“I knew I liked her for a reason,” Atlas said with a sparkle in his eye. “And you. You just keep on giving me more reasons to like you.”
He pressed a kiss—that ended all too soon—to my cheek before he skipped away to get changed for our date. I stood there far longer than I wanted to admit and pressed two fingers to the spot he’d kissed. It wasstill warm, like the feel of his lips had lingered and made a permanent mark there.
Atlas was grinning when he returned, dressed in jeans and an oversized sweater that looked cozy on him. He’d fixed his blond hair until there wasn’t a strand out of place.
“Ready?” he asked and picked up the basket. I wasn’t far behind and quickly followed him down the stairs to the diner.
We exited the building through the back door into the little parking lot where our vehicles were parked. We climbed into my old, beat-up van. I had purchased the van when I opened the diner, using the money I’d been given to sit in prison instead of the previous mayor’s son. It was old but reliable. They just didn’t make cars like this anymore.
“So why the sudden date?” Atlas asked, just as we pulled out of the city limits.
“We’ve been dating for five days, and I haven’t properly taken you out yet. I thought I should fix that.”
That was the primary reason for today’s sudden outing, but there was another important one that I wasn’t ready to tell Atlas.
After cleaning up the diner the night we got together, we’d gone upstairs, where he confessed that someone had been stalking him. To say I was panicked was an understatement, especially when he admitted the stalker had gotten into the upstairs apartment toleave him a note. It made sense now why he’d been so insistent on getting a security system.
What was worse was that the stalker had left another note that day, taunting him that a little security system wasn’t going to keep him out.
Considering the day the note had been delivered to Atlas via Arnold, only a few hours after we’d gotten the system installed, it was clear the stalker had been keeping a close eye on Atlas. Maybe a littletooclose an eye, which had me on edge since the night Atlas had told me about this stalker.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that the stalker was watching us now, which, for once, I hoped he was. I didn’t see any cars behind us, but I hoped the creeper had followed us out of town, so my buddy could fit the apartment with hidden cameras. I’d given him a copy of my keys for emergencies years ago, so he could get in without us being there.
Earl was a good friend I’d gotten close with during my time in prison. He’d been there a lot longer than I was for a crime he refused to tell me about. The man was so shrouded in mystery that I didn’t even know his real name, but he wasn’t a bad guy.
He’d opened up a security firm in the city after he’d been released—he’d also been the one to get me in contact with the home security company—and he was the first person I texted after learning about this stalker problem. I was worried there might be hidden mics at our place, so I played it safe and made plans throughtext to have Earl inspect the place while we were on our date. Maybe with the hidden cameras, we’d finally catch who our stalker was.
I’d tell Atlas about the cameras later. Once Earl gave me the all clear, and we were back home.
The one good thing about the newest note was that we now knew the stalker was a man. Arnold hadn’t caught a good look at the guy who’d asked him to deliver the gift bag. All he knew was that it was a man dressed in a gray hoodie, baseball cap, and a mask.
They’d reported everything to Clay that afternoon. He’d been in charge of the case since earlier this month, apparently. Although this was the first real lead he’d had since starting the investigation.
Atlas had shown me some of the notes, but most were at the police station with Clay. The obsession with Atlas that the notes conveyed terrified me. The man sounded almost desperate, and a year in prison taught me what people were willing to do when they got desperate.
Atlas grabbed my hand, which was resting on the gearshift, and placed it on his lap. I pushed my fears away and tried to focus on enjoying this rare free time with him. At least with us together, I could protect him.
We were alone when we reached the little parking lot just outside the springs. Being a Monday, the adults were probably all at work, and the kids were in school.
It suited me just fine, being out here alone with Atlas and holding his hand, as we strolled along thequiet path that led deeper into the collection of springs the town was named after.
I knew there was a possibility Atlas’ creepy stalker was following us, but I almost welcomed it. I’d never been a violent person, but I wished he’d show his face so I could put him in his place.
“This looks like a good spot,” Atlas said and pointed to a flat piece of grass a couple of feet away from the third spring we came across. We’d walked past the first and second springs to venture deeper into the trails.
I set the red picnic blanket, which was also borrowed from Becca, onto the soft grass. We both settled on the blanket, with Atlas sitting as close to me as possible, snuggled into my side.
There were a few minutes of silence as I took in the serene moment, forgetting everything but the yellow and orange leaves that landed like fallen stars onto the blue spring, and the man by my side who made me feel things that scared the hell out of me.
Atlas tilted his head to snuggle into the nook of my neck. He had one arm wrapped around my waist, and the other had my hand in a tight grip. Was he also holding on to me so tightly because, like me, he was afraid this moment could poof away if he didn’t?
“So, do you come here often?” Atlas’ sudden question had me looking at him. All I could see was the whirl at the crown of his head. He was looking out into the distance at the nature in front of us.
“You know I don’t,” I murmured in reply.
Atlas finally looked up at me with a grin. He was very well aware that I spent my days either at home, at the diner, or getting supplies for the diner.
“I just thought maybe you snuck out here when I wasn’t looking. Maybe on one of your supply runs.”
