“Right.” The mention of his ATV reminded her how it had felt to be pressed against his strong back as he’d brought her to his cabin. The memory sent a pleasant tingle through her body.
“What else?” she asked. “Like, what do you do for a living?” That’s what she really wanted to know, because if he was a paid assassin, she wasn’t so sure she wanted to stick around. What if one of his enemies came to kill him and she got caught in the crossfire? That would ruin her day.
“Do you really want to know?” he asked.
Was he actually going to tell her? “Yes,” she said. “I do.”
A muscle moved in his jaw, then while staring at the road in front of them, he said, “I consult with businesses. On financial matters.” He glanced at her, then focused back on the road.
That sounded important. Impressed, she said, “Why didn’t you tell me that when I asked you before?”
He scowled, but didn’t answer.
Not wanting to irritate him, but still curious, she asked, “Do you have to travel a lot?”
His scowl smoothed out, and when he looked at her, his lips lifted into a smile. “Yeah.”
“Do you like to travel?”
He pointed his eyes back at the road. “It’s required for the job.”
That made sense. “What about using one of those online conference calls? Can you do those instead?” Of course, that would require Internet access, which she wasn’t sure he had. But he had to have some way to communicate with the outside world, although she already knew he didn’t have a land-line.
The scowl was back, and when he didn’t answer, she decided not to push him.
She wondered what Will was doing right then. It had been forty-eight hours since she’d fled. Was he looking for her? Was he getting angrier every second that he couldn’t find her? Was he plotting what he would do to her once he found her?
The thought sent a shiver of terror pounding through her, and she wrapped her arms around herself in a protective gesture.
Eventually she’d have to check her phone for voice messages or texts. She had her phone with her. Maybe there would be cell service at the nursery. Maybe she would get the nerve to turn on her phone.
Josh didn’t like lying to Shay, but there was no way he was going to tell her the truth about his profession. He liked that there wasn’t that awkward you’re rich and famous thing coloring her opinion of him.
Then again, why did he care how she felt about him? She wouldn’t be around forever. Eventually she would have to move on.
For now, he would just go with the flow.
“Do you have your list with you?” Josh asked.
“What?” Shay’s head jerked as she faced him, like he’d startled her.
What was that all about?
“Your list. Do you have it?”
“Oh,” she began, then her lips lifted in a smile, but it seemed forced. “I don’t need a list.” She tapped her forehead. “It’s all up here.”
Chuckling, he nodded. “Okay. As long as you have it somewhere.”
“Never fear. I’ve got it all under control.”
Who was she kidding? She had nothing under control. Not her living situation. Not her relationships. Not her life. In fact, everything was out of control. From one moment to the next she wasn’t certain where she would be. The only reason she had a roof over her head right then was because Josh had taken pity on her.
Occasionally, she looked at him out of her peripheral vision. His eyes were steady on the road, so she turned her attention to the view out of her window. Pine trees lined both sides of the road, reminding her of the walk she’d made two days earlier. What had led her to Josh’s house? Was it some kind of luck? Was her luck finally turning? The thought cheered her.
“Here we are,” Josh said a few minutes later as he pulled off of the road and into a small parking lot.
The nursery wasn’t very big, but Shay was certain it would have what they needed.
Josh pulled a ball cap low over his head, then opened his door and climbed out. Shay got out as well, then they headed inside.
“Good morning,” a man who she guessed was in his forties said as he watered a row of bright purple flowers.
“Hello,” Shay said, then she noticed Josh had walked in the other direction. Wondering what had caught his eye, she turned to follow him.
“Can I help you find something?” the man asked her.
“No, I think we’re okay.”
“All right. If you need any help, just give me a holler.”
“Okay.”
Passing several rows of green plants, she made her way to Josh’s side. He seemed to be studying the instructions on a package of compost.
“Do we need any of this?” he asked as she stopped beside him.
“I don’t know. It depends on the quality of the soil at your house.” Surprised, yet pleased, by his interest, she said, “Let me grab a cart and we can start loading up.”
He smiled at her, which made her heart do a little flip. “Okay.”
As Shay wheeled a flat-bed cart in his direction, she couldn’t help but notice the way his t-shirt showed off his muscular build.
At least she knew she wouldn’t have to do any of the heavy lifting. The bags were thirty pounds each.
Smiling at the thought, she stopped beside him.
“How many bags should we get?” he asked.
She had no idea, and as she opened her mouth to throw out a number, her heart began to pound. If Will was standing there and she threw out a random number, he would scowl at her with derision, as if she was an idiot for not knowing exactly how many they needed.
Then she reminded herself that Josh wasn’t Will. Deciding to test Josh, to see how he would react, she said, “Let’s get thirty.”
He looked at her, his eyebrows raised, but then his lips curved into a smile. “Whatever you say, boss.” Then he started moving bags of compost to the flat-bed cart.
