by Laura Burton
“I just need you to explain why you don’t want to be friends,” Chris argued.
“You’d better do what Layla asked, Chris,” Will interrupted. “You need to leave right now.”
Chris turned to see him like he hadn’t even noticed he was there, and his face paled.
“Will!” Layla’s face brightened when she saw him.
He really hated that no kissing rule right now. Because he was dying to give her a nice long, slow kiss right in front of this jerk to give him a more direct message. Instead, he circled around the counter to her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his chest protectively.
“Are you okay?” he murmured into her hair. He breathed in her scent and sighed. She smelled amazing. Like frosted vanilla cupcakes.
She pulled back and whispered, “I’m fine. I told you I can handle myself.”
“I know, I know. I’m just checking.”
She pulled him back into another hug. “Thanks, Will. You’re good to me.” For a moment, he wondered if she really meant that, or if she was only putting on a show for Chris. Who was he kidding? This was the girl who told him she didn’t do relationships under any circumstance.
The bell on the door tinkled, and Will turned to see that Chris had just left. Layla let out a sigh of relief. “I’m so glad he’s gone. He’s really freaking me out.”
She swept the coffee and bagel from the counter and dropped them both into the garbage can. “If I eat this, I’m going to be sick.”
“I don’t trust that guy. He could have laced your food with something.”
“I wouldn’t put it past him.”
“I need to get going. I just stopped by to say hi,” Will said. “Promise me you’ll be on the watch for any sketchy behaviors Chris may exhibit, okay?”
“Okay. Thank you, Will.”
“Goodbye,” Will said as he opened the door to leave.
“Hey, wait a second,” Layla said before he stepped outside. He turned back to look at her. “My parents were wondering if you wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail with us this weekend. I think they like you.”
It warmed Will’s heart to hear it. “I like them too. Tell them I’d be happy to go hiking with you guys.” How hard was it going to be for him when it was time to break off their fake engagement?
He crossed the street and stopped by Accounting Solutions to check in with Ryan.
“Hey, Chief Vance,” Ryan said, standing and rounding his desk to greet him with a handshake. “I’ve meant to reach out to you. I discovered that the list of clients I sent you was actually outdated. I clicked on the wrong one when I was emailing the attachment.” He lifted a paper from a side table and handed it to Will. “Here’s the updated list.”
A name jumped out to Will from the top of the list. “Chris Trapp is one of your clients?”
“Yep. We just brought him on. We’ve been working with him a lot lately. It’s a pretty involved process to onboard a new client. He’s been in and out of here quite a bit.”
“Do you think he knew anything about the money?”
“It’s possible. I wasn’t there that day. Like I told you before, my employee Joe handled the transaction, but he’s been out of the country and unreachable for the past few weeks.”
“Do you think one of your employees took the money?”
“No. I trust my employees fully. And why would they feel the need to break in? They all have keys and access to the money. But one of them might have put the money away in front of another client who may have come in. When Joe gets back, we can ask him the names of all the clients who may have witnessed the money changing hands. Or who may have seen that there was a cash deposit written on a receipt or something. I’m not sure how this person would have known about the cash, but clearly, someone heard something. And unfortunately, I don’t have a security camera. I’ll for sure be getting one now, though.”
Will left Ryan’s office with the new list in hand. With the new information that Chris was a client he felt a renewed vigor to catch the person responsible for the theft.
Will met up with Layla outside her parents’ home Saturday morning for their hike on the Appalachian Trail. Her parents were starting to believe that they were a legitimate couple, and Will himself was starting to wonder if it might not be such a bad idea as he originally thought. They piled into her parents’ car, and Will and Layla sat in the back seat together. She reached out and took his hand, and he had to remind himself that it wasn’t real. She didn’t really want to hold his hand. It was part of the façade. He knew what he’d signed up for from the beginning, but it was starting to get harder to pretend. Because somewhere in the hidden depths of his heart, he was beginning to realize that he wanted it to be real between them. At least on some level. Because for him, on whatever level that was, it was real. It had been from the very beginning back in seventh grade when she put her arms around his neck and her lips to his.
He could tell that her mom had invited him along because she wanted to push them together even faster. She seemed obsessed with him and had been grilling him with questions the entire time. He didn’t mind. He was just glad that she’d lost interest in Chris Trapp. The guy was a complete loser. He didn’t like the idea of him being anywhere near Layla. He’d interviewed the guy, and Chris had told him that he’d been at home the night of the robbery. But Chris lived alone, and there was no one to corroborate his story.
“You didn’t notice Chris at the tavern the night of the robbery, did you?” Will asked Layla.
“He might have been there, but I don’t remember seeing him.”
“I don’t remember him being there that night either,” Will said.
The rest of the car ride to the trail was spent with Layla’s parents asking Will more questions. The time passed quickly, and Will spoke easily of his life and interests. As he spoke, he could see Layla softening up to him even more as he opened up. She seemed to enjoy talking to him just as much as her parents did, and by the time they got to the trail, she was the one asking the questions. He didn’t mind.
