Maybe the reality of the situation was sinking in. Someone really, really hated me, and they were willing to go to great lengths to show it.
Trying to pull myself together, I swiped away the tears that fell. In an instant, Josiah’s arms were around me. He held me tight against his solid body, sure and strong. I relaxed into him, taking comfort in his embrace. And something else sank in.
He really had followed me out here to keep me safe.
And in that moment, I fell a little bit more in love with Josiah Haven.
July 26th
I don’t know why it took me so long to figure it out. I blame her. She riles up my emotions, makes me too angry to think straight. It doesn’t help that she’s everywhere. Always running around with her camera, playing intrepid reporter.
Too bad the pretty little journalist can’t crack her own story.
Showing her that I can still get to her, no matter what the mountain man does, is only one piece of the puzzle. I need to sever the ties that bind her here. Cut off her connections. Take away her reasons to stay.
She thinks a little spray paint is bad? I’m going to dismantle her life, piece by piece. I’m going to ruin her.
And I’m just getting started.
CHAPTER 28
Audrey
No one in the office could see my laptop screen, but the urge to close it was there. It felt weird to be looking at an email from another company, especially when the purpose of the email was to invite me to interview for a position.
I wasn’t as excited as I thought I’d be. When I’d received a similar email from Lou, offering an interview for my current position, I’d celebrated like I’d just won the lottery.
This job was a better fit and it paid more. So why wasn’t I jumping out of my chair or rushing to answer as quickly as I could?
Probably because it was in Massachusetts.
It was just a request for an interview. It didn’t mean I’d get the job. And if I did get the job, I wouldn’t necessarily have to take it.
Who was I and what had happened to Audrey? A few months ago, I would have been salivating over this job, especially because it was in Massachusetts. Now I couldn’t imagine saying yes to a cross-country move.
I knew what had happened. Josiah Haven.
Was I really going to decline an interview for a good job?
Yes. Yes, I was.
Because I already knew I wouldn’t take it if they offered it to me. And I didn’t want to waste everyone’s time.
Was I crazy?
Yeah, maybe.
I typed a polite response and tried not to think about the implications of the decision I’d just made. Maybe I’d regret it. Maybe Josiah and I would fizzle out or he’d get tired of me or I’d realize I was nuts to think I could happily stay in this town.
But, at least for now, I was going to let my heart lead the way. And my heart wanted Josiah.
Sandra came in balancing a drink carrier filled with coffees and a bag in her other hand. Ledger didn’t seem to notice, so I got up to help her with the door.
“Thanks,” she said as I held the door for her. “In case you didn’t notice, the coffee maker broke. I figured that meant we needed muffins, too. They had blueberry.”
“I love blueberry muffins. Thank you.”
“Thanks for your help, Ledger,” she said, her voice laced with sarcasm.
He took out one of his earbuds. “What?”
She put the drink carrier on her desk and picked up one of the coffee cups. “I got you a latte. Maybe the caffeine will motivate you to get some work done.”
He grinned, clearly ignoring her familiar insult, and grabbed his coffee like a happy toddler. “Thanks.”
She lifted another cup and handed it to me. “For you. Help yourself to a muffin. I’ll take Lou his coffee.”
Sandra placed her coffee on her desk, then took Lou’s to his office. I grabbed my cup and a muffin and took them to my desk.
Ledger held out a napkin toward me. “Here.”
“Thanks.”
Mayor Bill walked by the front window and peeked in. He was wearing a Squirrel Protection Squad t-shirt. They’d even put their names on the back, like sports jerseys. He spotted me and waved.
I waved back. Someone from the SPS walked by at least once a day. It was heartwarming to realize they weren’t just looking after the squirrels.
“So, has your stalker struck again?” Sandra asked on her way back to her desk.
“Not so far.”
It had been almost a week since the spray paint incident. Sometimes I wondered what was worse, finding the stalker had struck again, or the anticipation of what he might do next.
“It sucks that someone’s doing that to you,” Ledger said.
“Thanks. It’s so frustrating. I wish I knew why.”
“Have you considered that it might be a jealous ex? I don’t mean yours, I mean one of Josiah’s.”
“I’ve certainly thought about it. He doesn’t think he has anyone in his past who hates him that much.”
Sandra tilted her head, as if she were thinking about it. “He might be right.”
“How would you know?”
“It’s a small town. Not a lot happens here that we don’t all know about. Seems to me, Josiah has been burned a time or two. Women who thought they were too good for Tilikum.”
I picked at my muffin, glad I’d just declined that interview in Massachusetts. “I guess I don’t know a lot of details about his dating history.”
“It’s easy to forget he ever let anyone past those grumpy defenses of his. Until you, it had been a while. He took his role as a loner pretty seriously.”
That made me smile. So did he. “That doesn’t surprise me.”
“Well, despite what people in town are saying, I think one of you has an enemy you don’t know about. Someone who’s out for revenge.”
“Wait, what are people in town saying?”
“That you’re keeping a terrible secret and your stalker is going to expose it.”
I blew out a breath. “Great. So glad to know I’m now the town liar.”
“I think my favorite theory is that you’re the daughter of a crime boss and you’re trying to hide out in Tilikum. But your father’s enemies have already found you.”
“That is a good one,” Ledger said. “Not that I believe it, but it would make for a good story.”
“I’m definitely not the daughter of a crime boss. Although my dad was a politician. But a small-town politician and everyone in Pinecrest loved him.”
“He could have had enemies,” Ledger said.
“Yeah, that’s what my mom keeps insisting. She either knows something she isn’t telling me or she’s just trying to make this about her. I’m leaning toward the latter.”
“How about some good news to balance out all this bad juju,” Sandra said.
“Yes, please.”
“Subscriptions are up for the first time in about a decade. So are newsstand sales. Convincing Lou to lead with the local interest stuff on the front page looks like it’s paying off.”
“Really?”
She smiled. “Yeah. And I think it’s more than just the local focus. We’ve done that before. But no one wants to read a boring recap of the event everyone in town saw in person. Your idea for the Hometown Spotlight was brilliant. They say bad news sells, and it does, but so does heartwarming human interest stuff, especially when it’s something readers can relate to.”
“That’s what I was thinking. It doesn’t all have to be bad to be compelling.”
“Seems you were right. If this keeps up, who knows. We might be able to afford to pay Ledger.”
He pulled out his earbud. “What?”
“Never mind.”
Out of the blue, Lou’s office door opened. He always made me jump when he did that. So far, Lou had been nice enough. But he spent so much time in his office, it made him seem broody and mysterious.
Not in a sexy Josiah Haven way. In a make-me-scared-of-him way.
So when his furrowed gaze turned on me, my stomach did a flip.
“Audrey. Can I see you in my office?”
His gruff voice was so ominous. I glanced at Sandra, but she didn’t seem concerned. She just shrugged and took a bite of her muffin.
“Yeah, of course.”