“So he says,” Grace mumbled.
“I'm sorry, darlin',” Brad said. He laid an arm around her shoulder and squeezed. “I've been worried about you. I called several times last night and got your answering machine. I was just heading down to the clinic to see if you were there.”
“I stayed with Tyler last night.”
Brad's gaze bounced between Tyler and Grace. “What happened? You say Tiffany was stabbed?”
“I found her on the back deck yesterday.”
Tyler spoke up. “We need to talk, Brad. Grace, do you mind calling and canceling our appointments for the day?”
“We don't have any, remember? This is your day for volunteer work at the shelter.”
“I forgot. I'll call and see if they can do without me today.”
“Can we talk at my house?” Brad asked. “Something tells me this is going to take a while and I'm waiting on a call from Harri.”
“You two go on. I'll join you as soon as I make a few calls.” Tyler looked at Grace. “Don't forget to get that envelope and note.”
“I won't.”
Tyler jogged back toward the clinic and Brad put an arm around her waist. “What's all this about an envelope and note?”
“Come on, I'll show you.” Grace lifted the lid on the garbage can, but all that remained inside was a plastic bag of trash still neatly secured. The envelope and note were gone. Reaching inside she moved the bag to see if the papers had slipped to the bottom. No, they were definitely missing and along with them any proof that Max had contacted her. She calmly replaced the lid, hiding her fear from Brad. She took his arm. “Let's go to your house. There's so much to tell you, but I need a bowl of ice cream.”
Tyler joined them a few minutes later but declined the dessert. “Where's the note?”
“It's gone. Max must have taken it when he took the scarf.”
Brad turned a puzzled frown on them. “What's going on here? Max? Is that man here? For God's sake, honey, we've got to call the sheriff.”
Grace looked at Tyler. “Tell him who you are.”
****
Tyler closed his eyes and prayed for patience. He'd gambled on telling Grace the truth, but in doing so, he'd hurt her and maybe ruined any chance of keeping her in his life. But Grace's safety came above his personal feelings. Above all else, he swore he'd keep Grace out of Max's reach.
“I'm an undercover agent for the DEA in Ohio. But it's only temporary. As soon as I catch Max, I'm retiring to spend the rest of my life working here as a veterinarian. Jake, that's my boss, and I have been after Max since he escaped from the courtroom where he'd been convicted of several crimes.” Tyler paused and searched for the words he needed to say. “I was married to Jake's sister.”
Brad's eyes shifted quickly to Grace. Tyler watched the silent exchange between them.
“Max took a woman hostage for protection until he could escape. After he had her drive him away from the city, he killed her and left her body alongside the road. That was his first murder. Since then, he's killed all the people who testified against him, with the exception of Grace. That's why I came to Foxfire.”
As if he heard nothing after the word married, Brad said, “Are you divorced?”
Tyler was surprised to feel Grace's hand grip his. “No. The woman Max took captive was Tyler's wife. Max killed her. And she was pregnant.”
Brad's face lost color. “Tyler, I'm sorry.”
Tyler shook his head. “It's been three years. I've come to terms with it. The important thing is that Grace is in danger. We need to protect her.”
“Son, I'm really sorry,” Brad said. “Dealing with her death must have been hard. I know.”
“Like I said, it happened a long time ago. My only concern now is Grace.”
“I agree. We can't leave her alone. Somebody's got to be with her at all times.”
“Right,” Tyler agreed.
“Wait a minute. Don't I have a say in this?” Grace asked.
“No,” both men answered in unison.
“Listen. I'm not some helpless female. I know Max and I know how dangerous he is, but I'm not defenseless. I've taken self-defense courses. I have a gun and—”
“Whoa,” Tyler interrupted. “You have a gun?”
“Of course. I've been running and hiding from Max for a long time. I had to protect myself.”
“Do you have a license?”
“Yes, and I know how to shoot.”
Great. Tyler didn't have to think twice about how dangerous that might be. Not to Max, but to Grace. Didn't she realize Max could overpower her and use the gun against her? “Grace, I don't doubt you know how to protect yourself, but I'm not willing to take any chances. From now until we catch Max, you're going to stay with me.”
