Brooke tried not to panic about Mindy Sue and Tony being late picking her up. They probably got caught in traffic after the movie let out. She hated to interrupt their date, but even the thought of walking across campus alone sent her heart rate into overdrive.
Her stalker was still sending her gifts and leaving notes and pictures for her in her classes. He avoided her dorm room because of the added security.
Except the night of her birthday last week. That really freaked her out.
Twenty-one. It still hit her at odd times that she had finally reached that milestone.
Her birthday had been fun, even if she didn’t get to experience what most college students did and drink herself silly. She’d loved the ice cream party with her closest friends.
It seemed like a great night right up until she arrived at her dorm and discovered yet another stalker gift and woke up the next morning to the news that he’d raped someone.
That poor woman.
Brook couldn’t stop thinking about it.
The four attacks on campus left her feeling vulnerable and like she was inevitably going to be his ultimate target. That’s why she’d started wearing the big cardigan to hide her baby bump. Some small measure of protection, even if it didn’t convince everyone she wasn’t pregnant.
A shiver of cold dread raced up her spine. Constantly on guard and in a state of near panic every time she left the relative safety of her dorm room or one of her classrooms, she hated going out at all now.
Even being in the library made her feel like a sitting duck.
She smoothed her hand over her belly, trying to ease herself and the baby.
She always had someone with her when she went out. She and Mindy Sue had made it a habit now. Neither of them went anywhere alone. They had enough friends between them to make it possible to find someone who could go with them between classes, or out to eat.
Her friend Julie had walked her to the library tonight and stayed as long as she could before meeting Jeremiah. Mindy Sue and Tony promised to pick her up before closing.
If they didn’t show soon, she’d contact campus security and request an escort home.
Brooke felt the baby roll and rubbed her growing belly again to soothe her daughter. She’d found out at the end of May she was having a girl. Excited beyond measure, she felt the awe of carrying a life inside her every time the baby kicked or rolled. She didn’t even mind waking up in the night when the baby stretched her legs and did somersaults. Brooke felt so blessed.
It eased the sting of losing Cody and made it worse at the same time because he wasn’t here to share it with her.
One of the library staff headed her way.
Brooke packed up her stuff. She had her term paper finished and even managed to get some studying done for her Business Management class. All she had to do now was get through finals and graduate.
June third had been her twenty-first birthday and the day she’d become financially independent. She finally had her own money. Until a week ago, Cody had controlled her trust and paid out her tuition and dorm fees. Her monthly allowance had come from her share of the ranch profits.
“Miss, the library is closing.”
“Yes, thank you. I’ll just call my friend to see if she’s here to drive me back to the dorms.”
“That’s a good idea. Can’t be too careful these days. If you’ll head to the front of the library, I’d appreciate it.”
“Sure.” Brooke grabbed her cell phone, stood, and lifted her backpack onto her shoulder.
Brooke walked to the front doors of the library, but didn’t see Mindy Sue. All the other students filed out. Just her luck, she didn’t recognize anyone from her dorm, or any of her classes. Her cell phone beeped, indicating she had several missed calls. She scrolled through the list of numbers. Her mom had called. Again. Probably to complain she hadn’t come home for her birthday last week.
Of the five calls she’d missed, four of them were from Mindy Sue. She listened to her voicemail and Mindy Sue telling her she was running late. “No kidding.”
She hit the speed dial and didn’t even hear the phone ring before Mindy Sue picked up.
“How far away are you?”
“Less than five minutes. Are you okay?”
“I’m hungry.” Brooke laughed. She was always hungry these days.