Her heart nearly melted.
“Wait,” she said, and he looked at her, a question in his eyes. “Maybe just fifteen.”
Straightening, he grinned. “You really have no idea, do you?”
She didn’t want him to think she was clueless. “I have some idea. I just don’t know exactly how much we’ll need.”
He laughed. “Good enough.” Then he finished loading the fifteen bags.
Despite Josh’s initial reaction of kicking her out of his house, Shay decided he was actually a pretty nice guy. Not to mention easy on the eyes.
Chapter Sixteen
As Josh followed Shay around the nursery, loading their carts—they ended up needing a second one—he found himself getting kind of excited about this whole gardening thing.
Then the guy who worked there came up to them to ask how they were doing. Not wanting the guy to blow his cover, Josh turned away and pretended to be fascinated by the marigolds in the row beside him.
“We’re doing great,” Shay said in answer to his question. “Thanks.”
He heard the happiness in her voice, and it warmed him. Knowing he was playing a small part in bringing her that happiness gave him a feeling of satisfaction that he hadn’t felt in a long time.
A short time later Shay announced that she’d gotten everything they needed and they made their way to the register. Keeping his head down, he avoided making eye contact with the man who was ringing up their purchases. Maybe he wouldn’t recognize him, but Josh didn’t want to take the chance. He really, really liked that Shay had no idea who he was, and he didn’t want that to change.
The weight of Shay’s purse seemed to increase as she thought about her cell phone tucked inside. She had yet to turn it on, and though she wasn’t eager to check for texts or messages, she knew she should. What if her mom had tried to contact her? She’d been out of touch for going on three days. Though she didn’t speak to her mother often, she was still her mother and Shay knew she loved her. She didn’t want her to worry about her.
&nb
sp; There were still quite a few items for the man to scan into the register, so Shay gathered her courage and turned to Josh.
“I’m gonna wait by the truck.”
His eyebrows pulled together. “Okay.”
She didn’t want him to know why she was acting weird, so she smiled before walking to his truck. When she got there, she leaned against the hood as she took her phone out of her purse. Hesitating, she stared at the blank screen, her finger hovering over the power button. Finally, she held the button in as she waited for her phone to boot up.
Half-hoping she wouldn’t have cell service so that she could stay in the dark, when four strong bars appeared at the top of the screen moments later, her heart began to hammer in her chest.
Josh didn’t know why Shay had decided to walk away at that moment, but it turned out it was a good thing, because when the nursery employee saw Josh’s face, the man’s eyes lit up with recognition.
“Hey,” the man said with a grin. “You’re Josh Wisner, right?”
Now that Shay wasn’t there to overhear, Josh basked a little in his famousness. “Yeah.”
The man continued working as he spoke. “You did awesome last season.”
“Thanks. It was a good season.”
He paused mid-scan. “What’s the story with Parson?”
Henry “Hank” Parson, one of the wide receivers on Josh’s team, had struggled last season. Josh knew Hank had been having personal problems that had pulled his head out of the game on more than one occasion, but that wasn’t something Josh was going to share.
“Don’t know,” he said with a forced smile and a shrug.
The man shook his head and finished ringing up their purchases. Josh looked at Shay and saw her staring intently at her phone. It was the first time he’d seen her using her phone—of course there was no cell service at his house unless you had the wifi password, which he hadn’t given her. Still, seeing her on her phone gave him pause. What if she really did know who he was and was playing him, reporting to who knows who about his life? Maybe this trip to the nursery had been a set-up to give her access to cell service. The thought that he was being played infuriated him, but he tamped down his anger.
Jumping to conclusions would be a mistake. Even so, he would have to tread carefully.
It only took a few moments for the text messages to start appearing on Shay’s phone. There were eighteen of them. And they were all from Will. Nearly holding her breath, she tapped the message icon and began reading his texts, from oldest to newest.
Where are you, babe? Are you okay?
It’s been two hours and still no word from you. Where are you?
I’m getting really worried.
Why haven’t you answered my texts?
You know I love you, right?
Talk to me, babe.
This is getting ridiculous. Where are you?
Shay, come on. Where the freak are you?
I’m starting to lose my patience. You know I’ll find you, right? Better to tell me where you are now.
If I have to track you down…
I’m really starting to get pissed.
OK. It’s been over twenty-four hours. You know I didn’t mean it, right? You know I love you, right?
Babe, come on. Talk to me.
I can’t believe you’re ignoring me. For two days. Really?
I’m really starting to lose it.
She could picture the absolute fury boiling on his face at that text, and the image made her shudder.
I don’t have time for this crap, but if this is how you want to play it, it’s your choice.
I’m done, Shay. I’m done being reasonable.
The most recent text had been sent less than an hour earlier.
I’m gonna find you.
The finality of his last statement made her stomach churn and she had to swallow over the bile that climbed her throat. Then she reminded herself that she was safe, that Will had no idea where she was.
