“Don’t I have a say in this?” Stacy asked.
“It will be good for you. Millie and Anna said to make sure you engaged in activities that you truly loved so that your mind would be taken off of—”
“That’s enough! That is my business, and they don’t need to know about it.” She waved her hand toward Ron and Max. Max’s eyebrows crinkled, and he looked at her.
“Get over what about, New York?” Max asked.
“Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Listen, I will think about the cooking job. I don’t need you or your brother’s help tomorrow, so don’t show up. Let’s just eat lunch because I am hours behind now.”
“Hey, Max, do you think that Gutry had something to do with my missing tools?” Ron asked, and Stacy nearly dropped her glass at the mere mention of Gutry’s name.
She swallowed hard and stared at her plate until she felt the warm, masculine fingers touch her hand and hold it.
She looked up into Max’s concerned eyes, and she nibbled her bottom lip. Damn, he looked so possessive and in control.
“I’m not sure, Ron, but my cousin and I will be keeping an eye on Gutry and especially after today and the situation with Stacy at the hardware store.
She tried to pull her hand away from Max’s, but he held it firm. “Please don’t—”
“What happened? Did he try something with Stacy?” Marie asked, looking angry.
Max began to explain what happened. The whole time he held her hand and squeezed it as she tensed with every detail. It brought back memories of the assault in her office and the circumstances that led her here to Texas. Truth of the matter was that she found herself leaning closer to Max and absorbing his strength. She’d never had a man to lean on or count on, and she’d never wanted one either. But somehow, with Max sitting beside her and being insistent on spending time with her, she thought about what it would be like.
“Do you think he’ll bother her again?” Marie asked then covered Stacy’s free hand with her own. She held her gaze, and Stacy knew that Millie had given Marie every detail about her boss stalking her and assaulting her. She silently begged Marie to not speak a word of it to Max or Ron.
“I’m fine, Max. You and Eric were there, and it was fine really. There’s no need to get Marie all worked up. You do know she’s really ill, don’t you?” Stacy teased, trying to lighten up the lunch atmosphere.
“Sick?” both Ron and Max asked, but Stacy thought that Ron seemed way more concerned than Max. Interesting.
Max finally released Stacy’s hand and listened to Marie explain Stacy’s statement.
Ron looked relieved, and Stacy finally had some space between her and the deputy.
Before long, they were eating lunch and discussing the details about the camp.
* * * *
Stacy was relieved that the deputy finally left and she could power wash the house.
As she worked to lift the chipped paint and old worn-out color from the cottage walls, she thought about the farm and how life in Texas would be. This was great for now and offered her time to recover emotionally from losing her job, but she couldn’t live in this cottage forever. Stacy wasn’t positive, but it seemed that Marie and Ron were more than just neighbors. He gave Marie his every bit of attention when she spoke. He touched her on the shoulder or against her waist whenever he thought no one was looking, and when Marie got upset, it seemed he got upset. She witnessed it again during lunch when that guy Gutry’s name came up. That had been another thing that unsettled Stacy. Why did she seem to attract men like Gutry? Then again, it seemed she was attracted to men like Max and Eric. Perhaps it was Max’s position of authority. Many women lost their sanity and good judgment in the presence of a hot-looking man in uniform. She could see herself throwing inhibition to the wind. Boy, did Max have a great body and hands. His hands felt so good on her. How the hell did he affect her so much? Just by holding her hand while he spoke about Gutry, he made her feel cared for and as if she weren’t alone in this. She thought about that as she worked on the last section of the house, the loud sound of the engine roaring on the diesel power-washer motor and the hard spray of the water shooting back, getting her shirt wet. She wondered instantly if anything would happen between her and Max. As soon as she thought it, she also thought about Eric. Son of a bitch! She was attracted to both of them. She wasn’t a slut. She was far from it. There had to be a logical explanation for this. She finished up the last part as she let the sprayer hit the corner of the house.
Distracted with her own thoughts, she lost focus with what she was doing and wondered if subconsciously the idea of having both of them was placed in her head from the phone conversation with Millie. Never mind meeting Melissa and her husbands. Stacy swallowed hard. She couldn’t even imagine one woman having to satisfy and handle multiple husbands. There had to be problems with a relationship like that. There had to be times of jealousy, inadequacy, and plain exhaustion. But what did she know? She’d never even had a relationship with a man. In her eyes and in her life thus far, men could not be trusted. But still, the fact that the town of Pearl had so many of these types of relationships intrigued her. Then she remembered the paperwork for the campers. Some had multiple parent representatives on them. Stacy had wondered what that was all about but didn’t put it together until now. There were more people out there in Pearl living this kind of lifestyle. She shook her head. It just wasn’t something she was used to. Again she thought about Max and Eric. One of them would be too much to handle, but two? Yikes.
Instantly Barry Weiner popped into her head. She remembered the threatening calls where he insisted that she see no other men than him. A worrisome feeling upset her stomach instantly. Then she tried to ignore it and minimize the fear she felt. He wasn’t in Texas, and she wasn’t going back to New York. Barry wasn’t specific enough in his threats, but she got the message even if the cops didn’t want to. Sure, he muffled his voice with some sort of device that the police couldn’t identify through. And there were no fingerprints left on the packages he sent her. Not on the lingerie, the sex toys, or pictures he sent her. He had followed her everywhere or had someone following her. There were pictures of her in the supermarket, at the gym working out, then ones of her at a party where she was talking to a nice guy she met and thought about going on a date with. Immediately the next morning, those pictures were delivered to her apartment with a warning. The thought caused that feeling of anxiety to creep into her belly again. But the worst were the pictures of her with Millie and Anna and of course the items that were left inside of her apartment. Barry was letting her know that he could get to her wherever she went. There was no place to hide.
/> “You hit that spot any more, and you’ll be replacing siding.”
Stacy whipped around at the sound of the male voice and struck Eric with a spray of water. It hit him hard in the chest for a few seconds, sending him ducking for cover before she realized what she was doing. “Oh my God!” she yelled as she switched off the sprayer and dropped the hose. When she looked at Eric, he was soaked from head to waist.
She ran to him and froze directly in front of him. His facial expression looked serious and as if he were about to reprimand her as her mind spun out of control. She thought about what she was thinking of and how badly her heart hammered in her chest. She was breathing rapidly as she tried to console him. “I’m so sorry. I totally spaced out and I was lost in thought when I heard a strange voice. It was instinctive and I didn’t think.” She carried on as she looked at his face and the water dripped from his head, over his nose then mouth, and off his chin. She had soaked him thoroughly She locked gazes with his big brown eyes and waited for him to say something. When his face broke into a smile and two adorable dimples winked at her, she began to laugh. So did Eric as he shook his head, causing shots of water to hit her. She covered herself and crouched down just as he wrung his wet shirt over her neck and shoulders.
“Eric!” she yelled as she stood up and attempted to step away from him. He caught her hand, and they locked gazes for a moment before they both laughed.
* * * *
Eric couldn’t believe it when he walked up to Stacy’s cottage and saw that she had power washed the entire thing. Then he watched her as she sprayed one side of the house, not moving but obviously lost in thought. Her facial expression changed from pleasant to that of fear. Whatever she was thinking about had upset her, and he couldn’t help but feel concerned. He also felt protective, and that was an instinct he wouldn’t ignore. If she was in some kind of trouble, then he would protect her and so would Max.
“I am really sorry,” she stated one more time then began to walk toward the machine as if there were nothing more she could do or say about it.