“You’ve probably heard about what’s been happening around my place.”
“The break-in and the notes, yeah. We’ve been having units drive through and patrol the area.”
“I appreciate it.” She cut off a piece of pizza but didn’t put it in her mouth. “Yesterday I had another note.”
“I heard.” Hunter frowned. “Those were some pretty serious threats. Any ideas on who could be making them?”
She opened her mouth, but the words stuck in her throat. When she’d made the decision to talk to Hunter, she’d been sure of her course of action. What if she was wrong? Peter was in enough trouble without her adding to it with false accusations.
But what if she was right? What if he refused to accept that it was over and would stop at nothing to get her back? Or worse, what if he had accepted it and decided if he couldn’t have her, no one else could, either?
She drew in a deep breath. “Let’s just say there’s a guy who isn’t very happy with me right now.”
“An ex-boyfriend who can’t seem to walk away?”
“Fiancé. I was supposed to have gotten married last month.”
Meagan looked up from the color blocks, concern in her eyes. From what Nicki had heard, her new friend had her own horror story involving an ex-fiancé. “I take it you’re the one who broke it off.”
“Yes.” At least she was trying. She wasn’t sure she’d accomplished it yet. “He thinks I should give him a second chance.”
Hunter didn’t respond, just waited for her to continue, which was turning out to be a lot harder than she’d thought it would be. It was as if Peter’s bad choices were somehow a reflection on her.
In a way, they were. They showed what a bad judge of character she was.
She pursed her lips, then continued. “He got caught embezzling from his company and was arrested. He was shocked I wasn’t going to stand by him through it. First he tried playing the sympathy card, blaming it on being poor and deprived growing up and needing to feel secure. Then he tried to guilt me into staying with him, telling me that he did it all for me.”
She stifled a snort. Material possessions had never ranked high on her list of priorities. The first nine years of her life, she hardly had any. When she finally landed in the Jackson home, there were too many other new things to experience—love, security and life without fear. Baubles didn’t mean much. Peter knew that as well as anybody.
She pushed a bite of pizza across her plate with her fork, then again met Hunter’s eyes. “When that didn’t work, he got angry. That was the last conversation I had with him, about two weeks ago.” She’d witnessed a side of him she’d never seen before. Once she’d made it clear it was over, he called her several choice names and disconnected the call. Was he angry enough to attack her in the way someone had in recent days? Angry enough to want to kill her? It was hard to imagine.
“Did he make any threats?”
“No, just said some pretty hateful things. I figured he was hurt and was lashing out.” But maybe it was more serious than that. Maybe over the next few days he’d let the anger simmer and had plotted ways to get even.
She sank back in her chair. “I’m not sure what to do. I don’t want to accuse him in case he’s innocent.”
Hunter nodded. “Where does he live?”
“Crystal River.” An hour away. Too close for comfort.
“I’ll check out his mug shot and be on the lookout for him. I could also go talk to him, see what he’s been up to. If he is the one behind everything that’s been going on, maybe having a cop show up on his doorstep will be enough to convince him to stop.”
“That sounds good.” She released a small sigh. A little bit of the weight lifted.
Hunter popped the last of his pizza into his mouth and stood. “I’d better get back out there.”
She smiled up at him. “Thanks for letting me talk shop during your dinner break.”
“Anytime.” He pulled a pad from his pocket. “Give me your ex’s name.”
“Peter Gaines.”
“I’ll check him out.” He bent to give Meagan a kiss, then stepped off the deck and headed up the narrow gravel drive toward the road.
Meagan slid her chair closer and laid the samples on the table between them. “I think I have my colors picked out.”
By the time they finished their pizza, several color names surrounded the sketch, with arrows drawn and notes in the margins. “I should have this finished in about a month.” Nicki tucked the notebook into her bag and flagged the waitress to bring their checks.
Meagan rested her chin in her hands. “I’m nervous about you staying at your place alone.”
“I’m not alone. I’ve got Callie.”
“Callie doesn’t carry a .45.”
Meagan had a point. “I do have someone keeping an eye on me.” And he likely did carry a .45. Or something comparable. “Andy’s kid brother.” Since they all went to the same church, Meagan knew Andy and Joan.
Her brows shot up. “Oh, yeah?”
“No, not like that.” She’d made a vow. No more serious relationships. She was through with men. “We’re just friends.”
Meagan grinned. “I’ve heard that before.”
Nicki sighed. Meagan was enjoying giving her a hard time. “I’m serious. We were friends as kids, in Crystal River. Then he and his mom moved away, and we lost contact.”
“And now he’s back. Well, I’m glad he’s there.”
Yeah, so was she. Their childhood friendship made him a little more than a concerned neighbor. Over the past few days, he’d spent a lot of his spare time at her house. Of course, he’d had a good excuse. He’d gotten through most of the work she’d assigned him.
In fact, he was there tonight, installing a closet organizer in her bedroom. She’d left him with his tools, a pencil tucked over his ear and the room in total chaos. She’d probably be sleeping on the daybed tonight, unless he worked really fast.
