Except, he wasn’t.
Olivia had been so busy trying to defend herself that she hadn’t realized the guy wasn’t actually attacking her.
Instead, he’d backed up a good five feet, and had been standing with his arms held up to show her and the other customers who’d stopped to watch the crazy lady in the mall that he meant her no harm.
Unlike Olivia, Mac had been of sound mind. She’d sped to Olivia’s side, and quickly ascertained that there was no actual threat.
When Olivia had finally calmed down, she’d realized—with total humiliation—that the guy was actually much younger than she’d originally thought.
He very quickly explained to Mac that he’d seen Olivia on the news a few months before, and had simply wanted her autograph. Said he’d never met anyone “famous” before.
The poor kid had looked at her as if she was insane. Maybe, she was.
Mac parked the car close to Jake’s truck, but didn’t get out right away. Instead, she grabbed Olivia’s hand.
“I won’t say anything to Jake about what happened. It’s your story to tell, if you choose. Just know that there’s nothing to be ashamed of. Your reaction to that guy today was perfectly normal given what you’ve been through. I know from experience that terrible things happen to really good people, and there’s not always an explanation or a reason why. Not one you can find, anyway.”
Mac glanced away, and for a second, Olivia wondered if the other woman was referring to what she’d seen in her line of work, or if it was something more personal. She didn’t have time to analyze things more because Mac quickly blinked, her eyes finding Olivia’s once more.
“It takes time to sort it all out, and you, my friend, haven’t had hardly any time at all to deal with everything that’s happened to you. But I have no doubt that you’ll get there.”
Olivia wiped her leaking eyes again, grateful for her new friend. “Thank you,” she said as she squeezed Mac’s hand. “Do you think you could, um...” Olivia turned and looked out the passenger window to the barn, sitting at the bottom of the hill. “Would you mind taking the bags in for me? I’d like to go see the horses. Clear my head a little before I go inside.”
Jake had taken her riding, yesterday. The horses were truly majestic. Just being around them gave her a sense of peace, which was something she desperately needed now.
“Sure.” Mac’s smile was genuine as she added, “I can handle the boss, don’t worry.”
Olivia had no doubt that was true. It was hard to believe this petite woman with her cute dress and ponytail was a contract killer for hire.
Legal or not, it was still a scary thought. Olivia was just damn glad she was on Mac’s good side.
The two women got out of the car, and Olivia headed down the large, grassy hill. She stopped suddenly, turning back toward Mac, who had almost made it to the porch steps.
“Hey, Mac?”
The blond warrior turned toward her. “Yeah?”
“Thank you. Maybe...I mean, when things have calmed down a bit, do you think you’d want to—”
“Name the time and place, and I’ll be there,” Mac interrupted with a smile. Then, she rolled her eyes dramatically. “You may have to sweet-talk my boss for me and convince him to give me the time off. In case you haven’t heard, he can be a real hard ass.”
Olivia chuckled as Mac winked and waved goodbye. By the time she’d made it to the barn, Olivia already felt a little better and had nearly forgiven herself for the insane reaction to being followed.
Maybe Mac was right. Who wouldn’t be easily spooked after everything she’d experienced?
Even so, she decided not to tell Jake. The last thing she wanted was for him to worry about her any more than he already did.
Olivia almost turned around to head back up to the house, but the temptation to pet the horses was still too great. She’d go in, say high to Daisy and Champ then head up to the house to find Jake. There were many ways he could make her feel better.
She smiled to herself, thinking she may even go a little crazy and keep her heels on for the first round.
Grinning at the images that thought created, Olivia reached for the barn’s door. She stopped abruptly when she heard two male voices. One was most definitely Jake’s, but the other was harder to distinguish.
Jake had told her that he had a guy who helped with the place when he was away for work, so maybe it was him. Or it could have been Trevor or another member of the team.
She hadn’t noticed a strange vehicle in the driveway, but given her state of mind when they’d pulled in, that didn’t really surprise her.
Olivia opened the door and started to go in. She smiled when she saw Jake walking toward her, but instead of smiling back, his eyes grew with that whole, deer-in-the-headlights look. Olivia had just opened her mouth to ask what was wrong when she saw him.
