie that her place is with her man.” He snarled the words, although he hadn’t made an overt threat yet.
She remembered where she had put the hammer.
Sidling closer to the register, she felt for the shelf alongside it.
“Hey, sis,” a friendly voice called from the doorway. “Is it too late for a donation?”
Her older brother Scott appeared next to the potted rosebush, a big box in his hands.
Relief nearly brought her to her knees.
Until the big, surly stranger pulled a knife.
Remy turned off the GPS as he neared the exit off I-65 for Heartache. It hadn’t taken him long to learn his way around town. This small map-dot in central Tennessee had ended up feeling more like home in the course of almost two weeks than Miami had done in the years he’d lived there.
Then again, maybe he hadn’t really wanted Miami to feel like home.
Part of the reason he’d chosen the city after Liv’s death was to be anonymous.
The less people he connected with, the less he needed to talk about the past, but it sure as hell hadn’t helped him move on.
Whereas being in Heartache had hauled him back to the land of the living and it felt—nice.
With the pink and gold colors of sunset slanting across his windshield, Remy drank in the moment that seemed like coming home.
He’d spoken to Theresa, Sarah’s counselor, and they had a plan for helping her apply to some schools that used rolling admissions.
However, he wanted Sarah to be on board with it.
This week would give him that time to figure it out.
Now, after a quick stop at the B and B to change, he’d call Erin and find out where to meet her.
He could take her out for dinner and then guide her around the dance floor under the stars.
If the band playing at Lucky’s tonight was half as good as the group he’d heard last week, they would have a fun night.
Actually, he could have a good time with Erin by cranking up the radio on her deck and two-stepping through the damp grass in her backyard.
He needed more of that in his life if he was going to make a real effort to move on.
Needed more of Erin.
Not quite sure what to do about that thought, he shoved it aside for now. He’d bought another week to be with her, and he planned to enjoy the time without worrying about what happened afterward.
Heading through the center of town to get to the Heartache B and B, Remy turned on to Main Street.
His heart stopped when he saw the cop cars in front of Erin’s store. Blinking hard, he hoped for a second this was another nightmare—a new one that merged past and present. Cold sweat popped along the back of his shoulders. Clammy hands slid on the steering wheel as he slowed the sedan to a crawl.
Two county sheriff’s cruisers flanked the shop doors. All the lights were on in Last Chance Vintage, while the other stores were dark and closed for the night.
Remy must have parked his vehicle in a blind fog because, in the next moment, he walked toward the front door. Voices emerged from inside, but not hers. Not Erin’s. Where the hell was Erin?
Uniformed officers appeared in front of him.
One face after another. None of them the right one.
The hissing static of the past filled his ears. He couldn’t hear what any of them were saying. He lumbered around the store like a wounded bear, bumping into racks and knocking over a display until an officer grabbed him by the elbow.
“Where is she?” he shouted, his words the only ones he could hear.
Except for hers.
“Remy?”
Erin burst into the store through the open back door.
Relief pierced his chest like a tranquilizer dart, stopping the fear. He reached for her, unsteady as hell, and she wrapped him in a hug so hard she might have kept him on his feet. Burying his nose in her hair, he inhaled the amber fragrance of her perfume, the clean smell of her shampoo.
Her heart pounded softly against his chest, making him realize he held her too tightly. With a kiss to her forehead, he loosened his hold. Stared into cornflower blue eyes.
“I wish I’d called you. I’m sorry I didn’t think of it sooner. Maybe I hoped everything would be cleared up before you got here. Or maybe I’m not thinking clearly at all.”
“You’re okay.” He needed to affirm it. To hear her say it.
His pulse still jittered too fast.
“I’m fine. Everything’s fine.” She stroked his arm. Kissed his shoulder. “I’m just a little…scattered. I had a disgruntled visitor earlier, but he’s gone now. The police escorted him off the premises and I’ve already given my statement, so I think we’re about done here.”
It occurred to him the police were now worried about him.
Four officers stood close by, their posture broadcasting a tense physical alertness that Remy recognized from his brother’s friends.
Another guy lurked behind Erin—but he seemed more relaxed as he spoke into his cell phone and paced around the back door.
He recognized the man from a quick introduction the week before—Erin’s brother Scott.
“You need an alarm.” Remy didn’t care about the tense cops or the pacing brother.
He cared about keeping her safe and making sure the police never had a reason to respond to a call from her again.
“I left the back door open,” Erin admitted. “That’s my fault for not being more careful.”
“An alarm isn’t a bad idea, Erin,” the youngest-looking detective spoke up. “Now that you’re helping women who are in difficult circumstances, your chances of running into bitter ex-husbands and boyfriends definitely increases.”
Erin nodded as she threaded her fingers through Remy’s and squeezed. “I’ll take care of it. Thank you for coming.”
“We’re going to ask for a restraining order if you don’t hold this guy,” Remy informed the officers as they filed toward the door, his brain engaging now that the adrenaline flow had slowed down. “Keep that in mind if you’re driving by the place.”
“Will do,” the youngest one assured him. “I assure you, the state of Tennessee does not look on aggravated assault lightly. We’ll throw everything we’ve got at this guy.”
Everything inside him stilled while the cop went on his way with a wave at Erin. Remy’s chest squeezed painfully.
“Aggravated assault?” He’d spent enough time in courtroom legalese to know when a weapon was involved.
“Thanks again!” Erin called to the departing officers. When she turned back to him, she appeared worried, her lip caught between her teeth. “It’s okay. He’s gone now.”
“Aggravated assault? What happened?” he ground out, the remnants of old fear spiking. “This sounds like more than a ‘disgruntled visitor.’”
“Erin, I’m taking off,” her brother called from the back of the store. “I don’t want to keep Bethany waiting. You sure you’re okay?” The guy’s eyes wandered to Remy and then back to his sister.
“I’m fine.” Erin let go of his hand to hug Scott. “Thank you so much.”
“I’m glad I was here.” Her brother hugged her hard. “Call if you need anything.”
“I will, I promise.” She kissed his cheek. “Go enjoy your date.”
Her words reminded him that this was the brother who’d been having problems with his wife. Remy wondered if the guy knew how lucky he was to be married long enough to bicker over chores and date nights.
Damn, but that sounded bitter.