Chapter 3
Plot Twist:
It isn’t one of the sweet, fun-loving Walker brothers you thought you’d be hanging out with. It’s the other one. The one whose piercing stare can cause your insides to quake and your outsides to throw up.
“Hey, Liv,” Tate said casually, leaning back against the counter as he took me in, his blue eyes sharp and detailed in their observations.
I refused to squirm under his obvious scrutiny, but when his gaze trailed briefly from the hat on the top of my head to the white Keds on my feet, a warm flush crawled up my neck.
“Hi, Tate,” I said, attempting to keep the flustered agitation at bay. I was very aware that this family was taking me in like a wounded bird, so I fought to keep a pleasant expression on my face.
I hated that Will had put me in this position.
I hadn’t seen Tate since Will’s wedding, where he saved me from Leroy.
Before that, we were in high school, and he was physically removing me from parties.
Our history was complicated. But now, here he was, the picture of health.
Was it too much to ask for a potbelly and a balding head?
Unfortunately, he was still extremely attractive—if a girl enjoyed the tall, mouthy, stoic type.
Which I did not.
Will cleared his throat from somewhere behind me. “Well, I’d better get going.”
He then proceeded to blatantly ignore me as he stepped forward to—cheerfully, I might add—shake the hand of his accomplice.
“Thanks, man. This feels like old times. If she’s too much trouble, just make her walk the line or something.” Will looked over at my horrified face and grinned, batting a thousand today.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Tate said, a faint smile on his face as he flicked his eyes my way again.
Will employed his exit strategy over the next couple of minutes, gracing the Walker kitchen with charm and more aggravating small talk. Before he exited the kitchen, he turned toward me.
“Liv, will you follow me out?” Then, looking at Tate, he added, “Tate, give us a minute alone and then come outside. I have some last-minute instructions for both of you.”
Once it was just the two of us standing outside of his car, he held out a hand, a warning look on his face. “I couldn’t tell you it was Tate because you would have jumped out of the car.”
“You lied to me. You said he still lived in Burlington.”
“He does. He got hurt and is off duty for a while. I’ll let him tell you about it.” At my scowl, he added cheerfully, “Since you’ll be spending quite a bit of time together.”
There were so many things I wanted to tell him, but there was no time to get into the weeds of it all. What came out instead was something between mortification and resignation.
“Will, it feels like you’ve kidnapped me and dropped me off somewhere I’m not wanted.
I have to work. I have a deadline. The whole stalker thing doesn’t even seem real anymore.
I just feel ridiculous.” And I couldn’t help this last part.
“And…why him? Couldn’t Officer Rogers or whoever called me last night do it? ”
He breathed out a laugh. “Rogers is married. With you being a single female, this situation is delicate. I can’t assign just anyone. And Tate’s not even assigned. He’s just doing me a favor here. Besides, he’s probably the only one qualified to handle you.”
I held my arms out, my frumpy sweatshirt and messy hair fully on display. “Because I’m so scary?”
He smiled, leaning against the side of his car with his arms folded. “Tate will be good for you. But if you can’t handle him, let me know.” He said that last bit in a way designed to annoy me. And to make me defensive. And I was annoyed that I immediately became defensive.
“I can handle him.”
Suddenly, he reached for me, pulling me in for a hug.
For all he’d done for me the past six months—or really, my whole life—I didn’t remember hugging him all that much.
But I clung to him. Breathed him in. It had just been the two of us for a long time.
He was always the person I could call when something was wrong.
Except, this time, something was wrong, and he was leaving.
“I’m sorry we had to do this. Hopefully it’s just for a little while.”
He released me when we heard Tate step outside and make his way over to where we were standing.
When we were side by side, Will gave us both a pointed stare, like we were two naughty kids in his class.
“Alright. This cat-and-dog energy between you two has always been entertaining, but for the sake of this arrangement, you both need to play nice.” Looking at me, he said, “Liv. You have to do what Tate says. That’s an order.
You don’t go anywhere without him. He’s the one trained for things like this. And the one I put in charge.”
“An order?” I repeated slowly, fully aware of a sound of amusement coming from the man at my side.
“Yes. And Tate, I give you full permission to arrest her if she acts up—which isn’t a bad idea.” Looking at me, he added, “Just think how much safer you’d be sitting in a jail cell.”
