16. Sam #2
Oops. I opened the door, shooting her a lopsided smile. “Sorry about that.” I glanced around outside before quickly tugging her in and closing the door again.
“What’s with the cloak and dagger shit?” JR asked.
“I think he likes her,” Josie grinned, swaying from side to side, her skirt swishing in motion with her.
“Like is a strong word. I only came over because her door was busted in.”
JR glanced behind him at the damage, frowning. “When did that happen?”
“Last night at dinner. Apparently, the Callahans came over.”
JR’s gaze darkened. “What the fuck were they doing here?”
“Her mother doesn’t believe in casting judgment without all the facts,” I bit out. “Which, normally, I would agree with. But in this situation—”
“He’s a fucking psychopath who shouldn’t be allowed to roam the village.”
Josie placed her hand on my arm, earning a low growl of disapproval from JR. “Is she okay? Is that why she needs this stuff?”
“She’s got a migraine, but I don’t think one has to do with the other.”
“I’ll go check on her and give her some of my neck rub. It should help wonders.”
I waited as she scurried off, assuming JR and I were going to have a conversation about the psychotic Austin. Instead, when I faced him, a grin spread across his lips.
“So, this happened last night.”
“Yeah, and?”
He shrugged, glancing around the house. “It’s just interesting, that’s all.”
“What’s so interesting about it?”
“Well, the door was broken last night.”
“Yeah. I already said that. What’s your fucking point?”
“My point is that you weren’t here last night. I know for a fact you were at the house when Clara passed out. Word spreads pretty fast in this town. Which means you came over here after that, so let’s say around four-thirty/five o’clock.”
He glanced at his watch. “It’s now over twelve hours later, and you’re still here.”
Grinding my teeth, I did my best not to play into his hands. “Like I said, I had to fix the door.”
“Uh-huh. Which did not take you all night.”
“And then we had to clean up the mess. There was glass everywhere. Cassidy even cut herself on several pieces,” I argued.
“Which you gladly cleaned up for her.”
I opened my mouth to argue, then snapped it shut, knowing whatever I said would only make things worse.
“So, tell me, Sam. What are you doing here at this hour of the morning?”
I wanted to punch the smug look off his face. I knew I could take him. He was scrappy, that was for sure, but I was a professional. Taking him down would be easy. But then word would spread around town that we fought in Cassidy’s house. And then the questions would start pouring in.
Why were they there?
What were they fighting about?
Is there any footage?
“Like I said, she had a migraine. I was just being a friend.”
“Uh-huh,” he nodded, his eyes holding a hint of mirth that just pissed me off.
“If you have something to say, just say it.”
He shrugged as if he didn’t have a care in the world. “What would I have to say? It’s none of my business where you stick your dick.”
“That’s not—”
“Really? You’re gonna deny it? You spent the night here, and from what I’ve seen, you’ve been sneaking into her shop to fuck her any chance you get.”
My jaw dropped at the realization that I hadn’t been quite as sneaky as I thought I was.
“Don’t worry. Your secret’s safe with me.”
“It’s nothing. We’re just fucking.”
“Yeah, fucking is dangerous,” he muttered. “Trust me on that one. It won’t be long before fucking becomes an obsession you can’t get rid of.”
His gaze slid down the hall to where his wife was currently tending to my—to Cassidy.
“So, what’s your plan for escaping?”
“Escaping?”
“Well, it’s morning. You can’t exactly walk out of her house in broad daylight. I have a reason to be here. You, on the other hand…” Smirking, he shook his head. “You have no reason to be here.”
“Yeah, I kinda already figured that out. Any ideas?”
“Well, you could always brave the gossip, but since that doesn’t seem like the way you want to go, I’d say slip out the back window and hightail it to your gym. You can always jog by later and pick up your car.”
“Won’t someone notice?”
“Maybe, but that’s not nearly as damning as leaving her house at the ass crack of dawn.”
I nodded, making my way to the back of the house, but paused when I glanced down the hall. Was she going to be okay? It didn’t feel right leaving her when I didn’t know if she was okay.
“Don’t worry. Josie will take care of her.”
“I wasn’t worried,” I lied.
“It’s cute you think no one can see how bad you have it for her. My advice? Run away now, or hand it all over to her. You’re already in too deep.”
I wasn’t prepared for anything more than I already had with her. Fucking was one thing. A relationship was something I just couldn’t deal with. I had a plan, and nowhere in that plan was there a woman. The goal was to get back in the ring.
She would only mess that up.
So, I headed to the back of the house and slipped out the back window, then ran across town to the gym. Except that my keys were at the house. Luckily, that house was currently parked in the preschool parking lot behind the gym.
As usual, when my home on wheels was moved around, the key was always placed in a lockbox with a code only I would know. Don’t ask me how people knew these things. Everyone in this town was way too nosy, which was why I tried to keep everything as close to the vest as possible.
I flung the door open and stepped inside, instantly greeted with a foul smell.
“What the fuck?”
Sniffing, I walked through the small house, toward the bedroom where the odor became stronger. I opened the cracked door to the bedroom and grimaced when I saw the pile of shit on the floor.
“Meow!”
My eyes drifted to the bed where a kitten was currently making itself at home on my comforter.
“No,” I said firmly, narrowing my eyes at the little beast.
It rolled over, stretching its paws in my direction as it eyed me with what I could only say was a playful smile. The little fucker was already claiming me as his owner. That was definitely not happening. There was no fucking way I was allowing a kitten into my life for any reason.
Who even brought the little devil here?
As if reading my mind, the kitten pranced across the bed to a pet bed where a note was tucked in.
Sam,
I finally found the perfect kitten for you! He’s not quite potty trained yet, but I’ve left everything you need in the kitchen. Enjoy!
Georgia Bennett
I crumpled the note in my hand, cursing under my breath. I should have known that day in the bookshop would be my downfall. Now I was stuck with the little vermin until I could figure out a way to get the little rat out of here. I could always fake an allergy.
But as the little shit trotted over to me and rubbed his head against my leg, I found it difficult to actually find the words to kick the little creature out.
Until his claws dug into my leg and he used my body like a climbing tree.