“And how is that going to help catch Max? He wants me, and he's threatened to kill anyone who helps me. That means you, Tyler.” She faced Brad. “And you. I'm not willing to risk your life. If it wasn't for me, you'd be safe.”
“And I wouldn't have you to love,” Brad said. “Grace, you've got to listen to Tyler. He's trained in these things.”
Tyler had to hand it to Brad. He'd taken in a lot this afternoon and kept everything in perspective. “Nothing is going to happen to either of you. I'll call Jake and have him send in some men to help.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Brad agreed.
****
She's in good hands, Brad thought, watching Grace and Tyler walk away together. Grace might pretend she didn't want Tyler's help, but Brad knew she would do anything for Tiffany.
Tyler was a good man, dependable and down-to-earth, nothing like the lawyer Grace had been engaged to. All the things she'd ever wanted were within reach, if she'd only open her eyes and her heart.
Yes, they would make a perfect match. Things would work out once they got past the issues at hand. He went inside to call Adam and invite him down. Adam needed to know what was happening, too. Especially since there would be some strangers coming in later today.
Adam knocked at the door less than five minutes later. Brad joined him on the porch and Adam began to talk before Brad could find a way to tell him what he'd learned.
“Strange things are happening,” Adam said.
“Indeed, they are, my friend. Indeed they are.”
“It's that vet. Nothing bad ever happened in Foxfire until he came.”
“Adam, tell me the truth. Are you in love with Grace?”
Adam scuffed his foot across the rough boards, like a little boy caught in a lie. “I don't love her. Not in the way you mean.” He looked at Brad. “I think she's real pretty, and I hoped...but she's not interested in an old man like me. I had a crush, that's all. I realized that when Lainey and I started seeing each other again.”
“I see.”
“Lainey and I would be married if I hadn't done something stupid.”
Neither Adam nor Lainey ever explained why they called off their engagement. Neither of them had dated anyone else since, at least to Brad's knowledge. He'd often wondered what happened, though he'd never brought up the subject with Adam.
Adam took off his cap and held it in his hands. His arms rested on his legs as he leaned forward, his gaze focused on the boards under his feet.
“So, what happened to you and Lainey?” Brad asked.
“Before I tell, you've got to promise not to say a word to her.” He turned his gaze on Brad's.
“Okay.” Brad nodded as he agreed. He began a slow rocking motion, keeping both feet firmly on the floor.
“She don't want anyone to know.”
“Then maybe you shouldn't tell me,” Brad said.
Adam's eyebrows shot upward. “I trust you, Brad, and I need somebody to talk to.”
Brad patted Adam on the back. “I trust you too, my friend.”
“Cross your heart,” Adam ordered.
Brad complied with the childish request.
Adam shifted his gaze away. “Lainey and I were sweethearts in school. I
always knew we'd get married. Lainey felt the same way. We used to talk about how it would be.”
Adam looked out toward the mountains in the distance. “Then Lainey's mom got sick and she had to take care of her while her dad went to work.” Adam leaned back in the chair and began to rock. “Grandpa was in the hospital then, too. We both had our hands full.”
“I remember that time,” Brad said. It had also been when Jenny had been diagnosed with cancer. Sadness crept into his heart for his loss. Jenny had been gone for a long time, but she still lived in his heart and in his memory. Not a day went by that he didn't think of her.
Adam's voice droned on.
“After Lainey's mom got better, I gave Lainey an engagement ring, and we set a date to get married.”
Brad remembered the engagement party Lainey's parents hosted. Everyone in Foxfire had attended. Even Jenny, though she'd been so ill. “That was quite a party Lainey's folks threw.”
Adam's jaw clenched and unclenched several times “Yeah.” Adam popped the knuckles on his left hand.
Brad rocked back and forth.
Adam worried his lip.
Finally, Brad broke the silence. “Let's see. You were going to get married in October, right?”
