And if so, did he go home? Or was he out there waiting for her?
I clenched my hands into fists. Damn it. She wasn’t my problem.
But I got up anyway.
I twisted off the stool, my boots hitting the floor with a thud, and was out the door in a few strides. I hadn’t paid for my drinks, but I didn’t worry about it. I’d square up with Rocco later.
Empty. Just a handful of parked cars, but no sign of Audrey and Sandra. Or Colin.
Audrey hadn’t gone out to the parking lot alone. Sandra had been with her. I knew Sandra O’Neal well enough to know that if Colin had been waiting, everyone in the bar would have known about it. That woman could be loud when she wanted to be.
But what if he’d waited in his car somewhere out of sight, and he was following her home?
I was being paranoid. The guy had probably come down to Tilikum to get a drink by himself, like he’d said, and running into Audrey had been a coincidence. But I couldn’t shake the thought that he might have followed her.
She wasn’t my problem.
I let out a resigned breath and stalked to my truck. She wasn’t, but apparently tonight I was making her my problem.
I drove the short distance to the rental and parked next door, on the other side of the dumpster. Her car was in her driveway and light peeked out from behind closed curtains in the widows. I got out, leaving the truck door open, and looked up and down the road. There weren’t any vehicles parked on the street. Nothing suspicious that I could see.
Definitely paranoid. Colin was probably halfway to Pinecrest by now.
Headlights flashed as a car turned onto the street a few blocks away. I locked eyes on it, momentarily convinced it was the asshole. I’d been right, he’d followed her home. He was going to— Nope. It was just Jim from down the street. He drove right by, offering a quick wave my direction.
What was wrong with me?
Audrey’s front door opened and I ducked behind the dumpster.
“Let’s go, Max. Time to go potty.”
I peeked around the edge. Max tore out the front door and for a second, I thought he was heading straight for me. But he circled around a tree in the front yard, moving back and forth like he needed to find the perfect angle, before peeing on the trunk.
“Good boy. Let’s go, back inside.”
He stopped, lifting his nose in the air to sniff.
“I know, lots of smells out here. Inside, Max.”
He sniffed again, then turned and followed her back into the house.
I let out another breath, relieved that she hadn’t noticed me.
Who was the creeper now? I was worried about her ex-boyfriend and there I was, watching her from behind a dumpster.
I was basically stalking her.
How many times was this girl going to make me feel like an idiot?
I had a feeling this wouldn’t be the last.
She wasn’t supposed to be my problem, but as I got in my truck to head back to the bar and settle up with Rocco, I knew full well that I’d be over there early tomorrow. Not to get a jump on the day, but to make sure she was still okay. I couldn’t shake the feeling that Colin still could show up.
Apparently Audrey Young was my problem now.
June 19th
It’s not my fault.
None of it is my fault. It’s her.
She shouldn’t have come back. She shouldn’t have come here.
Everything was fine until she reappeared. Visits home were to be expected but this is no visit.
Why does she always have to ruin everything? She’s been doing this to me my entire life.
Which means it’s not my fault. Nothing that happens is my fault.
It’s hers.
CHAPTER 11
Audrey
A cold, wet nose woke me up. Groaning, I turned over. Max licked the side of my face before I could shield myself with my arm.
“Max, stop.”
I blinked a few times and looked at the clock. Six-thirty on the dot. I really wished Max understood weekends.
Maybe if I closed my eyes and kept very still, he’d go back to sleep and then I could too.
For a moment or two, I thought it was working. I kept my eyes shut and waited, feeling sleep beginning to overtake me again.
Until the wet nose poked my cheek.
“Okay, okay.”
Reluctantly, I dragged myself out of bed. Max hopped down and waited by the door, his tail wagging.
“Why are you so chipper? Haven’t you figured out Saturdays? We can sleep in.”
He just looked at me, his eyes bright and excited.
I rubbed my hands up and down my face a few times, then slipped on a pair of gray joggers. I didn’t bother with a bra—just kept on the tank top I’d slept in. It wasn’t as if anyone else was around. Max certainly didn’t count.
Still fighting to wake up, I used the bathroom, then went to the kitchen to start the coffee maker. Max waited not so patiently, his tail still doing double time.
“You have a bladder of steel, I can get coffee going first.”
Once the coffee was brewing, I shuffled to the front door. He stood next to me, buzzing with energy like a coiled spring. I paused with my hand on the doorknob.
“You really need to go, don’t you?”
He looked up at me, almost frantic.
“Okay.” I turned the knob. “I guess when you gotta go, you gotta go.”
I opened the door and he shot outside. But he didn’t run straight for what had become his pee tree. He stopped a couple of feet from the door to sniff something on the ground.
Wait. What was that?
“Max, no! Leave it!”
I darted out to get hold of his collar before he could grab the dead animal in his mouth. He jumped away, like this was a very fun game, and surged in again to grab it.
“No, that’s not a toy. Gross, leave it!”
He circled around the dead thing but I anticipated his move and headed him off. I grabbed his collar and dragged him away, back toward the front door.
With him safely inside, I shut the door and leaned against it, breathing hard. The last time he’d come upon a dead animal, he’d tried to eat it. I shuddered at the memory.
“Whatever that is out there, it’s not a snack.”
That brought up a good question. What was it and why was it right outside my door?
Max did have a strong bladder but I didn’t want to push him too far and wind up with a dead animal and dog pee to clean up. I got his leash and took him out back. He refused to pee for what felt like an eternity, as if knowing a dead animal was on the other side of the house was far too interesting to bother with anything else—even emptying his bladder. Finally, he chose a spot and peed, and I brought him back inside.
He immediately went to the front door and wagged his tail.
“Not a chance. Whatever that is out there, you’re either planning to roll in it, or eat it, or both.”
He looked at me over his shoulder as if to say, yep, you’re right.
“Nope. Not happening.”
I went to the window and looked outside. It was still there—because of course it was, it was dead. When Max had gone after it, I’d been too preoccupied with keeping it out of his mouth to worry about what it was. It was small and gray with a bushy tail—probably a squirrel.
Why on earth had a squirrel died right in front of my door?
There were squirrels everywhere around here. They were up in Pinecrest too, although the Tilikum squirrels had a reputation for being particularly crafty little thieves. They got hit by cars once in a while, but this one obviously wasn’t in the road. What had happened to the poor little guy?
And how was I going to get rid of it?
I felt my gag reflex threaten at the thought of disposing of it. I didn’t think I could do it. But I couldn’t leave it there, either.
The rumble of a truck outside caught my attention. Josiah Haven pulled into the driveway next door.
Perfect. That big flannel wearing grump could help me.
I ran to the kitchen to get Max a treat to distract him. I tossed it down the hall, he ran for it, and I went running out the front door.
Careful to give the squirrel plenty of room, I went across the lawn to the other house.