He had on a tight, black T-shirt, so she could see all of his muscles. They hadn’t suffered in the accident. She’d heard he was getting physical therapy so he’d, of course, had to work on his upper body. On his legs, he had on light gray sweatpants, the loose kind. He wore faded black sneakers with flecks of mud on them.
All in all, Boyd looked good. Healthy. She didn’t know what she’d expected, but she hadn’t expected him to look so much like himself. Her hands started shaking and she put them quickly in her pockets so he wouldn’t see. She hadn’t been alone with him since… Maybe she should have taken some time to prepare for this instead of just going on a whim.
Boyd’s eyes scanned her from head to toe and then back to her eyes. It made her self-conscious, and she had to fight every fight-or-flight response she had to run to her car and get away.
“Hello, Sloan. Out for a drive?”
Words, coherent words, wouldn’t form in her head. She stuttered a bit and pushed some hair behind her ear. “Yeah, well. I wanted to see… see you. See how you were doing. I was thinking about you at school today.”
Good glory, it was true. She was a big flirt. That statement could be taken so many ways. She prayed he’d taken it the right way.
“Did you now? Nice to be missed. How is school?” He didn’t seem threatening or even… anything. His words had no emotion to them.
“It’s there. Everyone’s excited about prom on Friday.” Did she really just say that?
He nodded sadly and smiled. “Yeah, guess I missed the bullet there. Don’t have to go now.” He pointed to the police monitor on the wheel of his chair. “Couldn’t go if I wanted.”
The words I’m sorry started to form on her lips, and she instantly swiped them away. She was not sorry. She’d broken his back protecting herself and Aaron. If she hadn’t hit him and knocked him off Aaron, Aaron would be dead. No doubt about it. She could not feel sorry for the monster in front of her.
“Any other reason you came, or did you leave school just to chat about prom?” Finally. An emotion from him. Not a good one. More annoyed than anything.
A plan would have been good. “Uh… no. I just came to see how you were and… is your mother home?”
A boyish grin crossed his face. She hadn’t seen him look like that in ages. “Why? Want to take advantage of me in my current position?”
Sex. It had always been about sex to him. “No. Just wanted to talk to her.”
“She’s not here. She left about an hour ago. Don’t know where she went. Didn’t ask.”
What? Sloan pointed to the Explorer. “But the car…”
“She drives a Corvette when it’s just her. That monstrosity is for when I have to go to the doctor. Fits my wheels real nice.” He patted the gray wheels of his chair. “Now, do you need anything else, Miss Bridges, or are you just here to gawk?”
It was now or never. Might as well ask and get on her way. “Are you stalking me?”
He obviously wasn’t expecting that. He looked at her all confused at first, then tilted his head back and roared with laughter. When that was done, he looked at her again, the smile still plastered on his face. “You’re not kidding, are you?”
She shook her head, wanting to be anywhere but there.
“You think I’m stalking you? How? Am I rolling around in the middle of the night?”
It was good he sounded so amused. Not.
“I don’t know. Maybe you have someone helping you. I just want to know if it is you and tell you… if it is… to stop. Please.”
She couldn’t look at him, not directly. She could tell, though, from the corner of her eyes that his expression had changed. It had gone from jovial to concerned.
“You’re really worried about this, aren’t you?”
“Just tell me. Is it you?”
“What are you getting at?”
“Just tell me…”
He rolled his chair closer to her so he didn’t have to keep holding the door. “This stalker, what is he doing to you? Is he sending you things?”
He was toying with her. That’s what it was. He knew perfectly well what he was sending. She decided to play along just to see what he had to say. “Flowers.”
“Flowers?”
“Roses.”
“Roses.” He repeated again, like he was working on a puzzle in his head that wasn’t fitting together. “Anything else?”
She debated about telling him about the notes and the countdown, but decided against it. Maybe he’d slip up and say something about it. It would be her truth gauge.
“Nothing.”
“Hmm… wow. Are you sure it’s a stalker and not a suitor? The Hunter brothers aren’t wooing you?”
Oh, they were wooing. “I’m sure. I want to know if it’s you. I know you’ve talked to Ray about it, but…”
Boyd held his hands up innocently. “Whoa, Ray. When did I talk to Ray?”
What sort of question was that? “Yesterday. During first period, Ray came to talk to you and your mother. He was gone all day.”