“But it’s already dark outside, and?—”
“It’s cold. The longer that door is off, the worse your electric bill will be.”
“Really, it’s not a big deal. I actually have plywood covering the door.”
His presence was overwhelming as he stepped closer, pressing me back against the counter. “Is there a reason you don’t want me installing the door?”
Besides the fact that he was freaking me out? I knew I shouldn’t be scared of Wyatt. He’d never done anything to me, and yet, I was terrified at the thought of being alone with him. That look he had in his eyes at my house still haunted me.
“Of course not,” I answered, dropping my eyes, unable to stare at him for a moment longer. “I just need to lock up. How about I meet you there?”
I held my breath as I waited for his answer. Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, he nodded and took a step back. “I’ll see you there.”
As soon as he was gone, I ran over and locked the door, fingers shaking and terrified for what I’d just gotten myself into. Spinning around, I pressed my back to the door and took a deep breath.
“It’s going to be fine. Everything’s fine,” I repeated.
Besides, he came to fix the door. That’s all he wanted. But just to be on the safe side, I messaged Alyssa, casually mentioning that my door was being fixed, and that Wyatt would be over there soon.
There. At least if anything happened to me, they would have a suspect in mind. I briefly considered messaging Sam about the whole thing, but after how weird things were after Thanksgiving, I decided against it. He wasn’t exactly someone I would think of as reliable in any situation that had to do with a relationship, and I wasn’t about to drag him into this when he made it perfectly clear that the only thing he wanted from me was sex.
“Screw it,” I muttered, gathering my things.
If I died tonight, at least I recently had good sex.
I bitmy nail as Wyatt finished installing the door. It had been hours, but Wyatt never stopped for more than a water break. Despite the cold weather outside, he seemed determined to finish the job.
Which struck me as odd.
Why did I get such horrible feelings from him earlier if all he really wanted to do was get the door replaced? Was I just that judgmental that I could only see what the town gossiped about? Or maybe this was part of his plan. Maybe he was luring me into a state of ease, only to turn around and strike when I least suspected it.
After all, the rumor around town was that he murdered his wife, and that’s why she hadn’t been seen in years. Not that I ever believed that, but the way he backed me against the counter had me rethinking the possibility.
Sighing, I poured myself a glass of water and waited patiently for him to finish. My imagination was getting the best of me. That had to be it. There was no other reason to be so scared of a man I’d basically known all my life.
The door slid open and he stepped through, checking the lock, then unlocking it and sliding it open once again. “Looks good. I brought this over,” he said, holding up a long block. After shoving it in the door, he looked me square in the eyes, putting me at ease for the moment.
“That should keep you safe.”
I stared at him, waiting for the other shoe to drop. “That’s it?”
“Yeah.”
He cocked his head at me, waiting for whatever else flew off my tongue, but I wisely kept my mouth shut.
“Look, we broke the door. I just wanted to make things right.”
God, I felt like such an idiot. He was trying to be nice, and I was overreacting based on the rumors around town. If he had wanted to hurt me, he could have done it at any point, but instead, he just installed the door and secured it.
I was so stupid.
“Thank you. Really. It was very nice of you to take the time out of your day to do this.”
“Well, we did break it,” he said, packing away his tools. “Have you heard from Austin?”
“No. Should I have?”
He shrugged, continuing with his work, but refusing to look at me. “It’s just that Austin tends to get fixated on things.”