A tiny sense of peace settled over her, and she softly exhaled.
“What’s the news?” Josh asked as he pushed one of the carts in her direction.
Startled, she looked at him, her eyes wide. “Nothing.” Then she shoved her phone into her purse.
He gazed at her a moment, his expression unreadable.
Wanting to think about something besides Will, she forced a smile. “Looks like we should be well set for gardening.”
“Yeah,” Josh said, but he didn’t smile in return.
What was going on with him? Why did he seem angry all of a sudden?
Chapter Seventeen
The look of guilt on Shay’s face, like he’d caught her doing something she shouldn’t have been, only seemed to confirm Josh’s suspicion. Wanting to believe she wasn’t playing him, he began loading their purchases into the bed of his truck. Shay stepped to his side to help.
“Thank you for driving me here,” she said.
He set the bag of compost on top of the growing stack, then looked at her, evaluating her expression. She seemed sincere. Was she a good actress, or was he making assumptions that were false? Hoping it was the latter, he let the corners of his mouth lift into a small smile. “Like I told you, I’m expecting an awesome garden out of this.”
Fear flashed in her eyes, but seconds later it was gone, replaced by determination. “I won’t disappoint you, Josh. I promise.”
The earnestness in her voice caught him off-guard, but it was the fear he’d seen in her eyes that stayed in his mind. What had that been all about? Intrigued by the hidden depths that Shay displayed without warning from time to time, Josh began to return to his original belief that she didn’t know who he was. Still, he needed to be sure.
“What were you doing on your phone?” he asked, his eyes steady on her, on the alert for any indication that she wasn’t being honest.
Shay wasn’t about to tell him about Will and his threats. She liked that Josh had no idea how pathetic her life had become, and she didn’t want him to find out. That knowledge would color his view of her, and she wanted to remake herself into the confident, self-assured, independent woman she knew she had the potential to be, that she had been once before. Yeah, she wasn’t independent just then, but she would get her feet back under her soon. She knew it.
Back in high school she’d been a decent student, and after graduation she’d even finished one semester of classes at Fresno City College. Still living with her mother at the time, she’d had a desire to get out on her own and had dropped out of school to work full-time so that she could afford her own place.
Soon after that she’d met Will. He’d been charming and solicitous and sweet. And he’d been so in love with her that he couldn’t stay away from her, had texted her constantly, had to always know exactly where she was. At least she’d thought it was love. Turned out it was just his controlling personality that had eventually morphed into his true nature—one of complete control and abuse.
By then Shay had gotten so caught up in his cycles of fury followed by professions of love that she’d found it hard to leave. That, plus his unambiguous threats of what he would do to her if she left him.
Now, knowing how angry he was at her, that he was determined to find her, a shiver of fear raced up her spine, but she tried to focus on Josh’s question, scrambling to come up with a plausible answer.
Then she realized she didn’t have to lie about what she’d been doing on her phone. “I was checking my text messages.”
Her emerald-green eyes stay focused on him, and Josh believed her. Then again, the real question was, who was she texting? Someone who would publish lies about him? Or worse, someone who would tell the whole world about his private life?
He tossed the final bag of compost into the bed of the truck, then turned to face Shay. “Who were you texting?”
Her eyebrows puckered. From his probing question, or from her desire not to tell the truth, he couldn’t tell.
“Just a…a friend,” she said,
her eyes flicking away from his face before meeting his gaze.
Why was she lying?
Tempted to grab her purse and yank the phone out so he could look for himself, he held back. Make no mistake, he would find out what she was hiding. But he would do it in his own way, and in his own time.
Shoving down his concerns, he pushed the flat-bed cart back into the store and got the other one, then worked with Shay to load the rest of their purchases.
Deciding to do a little test, he looked over all of the goods in his truck before turning to Shay. “Looks like we won’t have to come back here again.”
Her face seemed to relax, like this was good news. “Nope. I think we have everything we need.”
Had that been the response he’d been expecting? If she was secretly spying on him for some news outlet, then she’d be eager to return to where she could get cell service. Maybe she really was just texting a friend.
Still, he had the feeling she was hiding something. And he had every intention of finding out what it was.
The farther they got from town and the nursery, the more relaxed Shay became. She knew it didn’t make any sense, but somehow the idea that at Josh’s cabin she was out of touch with the world made her feel safe, like it was impossible for Will to get to her.
She remembered Josh questioning her about what she had been doing on her phone, and then asking her who she’d been texting. Why had he asked? Was he the controlling type? Just like Will? The notion made her insides churn. Maybe it was time to move on. To where, she had no idea, but being on her own without someone trying to control her was better than being somewhere relatively safe but with someone trying to manage her every move.
“How big is this garden going to be?” Josh asked as they drove, yanking her out of her reverie.
Illegal Procedure (Fair Catch Series, Book One) Page 8