Chapter 4
Addie was exhausted. Stop-the-car-and-fall-asleep-on-the-side-of-the-road kind of exhausted. And the park had only been open for a bit over a week!
One week and two days, and every one of those days had been busy. Although they were closed on Mondays and she’d had Wednesday off, it still felt like a lot.
At least she’d kept up with the busyness. No, not just kept up—she’d kicked ass, and there’d been a lot of things to smooth out. Booking system errors. Late bookings. Twice the website had crashed, and she’d had to spend hours figuring out why and how to fix it.
But…she was glad the guys had a busy park. After all the work they’d put into it, they deserved it.
She took a right turn, her mind going to Noah. During her break today, she may have passed the rock-climbing wall because she’d known he’d be there. And she also may have watched him for a solid ten minutes. He’d climbed beside an older woman who clearly had a fear of heights.
Addie’s heart fluttered at the memory of how gentle he’d been with the woman. At the way he’d leaned in close to keep her calm. Addie hadn’t been able to hear what he’d said, but whatever it was, it had given the woman the confidence to keep moving.
Gah! Working with a man as good-looking and kind and capable as Noah was hard.
She pulled up outside the Chinese restaurant and climbed out of her car. The parking lot was busy. Certainly busier than she’d thought it would be for a Sunday night.
She was halfway across the lot when she felt it. That damn feeling of eyes on her.
God, what was that? It was a freaking constant lately, and she hated it. She’d never felt this in Bozeman, and the first few weeks in Amber Ridge were fine. But now? Now she literally felt like she was being watched all the time.
She sighed as she stepped inside the restaurant and stopped at the counter. “Hi, I’d like to pick up an order for Addie.”
She’d ordered far too much food. Think, feed-an-army, get-sick-if-she-ate-it-all kind of too much, because leftovers were always a good idea. Plus, variety was nice too.
The lady turned away to find it when a male said her name from behind. “Addie.”
She turned.
Crap.
“Hi, Rhett.” Was it not enough that she saw this annoying man every day at work? He was the most arrogant person she’d ever met, and she was pretty sure half the time he was flirting with her. Not good flirting though, hence her uncertainty.
“Good opening week at the park, wasn’t it?” He bumped her shoulder.
“Yeah, it was very busy.” She tried to turn away, but he kept talking.
“I was talking to Cass. She told me you’re new in town.”
“That’s right.”
“You know, before I moved to Texas to work at Geronimo Adventure Park, I grew up here. I could show you around. Let you in on all the secret hangout spots.”
Was it awful that she couldn’t think of anything worse? Mostly because she hadn’t had a single conversation with Rhett where he wasn’t talking about himself or inadvertently hitting on her. “That’s kind of you to offer, but I’ve actually seen a lot already.”
“Uh, but you haven’t had Tour El Ferdinanze.”
Ferdinanze being Rhett’s last name. It took a lot to hold back the eye roll.
“Here you go.”
Thank God. Addie turned back to the counter to pay and thank the woman before taking her bag of food.
“Wow, that’s a lot of food for such a little lady.” Rhett gave her a one-sided smile. “You planning on sharing with someone?”
“Nope. This little lady likes to eat. I’ll see you later, Rhett.” She walked around him.
“Wait, where did we land on that tour?”
“I really don’t need a tour, and I’m a bit busy at the moment.” Busy? Ha. Her plan for tonight was to eat copious amounts of Chinese food while watching The Bachelor and finishing it off with some Huckleberry Chocolate Swirl ice cream. Yep, her chocolate addiction was alive and strong.
In the car, she popped her takeout onto the passenger seat and was about to pull out when her phone rang. She smiled when she saw who it was. “Hey, Mom.”
“Addie, darling, it’s so good to hear your voice.”
“It’s nice to hear from you too. How was school today?” Her mother was an elementary school teacher, and you could tell. She was gentle and patient and so incredibly passionate about her work.
“It was wonderful. I brought Henry in, and their little faces lit up.”
Addie grinned. Henry was her parents’ Labrador Retriever. He was getting old, but that made him perfect for classroom visits. “I bet Henry enjoyed it too.”
“Oh, he did. He got a lot of cuddles, and I gave him some treats for being such a good boy.”
That dog got so many treats, he had to be fifty percent oats and peanut butter. “Of course he did, because he’s a cutie. How’s Dad?”
“Oh, you know your father. He doesn’t know what to do with all his free time.”
He hadn’t known what to do with himself since his retirement, and that was ten years ago. “I’m sure he’s finding some things to keep him busy.”
“Lots of fishing.”
She chuckled. “Is he catching anything?”
“Nope.”
She laughed again. It was funny because he never caught anything, yet it was his favorite hobby.
“So, darling, what about you? How was opening week at the park?”
“Exhausting. But also fun and busy and noisy.”
“I hope you’re not overdoing it. If you ever want to come home, you know you have a room here.”
“Mom, you almost make it sound like you want the business to fail.”
“Of course not. Just because you worked for one failed startup here doesn’t mean that one will be the same.”
The startup had been a drop-shipping company in Bozeman. It was her first job after studying IT, and she was lucky they’d given her a shot. But she’d known from the start that it wasn’t going to last. “I’m happy here. And unlike the startup, the guys running the park have their shit together.”
