“Is shewith youwith you? Can she hear me?”
“No.” My heart kicks in my chest, even as I look Rose up and down. “She’s with the cat and my patient. What’s up?”
“Alright. So get this.” His feet pound against the steel stairs inside his building. “This dude just stops by. Never met him before in my life. He’s not a local, but he wanders in and starts chatting about getting work done on a house.”
“Okay…?”
“But he’s not saying where the house is, Ollie, and I watch the real estate websites more than any normal, sane dude would. Ya know, ‘cos I wanna snap up any investments I can.”
“Sure.” I roll my eyes upward. “A little greedy of you, but fine. What about it?”
“He hasn’t bought property in Plainview, Ol. And not in Barlespy, either. I make a point to know who’s buying where and whether that property needs work, ‘cos then I swoop in like their very own Fairy Godmother and become their builder. That means I’m already suss, right?”
“Get to the point, Troop.”
“He’s full of shit! He doesn’t have property, not here, anyway, and he’s not looking for a contractor. But he was looking at Rose, and Rose was looking at him. And when she left, he was tryin’ real fuckin’ careful to ask questions about her, but without being obvious.”
“What kinds of questions?” My pulse quickens, but when Rose glances over her shoulder, I paste on my most convincing smile. “What was he asking?”
“Like, how long she’s lived here, and what she does for me. He thought maybe we weretogether.” He nervously clears his throat. “Not that we’re ever inappropriate or touchy or too close or anything. I swear?—”
“I trust you. Always. What did he want?”
“He didn’t really cut to the chase, but it felt off. He asked if she was the chick on the news, since he’d seen her on there. I couldn’t really lie and say no, so I just shrugged and said she was. Then he was interested, like, did shereallylose her memories? And do I think they’ll ever come back? He was totally smooth with it all, and to be honest, he ain’t the first person who’s come in here asking about her. She’s a bit of a celebrity, depending on who you talk to. And her medical stuff is kinda public, seein’ as how she did that interview. I’ve had other, way less subtle assholes come in and try to get a look at her in the past. But this one feels different.”
“And she was looking at him, too? Like, she recognized him?”
“Looking at him like she was curious. Like her brain was niggling, but she couldn’t quite place it. I sniffed him.”
“You—” I choke out a laugh loud enough to bring Rose to her feet. “What?”
“She freaked that time at the gym, right? ‘Cos of my aftershave. And maybe it means nothing, or maybe it means a lot, but I kinda figured the smell meant something to her. Like if she had a dude in her past who was hurting her, maybe that’s the cologne he wore.”
“Alright. And?”
He sighs. “He was wearing a different aftershave. Not justnoaftershave, like he forgot. But a completely different smell, and she didn’t get close enough to catch a whiff.”
“If he was there on the guise of looking for a contractor, he probably left a name, right?”
“Nope. He didn’t. And I even offered my hand, shook his, and told him my name. He didn’t reciprocate. So, I dunno. It might be nothing. But I’m sayin’, I’m glad she’s there with you right now, and not walking on the side of the road with her little watch-cat. Poopy is cool and all, but I don’t trust her to do a damn thing if a situation arises. Ya know… except nap. She’s good at that.”
“I appreciate you letting me know.” I scratch the back of my neck, fixing my expression as Rose turns with Poopy propped across her forearm, all four legs dangling over the side while she sleeps. “I’ll keep an eye on things. Maybe call Billy and see what he thinks, too.”
“Good plan. I might swing by the house tomorrow morning and pick her up for work if that’s alright with you? I’m not in the business of smothering another man’s girl, but thinking of her walking into town onher own is giving me hives. If I tell her I was already driving by, she’ll probably be okay with it, don’t you think?”
“Yeah. I think.” I take her hand and wrap her in close just as soon as she’s near enough. Then I bury my lips in her hair. “I’m clocking out here in a minute, and we’re heading home for the night. Text me later if you need.”
“Yeah.” He grunts, the squeak of his office chair bouncing along the call. “Will do.”
“Alright.” I drag the phone away from my ear and end the call, then, slipping the device into my pocket, I merely hold her. The silence. The moment. Just like I do every time someone comes to Plainview looking for the woman on the news. Because maybe that wasmyidea—blasting her face all over televisions, hoping her people would find her—but now, thinking of the outcome we once openly wished for makes me sweat.
Because what if? What if she decides to leave?
“Are you okay?” More intuitive than I give her credit for, Rose presses her ear to my chest and exhales. “You’ve turned tense all over. Did something happen?”
Tell her? Don’t tell her?
“I’m okay.” I press a kiss to her forehead and hover for a beat. “Stick with me till Dawes gets here, okay? I miss the hell out of you when I’m at work, and my hours at home are mostly used up on sleep.” I pull away and search her eyes. “Doesn’t feel fair that Clifford the Big Red Dog gets more awake-time with you than I do.”
