Okay, now he really wanted to kiss her, but he could tell by her breathing that she’d fallen asleep. Glad she was getting some rest, he contented himself with having her pressed up against him as they drove home.
Chapter Thirty-Three
“Let me help you,” Shay said as she watched Josh struggle with carrying his plate to the sink. It was the day after the accident and they’d just finished breakfast. Though she appreciated that he wanted to help with the clean-up, when she saw him juggling his plate in his left hand with his coffee mug balanced precariously on top, she had to step in.
“I’ve got it,” he said, his voice traced with annoyance as he set the plate on the counter. Then he turned to her with a smirk. “I’ll let you wash the dishes though.”
Laughing, she shook her head. “That’s fine. What are you gonna do today?”
Leaning against the counter, he smiled at her. “I might watch you work in the garden, but first I’m going to work in my office.” His eyes twinkled. “Speaking of my office, do you want the tour?”
“I think I should, don’t you? Just to make sure you don’t have a meth lab in there or something.” Her eyebrows had gone up, but she was smiling.
He laughed. “Exactly.”
“Let me clean up in here, then I’ll be ready.”
He nodded, then he paused. “Have you checked to see if your ex has sent more messages?”
She’d been trying not to think about Will, but she knew sticking her head in the sand wouldn’t make him go away. “No.”
“Maybe you should.”
“I know.”
Josh took a step in her direction, leaving only a few feet between them. “You know, Shay,” he began, his voice soft and his eyes on her. “You don’t have to be afraid of him. You’re with me now.”
Overwhelming comfort swept over her. She knew he meant it. He would protect her. Nodding, she smiled. “Thank you.” He continued looking at her and she wondered if he was going to kiss her. She wanted him to kiss her.
But he didn’t. Instead, he smiled. “I’ll be in the front room when you’re ready.”
Fifteen minutes later they walked side by side to the barn, Shay excited to finally see what Josh had been hiding.
They reached the door and Josh lifted his left hand to punch in the code, but stopped and turned to Shay. “This code is top secret,” he said with a grin. “But I’m going to give it to you so you can come in here when you need to.”
Pleased that he trusted her with the code, she tilted her head as she smiled. “You just want me to be able to come in here and clean up after you.”
Chuckling, he said, “That may have crossed my mind.”
Her gaze slid to the sling on his right arm before going back to his face. “You know I’m happy to help you however I can.”
He stared at her. “As much as I appreciate that, it’s…well, it’s your company that I like the most.”
Thrilled to hear that, Shay smiled.
Josh turned back to the keypad and told her the code, then asked her to punch it in. Seconds later there was a click as the lock disengaged. He twisted the knob and pushed the door open. “Welcome to my sanctuary.”
Laughing, Shay walked inside.
Spread out in front of her was a gym that was much nicer than any club gym she’d ever been in. The equipment looked like it was top of the line.
“Wow,” she said. “Very nice.” Turning to Josh, she could see the pride on his face. “I’m glad there’s no meth lab in sight.”
He shook his head, but his lips had tugged up into a smile.
With a glance at the space, she said, “Is it okay if I take a look around?”
“Of course.”
Knowing he was watching her, she walked to the nearest wall and looked at the sports memorabilia hanging there. Photos of Josh with his teammates, as well as magazine covers with him on the front adorned the wall. A sense of pride in his accomplishments swelled within her, and she knew now why he hadn’t wanted her to come in her before. She would have immediately figured out who he was.
After making a circuit around the room to see all of the awards, photos, and other memorabilia, she stopped next to Josh. “I’m impressed.”
Josh’s goal hadn’t been to impress her, but he couldn’t say he didn’t like having his ego stroked. It had been fun watching her take it all in, but he was glad she’d gotten to know him before she’d found out about all of his accomplishments. Something about that just made her attraction to him more genuine—it wasn’t based on his fame or wealth, and that was important to him.
“I never would have guessed that all this was behind the doors of your barn,” she said.
He laughed. “That’s kind of the idea. It’s my own private oasis.”
“My oasis would be more like a spa, I think.”
He pointed to a door off to the side. “I have a sauna in there.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Don’t saunas involve a lot of sweating?”
“Yeah.”
Shaking her head, she said, “Not my idea of fun.”
“You don’t like to sweat, huh?”
