“Just a little,” I told her.
“Well, is it as bad as the rumors at the diner this morning?” she asked.
“Ohhh, how bad did they say it was?” In the grand scheme of things, four flat tires weren’t that big of a deal. I was glad it seemed as if my reality was better than the rumors, which wasn’t always my experience.
“Four flat tires, hate messages scratched into the paint, and a busted windshield,” she responded.
“Wow! The town really thinks someone has it in for me.” I paused for a minute to think it over. Did they think I deserved that kind of reaction from someone or were they just having fun with the speculation? “What did the hate messages say?”
“Funny,” Holly said with a laugh, “no one seemed to know that. It was just ‘downright hateful.’” I could tell she was quoting exactly what she’d overheard because she changed her tone of voice to a shocked whisper. We had two murders in our town and one right outside of town in less than six months and two attempted murders–counting mine–yet, my vandalism garnered as much attention.
“Huh,” I said, not sure what else to say. “Well, you’ll be glad to know it’s just the tires.”
Holly went on to explain how coverage for replacing tires worked. Apparently, the insurance company depreciates for the wear and tear on the tires. “It’s not a replacement cost policy like you have on your home and business,” she told me, “so you will have more out of pocket expense than just your deductible. I just wanted to give you a heads up so that you’re not surprised when your adjuster talks to you later today.” I heard her fingers typing busily in the background. “You have rental car coverage if Earl can’t get you in at the Tire Store today. Just give me a call and let me know if you need it.”
“I sure will, Holly. Thank you for your help.” She’d been the agent for my family almost all my life having taken over the agency when her father retired. I never even thought about shopping around for insurance because the service I got from her was impeccable.
It turned out that Earl was booked up for the entire week so I called Holly back and arranged for a rental car to be delivered later that day. Holly told me that my adjuster would be out to look at the damage and measure the amount of tread that was left on each tire. “He’ll cut you a check on the spot.”
I hung up from her and decided to check my inventory. There wasn’t anything else I could do about the situation and dwelling on the fact that someone might want to hurt me again wasn’t productive or healthy. I fell into my old habits of seeking comfort from routine.
That lasted for all about fifteen minutes before Chaz and Meredith came rushing into the salon.
“Baby, are you okay?” Meredith asked.
“Oh my God, dude! What the hell is going on?” Chaz asked. “Who’d you piss off?”
“I bet it was that fucking Sampson,” Meredith said.
“Fucking loser,” Chaz added.
I wasn’t sure what I could tell them, so I went with the safest response. “We’re not sure who’s responsible.”
Meredith snorted. “I pity the dumbass when Gabe gets ahold of him.”
“It could be a female, Meredith,” I admonished. “Remember Mrs. Honeycutt.”
“Yeah, don’t be sexist, Meredith,” Chaz piped in. “Women can be and do anything, which doesn’t exclude being a psychopathic killer.”
Meredith wasn’t amused by either one of us, but chose to ignore us rather than give us a lecture. “Is Gabe still sleeping or something?”
“No, he went to work,” I replied before resuming my count of shampoos and conditioners in stock. I had software that automatically deducted the merchandise from stock when a purchase was made, but I double-checked each and every Monday. Perhaps one day I’d just rely on the figures the program gave me, but I doubted it.
“His car is here,” Chaz said, stating the obvious.
“Seven, eight, nine…” I began counting bottles out loud so they’d take the hint.
“Holy shit!” Meredith’s loud exclamation caught me off guard and I lost track of how many anti-frizz shampoos I had. “He left his car for you to drive,” Meredith added. I didn’t like her emphasis, as if I was a bad driver or some shit.
“No way!” Chaz at least had the decency to downplay his reaction when he said, “Not that you’re a bad driver…” I was sure he and Meredith were exchanging looks behind my back during his pause, “maybe just a tad fast.”
“There’s a lot of horsepower beneath that hood,” Meredith told me. “Are you sure you can handle it?”
