He grinned but never took his eyes off Kelsi as he said, “Sure, I’d love to. Been a while since Red and I took a turn, but I think I remember the steps.” He strode into his office, coffee in hand, without a backwards glance at them.
She felt flushed from the exchange and shook her head at Cat’s questioning expression. Kelsi headed to her own office, pouting, and set the vase down on the corner of her desk furthest from her. She opened the other envelope Cat had given her as she dropped into her seat.
When she opened the note, dozens of black-and-white pictures fluttered out, landing in an array on her desk. Kelsi’s stomach roiled. They were all of her. Stills of Kelsi getting into her car after work, petting Savannah and Bailey on her mom’s porch, bringing the trash out at night. Her heart stoppedbeating. How had this person gotten so close to her without her knowing? If he had meant to hurt her, he could have at any moment. She’d never felt so vulnerable and made a mental note to ask Abby where she bought her stun gun from.
With shaking hands, she unfolded the typed note. In bold, sharp capital letters, it read:
Tick. Tock.
No other words were necessary. Once again, the message was simple but effective. The person knew she wasn’t backing down yet, and they didn’t like that fact.Well, too bad.She hadn’t been scared off a case yet, and this wouldn’t be the first. No matter the fear she felt at knowing someone was following her and she’d never noticed, at knowing that someone was watching her.
Kelsi had hoped after the first note that it was all a dumb prank, or that the anonymous asshole would have forgotten about her, but that had been wishful thinking.
She put the note and photos in her purse to add to the bag with the first threat when she got home. She cut a glance to the flowers, counting the number of roses. A chill traveled down her spine as she finished tallying them, realizing that thirteen was the exact number of days left until the jury trial.
CHAPTER 21
Kelsi
12 Days to Trial
The following night,Kelsi walked into Crow’s Nest rocking her trusty leather cowgirl boots. It looked the same as she remembered—warm wood flooring, an eclectic mix of tables and chairs on the outskirts, all different styles so that none quite matched. But it somehow all worked together. In the center of the room was a large dance floor. A handful of elderly couples were out already two-stepping across the floor to the music the DJ was playing from his booth in the corner.
She needed this distraction from everything.
Kelsi scanned the room, searching for Cat or, at the very least, another friendly face. A few of the younger people at the tables surrounding the dance floor she recognized from school. None that she knew well enough to want to strike up a conversation with.
Finally, Kelsi saw a slim hand waving erratically at her from a corner table. She sighed in relief as she made her way to her exuberant friend. Cat had a tan cowboy hat perched atop her curls, and a man’s arms around her shoulders.This must be her elusive husband, Kelsi thought to herself as she looked at him.
He gave her a warm smile as Cat detached herself from him to greet her in an overenthusiastic hug, throwing her off-balance for a second and into the table. The beer lurched precariously on the table as it jostled, but not a drop spilled.
Cat settled herself once more into the arms of her husband, and the smile he gave her made a sour sensation swirl in Kelsi’s stomach. She wanted a man to look at her that way, eyes full of love and unquestionable devotion.
“Kelsi, this is my husband, Ben. He’s from Oyster Shoals too, but he was in my year at school.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Ben.” She smiled genuinely at Ben. Cat had only ever spoken highly of him, and she could tell he was a good man from the way he treated her friend.
“You too, Kelsi.” His voice was a smooth, deep baritone that surprised her because it didn’t quite fit the boyish face it came with.
Cat poured a full glass from the pitcher and slammed it in front of Kelsi. “Drink up so we can dance!”
Kelsi laughed at her and picked up the glass, taking a big drink from the lukewarm beer. “You can’t even drink, and you’re forcing it on me! The audacity!” She gave a dramatic gasp.
Cat grinned, mischief in her eyes. “The best part about being pregnant is forcing everyone else to get drunk for me and being sober to remember it all the next day.” She winked and moved her hands in a “hurry up” gesture.
Kelsi downed the rest of her beer in two seconds and slammed the empty glass back down on the wood table. She met Ben’s raised eyebrows and Cat’s broad grin with an exasperated shake of her head and grabbed Cat’s hand to pull her to the dance floor.
The DJ hadWatermelon Crawlplaying, so she and Cat quickly got in line with the other dancers. They were soon giggling uncontrollably with each other as they danced across the floor.
A song later, Kelsi noticed a tall figure heading her direction on the dance floor. Sheridan’s grin was disarming as he reached her, extending a hand to her as Cat not-so-subtly winked at Kelsi and edged away from the pair and off the dance floor. Kelsi couldn’t restrain her smile as she placed her hand in his and he spun her around in a tight circle.
He pulled her close, whispering in her ear, “I didn’t fully think this through, but I don’t actually know how to line dance. I just used my one and only move.”
She laughed loudly, pulling away from his arms gently. She led him off to a corner of the dance floor that was unoccupied and spent the next few songs teaching him beginner line dances. He stumbled through the motions, completely lacking rhythm, but she was enchanted by his good humor over his fumbling as they danced in the corner.
It was after Sheridan somehow managed to trip over his own feet and stumbled into her that she caught him in her arms, laughing, and looked up, locking eyes with Dylan. He was standing across the room at the bar, leaning against the counter with an amber bottle clenched tightly in his fist. His attention was completely on her, and she could feel it as surely as the sweat rolling down her back.
When he finally broke eye contact and greeted one of their old classmates with a handshake and smile, her body shivered. She slowly relaxed her muscles from the tension she’d held under Dylan’s scrutiny. Unfortunately, she was still holding Sheridan in her arms, and he felt the shiver against his ownbody. He smiled at her and tried to pull her closer, thinking it was him who caused the reaction, but she stepped away, smiling to soften the rejection.
