Chapter 33
“Give me your keys, Phoebe.” Wade held out his hand expectantly.
“Huh?” I blinked, trying to figure out what I’d missed.
Wade reached down, pulling my keys out of my fist. “You’ve been standing there, holding that box and your keys for five solid minutes. I’m driving you home.”
That jerked me out of my thoughts. Looking around, I found I was the only one in the staff parking lot of Maple Morning’s. What was I doing there again?
“I—what are you doing here?” I frowned, trying to figure out where Wade had come from.
Wade looked alarmed. “You called me. Don’t you remember?”
Closing my eyes, I searched my memory. I did. I did call him.
“Right. I think I know who my stalker is,” I said without preamble.
Wade’s concern grew along with his impatience. “Let’s get you in the car and we can talk about this at your place.”
As he ushered me into my car, I wondered about his, and he said he’d deal with it later.
“Where’s Lock?” Wade asked, navigating the streets with ease.
“At home.”
“And Ty?” He asked this as if he was surprised I’d drop a bomb like that, and Ty wouldn’t be all over it.
“He’s with Luke in Red Barrel Falls because Dalton had to go to Canada. They’re doing a pitch for that new subdivision.” I said this with no inflection. I couldn’t feel my face or my hands.
“Have you called him?”
“Called him?” I parroted his question.
“Never mind, honey.” Wade reached across the console and gave my hand a friendly, reassuring squeeze. “It’s okay.”
Was it?
Wade pulled into my driveway and walked me inside, making sure Lock was okay and the house was secure.
Lock came barreling out of his room, realizing I was home. “Mom! I’m hungry!”
That broke through the haze clouding my mind. Rolling my eyes, I pursed my lips, contriving to be normal. “And you need to shower.”
Lock put his hands on his hips. “I’ll shower for food,” he negotiated. “You know, given I’m all cool with you making Ty my new daddy, you’d think you’d remember to show your gratitude appropriately.”
I narrowed my eyes on him. “Ty isn’t your new ‘daddy.’ And I didn’t ground you when I found out you used my credit card to order a new MacBook.
” Oh, yes, Lock had been more than fine with Ty and me.
The little sneak had not only known (apparently, I wasn’t as clever as I thought I was, and Ty snored) but also he’d been waiting for my confession to make his own about ordering a new MacBook without my permission.
He claimed he needed it for some program to design houses, which was now his passion.
When he’d told me he wanted to order some things and buy a program to learn about structural engineering, I’d given him permission. I just hadn’t thought it necessary to give him explicit limits. Technically, it was my fault. Ugh…
Lock dropped his hands. “Fair. So we’re agreed. I’ll shower, you’ll feed me meat. Deal!”
He turned on his heel, racing up the stairs, leaving me looking after him.
My kid…
“So, he knows about you and Ty?” Wade emerged from the kitchen, a glass of wine in his hand. Extending it to me, he led me to the couch in the semi-finished living room.
“Yeah.” I went over what Ty and I had agreed, my conversation with Lock, and Ty’s this morning. I glossed over how Lock had figured out about Ty and me.
Wade chuckled. “If he gives up on construction, Lock should be a cop.”
No kidding. The kid was better than any detective. Nothing escaped him.
“So what’s going on, Phoebe? What did you mean you know who your stalker is?” Wade asked softly, figuring I would probably space out again.
Now that I was home and Lock was being, well…Lock, I was better. A bit.
Summoning up strength I didn’t know I had, I told him about that afternoon.
“Phoebe?”
Turning away from my car, I found Amber-Rae dressed in some fifties style outfit. I’d just dropped some things off at the school and was getting ready to leave when she’d approached.
“Amber-Rae,” I greeted her, pleasantly. You didn’t poke the bear. “Can I help you with something?”
She needed to speak with me privately, so we walked away from the parking lot to a secluded spot of picnic tables near the back of the school.
“What’s up?” I asked, wanting to get going.
“I’d thought I’d give you a chance to change your mind about the contract.” She was direct.
Ah, this. “Amber-Rae, I appreciate your offer. I’m sorry. I’m just not ready to take on more work at this time,” I quoted the note I’d sent to her along with the contract yesterday when I declined it. No need to be rude, after all. “Thank you for thinking of me. It’s just not the right fit.”
“And that’s your final answer?” A look that made me uneasy passed over her.
“It is. I truly wish you the best and will be glad to be a patron.” There. That sounded nice enough.
As she reached into her purse, I tensed, my instincts suddenly screaming. I was suddenly all too aware of how alone we were, even though we were in the heart of town, at the school with kids and teachers inside. “Perhaps this will change your mind.”
She pulled out an envelope and handed it to me.
I shook my head. “I’m sorry, but another offer won’t change my mind.”
“Oh, I think it will, A.J., or should I call you P.J.?”
Ever been hit by a car full-on? I had a feeling that was how this felt. I was shocked, numb, confused, and yet not. Taking the envelope she handed me with trembling fingers, I looked inside.
I felt the acrid taste of bile coat the back of my throat. “How did you get this?”
“There’s more.” She smiled serenely.
Looking at the rest, I found all my secrets in picture format. And she knew them.
“What do you want?” I tried to sound strong.
“You know.” She nodded to her demand in my hand. “I’m assuming Jessamina will be hearing from you by the end of the week.”
Jessamina. Amber-Rae’s best friend and a real estate agent in town.
“That fucking bitch,” Wade snarled, cracking his knuckles. “Do you still have the envelope?”
Getting up, I went to my purse and pulled it out, handing it to him.
“How does she know, Wade?” I hadn’t been able to figure that out all afternoon.
Some of what she knew was my own damned fault, that I knew.
The pictures of me and Ty were damning, but I wasn’t as worried about them as I probably should be.
We were going to tell Cady-Jo this weekend. Ty and I had decided to give Lock a couple of days to get used to the idea of us together privately, first.
The rest…
“None of that now.” Wade put the envelope down on the vestibule table, pulling me in for a hug. “Don’t cry, honey. It’s all going to be okay.”
I hadn’t realized I’d been crying or that I was shaking until he tightened his hold on me, giving me the pressure I needed. It was one of the recovery actions I needed. He and Ty had learned, thanks to Alex, what to do when the panic took hold to this point.
“If Ty thinks you’ve been crying, he’s going to blame me and try and beat my ass,” Wade joked against the top of my head, rocking me back and forth. “You don’t want to see my pretty face covered with bruises now, do you?”
Sniffling, I murmured, “I think you can hold your own.”
“You just want to see us duke it out, don’t you?” he accused, his voice strained. “I can see it now. You get us to fight, and then the next thing we know, we’ll be immortalized in your next book and have horny grannies chasing us.”
We stood there until I could take a deep breath without feeling like I was choking.
I tried to call Ty but kept getting his voicemail, so Wade promised to stay until I was able to get some sleep. He took the envelope with him when he left, promising me it would be all right.
Fool that I was, I believed him.