She walked up to Jake and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. "Well, gentlemen, what a pleasant surprise seeing you all here, and in the middle of the day. Joe, two cheeseburgers and two orders of fries to go please." She looked at Jake and ran her hand along the buttons of his shirt as she pressed her body against his. "I thought you had a meeting with one of your suppliers?" She watched the flush creep up his neck and suspected he was about to tell her a lie. Damn him.
"I already met with them, Darlin'. Ryan and I were grabbing some lunch before getting back to work."
"Oh, well, if you, Ryan, and Logan are here, who's running the ranch?"
"You know I've got plenty of men to take care of things if I'm not there."
"That's true." She turned her attention to her brother, wanting to smack him upside the head when he had the audacity to try to look innocent. She had lived with the man long enough to tell when he was lying and he had the look, the one that gave him away. "So, Brand. What are you and Matt doing here?"
"We were driving past and saw their trucks, so we decided to have a quick bite."
She looked at Matt who busily chewed a bite of his cheeseburger. A small smile formed around Matt's lips. He knew they were busted and wasn't going to try to lie his way out of it. Smart man.
She focused on the sheriff whose face remained passive. "Sheriff Brooks."
"Miss Thomason."
"Oh, come now. I thought we had this settled. Call me Lizzie." He nodded in response. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Matt sit back in his chair and fold his arms across his chest. She sent a quick wink to Matt. "Sheriff, have you been to see Katie today?"
"No, I haven't. Is something wrong?"
"No. Nothing's wrong. I'm just surprised you aren't visiting her. She told me you usually visit with her on your lunch breaks."
"I do."
"But not today."
"No."
"I wonder why that is." She stepped back from Jake and walked down the line of bar stools where the men sat. She ran her hand along the back of each stool. "Had I known you weren't going to be there today, I'd have extended my visit." She stepped up to the bar as Joe handed her the bag. She paused to pay him for the food.
"So." She turned so quickly Ryan jumped on his bar stool, almost knocking his soda glass over. She suppressed a laugh, and headed back across the room the same way, slowly and calculatingly.
"Since you're all here, this will save me some time. I know what you're all doing here." As Jake opened his mouth, she put her fingers across his lips. "Don't you dare lie to me again, Kramer. I've had enough of it from all of you. At least Matt had the decency to not even try to lie to me. Seems he knows when enough is enough. And since you're all keeping things from me," Lizzie paused, "I guess I'm going to go straight to the source."
She stalked up to Sheriff Brooks and looked him square in the eye. Most people would be afraid to approach such a hard-looking man, but when she was on a roll, there was no one and nothing she would let stand in her way.
"Hiya, Sheriff. If it wouldn't be too much trouble, could I be brought up to date on all the information pertaining to my case? Well, any information that you can share, that is."
"I don't see why not."
"Great. You see, these men here," she pointed at them with a thumb over her shoulder, "they think they're doing me a favor by keeping me out of the loop, but all they're doing is annoying me. I'm not a huge fan of being kept in the dark."
"That was never our intention." Brand said.
"Brand. You, of all people, should know better, as should you," she said pointedly to Jake. "But we'll get to that later."
Sheriff Brooks' expression never wavered, so Lizzie had no clue how to read him, but when she steadily met his gaze, one side of his mouth tipped up in a slight smile. "I can give you a call later if you'd like."
"That'd be great." She turned to Amy. "Ready?"
Amy nodded.
"Alrighty then. Good day, gentlemen."
She was at the kitchen table, just finishing up her review of the file hand-delivered by one of the Sheriff's deputies, when Jake walked in the house. He looked at her, then the file, and headed to the sink to wash his hands.
"I see you got the file."
"Yes. And found yours too."
He nodded. "I was just trying to protect you."
"From what?" She cocked her head to the side, "The truth? Well, I'm tired of being protected from the truth. I'm twenty-five years old, I don't need protecting anymore."
"Maybe."
"There's no maybe about it. I'm a grown woman who can face the truth head on. Lord knows I've dealt a lot of things I didn't want to deal with already in my lifetime, what's one more?"
