Jesse shifted on the couch beside her. “Now that we know the story, I’m convinced that it’s the ex-boyfriend behind everything.”
“But why?” Harley Ann wondered. “Why would he track me down and be stalking me?”
“That’s the big question.” Jesse answered. “Ian and I will be keeping a close watch on you. And you have to promise to be hyper aware of everything around you.” He put his arm around her shoulders. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
She sank into the comfort of the words and his strong arm around her.
Chapter 10
Jesse ranhis fingers through his hair in frustration. “I wish we could turn up some clue about where he's hiding. When I found the tire tracks on the road earlier, there wasn’t much to go on. Just standard tire tracks. Nevertheless, it had to have been David Green who parked there. He must’ve gotten a bad surprise when Piper and then Harley Ann showed up at the farmer’s market out of the blue like that.”
“He has to be camping out in the woods around here somewhere close. There haven’t been any strangers around town. My mom is the real estate agent for this area and I can check with her about rentals, but I’m sure he’s trying to stay incognito and hasn’t actually rented somewhere.” He sighed. “I can ride around with my mom tomorrow looking at houses we know are currently empty to see if there’s any evidence anyone has broken into one. But, again, there aren’t a lot of empty houses close to town.”
“What about the vacation houses at Catfish Lake?” Piper threw in. “Could he be hiding out in one of those?”
Ian sighed. “I suppose he could, but its five miles from the lake to town. He’d have to drive it every time and risk his car being noticed.”
Jesse slammed his fist down on the padded arm of the couch. Making the girls jump. “This is insane. How can we be so helpless? Our job is to protect people and we’re sitting here going around in circles like a couple of amateurs.”
“We probably should involve Sheriff Carter.” Harley Ann said with a nervous look at the two men. “I’m not saying the two of you can’t handle this, but I think we know that Ben Carter will be furious if he finds out this is going on and we left him out of the loop.”
“Harley Ann’s right.” Agreed Piper. “Sheriff Carter does need to know this is going on. Not only because he’s the sheriff, but he can provide another set of eyes in town. And his deputy, Todd, too.”
“Right. Right.” Ian agreed. “We’re so used to working on our own that we don’t think about bringing in local law enforcement on our cases. Ben Carter is a sharp man. He’ll be a good asset.”
“Okay, I’m taking Harley Ann home.” Jesse said an hour later after they had exhausted all possibilities of how they could both protect Harley Ann and flush the stalker out in the open to determine if it was, in fact, David Green. And ended up right back where they started. Hurry up and wait – and watch.
The plan didn’t sit well with any of them though. In addition, Harley Ann had the added worry of her aunt being caught in the middle if something happened at home.
He watched as Piper hugged Harley Ann with a fierce look in her eyes. Maybe he had misjudged her as a coward when he accused her of holding Ian back for her own selfish reasons.
He put his arm loosely across Harley Ann’s shoulders as he escorted her out to the car. Removed it to open the door and put her safely in the passenger seat.
He cranked the engine, then look over at her. “Home?” He asked, half-hoping she’d say no.
As though she’d read his mind, she said. “There’s a nice lake a few miles down the road. It’s called Catfish Lake. The one Piper mentioned earlier with the vacation homes around it. It’s called Catfish Lake for obvious reasons if you’re a fisherman.” She laughed. “This early in the year there probably aren’t a lot of people there. Would you be okay with going there and looking out at the lake for a bit? I feel like I need to clear my head before I go home and face my aunt with all of this.”
He put the car in gear and backed out of the driveway. “Which direction?”
“Left on this road.” She responded with a smile. “The next turn is about a mile and a half. It’s got a big sign, so it’s easy to spot.”
As he eased down the road in the direction she’d indicated, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. He could only imagine what her thoughts must be. To believe you’d left the past behind, created a new life, one you loved, only to have it blow up in your face must be hard to digest.
He let the silence carry them. She’d talk when she was ready. He knew that about her already. And, that he’d somehow fallen hard for this stubborn little red head.
The lust he’d felt for her beauty when they’d first met now combined with his admiration for her courage to create a mix of emotion he’d never felt before.
He only knew he had to protect her. Once this nightmare was behind them, they could begin to build something.
She lifted a hand to indicate the upcoming turn, but stayed silent. Open pastures dotted with cows interspersed with patched of forest flowed by the car as he drove.
He loved the wide-open spaces with mountains in the distance of Montana, but could see a certain charm in this scenery. Especially when it contained the woman beside him. As though sensing his eyes on her, she turned her head and smiled.
“Thank you.” She said, softly.
“My pleasure, ma’am.” He drawled.
She giggled and it was the sweetest sound he’d heard in a long time.
