“Are they okay?” Lincoln asked, feeling fear fill his heart. Who the hell would be so low as to spy on two young women and scare the hell out of them like that?” “Who was the bastard?”
“Lincoln,” his mother chastised him. Her dark brows crinkled in anger. “I understand the sentiment, but watch your language.”
“Sorry,” he muttered, looking at Abel and waiting for an answer.
“They are fine. And yes, Mama, I am looking into it. We thought it might be Gary Marshall but he had a solid alibi,” Abel answered between bites of food. He didn’t seem too concerned and Lincoln felt angry. This was his job to keep people safe. Why wasn’t Abel out there hunting the bastard down? If Lincoln had known, he would be.
“Why Gary?” he demanded to know. He wanted to shove his plate aside and go bang on Jessy’s door. He wanted to see for himself if she was unharmed. She must have been so frightened and Lincoln wanted to hold her. Shit, this was bad. He wasn’t thinking of anything sexual right now. He wanted to comfort her and assure her he would keep her safe. Desire was simple and easy to deal with.
“He got drunk and followed her to her car. Started harassing her. Mario stepped in and made sure a cab took Gary to his sister’s house to sleep it off. She vouched Gary was sick all weekend and stayed with her,” Abel explained. “We got footprints and a few cigarette butts to go on. Lily didn’t get a good look at the guy, so we’re back to square one.”
“I was there that night. I should have waited and walked her to her car.” Now he felt even worse. He had been so shaken up by the kiss they shared, he had just wanted to leave right away.
“You know her, son?” his dad, Oscar, spoke up. He had once been the sheriff of Brook Hollow until he decided to retire and relax a few years back. Now he spent his days in his woodwork shop in the garage. Abel had taken over the job with the town’s votes.
“Sort of.” Lincoln felt like a bug under a microscope. His mom and sister were anxiously awaiting his answer, too, and Abel, the bastard, was trying not to laugh. “Not really.”
“Hmm,” his dad said, but he had that same look in his eyes that Abel had when Lincoln went on his rant about Jessy’s tickets for speeding.
“I was there for Peter and Jenkins.” He tried to pretend an interest in his food, but he knew he wasn’t fooling anyone. As soon as he could, he was heading for Jessy’s house. He tried to tell himself he was just concerned for her like he would be for any other citizen of Brook Hollow, but the word liar kept going through his head.
* * * *
Jessy resisted the temptation to enjoy the evening breeze outside on the porch. Normally, she loved sitting on the porch at dusk and watching the sky turn pink and purple. The sound of crickets was so enchanting. There were no sounds of heavy traffic or sirens blaring every few minutes in this town. It was so peaceful and still. She loved this small town and felt sad about the possibility of leaving it.
Lily wanted to stick around for a while longer, but Jessy was unsure.
What if Jagger had found them? Although she didn’t think so, she wasn’t one hundred percent sure. He wasn’t the type to play games, though. If he knew where they were, he would knock the front door down and finish taking what he wanted, her. Then he would kill Lily. Playing coy games was not his style.
Jessy had just opened up her laptop to research online college classes when a loud knock on the door startled her, and she shrieked loudly putting her hand over her heart. She had to stop jumping at every noise. She was driving her own self crazy. She closed the laptop and set it on the coffee table. She tiptoed slowly to the door.
“Who is it?”
“Jessy? It’s me, Lincoln.” Jessy’s shoulders sagged with relief when she heard Lincoln’s deep voice. She checked through the peephole just to make sure. She took off the chain and unlocked the lock when she saw his impatient looking face.
“Lincoln? What’s going on? Is something wrong?”
He was dressed in jeans and a blue polo shirt so he must be off duty. His hair was neat and combed back. He stepped into her foyer with a frown. “I heard about what happened. Are you and your sister okay?”
His eyes wandered up and down her body. Her denim shorts were short and faded, and her t-shirt had seen better days. Her hair was hanging loose and wild. His dates probably looked like they stepped out of fashion magazines all the time. She quickly ran her fingers through her hair, trying to not be obvious. Damn it, she had not even bothered with makeup. Lincoln showing up at her house had been the last thing she expected to happen.
“Come in,” she said awkwardly, glad that at least she had cleaned the house today. It was a great way to get rid of nervous energy. “Yeah, it was a horrible experience, but we’re okay.”
He followed her into the living room. Jessy sat on the couch and he sat on the other end.
“Where’s your sister?”
“Out to see a movie with your sister and some girls from work. She had trouble sleeping last night. She needed a distraction,” Jessy answered, feeling her stomach dance with butterflies. She wanted to act calm and sophisticated, but she felt off balance. Why did he all of a sudden act like he cared what happened to her? The man was confusing for sure.
“My sister is the one who told me what happened.” He leaned back against the couch and looked around the living room. She knew he was probably wondering why they didn’t have many furnishings or decorations. They had bought a few pieces from the thrift shop in town. He glanced at the laptop.
“Online shopping?” he asked, curiously. Jessy rolled her eyes. “Shopping? I suppose that’s the only reason your girlfriends open up a computer, huh? I was looking into finishing up my bachelor degree.”
“You went to college?” His voice was filled with
shock and she felt herself get angry. Just when she thought he wasn’t so bad, he had to open his mouth and ruin it.
“Just because I work at a bar doesn’t mean I’m stupid, Lincoln. I was almost done with my accounting degree when my mom couldn’t work anymore. The cancer took over her body faster than the doctors warned us. I quit and worked as a waitress because it gave me flexible hours and daily cash.”