"This is one that's nasty and dangerous, and one that you shouldn't have to deal with at all."
"You're right, I shouldn't, but there's a sick bastard out there somewhere whose sole focus is on me, and I'll be damned if I'm going to live in the dark about it."
"Lizzie, listen to me—"
"No, Jake. For once you listen to me. I can understand why you did what you did, but it doesn't make it right."
"I did it because I don't want you to have to face the ugliness of this." He leaned back against the counter, crossed his arms and ankles. How could he be so damn relaxed she wanted nothing more than to hit something?
"You can do that without secrets. I want to know these things. I need to face this, so I know exactly what's going on."
"What I did may have been a mistake, then again maybe not. But I know one thing for sure, I did what I did because I love you and was trying to protect you."
"How can you protect me from something when I don't even know what it is? Those details you kept from me may have, at one point in time, been something I needed to know to stay safe."
Jake nodded. "You're right. I just wish you didn't have to deal with any of this."
"So do I. This whole situation is totally messed up."
His body went rigid and his eyes narrowed. "The whole situation."
"Yes. Everything." She was scared. Of the stalker. Of Jake. Of herself. Of them together. Of everything.
He just stood there staring at her. There was no way to read him, no way to tell what he was thinking. He pushed up off the counter, his voice cold as he told her, "I'm going to grab a shower, then I'm heading up to the main house. I'll have Ryan stay here tonight."
"Do you have a meeting or something?"
"No."
"What—"
"You said you think this whole situation was messed up, Lizzie, well, I think this whole conversation is bullshit."
"Jake—"
"Just leave be, Lizzie."
She nodded, giving him the space he needed, knowing her fear got the best of her, and in turn she hurt him. Again. Damn it.
When he left the room, she paced the kitchen, back and forth, wondering why the hell she'd said that. She'd known it would hurt him. Heck, it hurt her to even say it. God. A single tear slid down her cheek, then another, and another.
She was such an idiot. Jake had done nothing wrong, she knew it. But when he'd said he loved her, she panicked and lashed out. All he'd been trying to do was protect her, while she'd been trying to protect her heart. The heart she knew she could entrust to him.
Idiot! He'd told her he loved her, and she didn't even say it back. Oh, how she'd wanted to, and now she'd missed her chance.
Lizzie wiped her tears. She'd have to rectify that. She did love Jake and he deserved to know. She needed to fix this. One way or another.
45
Lizzie
She tossed and turned in Jake's bed for hours, his scent wafting up from the sheets, until she couldn't take it anymore. She climbed from the bed, put on her robe and headed to the kitchen, Bailey trotting after her. Ryan's presence at the kitchen table startled her.
He flashed her a smile. "Couldn't sleep?"
She belted the tie on her robe a little tighter, grabbed the tea kettle from the sto
ve and walked to the sink to fill it with water. "No." She set the tea kettle on the burner. As she reached for a cup from the cabinet, she looked over her shoulder at Ryan who was rubbing Bailey's ears. "You want some?"
"Sure."
She grabbed another cup for him and set them on the counter. She put the tea bags in the cups just as Amy entered the kitchen.
"Looks like nobody can sleep tonight. Tea?"
Amy sat at the table next to Ryan. "Sure. Thanks." Bailey turned and rested his head on her lap for more rubs and scratches.
Lizzie grabbed another cup from the cabinet and put the tea bag in the cup just as the tea kettle began to whistle. Trying to empty her mind of her issues with Jake by focusing strictly on the mundane, she assembled the tea kettle, the cups, sugar, lemon and milk on the tray and carried it to the table. When they each had their tea prepared, Lizzie asked Ryan, "Why are you still up? Dawn comes mighty early for ranchers who stay up this late."
"I can't help but feel partly responsible for at least some of what happened today."
"Were you holding a gun to Jake's head telling him if he let me in on the details of the case, you'd pull the trigger?"
"No, but—"
"But nothing, it was his choice. End of story."