Once they hit the trail, her parents went ahead a bit, leaving them alone together. They hiked amongst the towering trees wrapped in yellows and oranges and the babbling stream that ran near the trail. Birds chirped happily overhead, and the air smelled fresh and clean. It was one of the most beautiful places Will had ever seen.
“You guys have been asking me all the questions,” Will said. “I have a question for you.”
“Ok,” Layla said. “I suppose that’s only fair.”
“Why have you sworn off relationships?”
“Oh, you’re playing dirty now.”
“You don’t have to answer it if you feel uncomfortable,” Will said.
“No, it’s okay. I can talk about it. It’s just a little intense.”
“I’m the chief of police. I can handle intense,” Will joked.
“Good point.” Layla let out a loud sigh. “When I was eighteen, I went off to college and got married right away. I was so young and naïve. The guy I married was horrible and abusive to me. It ended in divorce after six months. I have zero ability to tell if a guy is shady, I swear.”
“I’m sorry that happened.”
“It’s okay. It’s in the past. But I still have terrible judgement. My experience with marriage was so horrible that I promised myself right after my divorce that I would never be abused like that again. And I knew the only way to make sure that never happened was to stay single. I just don’t trust myself.”
“I think you have better judgment than you give yourself credit for,” Will said.
“What do you mean?”
“You saw Chris for who he was and stood up to him just fine.”
“That’s true, but he was being obviously creepy. I still let guys pull the wool over my eyes. I’m so afraid another guy will come along and trick me into being in another abusive relationship.”
“Unfortunately, there are abusers out there. You just need to work on learning the re
d flags,” Will said. He spent the next several minutes teaching her about warning signs to look for.
“You really are the expert on this,” Layla said.
“I’m the chief of police. You see a lot of stuff in this line of work. Part of our training is to be able to read people. I can tell you’ve worked really hard to protect yourself, though. You really should give yourself more credit.”
“I’ve worked hard to get this way. I even took a self-defense class. I don’t want another jerk to lay hands on me.”
“Good for you. I know about an excellent martial arts class in town if you’re interested.”
“Actually, I am,” Layla said. “Text me the information when we get back.”
When they got to the top of the mountain they’d been steadily climbing, the trail narrowed. “Ever been here before?” Layla asked.
“Nope,” Will replied.
“It gets pretty steep in some parts.”
Will swallowed. He was terrified of heights. He tried to face his fear by going rock climbing, but it never seemed to get better, no matter how often he put himself near the edge of a cliff.
As they got higher, the trail became more rugged, until they were hiking single file and climbing over several jagged outcroppings of rocks. Will caught a view of the valley below and the old familiar panic seized him once again. The further they went, the worse it got. His legs began to shake, and the world started to spin.
“Will, are you okay?” Layla asked. She had gotten a bit ahead on the trail and turned back to check on him.
He shook his head. He could feel his cheeks burning with embarrassment. “I’ll be okay. Just give me a minute.” He put his head between his knees and took some deep breaths. “I’m deathly afraid of heights,” he admitted through gritted teeth. “I’ve been in situations way worse than this, but for some reason, it’s hitting me especially hard today.”
Layla sat next to him and put a hand on his back. “You’ve got this. You can conquer this.”
He took a few more deep breaths and then stood once more.
“Great. You’re doing great.” Layla’s voice gave him the courage he needed to face his fear. He stood and climbed across the rugged outcropping, and the trail stayed rugged like that for the next thirty minutes of hiking. At last, they came to a rock that overlooked the forested hills below. The view was incredible. Layla’s parents were already there waiting for them.
“You two made it!” Layla’s mom crooned. “Isn’t this the most beautiful place you’ve ever seen?” She stretched her arms out like the world was hers. Will chuckled to himself. The woman really was quite the character. “Can I get a picture of the two of you? It’s quite the accomplishment to make it this far. We have to document it!”
“Sure,” Layla said. She took Will’s hand and led him to the edge. Will took a deep breath and tried to keep from thinking how far he’d fall if he happened to tumble over the side of the cliff.
“Come on,” Mrs. Bowen called, holding up her cell phone for a picture. “Give her a kiss. You made it this far. You might as well celebrate!”
Will froze. He looked at Layla, and she gave him the slightest of nods. Permission. He licked his lips, and his pulse raced for an entirely different reason now. He pulled Layla toward him. Tendrils of hair had escaped from her ponytail. He swept it back from her forehead, and she looked up into his eyes. Her big brown eyes were so vulnerable, and she looked terribly fragile at that moment. Was it possible that her heart was as much on the line as his was? He could feel her trembling beneath his grasp, and he pulled her closer as he lowered his mouth to hers.
Once again, fireworks exploded in his head as his mouth met hers. She kissed him back, her mouth moving perfectly in sync with his. It was like she understood exactly what he wanted out of a kiss and knew the perfect way to deliver it to him. He wanted more from her and knew he was in trouble. This kiss had pushed him over the edge. He was falling, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. It was way too late for that.