I rose from where I was bent over then turned to face her with a smirk on my face. “I’m absolutely certain I can handle a hard, fast ride.”
Meredith rolled her eyes. “Well, I guess you can test it out when you drive over to visit my mama today.”
I had promised to visit with Willa and I would keep my word. I also decided I’d take Gabe’s car to the store and buy some apples. I was going to bake him a pie that was so good he’d probably come in his pants. Of course, I kept that part to myself.
I updated Chaz and Meredith about what Holly said about the coverage and rental car. Once they were sure I was okay, they left me to finish my inventory so I could move on to the rest of my day. I decided to review the schedule for the upcoming week later because I wanted to get my errands over and get back in time for the adjuster to arrive, and later, my rental car.
I confess that I was a little bit apprehensive about driving Gabe’s muscle car, but that vanished the moment I hit the button twice to remote start his growly beast. Princess was equipped with heated seats, but not a heated steering wheel or remote start. I looked down at my wardrobe and realized that driving Gabe’s car would require an outfit change. The t-shirt and jeans I had put on that morning wasn’t bad ass enough to wear when driving… Wait a minute. Gabe never told me what he named his new Charger, just his classic. No way a guy who loved cars as much as him drove an unnamed car. I made a note to ask him about it.
I put on a pair of dark denim jeans, a light gray V-neck cashmere sweater, and swapped my wool coat for my leather jacket. I added a handsome scarf and my aviators for a nice finish before I ventured outside. I quieted the voice in my head that wanted to remind me about the potential danger I was in and tried not to look at my beautiful, damaged Princess. Then I noticed that Gabe’s Charger wasn’t running and I worried that I had broken it somehow. Or someone had tampered with it. I waved off that notion and called Gabe.
“Is everything okay?” Gabe asked instead of greeting me. He sounded even more worried than the night before and I rolled my eyes.
“I didn’t hurt your car,” I replied sarcastically. “Well, at least I don’t think so.”
“What’s wrong?” His tone became less worried and more amused. Gabe laughed when I told him about starting the car then deciding to change clothes into something nice to drive her. “The remote start only lasts for ten minutes,” he explained. “So, you must’ve taken longer than that to get dressed and get down to her. Josh?”
“Hmmm.” I was distracted by the affectionate way he said my name.
“You could wear a burlap bag and look good.” I heard the smile in his voice.
“Aw, you’re so sweet,” I replied, “but I’m not shaving days off of your pole dancing sentence.” I had special plans for him that night and needed time to put them in place.
“One of these days you’re going to take my compliment for how it’s intended and not suspect an ulterior motive,” Gabe told me. He sounded like he was making it one of his life’s missions.
“Maybe,” I said without commitment. “Anything I need to do special since I let the remote start run too long?” I asked, getting him back on subject.
“Nope. Just press and hold your foot down on the brake then hit the start button,” Gabe said. “Josh, be safe. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“I’ll be careful.” I knew he was talking about more than my driving. Even if Gabe was
overreacting, it always paid to be careful.
I chose to buy my apples before heading to Willa’s because I knew she’d need plenty of time to fuss. While I was at the store, I looked into some bath oils and scented candles. Blissville was at least a good thirty minutes away from a decent mall, but we had some local ladies who made bath salts and oils, candles, and soaps. I loved to support my small community and buy local when I could. A thought came to me just then and I made a mental note to call Marabeth Adams to see if perhaps she wanted to sell her items in my salon. Better yet, maybe we could develop an exclusive fragrance for my clients.
The thought had me practically dancing through the aisles until I came face to face with a person I had never wanted to see again, let alone twice within a few days. What the hell was he doing at the grocery store in the middle of the fucking day wearing that smug grin? Billy Sampson was about to find out just how much I had changed from the naïve boy he once knew.
“Are you the rotten bastard who slashed my tires?” I demanded hotly.
Billy threw his head back and laughed loudly. “As if I care enough about you to put forth the effort,” he said once he was done mocking me.