Lizzie caught Amy fidgeting with her teacup and knew the young woman had something to say, but as usual was hesitant to do so.
"What is it Amy?"
Amy looked up, startled. "Well, it's just that I know Jake loves you. More than anything, and I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt you by keeping information from you. He was trying to protect you."
Lizzie looked down at her teacup, absently tracing its pretty pink floral pattern with her thumb. "I know he thinks he did the right thing, Amy, but keeping me in the dark is not always for the best. For all he knew, keeping that information from me could have hindered the investigation instead of helping. He could have been putting me in danger instead of protecting me from it."
"Did I?" A deep voice asked. Lizzie looked up to where Jake stood in the doorway and met his gaze. "Did anything in that file help you in any way besides making it harder for you to sleep?"
"No." But that wasn't the point, and the point she was trying to make melted off her tongue as she stared at the man she loved, wondering where he had been.
He nodded.
"What's up?" Ryan asked.
"Nothing much. I checked on Dad on my way up here. He's asleep."
"Good."
"Everything alright here?"
"It's been quiet."
Jake nodded at Ryan, then went to the cabinet and got himself a cup. He sat in the last available seat at the table then poured and quietly drank his tea. They sat in companionable silence, as if no one had anything to say when Lizzie knew everyone's mind was going a mile a minute.
Amy broke the silence. "I'm going to bed. I've got to help Dad with some things in the morning at the main house, so I've got to at least try to get some sleep." She looked pointedly at Lizzie's cup. "You done? Would you like me to take it for you?"
"Oh, sure. Thanks."
"No problem." Amy took Lizzie's cup to the sink, then paused in front of the window. Her whispered, "Ryan," had all three of them swiveling in her direction.
"You alright Amy?" Ryan asked.
"No. Someone is outside."
Ryan and Jake both stood up from the table at the same time and stalked to the window. "What? Where?"
"Not here, out in the woods. I saw a beam from a flashlight off in the distance."
"It could have been one of the crew," Lizzie said hopefully, knowing deep down in her gut it hadn't been and the reprieve of the last week was over.
Jake shook his head. "No. None of the crew comes out around the house. If they need anything they call. And with everything going on, they know the house is off limits to anyone but us."
"There!" Amy shouted. "See it?"
"Yeah, I do." Jake strode toward the door, pulled it open and stepped out on the porch, the others following.
"What's this?" Amy picked up a small box sitting on the porch swing. She opened the box then dropped it with a scream.
"What is it?" Lizzie asked.
Ryan carefully picked up the box. "Dead rat, an envelope…" Ryan paused long enough to grab the rat by the tail and place it on the lid of the box that lay on the floor of the porch. "There. That's just disgusting. Now, let's see what we've got here. Envelope, and flower petals."
Lizzie wrapped her arms around her middle. "Ah, the standard stalker package."
She met Jake's worried gaze, then looked back to where Ryan stood. Then her cell phone rang. Everyone paused and turned to look to where it lay on the counter. It rang again and Lizzie hesitantly picked it up and answered it.
Her, "Hello?" was met with silence.
"Hello?"
She was just about to hang up when the low and menacing voice she recognized from outside the bathroom door whispered her name, "Liiiizzzzzzie."
She let out a muffled scream and dropped the phone. Jake picked it up and closed it before pulling her to his chest. "What did he say?"
"Just my name, but it wasn't what he said so much as the way he said it."
Jake's jaw began to tic. "You changed your number after the accident, right?"
She nodded against his chest.
Ryan cursed under his breath.
"What's in the envelope?" Jake asked.
As if the phone call and dead rat weren't enough. She really, really didn't want to know what was inside.
Ryan pulled the envelope out of the box and looked inside. "Pictures."
Jake rested his cheek on top of Lizzie's head and took a deep calming breath. "Though I'd rather not know, I have to ask. Pictures of?"
"Lizzie." Ryan answered.
"What?" Lizzie tensed.
"You're outside somewhere, by a tree, wearing a light green sundress and the top half of your body is uncovered."
