“Middlemarch is a small town.He could’ve asked around and found me easily.Why would he wait until Laura discovered him?”
“I wondered that.”
She snapped a glower in his direction.“It didn’t make you doubt his reasons for arriving in Middlemarch?He could’ve told me he wanted to speak to me in person.”
Henry grimaced but, as usual, didn’t give away much.
“Where is the Middlemarch Bed-and-Breakfast?”Maia grabbed her car keys off the hook near the door.She had things to say to Samuel and didn’t care if she created a scene.
“Laura says he’s at the cafe eating breakfast.”
“I bet he’s entertaining the locals, telling them about the horrid way I’ve treated him when all he wants is to love me and make me his wife.”
“Do you think he was the one who attacked you?”Henry asked.
“No idea, but I intend to find out.”
Juno and Henry followed her outside.
“Give me the keys,” Henry said.“I’ll drive.”
“Thank you, but I don’t require your help.I.Need.Space.”
Henry halted abruptly, and for an instant, she swore hurt flickered across his handsome face.She cursed under her breath and stomped to her car.It inclined at a weird angle.Good grief!She stomped around the front of her car to the passenger side that still bore a tag.Yep, her tire was as flat as her kitchen floor.A twinge in her thigh suggested her clomping wasn’t helping her leg.
“What’s wrong?”
“I have a flat tire.”
“Please let me drive you to the cafe.We can fix your tire later.”
Maia heaved out a breath of frustration.He was right.Yes, Samuel had riled her, but there was no point in acting like a moron.The local gossip vine would light up at her expense, all because she’d injured Samuel’s pride and walked away.
“I’d appreciate a ride.”
Henry plucked his keys from his pocket.A suspicious thought slid into her mind.“Did you make my tire go flat?”
“No, I did not,” he said with a dignity that was the opposite of his expression.
Henry didn’t give the impression of a petty man, and really, why would he flatten her tire?He was strong enough to physically stop her if he objected to her leaving to harangue Samuel.
The drive to the cafe was silent since they’d left Juno.Maia observed the cattle paddocks and the scattered sheep grazing on the far slopes.She recalled the piles of stones littering the hills from her childhood.They reminded her of a giant’s building blocks and scattered the region like discarded Lego pieces, strewn where they’d fallen in stacks or singly.The grass on the hillside was tussock, while the fields nearer the river were green and heavily farmed.
“What made you choose Middlemarch for your business?”
“Gerard and I wanted a town with a community feel, and here, we’re close to Dunedin, but we’re also relatively close to the tourist hotspots in the south.We figured we’d get business from wealthy owners of holiday homes in the area, which has turned out to be true.”He shot her a curious look.“Why did you decide to purchase a property in Middlemarch?”
“I liked the idea of sticking it to my aunt and imagined her rolling in her grave yet unable to stop me from turning her house into my home,” Maia said.She didn’t mention the other reason because she’d barely admitted it to herself—Henry had been a draw card.If he’d been with another woman, she would’ve backed off.
Maybe.
The surge of jealousy that rippled through her told the truth.She would’ve fought for Henry and was unsure what this said about her character.Was she turning into a stalker?One of those obsessed women who did horrid things to get their way?She shook her head in denial—a sharp jerk that had Henry turning to her with raised brows.
“Something wrong?”
“No.”Yes!She was subconsciously skulking after Henry, even though he’d rejected her.She got the age thing, but she was an adult with a mind of her own.And she was tipping over into the creepy, criminal side.“Henry, despite your grumpiness, I like you.I don’t know what Samuel wants, but we’re no longer together.I am interested in you.Surely, I can’t be plainer than that.Playing games isn’t my way.Unless it’s rugby.Understand?”
While she’d been spilling her heart, they’d entered the business center of Middlemarch.A grandiose term to describe the small country town, but it was busier than she remembered.A group of six cyclists pedaled down the road and pulled up outside the supermarket.Charlie drove past in his police vehicle and waved before turning into a side street.