“You know; I find it odd that you happen to turn up everywhere I go lately.” I was not convinced by his performance.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Billy replied.
“You let yourself into my home uninvited and got belligerent when I asked you to leave. You just so happen to turn up at the same storage facility that Gabe uses, and now here you are in the grocery store the same time as me.” I shook my head sadly, as if he was the most pitiful creature on earth. “Lord help you if you were the one who slashed my tires.”
Billy wore a cold sneer on his face by the time I was finished. I knew he was prepared to blast me with something cruel, but I was equally prepared to deflect it so that it didn’t penetrate my soul. That loser wasn’t penetrating anything on me ever again.
He looked around and lowered his voice so that no one would hear what he said to me. “You think pretty highly of that tight little ass, don’t you? I have to say that I’ve had much better than yours and by guys who appreciated my attention more than you ever did. I have zero interest in resuming anything with your whiny ass. Our house here is quite a bit smaller than the one in Texas so we have a lot of items in storage until we can find a bigger place. My wife needed something from our unit and that’s why I was there yesterday. I’m here now to pick up diapers for my baby. It’s pure coincidence that we’re here at the same time. As for last night, I was on duty because I work nights. It was the only shift available in the department when we moved back.” He stepped closer and his voice took on a menacing tone when he said, “I came to your house on Saturday because I wanted to tell you to keep your mouth shut about what happened between us in high school. If you so much as breathe a word…”
“You’ll what? Flatten my tires like a punk teenager?” I rolled my eyes and added, “As if I would want anyone to know I had your pencil dick in my ass. People think I have standards in this town and I don’t want to disappoint them.”
Billy’s face turned as red as a fire engine and I worried that I’d gone too far. “Look at you all smug about your happy little relationship. How long do you think a guy like him is going to want you, Josh?”
They’re just words, not truth. “I’d put my relationship with Gabe against yours with your wife. At least Gabe and I are completely honest with each other. Can you say that?”
“You little shit, I should…” he paused then smiled over my shoulder. “Hi, Mrs. Burkett. How are you today?”
I looked over my shoulder and saw my favorite neighbor pushing her cart in our direction. “Hello, Billy,” she said happily. “I’m doing wonderful. How are you doing?”
Billy moved off to talk to her and I continued on my way. I just needed vanilla ice cream to complete Gabe’s dessert for the evening. I chose the gourmet vanilla bean because nothing was too good for him.
I sighed a breath of relief when I saw Billy leave the store when I approached the self-scan checkout. Everything he said to me could’ve been the truth, but I didn’t believe him. The fact that he’d been living in Carter County for six months without approaching me gave validity to what he said, but it didn’t help his case when I saw that he didn’t have anything in his hands when he left the store. Maybe they were out of diapers or perhaps he could get them cheaper elsewhere, but I somehow doubted that either of those reasons were true. My gut told me he was there to intimidate me, although I wasn’t sure why.
I shook off all thoughts about him as I scanned and paid for my groceries because none of them were pleasant or productive for a happy life. I refused to let his scorn and hatefulness ruin my good mood or cast doubt on my relationship with Gabe. He knew next to nothing about me and absolutely nothing about Gabe. I didn’t have a motherfucking crystal ball to know that everything would work out perfectly between me and Gabe; I was fine with that. The beauty was in the journey as we grew as individuals and as a couple; I wouldn’t trade that for all the certainty in the world.
It wasn’t until I arrived back home after my visit with Willa, who let me store my ice cream in her freezer while we visited, dealt with the adjuster, and signed paperwork for my rental car that a huge realization dawned on me. I had spoken the word “relationship” out loud and the world didn’t come to an end. It was just unfortunate that I used it when speaking about Gabe to Billy Sampson and not said directly to Gabe. I couldn’t take back what I said to Billy, nor did I regret it, but I did wish I had used the word while talking to Gabe first. I decided I would pull up my big boy jock strap and make Gabe aware that I had upgraded our status from a something to a relationship.
