He invaded her personal space, stepping too close for comfort. JJ met his gaze and held it, pretending he didn’t scare the shit out of her.
His eyes raked her face with definite scrutiny.
She wanted to tell him to get on with it but held her tongue. She didn’t know this guy, and based on his expression, he wasn’t too thrilled to be up this early on a Saturday.
Finally, he tilted his head slightly to one side. “Do you know Molly?”
And just like that, every ounce of warmth disappeared as a cold chill swept through her.
***
Baz paced the living room.
At this rate, he was going to wear a hole in the new hardwood.
JJ had left for the bakery an hour ago. He knew from experience that getting there and back, plus the few minutes inside, took half an hour at most. He was giving her the benefit of the doubt, though. JJ was a talker, and she knew nearly everyone in this town, so it wouldn’t surprise him if she had stopped to chat with someone.
He didn’t want to call her because he didn’t want her to know he was panicking. She deserved to have time to herself. He’d told her that a million times. Calling her would make him look like a hypocrite.
But with every passing minute, he got more and more agitated. Ever since last night, encountering the guy with the flowers at the grocery store, he’d been on edge. The more he thought about the woman he thought was Molly, the more freaked out he became. He’d thought that part of his life was behind him. That he’d left that crazy bitch at the hospital. She’d called him a few times after, but he had quickly blocked her number. The last thing he wanted was to lead her to believe he had any interest whatsoever.
Last night, when he’d come home, he’d opted not to share that information with JJ. He didn’t want to worry her. Considering they’d both had more than their fair share of Molly Ryan during the time Molly pretended to be pregnant with Baz’s baby, the last thing he wanted was to bring her up again.
She was in the past.
“Find my friends,” he muttered as he came to a stop in the living room.
He recalled the app that would allow him to see where JJ’s phone was. Since she always had it on her, it was as good as a GPS tracking device implanted in her skin.
Baz grabbed his phone and pulled up the app. He tapped her picture, and it brought up the locator map. He waited for the map to update and then exhaled his relief when he saw she was at the bakery.
“She’d tell you not to worry,” he mumbled. “You’re actin’ crazy.”
More so because he was talking to himself.
Plus, he didn’t really know if that had been Molly.
Except for the card. That was pretty damning evidence.
But Molly was harmless. A little on the crazy side because of her obsessive compulsion, but harmless nonetheless.
Exhaling heavily, Baz set his phone down and went to the kitchen to empty the dishwasher.
An hour later, his attempt to remain calm had failed him completely.
He was a wreck as he got in his truck and headed for the bakery. JJ’s phone still showed to be there, so he was hoping she simply lost track of time. He figured driving by would give him a chance to confirm she was all right. If she were talking to someone, he would keep right on going. No harm, no foul.
This is nothing, he told himself.
Nothing at all.
He spent the few minutes it took to drive into town with the radio up. He let Randy Houser attempt to drown out the anxiety. “Still that Cowboy” played through the speakers, and for a brief moment, it helped.
Baz pulled onto Main Street and drove by the bakery. The sun bounced off the glass, making it impossible to see inside, so he skimmed the cars parked on the street. He didn’t see JJ’s, so he kept going, circling behind the buildings where there was overflow parking.
Relief made him light-headed when he saw her car. He pulled up beside it, grabbed his phone, and dialed her number. He just needed to hear her voice. When she answered, he would play it off as a joke, telling her he was starving, and if she didn’t hurry back, he would blow away in a breeze.
The call rang and rang, then ended with her voicemail prompt. “You’ve reached JJ. You should know better than to call. I do all my communicatin’ via text. Try that.”
