by R. S. Elliot
Lyndsey
“I can’t arrest someone solely on the basis that you think they’re evil,” Flynn said, glancing up from the note I received the night before.
He tossed it down onto the table with a flourish to emphasize his point. “Though no one thinks Kyle or Vanessa are innocents, I also don’t think they’d be capable of doing something like this.”
I closed the distance between us, refusing to back down. There was no way Flynn would convince me my suspicions were unwarranted. Not now, after this letter all but proved there was more going on than an accidental fire. “Someone broke into my house.”
“It was a raccoon.”
“Someone else, Flynn.” I glared down my nose at him. “I suppose the next thing you’re going to tell me is that this note was also written by a raccoon.”
“No. But Hummingbird Hollow is kind of a big deal. People will have read about the fire, and you’re bound to get all sorts of crazies sending you strange letters like this.”
“This wasn’t sent to my home,” I said, unable to hide my frustration. “It was placed among my files. Which means someone either slipped it into my things while I was at the office or had access to my home.”
“Or they were close by and added it to your things when you weren’t looking.”
I waved my hand in a flippant gesture, turning my back to him to disguise my tears. “Yes, because that’s supposed to make me feel better. Someone creepily stalking me and hiding threatening letters in my things.”
I was slowly losing control of my emotions.
This was not me. I didn’t cry when I didn’t get my way like a child throwing a tantrum. I didn’t crumble when someone didn’t agree with me. But after a week of dealing with all this stress, how else was I supposed to feel?
I shouldn’t be taking all this out on Flynn.
Especially since the poor man was doing me a favor after not even seeing me in almost three years. Yet, he had to know I wasn’t crazy. Because I wasn’t crazy.
Was I?
“Lynds,” Flynn’s calming voice came behind me. His hand touched my shoulder and turned me to face him. “Why is this such a big deal right now?”
“How is this not a big deal to you?” How could he not see it was a big deal to me? “Someone set my house on fire, then threatened worse if I don’t leave town. I could barely even sleep last night.”
Though, that was partially due to my roving thoughts about a sexy fireman.
Meeting Hunter had done even less to calm my nerves. If anything, he was the reason everything felt like it was falling apart. I could handle one crisis, dealing with the horrible hand I’d been dealt when it came to the fire. I could even deal with my parents cutting me off, with their horrible scheme to make me prove myself. But I couldn’t handle all of it knowing how I felt about Hunter. Knowing he was as far away from me as the sun and yet, feeling his presence every day.
“This is not the Lyndsey I remember,” Flynn said, drawing me out of my thoughts. “You’re fearless. You’d never let anything like this upset you so much. You’d just laugh it off and see it for the nonsense it is.”
He wiped a tear from beneath my cheek, a quick, innocent gesture. Nothing like how Hunter held me. It was like I was precious cargo in his arms, like I meant something to him. Flynn was more like a brother to me, the one who led me into trouble more than he helped me out of it.
Though at the moment, he was right. Old Lyndsey would have rallied. She would have lunged back with a vengeance. She would have poured herself a whiskey sour, seated herself with a baseball bat beside the door, and posted a sign in the yard that said, “Come get me!”.
I pulled myself together. But there was only so much I could do to drag myself up out of the muck.
Grandma was gone. Even Aly was gone. The only man who made me feel like I was home again was destined for someone else.
“That was before someone burned down my house,” I said, instead. Flynn didn’t need to know about all the problems in my life. He already knew enough.
“You mean before you left a candle burning?”
I smacked his hand away. “I’m not having this conversation with you. Are you going to help me or not?”
He sighed. “Fine. Why don’t we put in some security cameras to start with, monitor the area and see if anyone comes or goes?”
“Security cameras? I can’t even fix my roof yet. You want me to shell out the cash for security cameras?”
“Why can’t you afford cameras?”
My heart stopped. Crap! Perhaps, I was going to have to tell him more details. He still thought of me as the heiress with millions to spend on repairs and protection. “My parents.”
“Oh no. What did Mommy and Daddy do now?”
I hated it when he called them that. Like their names should be Winnie and Howard III, or some other such pretentious names. “Long story short, I don’t have access to any money I haven’t earned. Which, considering I’ve only been working for a few days, is relatively nothing.”
Flynn stared at me in silence.
His lips quivered, as if resisting the urge to break out into laughter. “Ok. I’m going to need to hear the long version of that story at some point. But for right now, we need to come up with a cost effective solution.”
“I could buy a doberman from the pound.”
“Hmm, cute,” he said. “But, it’s still not going to fix the problem.”
“Then, what else do you suggest?”
He shrugged and continued his examination of the house. His shrewd gaze fell on every corner and entry point like a soldier planning for every avenue of attack. “The whole point of setting up a security system is to give us more time to catch these criminals while still protecting you. When you don’t leave town, this person is going to strike again. We don’t want to leave you sitting here completely exposed. So, our best bet is to draw them out instead.”