She looked out over the water. The trees were now dark silhouettes against a sky stained shades of orange and pink. Soon dusk would fade to darkness. By then, she’d be headed home. Tyler would likely still be there.
He’d changed a lot since those early days. That ever-present chip on his shoulder seemed to have lessened. Maybe with maturity, his anger with the world had evolved into acceptance.
It wasn’t an easy acceptance. Tension emanated from him, a brooding silence that hadn’t been there before. Beneath the adult confidence was a tortured soul, something he’d never be able to hide from her, because she knew him too well. And she knew herself. Their shared traumas formed the invisible cord that would always tie them together.
When she looked at Meagan again, she was wearing a knowing half smile. Nicki shrugged it off. Let her think what she would. She valued Tyler’s friendship too much to throw it away on yet another failed attempt at something more.
After they’d paid their checks, Nicki rose and followed Meagan off the deck.
“I’ll keep you posted on my progress. I’ve got two other projects to finish first, but they’re small.”
Meagan leaned against the passenger side of her car. All the parking for the Blue Desert Café was along the street. “No rush. We’re still dealing with remodeling dust. My goal is another two weeks, but a month is more realistic.”
Nicki’s gaze drifted past Meagan to the house across the street. “Then it should be perfect ti—” She stopped midsentence, tension spiking through her. A figure stood in the shadow of a tree a few yards from the side of the house.
Meagan turned. “What’s wrong?”
“Someone’s watching us.” Either that, or he’d stepped outside for a smoke and she was letting her imagination run away with her. Between the distance and the shadows, she couldn’t say what he was doing or see any
kind of identifying characteristics.
Moments later, the person scurried away, moving deeper into the woods. Meagan pulled her cell phone from her purse with one hand and grasped Nicki’s arm with the other. “Stay here. I’m calling Hunter.”
“Trust me, I’m not going anywhere.” She wasn’t the type to follow a stranger into the woods unarmed. She’d leave the heroics to the cops.
The cops showed up in the form of Hunter ten minutes later. He’d searched the area and found no one suspicious. She wasn’t surprised. Whoever had been watching her from the shadows was the same person who was making all the threats. She had no doubt. If he was smart enough to not leave behind any prints, he wouldn’t stand around and wait for the police to arrive.
She climbed into the driver’s seat of the Ram and started the engine, thankful she wasn’t going home to an empty house. But Tyler wouldn’t be around indefinitely. Eventually he and Andy would finish their work on the inn. And Tyler would be gone.
She pulled from the parking lot, an odd sense of loss stabbing through her. It wasn’t just the thought of the protection she’d no longer have. And it wasn’t the loss of the companionship she was growing accustomed to.
No matter how she tried to fight it, Tyler was becoming much more than a friend.
* * *
Andy turned his truck onto Hodges, and Tyler took off his baseball cap and laid it in his lap. It was covered in drywall dust. His clothes had been, too, but he’d managed to brush off the majority of it before getting into Andy’s truck. A cool shower had a lot of appeal. Then he’d see what Nicki was doing.
He’d finished the closet organizer project late Tuesday night, after she’d come in from dinner with her friends. Last night she’d gone to church. Nicki had invited him twice, Andy and Joan more than that. But each time he’d come up with an excuse.
It wasn’t like he’d never been. After his father left, his mother hadn’t known how to deal with his anger, so she found a small white church two blocks away and started taking him. It didn’t help. He hated not getting to sleep in Sunday mornings and resented giving up time hanging with his friends.
When his mom got sick, though, everything changed, and he tried to make a bargain with God. If God would keep his mother alive, he’d be in church every time the doors opened. Hey, he’d even have been willing to become a preacher if that was what it took.
Apparently God didn’t listen to angry teenage boys. Because in spite of his mother’s good fight and his own pleas and promises, the cancer took her anyway. And he hadn’t darkened the door of a church since.
“So what are your long-term plans?” Andy’s words cut across his thoughts.
“I don’t have any.”
“Are you thinking about maybe settling in Cedar Key?”
He shrugged. “Hadn’t considered it. Why?”
“I don’t know. You’ve been spending a lot of time with Nicki. I figured you might think about staying here permanently.”
Tyler slanted his brother a glance, but Andy’s attention was focused forward.
“I’ve been spending a lot of time with Nicki because I’ve been working for her.”
Now Andy did look at him. “You know, you’re going to have to stop running at some point.”
Tyler nailed him with a glare. “Twenty years ago, you were bigger than me, so you got away with bossing me around. It’s not going to fly now.”
Andy lifted his shoulders and let them fall. “Have it your way. But as long as you’re here, I’m going to work on you. I want you to be happy, bro.”
“I am happy.” He crossed his arms in front of him, then dropped his hands to his lap. The first pose had looked anything but happy.
When they approached Nicki’s house, she was walking down the driveway with Callie. Tyler lowered the passenger window, and Andy eased to a stop. When Tyler called a greeting, Callie picked up the pace, tail wagging, pulling Nicki with her. She stopped at the side of the truck, then stood up, resting her front paws on the door. The dog had taken a liking to him. Or maybe she just associated him with her buddy Sasha.