“Addie.”
She cringed. Her mother did not like cursing. “Sorry.”
“So, these guys…are they single?”
“Mom.”
“Or cute?”
“Mom.”
“What? It’s not illegal to ask.”
“One is single, the other is married and expecting a child. And they’re both adequate looking.”
Adequate? Either that was the biggest fib that had ever fallen out of her mouth or pigs could fly. Both Colt and Noah could front firefighter calendars.
“Hm.” Her mother didn’t seem to buy the lie. “Well, I’m looking forward to meeting them when we visit soon.”
“I’m looking forward to it too. I should go. I’m in my car.”
“Your car? Oh, why didn’t you say so? I’ll call again soon.”
She was sure she would. Her mother called frequently, and Addie loved it. Because she missed her parents. “Love you, Mom. Say hi to Dad for me.”
“I will. Love you too.”
She hung up and there was an immediate ache in her chest. Leaving her parents had been hard.
They were her best friends. But it had also been necessary.
She needed to plant roots somewhere new.
Step out of her comfort zone and figure out who she was without them.
Because to them, she’d always be their baby.
She pulled out of the parking lot. She’d just turned onto the next street when a car behind her came into view. She frowned because they were driving close. Maybe too close? Or was she being paranoid?
She took the next left, then another right.
The car was still there.
Her heart started to beat faster. Were they following her? She pressed her foot down harder and sped up.
She turned right onto her street, fully prepared to pass her house and keep driving if they turned with her.
The car went straight.
She sighed. Jesus. She was so paranoid.
When she pulled into her drive, she turned the car off, leaned her head back, and closed her eyes. A few months ago, she’d rarely left Bozeman. Yes, for family holidays and a few trips with friends, but that was it. Living somewhere new shouldn’t be freaking her out so much.
She climbed from her car and headed to the door, where she searched her purse for her house key. Only, she couldn’t find it.
Shit, where was it?
Most people kept their house and car keys together. She didn’t because her father had drilled into her that if she ever lost her keys, the thief had access to both her car and home. But…was she supposed to be thankful now that she’d only lost her house key?
No. She hadn’t lost it. It had to be here somewhere.
She crouched down and tipped the purse upside down so everything fell onto the porch. Jesus, how much crap did she need? Lip gloss. Tissues. A glitter pen. Why did she have a glitter pen but no house key?
She sorted through everything. Every. Single. Item. It wasn’t there. And worse, the spare was inside the house, because she’d ordered a cute key-safe garden gnome, but it hadn’t arrived yet.
Shit.
If she was in Bozeman, she’d have called her dad, the fixer of all problems. But she wasn’t in Bozeman. She was in Amber Ridge. And the only people she knew were from the park. But she wasn’t really close to any of them. She’d had the most contact with Noah. She kind of considered him a friend.
She lifted her phone, hovering her finger over his name.
But what could he do? He didn’t have her spare key.
She nibbled her bottom lip, her gaze lifting to the street. And that’s when she remembered the car that seemed to be following her, and the constant feeling of being watched. The footsteps behind her in the park the other day…
She hit Noah’s number and he answered on the second ring.
“Addison?”
“Hi.” Okay, now she felt stupid for calling. She was twenty-two. An adult. She should be able to solve her own problems.
“Are you okay?”
She scrunched her nose. “Actually, I locked myself out of my house. Or at least, I can’t find my key.
And usually I’d call my dad, but I don’t want him to make the one-hour drive to Amber Ridge, and he doesn’t have a key anyway.
And I don’t know any locksmiths. Heck, I don’t even know why I’m calling you.
Maybe because I don’t have anyone else. Maybe because I’m losing my mind along with my key—”
“Addie…” There was a gentleness to his voice. “Send me your address.”
“Really? You can help me?”
“I’m leaving now.”
The relief almost weakened her knees. “Thank you.”
She hung up and texted him her address. And the second she lowered her phone, she scanned the street again. The empty street. Because no one was watching her.
So why did she feel so uneasy?
Suddenly, her legs were moving. She crossed her front lawn and slid into her car before locking the doors.
She wasn’t sure how long she sat there, but at some point she closed her eyes and leaned her head back. When she opened them, a shadow moved beside her house.
She straightened. What was that? An animal?
Or maybe it had been nothing at all. Maybe it was her eyes playing tricks on her.
But what if it wasn’t? What if someone had been following her, she wasn’t crazy, and they were here right now?
A smart person would stay in their car. But that wouldn’t help her figure out if this was all in her head or not.
Quickly, she rummaged through her purse before pulling out a can of pepper spray.
Thank you, Dad. She received one from him every year for Christmas. Every. Single. Year. And she’d never used a single one…until maybe now.
Quietly, she slipped out of her car, the can clenched between her fingers. If there was someone following her, the asshole would regret it in about five seconds.
She walked down the side of the house, checking the bushes that would be easy to hide within. But no one was there.
A crunching noise suddenly sounded behind her.
She spun and lifted the can, but before she could spray it, the bottle was snatched from her grasp with one hand and her wrist was grabbed with another. The move was so fast and skilled, she barely recognized what was happening. But strangely, it was also gentle.
Then she was looking into a very gray, very confused set of eyes.