“I know it can’t be helped when I’m working in the garden or working out, but I wouldn’t want to go into a room and sit there just for the purpose of sweating.”
He laughed. “Yeah, I can respect that.”
She turned and looked around the space. “Where’s your office?”
Gesturing with his hand, he said, “This way.”
A few moments later they stepped through the doorway into a spacious room with a large desk at one end, and a couch facing a huge TV at the other. A large window with the blinds down took up part of one wall.
“I guess I can open these now,” Josh said as he pulled the cord to open the blinds. Sunshine poured in as the forest came into view.
“What a gorgeous view,” Shay said as she stepped to the window, then she turned to him. “Did you keep them closed just so I couldn’t see in?”
Embarrassed, one side of Josh’s mouth pulled into a smile. “Yeah.”
“That was probably a good idea, because I admit I tried to get a look inside once.”
His eyebrows rose. “Just once?”
“Yes. But this place was locked up tight, so I gave up pretty quickly.”
“Trying to discover my criminal activities, I suppose?”
A blush rose on her cheeks, which Josh found charming.
“I could tell you were hiding something,” she said. “What was I supposed to do?”
He couldn’t blame her and he thought it was kind of funny that she’d thought he was manufacturing drugs. “You could have asked.”
She huffed out a breath. “If you’ll remember, I did ask you. Several times.”
“Not about being a meth dealer.”
“No, but I asked what you did for a living. And when you told me you were a financial consultant, I could tell that wasn’t exactly the truth.”
“Oh, you could, huh?” Grinning, he added, “Are you some kind of human lie detector?”
Her lips pursed. “Maybe I am.”
Having fun with this game, he said, “Okay. Tell me if what I’m about to tell you is a truth or a lie.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Bring it.”
Laughing, he tried to think of something to ask. Then he thought of just the right question, something he thought they needed to clarify. “I blame you for my injury.”
Her face immediately shut down and he knew he’d hit a nerve. Good. He wanted to clear up the misconception that his injured shoulder had anything to do with her.
Of course Shay wasn’t a human lie detector, so when Josh stated that the accident was her fault, that his separated shoulder was because of her, she knew he was telling the truth. Regret poured over her like acid.
“I know it is,” she said. “And I’m so, so sorry, Josh. Can you ever forgive me?”
“You suck at this human lie detector thing.”
Not sure what
he meant, she wanted nothing more than to head out to the garden where she wouldn’t have to look at him and be reminded of what she’d done. Glancing toward the office door, she said, “I think I should get started on the garden.”
Josh’s eyebrows bunched. “What are you talking about?”
Pointing vaguely toward the exit, she said, “I just, I should go. I know you have work to do.”
Without warning, he closed the distance between them and used his left hand to lift her chin so that she was forced to meet his eyes. “What I just said? About my injury being your fault?”
Pinned in place by the intensity of his gaze, Shay didn’t answer.
“That was a lie, Shay. A lie. I don’t blame you. Not one bit. And if you were any good at being a human lie detector, you would know that.” His blue eyes were locked on hers. “You need to stop blaming yourself. Right now. Are we clear?”
“Yes,” she said as he released her chin.
“Do you mean it?” he asked, his voice soft.
Will had trained her so well to blame herself for everything, could she let go of the blame in this case? Wanting to, she nodded, promising herself she would try.
“Good. Because you have enough on your plate. You don’t need to take on my troubles too.”
With him being so sweet to her, and with only inches separating them, Shay had to hold herself back from swaying towards him, from falling into his arms—well, arm. Even a one-handed hug from him would be wonderful.
“I’d better get some work done,” he said after a minute.
Shay took the hint, and with a smile, she turned and left.
It had taken all of Josh’s self-control not to drag Shay against him and kiss her senseless. The way she’d looked, so sad and vulnerable, like she was responsible for all the bad that happened in the world, he wanted to take that away. To make her smile. And the only way he could think to do that in that moment was to claim her mouth with his.
He’d almost done it too, but at the last possible second he’d changed his mind. He was no body-language expert, but he’d sensed she’d been open to another kiss, so why had he held back?
Maybe because he didn’t want to muddy the waters of their conversation with a kiss. Maybe because first he wanted to tell her that he was having feelings for her, and then seal those words with a kiss.