He reached through the open window to pat her head while he talked to Nicki. “Will you be home tonight? I was going to see if I could stop over.”
“Make it after eight. I’m feeding Callie, warming up some leftovers for myself, then heading up to The Market for groceries.”
“Let me get cleaned up, and I’ll go with you.”
She waved away his offer. “I’m sure you have better things to do than follow me around the grocery store.”
“It’s no trouble. I need to go myself. I’m sure Andy and Joan are out of something. If not, I’ll pick up another jar of peanut butter.” He grinned. “You can never have too much peanut butter.”
She returned his smile. “All right. In that case, I’ll let you tag along. Come over in about forty-five minutes.”
After Nicki pulled Callie away from the truck, Andy took his foot off the brake and gave him a crooked smile.
Tyler shrugged. “She’s in danger, and I’m right next door.” A touch of defensiveness had crept into his tone. His brother knew about the break-in and notes and didn’t need to be giving him a hard time.
Andy pulled into his driveway and turned off the truck. “She’s a nice girl. I’m glad you’re taking an interest.”
Tyler responded with a grunt.
A short time later, he was on Nicki’s front porch, clean and pleasantly full from Joan’s cooking. Before ringing the bell, he’d scanned the area, making sure they were alone. It appeared they were. Of course, with woods all around, he couldn’t say for sure.
Nicki grabbed her purse and, after giving Callie her usual command to behave herself, closed and locked the door. She pressed a button on her key fob and the locks on the Ram popped up. “How is the work at the inn coming along?”
“Right on schedule.” He slid into the passenger seat next to her. “Actually a little ahead of schedule. We’ve been at it almost two full weeks. If everything goes as planned, another five should do it.”
She nodded, her lower lip pulled between her teeth.
He reached across the cab of the truck to rest a hand on her shoulder. “Nicki, I’m not leaving until I know you’re safe.”
“Thanks.” She gave him a half smile. “Under normal circumstances I’d tell you not to change your plans on account of me. But I feel a lot better having you around.”
She cranked up the truck but didn’t back from the drive. “I might know who’s been doing this.”
He studied her in the growing afternoon shadows. “Who?”
“Peter, my ex-fiancé. I broke things off with him about three months ago. The first few weeks, he was pretty persistent, trying to get me to go back to him.”
His gut tightened. He’d heard too many stories about vindictive exes. And he wouldn’t mind getting his hands on this one. “Have you given his name to the police?”
“I told Hunter about him Tuesday night. He’s Amber’s brother, also works for Cedar Key. Anyhow, he called me this afternoon and said he’d talked to Peter. Apparently he hasn’t been outside Citrus County. Even has the witnesses to prove it.”
“So our only lead has been eliminated.”
She shifted the truck into Reverse and backed into the street. “Not necessarily. These people aren’t with him twenty-four seven. He could drive over here, stay a couple of hours and be back before anybody misses him. Or maybe he’s getting someone else to do his dirty work.”
Tyler shook his head. Neither scenario sounded good. No, leaving Cedar Key before this was resolved was out of the question.
A few minutes later, Nicki pulled into a parking space. The Market at Cedar Key was the only grocery store on the island. It wasn’t big, but it had all the basics and then some. Which was good, since
Joan had come up with a fairly lengthy list.
Nicki tilted her head toward the Prius next to them. “Meagan’s here. I’ll introduce you.”
As soon as they were inside, Nicki waved him forward and made a beeline for the cash register. A woman with long blond hair gathered three bags, looping two of them over one arm before picking up the third. Her face lit up when she saw Nicki. She shifted the single bag to her left hand to give her a hug, then extended her hand his direction.
“Meagan Kingston. You must be Tyler. Nicki told me about you.” She smiled. “It was all good. I promise.”
After the women chatted for a minute or two, Meagan glanced down at her bags. “I’d better get this stuff home.”
Nicki nodded. “I’m glad we ran into you. When I saw that shiny silver Prius out there, I knew you were inside here.”
Meagan frowned. “The poor thing had to be towed yesterday.”
Nicki’s brows went up. “You broke down? You haven’t had it that long.”
“No, the engine was fine. It was the tires, all four of them. I got up yesterday morning, and someone had taken a knife to them.”
Nicki’s jaw dropped and the blood leached from her face. “Someone slashed your tires?” She pressed her hands to her cheeks and took several steps back. “This is my fault. You were with me Tuesday for dinner. And he was watching. We saw him. He’s watching everything I do.” She looked frantically around her. “He retaliates against anyone who dares to be seen with me. You have to stay away.”
Meagan rushed toward her, then stopped Nicki’s flow of words with a hand on her arm. “You don’t know that.”
Nicki jerked her arm away and backed up further. “Tyler and I left for the evening to go to Home Depot, and the next morning, there was a note on his door telling him to watch the company he keeps, that it could get him killed. Anyone who dares to be seen with me will pay for it. I should leave.”
Tyler draped an arm across her shoulders and pulled her close. “Whoever is doing this will follow you. He’s trying to isolate you. If you leave Cedar Key, you’ll be playing right into his hands. You need to stay here where you have friends, people looking out for you.”
Buried Memories Page 6