The idea that these two were expecting me to act like I was still a teenager looking for attention was almost funny. I was now the complete opposite of that. A groundhog scared of her own shadow.
Will’s phone rang, breaking into his stride. Looking down at the caller ID, he mumbled, “Hold on, I need to take this,” before turning, walking a few feet away, and answering the phone.
We had been alone for about two whole seconds before Tate murmured in his low, dry voice, “Did you miss me?”
I turned to look up at him. His face remained serious, but there was a glint in his eyes that brought out a natural reaction. The familiarity of our exchange almost brought a smile to my face.
“Like a paper cut.”
“You’re going to some pretty drastic lengths to get us to hang out again.”
A small thrill raced down my spine at his words.
I’d been a broken shell for so long that it was refreshing to have someone not be so careful around me.
I’d forgotten this about Tate—that even when he was teasing, there was a warmth about him that felt comforting, almost like catching up with an old friend.
Of course, he wasn’t really an old friend, but I couldn’t help myself.
“For all I know, you’ve orchestrated this whole thing because you’ve missed having someone to boss around.”
“I boss plenty of people around.” He grinned, tugging his hat down low on his head. “But it’s true that I’ve never met anyone who needed as much advice as you.”
My hands found my hips, as a mild exhilaration flowed through me. “I’ve got some advice for you—”
“Put the claws back in, Liv,” Will's voice broke in. “I’m back.”
As I turned back to face Will, my arm pressed against Tate's. For a second, neither of us moved before I inched away.
“Like I was saying,” Will began, looking at me.
He was on the other side of the car, his door open and was almost ready to slip inside and leave.
“Tate’s in charge. Don’t go anywhere without him.
Tate, follow your gut. If you see anything or if something feels off, call me.
Get Liv somewhere safe. We have every reason to believe her stalker has no idea she’s left.
No cars followed us here. But I want every precaution in place from day one.
I’ll keep you both informed if anything happens on my end. ”
He didn’t get in his car. Instead, he stayed where he was, his gaze flicking back and forth between us, biting his lower lip as he did so.
“One more thing,” he finally began. “I want us to keep the stalker thing under wraps while you’re here in Autumn Ridge. Tate’s family knows, and Liv’s already told Ari and Reese, but…I’ve been wondering what to do about your cover here.”
My stomach tightened as he continued to speak, looking at me. “We don’t know how he keeps finding you, but you’re not hiding that far away from your apartment. News of someone hiding out in a small town because of a stalker might travel faster than just a girl coming home to visit her boyfriend.”
Beside me, Tate stiffened. As for me, I was frozen solid.
With a serious face, but an impish undertone only Will could deliver at a moment like this, he banged twice on the top of his car for dramatic effect and delivered the final piece of his plan.
“For all intents and purposes, your cover will be that you two are dating, and Liv came back home to visit Tate for a few weeks. Liv is concerned about Tate’s injury and can’t stand being away. You two can figure out the details, but be prepared to get cozy.”
Then, shooting a warning look directly at Tate, he added, “But not too cozy, Walker.”
And then he got in his car and drove away.
Plot Twist:
Nope. I’ve done enough romance research to know what this is called. I won’t say it. It’s a police-ordered undercover sham relationship. I won’t call it anything else.
The dust Will’s car kicked up on the driveway settled long before I did.
Tate recovered first.
With his hands in the pockets of his jeans, he said, “Well, let’s hope that being your better half will be an improvement from all the sweaty drug dealers I’m usually going undercover for, but only time will tell.”
I was still floundering. Confused. Addled. Trying to compute what my immediate future was about to look like and coming up empty. I could give him nothing but my best scowl, which seemed to do the trick. He only smiled before motioning me inside the house.
“I’ll show you to your room real quick if you want to change first,” Tate said as he led me past the family room and toward the stairs, as if my brother hadn’t just dropped a massive bomb on this little excursion. “We’ve got to be outside working in ten minutes.”
I stopped. “Wait. We?”
“Yeah. My dad needs me on the tractor.”
“But I have a screenplay to write.”
He paused at the stairs and thought for a second. “Can you bring your laptop? The swather has two seats. We could figure it out.”
I tilted my head to the side. “Isn’t the bodyguard supposed to go wherever I go?”