Grabbing my phone, I stab at my contacts until my uncle’s name pops up.
“Oakden.”
“Hey, Uncle Tommy,” I say, pinching the bridge of my nose between my thumb and forefinger.
“I’ve been wondering when I’d finally get this call,” he states matter-of-factly.
“What? What call?”
“You’ve got woman trouble.”
“No, but kind of. How could you possibly know that?”
Ignoring me, he asks, “What did you do?”
“Nothing. She’s got some trouble with someone sending her messages. She thinks it’s her ex, but he’s not even in Tennessee.”
“And you’re doing this by the book, right?” When I don’t answer, he sighs. “I’m not bailing you out again.”
“I’m not asking you to.” I chuckle even though I’m pretty confident he would. “I just don’t know where to go from here.”
This time when he sighs, he sounds annoyed. “You do what I taught you. Everyone is a suspect; trust no one—that probably includes her.”
“But—”
“No. She’s convinced it’s the ex, and you’re following blindly because you like her. You can’t protect her, Royce, if you’ve already crossed the line with her.”
I open my mouth and then close it again because he’s right. I’d been so enamored with her that I took everything she said at face value. But I’d never been a protector—I’d only ever been the guy at the keyboard.
Should I be taking this more seriously?
Was I putting her in danger?
“Go back to the basics. Do it the right way and make sure you get your ass here for Christmas.”
The basics.
Right.
Kinsley’s words from that first day in her apartment play in my mind, and I feel like such an idiot for ignoring them.
“I mean, could it be the weird guy who stares at me at the coffee shop every time I go in but never speaks to me? Sure. It could also be the girls I confronted by the mailboxes when we met or the guy a couple of floors up who likes to tell me that women have no business playing professional soccer.”
Pulling myself back to the present, I nod even though he can’t see me.
“I already have my ticket.”
“Good. Call me if you need me,”—he pauses—“preferably before the police are involved.”
“Funny.”
“You and I remember that incident very differently.”
I snort. “I won’t get arrested.”
“You better not. Love you, kid.”
“Love you too.”