Draw them out? We were heading into some super shady spy stuff that I was not entirely prepared to handle. I could spy on my cousins, wait for them to make their move. But this felt all too invasive.
“How is that going to help?” I asked.
“If we draw them out, set a kind of trap for them, we have more control over the situation,” he explained. “It gives them an opportunity to attack without them knowing that’s what we’re doing. It also means, when they do choose to make their move, we will be ready to stop them.”
So, this wasn’t just about my cousins. It was about catching anyone who may be involved. It made sense, I supposed. I’d narrowed my scope long ago, refusing to let go of my hatred. I just knew they were involved somehow. No one could convince me otherwise. “So, how do we draw them out?”
“You could set up something at the house,” Flynn said. “A party—a gathering. Something along those lines.”
“Right.” I laughed. “Set up a party in my partially-charred house.”
“The house is clearly a sore subject for this person,” he explained. “It’s the perfect catalyst to set them off. Not only would it be a reminder of something you have that they don’t, but throwing a huge party means you’re settling into it, making it your own. It’s definitely not the behavior of someone who’s planning to leave town anytime soon.”
“So, I’m just supposed to invite a bunch of random people over?”
I didn’t even know where to start. I could invite all the family, I suppose. But as for friends and close relationships, none of those remained any longer. I hadn’t seen half of the people I grew up with in years and had no desire to contact them again.
Except for Flynn. Flynn had always been a keeper.
“We invite the most likely suspects, your cousins, and keep an eye on them,” he explained. “A party is the perfect place for them to feel safe. They’ll feel like they can easily blend in and manuever throughout the house without being missed.”
“So, I just have to come up with a reason for everyone to be there and figure out a way to f
ix up the house.”
Right. Completely simple.
Flynn shook his head. “Not the entire house. Just the roof. A temporary fix. No one needs to go up into the second part of the house anyway. It’s just for when people arrive.”
“Then, there’s decorations and food.” Already I could see the dollars racking up. How in hell was I supposed to fund a party? “What am I supposed to do for all that?”
“Do something with the business,” Flynn said. “Have them pay for it all. Isn’t there something you could set up on the company’s dime? A team-building activity or company mixer?”
A team-building activity? I couldn’t imagine having to do some sort of trust-fall exercises with my cousins. They’d sooner put a knife in my back when I turned it rather than catch me before I fell—even with an audience.
As for a company mixer, that sounded even more terrifying. A handful of employees, all trying their hardest to suck up to Kyle and Vanessa, each one trying to outdo the other. It made me nauseous even thinking about it.
A mixer for clients, however, that held merit. We entertained somewhere close to a hundred clients. With that amount of people, our perpetrator would feel comfortable enough to slip away in a large mansion to commit his nefarious deeds. Plus, I could convince Kyle and Vanessa it was the perfect opportunity to maximize our interactions. All remaining clients would be introduced to their potential spouses at once, and those who were still in the beginning dating stages would be given a safe space to meet their new matches.
“This could work,” I said softly. “I’ll run the idea by Vanessa and see what she says.”
“Great, then let me know.” Flynn moved toward the door. “Let’s set something up as soon as possible though. We don’t want to give the person too much time in between to strike. Though, I have a feeling they’ll just wait for the party.”
I opened the door and stepped outside with him. I was meeting another client in thirty minutes anyway. “I hope you’re right.”
Flynn stared down at me, noting the concern in my features with a knowing grin. It was inevitable. How was I to simply forget that we were setting someone up to come and hurt me? Flynn saw this as no more than business as usual, something he could control without hesitation. I trusted him. But there was no ignoring the potential for danger.
He reached for me, taking my arms between his palms and holding me out far enough to level his eyes over mine. “You’ll be fine. I’ve got everything under control. Have I ever let you down?”
I tilted my head to the side. “Well, there was that one time you almost left me in the river to die.”
He tossed his head back with a laugh. His hands released me, flying to his face to curb the growing frustration. “My God, I’m never going to live that one down. Lynds, you were in a foot of water. You were not going to die.”
“I thought I was. It looked like there was a gator nearby.”
“What more did you want me to do? I came back as soon as I realized Kyle left you there alone. Though to be fair, we both recommended bringing better shoes.”
“Fine.” I leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. “I trust you. Just get the son of a bitch already.”
Chapter Fifteen
Hunter
“How long were you in the military?”
I asked the newest date Lyndsey had set up for me. A pretty young blonde by the name of Crystal Brooke, this woman excelled in terms of upgrades from my previous match. She exuded enthusiasm and charm, with a smile that could melt even the frostiest of hearts. She was perfect in every way that seemed to matter, and yet...
“I spent one year in Turkey,” she said. “Then, I spent three years in Germany and two more years stateside—so six years in total.”