Adam's eyes widened as they met Brad's. “Not that year. We planned on a long engagement.” Adam popped the knuckles on his right hand.
“That's right,” Brad said. “You decided to wait a few years...three wasn't it?”
Adam nodded. “And that's what caused the problems between us.”
“Whatever it was couldn't have been that bad,” Brad ventured.
Adam stared at the floor again. “Yeah, it was.”
The wind blew the trees, swaying the tops in a gentle dance beneath a clear blue sky. In the distance, cicadas sang their songs, the notes rising and falling, then picking up again from another direction. Birds chittered, adding to nature's stereo. As Brad rocked, he lost himself in the peaceful sights and sounds of the mountain's majesty, but under it all, he felt the danger closing in on them.
“You'll understand what I did. You're a man.” Adam fixed his gaze on Brad's.
“I'm sure I will,” Brad answered, not at all sure if he would.
“Lainey was beautiful. I mean, she still is, but...when she was young, she made my body shake every time we kissed. You know what I mean?”
Brad nodded.
“I'd hold her and kiss her and next thing, my arms would start to shake, then my whole body felt like an earthquake rumbled under my feet. I couldn't stop it for nothing.” He looked at Brad with a hint of a smile lighting his eyes. “She knew what she did to me, too.” Adam pushed out of the chair and walked to the end of the porch and back, stopping to lean against a pillar. The grooves beside his mouth appeared deeper, and his cheekbones stood out sharply.
“That's a natural feeling, Adam. I felt the same way with Jenny.” Brad felt a trembling deep inside whenever he thought about how good things had been between them. That's what kept him from proposing to Harri. He was afraid Jenny's memory would haunt him forever.
Adam slapped his ball cap against his leg. “So, maybe you can understand what I did.”
“What did you do, Adam?”
Adam's face turned red. “I peeked in her window and watched her while she was getting dressed. One night she caught me. We argued about it and I told her a man has needs when he loves a woman. I-I touched her breast and pulled her against me so she could feel what she did to me. I tried to stop, Brad, I swear I did.” Adam raised his right hand. “But, I couldn't. I kept kissing her. Before I knew it, I'd slipped my hand under her gown. Her skin felt so soft, like velvet.”
Adam sank into the rocker. “It didn't matter that she was pushing me away. I was only thinking of me, what I wanted. Until I saw her tears. Then I let her go. I was ashamed of what I'd almost done. I hated the look I'd put in her eyes. She was afraid of me. I knew I'd ruined everything. She threw the ring at me, and that was the end of our engagement.”
Brad patted Adam's back. “The important thing is that you stopped, Adam. You didn't want to hurt Lainey.”
“You don't know the worst part yet.”
Brad didn't think he wanted to hear any more, but Adam needed to get this off his chest. “What is the worst part?”
Adam leaned forward as if sharing a deep secret. “I still watch her.”
Adam sat back, his eyes glazing over as if looking at something other then Brad. “At night, I go down to her house and look in her windows. I think she knows I'm there.”
Adam blinked. His gaze once more shone brightly on Brad's. “She's not a bad woman, Brad.”
“Of course, not,” Brad said. He had trouble visualizing Adam as a peeping Tom. “Adam, you know what you're doing is wrong, don't you. You could go to jail.”
Adam nodded. “But I can't help myself. Lainey kind of dances before she puts on her nightgown, like she's doing it just for me.”
“You aren't peeping through anybody else's windows, are you?”
“No. Why would I do that?”
“You tell me. I'm having trouble believing what I'm hearing.”
“Now you're accusing me of doing something I'm not. I thought you'd understand.”
“Don't get all riled up again. I wasn't accusing you. I was only asking a question.”
“I guess you have the right to ask,” Adam conceded. “Anyway, I finally got up the nerve to ask Lainey to dinner and she said yes. She told me she'd forgiven me for what happened. She said she didn't blame me anymore. So we've been spending a lot of time together.” Adam leaned forward again. “Last night she told me something.” His eyes shone with a secret happiness. “She’s still a virgin. Can you imagine that? She waited for me all these years.”