"Son of a bitch!" Jake exploded and grabbed the pictures from Ryan. He began pacing across the kitchen the floor, flipping through the photos.
Lizzie dropped into a chair at the table. "Oh my God. Someone was there that day Jake. At Archer's Cove when you thought you heard someone."
Jake's, "Apparently," was followed by a harsh expletive.
"Ryan, is Jake in any of those photos?"
Ryan shook his head. "Whoever was in that photo with you is cut out. All that's left is you."
"Cut out? Let me see." Jake walked over and handed Lizzie the envelope. She began sifting through them, one by one. A small piece of paper fluttered to the floor. "Another note," she said, bending to pick it up. She read the menacing words aloud, "He's got you now but very soon you'll be mine."
"Christ," Jake hissed under his breath as he paced back and forth across the floor, his normally relaxed features pulled tight with anger and frustration.
Ryan rose from the chair and walked to the phone hanging on the wall.
"What are you doing, Ryan?" Lizzie asked.
"Calling the sheriff. He needs to know what a sick fucking pervert this guy really is."
Lizzie stood, then strode, weak in the knees, to the sink and stared out the window into the night. Jake came up behind her and she met his gaze in the reflection of the window. "Do you think he's still out there, Jake? Right now, watching?"
He rested his hands on her shoulders. "I don't know, baby. I don't know. But until this is over, I'd like to ask you to stay here."
"I hadn't planned on leaving."
He nodded. "Good." He stood there staring at her reflection, his eyes roaming her face as if memorizing her features, and when Ryan called him to the phone, letting him know the sheriff needed to speak with him, his eyes caressed her one last time before he abruptly turned and walked away.
Lizzie kept busy by making coffee and tea, then wiping down counters that were already spotless. The coffee was just about done brewing when her brother's truck pulled up out front and he and Matt stepped out
as Logan pulled in behind them.
She headed them off as they were walking up the steps. "What are you doing here?"
"Jake called and told me what was going on," Brand said.
"And I just wanted to be here in case I'm needed for anything," Matt added.
"Okay. Well, there's the sheriff now."
They watched as the sheriff parked his truck and climbed out. His face was impassive, but the thin line of his lips gave away his anger.
"Everyone okay?" His voice matched his expression, flat and grim.
Lizzie tried to smile but failed miserably and then just gave up the struggle. "Yes. Well, as good as we can be considering."
"I understand. I'll make this as brief as possible."
"Thank you."
They stepped into the kitchen. Jake and Ryan sat at the table and Logan stood at the counter with Bailey lying at his feet. Logan poured coffee into the cups and on the stove the kettle began to whistle.
"Oh, Matt," Lizzie said, "I can get that."
Matt gave her a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "That's okay. I'll get it for you."
"Thanks."
Logan finished pouring the coffee, and Matt pushed her into a chair and set a cup of tea in front of her. "Chamomile with lemon and honey."
Lizzie reached up to squeeze Matt's hand, resting on her shoulder. "Thank you."
Sheriff Brooks pulled out the chair across from Lizzie and sat down as Amy walked back into the kitchen. He took the pen and pad of paper out of his shirt pocket and set them on the table.
"I thought I'd start with Amy first, if that's okay." Jake and Ryan nodded. "Are you okay to answer a few questions, Amy?"
"Yes," Amy answered as she sat in the last vacant chair.
"Can you tell me what happened?"
"I was about to rinse out a cup in the sink when something caught my eye out the window. Off in the distance, through the trees, I saw a beam from a flashlight." Amy fidgeted with the placemat on the table.
"Then what happened?"
Jake spoke next. "I saw the light Amy was talking about, then went out on the porch thinking maybe I could get a better look, or at least let the son of a bitch know we had seen him. By then the light was gone. Amy saw the box on the porch swing and opened it. There was a dead rat and an envelope containing pictures." Jake clenched his fists on the table. "The bastard was there that day, Sheriff. The day I told you about at Archer's Cove."
When Petals Fall: A Cowboy, Second Chance Romantic Suspense (Chance Creek Book 1) Page 23