“That sounds exciting.” Way more exciting than anything I’d ever done. I’d never even stepped foot outside of the United States and barely ever out of Madison. It had always been on my list. Though, there never seemed to be a right time to leave. Even if it was only for a brief period of time. “Don’t you think you’re going to miss all the adventure?”
Crystal flashed that heartwarming smile. “I loved traveling and seeing as much of the world in my spare time as possible. But those last two years really put things into perspective for me. Being in the states made traveling home to visit my parents even easier, and I realized I wanted that more than anything.”
“Your parents are here?”
“Yes. Family means everything to me,” she exclaimed. “Which is partially why I’m doing this. I want someone who isn’t into playing games. I just know what I want and how to get there, and you can either be on board or not.”
“No nonsense. I get it.” Hell, I almost stood up and applauded her. “I think that’s why many of us choose this route.”
Crystal nodded and flipped a long sheet of golden hair behind her shoulder. “Vanessa and Kyle have quite the unique business plan here. They’ve taken a lot of the guesswork out of it, which is invaluable in a world where nothing is ever really what it seems.”
She was already hitting every point on the requirements. Everything I decided months ago that made up the perfect wife, she embodied with finesse. She was strong, family-oriented, and knows exactly what she wants. There was no drama with Crystal, no games or secret affairs. She even craved adventure and inspired the same in me. Not to mention, she was incredibly attractive.
There was just something missing. I couldn’t quite place my finger on it.
“What do you do now?” I asked, trying to reroute my thoughts. There was no room to think about the missing parts I wasn’t even sure were really missing. For all I knew, this was just me getting cold feet in the face of finding everything I’d ever hoped for.
“I’m a physical therapist,” she said. “I work with all kinds of patients. But, I mainly do home health and go to people’s houses to help them through their exercises and stretches.”
So, she not only had all her military training to fall back on in case of an emergency, but she also retained basic medical skills.
I stopped myself before delving too far into an interview process. Isn’t that what this was anyway? Was that what all dating was? A series of questions to see how compatible you were with the other person before investing all your time and energy in them?
This felt even colder. I shouldn’t be interviewing for the position of my wife, and yet, here we were.
This is what I wanted, I reminded myself. Something simple and easy. Someone who satisfied all the needs and requirements in my life, while also adding something special to it.
Crystal certainly seemed to fit that bill. Beyond falling into every category perfectly, I knew my family would be in good hands with her. And not just from a loving, considerate standpoint, from a practical one, too.
Wasn’t that what all rational people did? They weighed the reality of the situation before diving headfirst into their feelings. They didn’t find someone they cared about first, someone who sparked irrevocable feelings within them, then adjust everything they wanted so they could be with them.
Though, it had never been that way with Lyndsey either.
She’d never said she didn’t want a family, or that she would never settle down one day. She’d only said she didn’t want me. Which was more than enough to remind me why Crystal was the better choice.
The only choice.
They were two sides of the same coin really. Both are beautiful, strong, confident, and determined in what they wanted. Though they faced two different directions, both staring out in pursuit of different things.
We talked for another hour or so, swapping stories and sharing interests. Perhaps she hadn’t been my first choice, but she was more than what I could have ever hoped for. I owed it to her and to myself, to see this thing through.
Wherever it landed us.
“So how did it go?” Lyndsey asked.
She didn’t even bother to look at me. In fact, beyond our initial greeting, she’d spent mo
st of our meeting with her head buried in the files or clicking through some phantom compliance questionnaire on her computer.
“Fine,” I said.
How far into details did I go? Whatever happened between us, no matter how far out of control and spectacular, it was never going to happen again. Acting excited about finding someone I connected with was all a part of our relationship. She was still my matchmaker, still the person in charge of seeing I found the perfect person. If I didn’t show the right amount of enthusiasm, I wouldn’t get any further with my search.
We could do this. Get past all the awkward feelings and setbacks. Couldn’t we?
“It was great, actually,” I added. “I think I might actually be interested in the next steps.”
“Oh. That’s...great,” Lyndsey said, finally looking up from her papers to look at me.
This was definitely still awkward.
She pivoted back toward the computer beside her, sifting through additional information hidden from my view. “I’ll have to check the file and make sure she’s also agreed to the shift. It can take a few days, you know. Sometimes they don’t update it right away, and…oh.”
Her eyes assessed the computer with a strange meld of disappointment and confusion. The rules demanded both parties remain anonymous to some extent. Brooke was likely a middle name, rather than a pseudonym, Crystal had chosen in place of her real last name. This simple difference prevented us from giving out too much information before and after the initial meeting. If all things worked out, and both parties were interested in pursuing a deeper relationship, then we would contact the agency for more information. If Crystal didn’t want to pursue a relationship with me any further, then that would be the end of it.
The curious look on Lyndsey’s face did little to ease my anxiety.
“Looks like she submitted her response already,” Lyndsey said, forcing a smile. “Seems that old charm of yours worked. So, I can go ahead and send you both the other’s information, and you can just update us on your progress after that.”