“That's nice, Adam. I'm happy for both of you.”
“Yeah, but I still don't know what she sees in a guy like me.”
“You and Lainey belong together. Marry the woman while you're still young enough to make memories. Life's too short for second guesses, Adam.”
Adam's smile lit his face. “Do you think I should get a new engagement ring or use the old one? I still have it.”
Brad patted Adam's hand. “I'd get a new one, my friend. After all, this is a new beginning, right?”
“Right.”
Adam and Lainey. Imagine that. After all these years. Brad felt loneliness settle deep in his bones. He'd been alone too long. Maybe he should take his own advice and ask Harri to marry him.
“I'm glad you told me,” Brad said. “I hope everything works out for you and Lainey.” He began to rock again. “There's something I need to tell you, too. Tyler's an undercover agent who's here to protect Grace.”
“He's what?” Adam stared at him as if he'd grown two heads.
“It's true.” Brad pushed the rocker back and forth. “He's a vet, too, of course, and he's planning on staying here after he catches the killer.”
“Killer?” Adam's voice rose to a near squeal. “The Knoxville Knifer?”
“No, the man Grace has been hiding from. The man who wants to kill her.”
And Brad told Adam the entire story.
Chapter Eleven
Outside, a car door slammed. What now? Tension riddled Grace to the point of screaming. She sighed and looked at Tyler.
“Somebody's here.” Grace had spent the last twenty minutes trying to convince Tyler she could take care of herself. The mental and physical exhaustion had worn her down. She needed a quick shower and time alone. The thought of dealing with one more person was almost more than she could bear.
Resigned to get rid of whoever it was, she headed toward the living room, and Tyler followed.
Harri's sharp glance raked over them. She waited on Grace's doorstep with her hands on her hips and her brightly painted lips pressed together in a straight line. When Grace opened the screen, Harri swept into the house, her orange locks bouncing against an emerald green tank top, which, paired with white shorts, was much ta
mer than usual. Her shirt matched the shade of Tyler's eyes, vibrantly noticeable when he bent to kiss Harri's cheek.
“How are you, Harri?” he asked.
“Better than you, I suppose,” she answered sarcastically. “Now shoo, so Grace and I can talk.”
Tyler turned to Grace with a protesting frown.
“Please,” Grace said. “I'd like to talk to Harri alone. We can continue our conversation later.”
“Trust me, we will,” Tyler said, his gaze piercing hers with a make-no-mistake-about-it glare.
Their eyes did a visual battle for an agonizingly long moment before he turned to smile at Harri. “I'll go check on Tiffany.”
After the door shut behind him, Harri turned her piercing gaze on Grace.
“Okay, spit it out. What's happened between you and Tyler?” Harri asked.
“Nothing worth mentioning, but Harri, I need your advice.”
“That's why I'm here.” She lifted her nose and sniffed. “Is that coffee I smell?”
Grace slipped her arm through Harri's. “Come on, I'll get you a cup.”
She poured coffee for Harri, then opened the cabinet and pulled out a bag of cookies. She arranged several on the plate before noticing the shocked expression on Harri's face.
“What?” Grace asked, her pulse accelerating.
“You're offering me store-bought cookies?”
Grace looked down at the plate in her hand, then felt a giggle rising.
Harri's brown gaze, filled with mirth, met hers.
“Thanks, Harri. I needed that.”
Harri walked forward, took the plate and set it on the table. She wrapped soft, comforting arms around Grace.
Grace absorbed the love emanating from Harri's motherly embrace. If only she could lose herself in the good feelings and forget all the horror of the past twenty-four hours but she couldn't afford to do that. Grace pulled away and gave Harri her best cover-up smile. “You don't have to eat the cookies,” she said.
“Oh, fiddle.” Harri grabbed the plate and her coffee. Let's go in the living room and get comfortable. We have things to discuss.”
Grace sat on the hearth, leaving the rocking chair for Harri.
Harri arranged herself in the chair, crossing her ankles. “I just came from Brad's. Now will you tell me what in the daylights is going on?”
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