CAPTAIN REARDON HAD LEARNED that the IA interviews wouldn’t be happening until the next day, but that didn’t stop him from seeking out some information for himself. He was shocked and very worried about Josh when he found out about the tire slashing and subsequent photos being dropped off at the station. None of us were surprised when the envelope didn’t turn up any fingerprints other than O’Malley’s and the photos were free from any prints. The only differences between Josh and Nate’s initial photos were in the method of delivery, lack of message in Josh’s situation, and Nate only received one picture of him checking out his tires on the first contact where Josh, through me, received several. I wasn’t sure what that meant beyond the person responsible had to be found and fast.
“The threat has come to us so we can’t just sit back and wait for IA to do their thing,” Captain Reardon had said, echoing my thoughts. “I’m going to reach out to someone I know and trust in the CPD and hopefully get some answers for us. I want to know about the detectives that were assigned to Nate’s case and I want to know what he told them. I’d rather not try to protect Josh blind.”
By the end of the work day, I hadn’t learned anything new. I wasn’t operating on the theory that no news was good news. I needed cold hard facts so I could make sure that not a single precious platinum blond hair on Josh’s head was harmed. The stress of the situation wore me down quicker than any physical excursion I had ever experienced.
I stopped at my house long enough to grab a few more suits and Buddy’s things. I wasn’t asking Josh for permission, nor was I waiting to be invited. He wanted me there, I wanted to be there, and I hoped he would cooperate when he heard about the photos. I didn’t want to ride roughshod over him anywhere except the bedroom. I wanted him to drop the change of address slip at the post office on his own, not feel pressured to do so by circumstance.
I unhooked Buddy’s leash and let him run up the stairs while I followed behind at a more leisurely pace while trying not to get angry at finding the back door unlocked again. The truth was, I was nervous about seeing Josh. I was worried that I would do something or react in a way that would scare him on multiple levels for a few reasons. I didn’t want him terrorized over the photos or my feelings for him.
&nb
sp; “You’re such a good boy,” I heard Josh say to Buddy followed by, “you’re such a slut for a belly rub.”
I’m not sure what prompted my next move; perhaps it was to lighten my own mood or make Josh smile. I ran the rest of the way up the steps, tossed my stuff on the couch, and threw myself down next to Buddy on the floor to present my belly to Josh too. Buddy looked completely confused, but Josh threw his head back and howled with laughter over my theatrics. Then he dropped down to his knees and began rubbing my belly. As if someone flipped a switch, my thoughts went from lightening the mood to sexy time as soon as I felt the heat of Josh’s hand through my dress shirt.
“You’re such a good boy,” Josh said to me as he straddled my hips and pressed his ass against my crotch. The voice he used wasn’t high pitched like he used on Buddy; it was low and sexy. He rocked against me and said, “You’re kind of slutty for an entirely different kind of rub.” Josh lowered his upper body over me until his lips were just a hairsbreadth away from mine. “I like it.”
I grabbed his hips and rocked his ass against my growing erection until my engine was at full throttle and ready to ride. “I could get used to this kind of greeting,” I told him honestly as I pulled his sweater over his head.
“I could get used to giving it,” Josh said as he made quick work with my tie.
We only separated long enough to get undressed and for Josh to retrieve a condom and lube from his bedroom. His modern glass coffee table didn’t have any nifty little drawers in it like my old one did. I learned to keep those hidey holes stocked for when Josh came over because he liked being my halftime show. I lost track of how many third quarters I missed on football games because I honestly couldn’t have cared less.
Josh suited me up and lubed my cock before he reached around and stretched his own ass for me and fuck if that wasn’t a sexy sight to behold. Just when I worried he was enjoying it too much and didn’t need me, he removed his fingers and lined the broad head of my dick to his hole. He sank down on my rod until his ass rested on my pelvis.
Something to Dye For (Curl Up and Dye Mysteries, #2) Page 10