“That’s beautiful,” Mrs. Bowen said. She sounded ecstatic. Because to her, clearly that kiss was anything but fake. She was sold on their romance. He just wasn’t so sure Layla was, and that was the part that had him worried. He pulled away from her and studied her face to gauge her reaction.
But Layla was giving him nothing. She turned away from him, taking a big drink from her water bottle. “Ready to get going, guys?” she said like nothing had just happened.
Disappointment struck his heart hard, but he fought to hide it. “Yep, let’s head out.” He took a turn drinking from his own water bottle to hide his displeasure. For the rest of the hike, he stayed next to Layla’s dad and kept him engaged in a deep conversation about fixing up old cars. Layla stayed behind them with her mother. They didn’t even speak until they got back to the parking lot.
By then, it was getting dark, and they climbed into the back seat together. They didn’t speak as Mr. Bowen cranked up the engine and pulled from the parking lot. He wasn’t sure if it was from exhaustion or if Layla was pulling away, but she was still being awfully quiet. After a few minutes, Layla fell asleep beside him, and her sleeping form fell against him. He let her lean against his shoulder. He wondered how long it would last. Thanksgiving was rapidly approaching, and they’d be that much closer to Christmas when his time with Layla would be over.
And he wasn’t sure how he felt about that.
Chapter 6
Layla filled her plate with macaroni and cheese and a green salad. The church was putting on a luncheon after the Sunday service. She’d invited Will to come, but he said he might be a bit late. Her head had been spinning ever since their toe-curling kiss on the Appalachian Trail. But she’d let it go too far. She should have made an excuse, stopped him before he kissed her. But her mom was standing right there, expecting them to kiss. What was she supposed to say?
She had been going over it in her head repeatedly. She’d made the no kissing rule for a reason. Her first kiss with Will when they were in seventh grade had overwhelmed her. She’d felt too much too soon with him. It was why she’d broken things off with him so quickly when he kept following her around. She was young and hadn’t known how to handle so many strong emotions.
Then, years later, she’d kissed him impulsively when he’d pulled her over. She hadn’t thought the kiss would be like it had in seventh grade—earth shatteringly powerful. So many years had passed, and she’d chalked up the emotions she’d felt back then as teenaged hormones. But their kiss in front of the church was just as strong as their kiss had been in seventh grade, if not even stronger. It had completely caught her off guard.
Their kiss on the trail had been the best of all. It had brought her closer to him physically and emotionally. She felt herself falling, and she had to do what she could to stop it. But she didn’t know how. She wasn’t sure she could stop it.
Her sister Niki, younger by two years, was in line beside her. She and Niki had stayed close throughout the years and had survived their mom’s intense helicopter parenting. Niki had somehow managed to avoid marriage thus far. It really was a miracle considering how badly their mom wanted grandbabies. Their mom was always talking about how their eggs were drying up, but seeing as how both girls were still in their twenties, it was hardly the case.
Layla’s mom had wanted several children, but she’d run into fertility problems after Niki was born and ended up with a hysterectomy instead of more children. So now she was chomping at the bit for grandchildren. Layla understood it. Mrs. Bowen watched all her friends doting on their grandbabies while her arms stayed empty. Niki had chosen a career instead of marriage and children. She led group therapy at the local hospital with patients who were contemplating suicide. It was an incredible career, and she had helped to change hundreds of lives.
Layla filled a cup with ice water from the water pitcher.
“Where are you sitting, Layla?” someone said from behind her.
She turned to see Chris sta
nding there, and she frowned. “You’re not sitting with me, Chris.”
“Whoa, why do you have to be so rude? I was just trying to be friendly.”
“I told you not to approach me.”
“If you would just talk to me, then I wouldn’t have to keep approaching you. I just need you to answer that one question. I deserve an answer. It’s only fair.”
“Fair? I don’t owe you any kind of explanation. I don’t owe you friendship either. In fact, I don’t owe you anything at all.”
Chris’ expression hardened. “Listen, if you don’t tell me why you don’t want to be friends, it’s not going to be good for you.”
Shock jolted through her. “Are you threatening me?”
“I just need you to answer that question, and then I’ll leave you alone.”
“I’m engaged to the chief of police. Do you have mush for brains? If you keep stalking me, it’s not going to be good for you. Go away and stay away.”
She walked away from him to her family’s table and took a seat next to her sister. “Layla, what’s wrong?” her mother asked. “You’re white as a sheet and shaking all over. What did Chris just say to you?”
“He just threatened me.”
“And how did you respond? He looks furious,” Niki said from the seat next to Layla.
“I told him the truth. If he can’t handle it, that’s his problem.”
“Good for you!” Niki said.
Will pulled out the chair on the other side of her. “Did you just tell Chris off?”
Layla relayed the conversation she’d had with Chris to the entire table, including her parents.
A look of fury crossed Will’s features as she got to the part of the story where Chris had threatened her. “This is a serious problem. If this gets much worse, you may need to file a protective order against Chris.”
Her mom shook her head. “I was mistaken about that young man. I can’t believe the way he’s been treating you, Layla.”
“It’s like he’s going crazy,” Layla said.