Liking that idea, he smiled as he sat on the couch in front of the TV and pulled up another game he wanted to study. Soon he would go out to the garden to be with Shay. He wouldn’t be able to help her with the gardening, but just being near her would be enough.
Maybe then he would tell her what was on his mind.
Chapter Thirty-Four
After taking some time to gather the gardening supplies she would use, Shay looked over the space she and Josh had worked. All the little seedlings looked so cheerful and bright. The green that represented life sent a burst of optimism through her. Her life was moving in the right direction.
She took her time watering the plants, loving the smell of damp earth and the way the seedlings brightened as the droplets of water settled on them. When she was done she thought about Josh asking her if she had checked for messages from Will. He was right. It was time to look.
Sighing in resignation, she went into the house, then upstairs to her bedroom. After taking her phone out of her purse, she sat on her bed. She stared at the blank screen, wondering if she would regret turning it on, then after several moments she powered it on and waited for it to connect to Josh’s wifi.
Almost immediately her phone chimed, notifying her that she had a message.
Inhaling sharply at the sound, Shay held her finger over the screen, then with a soft exhale, she unlocked her phone with a swipe.
The text message icon had the number one on top of it. Just one message.
She tapped the icon. The message was from Will, and it had been sent twenty minutes earlier. The text was brief—she could read the entire thing without opening it fully.
I know where you are.
A chill raced up her spine.
Staring at the message, she knew it was time to tell him to back off. She hit reply and began typing.
We’re done, Will. Leave me alone.
Thirty seconds later, he replied.
You belong to me, Shay. If I can’t have you, no one can. Especially some quarterback with a big ego.
First off, she completely disagreed that Josh had a big ego. He was the most down-to-earth man she knew and she was tempted to defend him. Then she wondered how in the world Will knew she was with Josh. Moments later she knew. He’d seen the picture the reporter had taken the day before. She should have known he would come across it. The question was, would he really be able to find her? Was Josh’s address easy to find?
Not sure, she knew she needed to show Josh the texts. But first she hit reply.
Who I’m with is not up to you. That’s not something you can change.
She felt like she was talking to him face to face, and as she waited for him to reply, her body tensed.
Seconds later he replied.
Don’t be so sure.
Staring at her phone, she didn’t know what to say. Then he sent another text.
Look up.
Confused, she lifted her head and looked toward the bedroom doorway.
There he stood, his face a mask of rage.
Gasping in shock, Shay froze, her phone sliding from her hand.
Will!
Her lips tried to form the words, but her throat had closed up and no sound came out.
“Surprised to see me?” Will asked as he sauntered into the room, a nasty grin on his face.
Baffled as to how he was in Josh’s house, Shay had no words.
“Aren’t you happy to see me?” he asked with a frown as he took a step closer to her. “That’s disappointing.” He stood less than five feet away, but he completely blocked her exit.
Finally finding her voice, she said, “How…how did you find me?”
He laughed, but the sound held no humor. “It wasn’t difficult. Once I knew you were with Josh Wisner it was easy enough to look up his address. He’s lived her for a while, so the info was out there for anyone to find.” His forehead scrunched. “By the way, how long have you two been together? I mean, I figured you were cheating on me, but with an NFL quarterback? You surprise me, Shay.”
“I wasn’t cheating on you. I only met Josh after I left you.”
On the words left you, Will’s jaw clenched and he stared at her, his eyes clouding with fury. “We need to talk about that.”
Knowing that Josh would come looking for her soon, Shay gained a measure of confidence. “There’s nothing to talk about. I don’t want to be with you anymore.”
“I know you don’t mean that,” he said.
Why couldn’t he grasp the truth? Frustrated, she grew bold, standing to face him. “I do mean that. Now get out.”
Will’s fist flew toward Shay’s face before she had a chance to react, knocking her onto the bed. Stunned by the blow, she saw stars, and still recovering from her concussion, nausea welled up inside her.
Not moving, she waited for the urge to vomit to pass. Where’s Josh?
“Time to go, Shay,” Will said, his voice hard.
“No.” The word was a whisper.
“What did you say?”
“Please.” She wasn’t above begging. “Please, Will. Let me go. Leave me alone.”
“Nope. Not gonna happen.”
Maybe she could convince him there was no chance for him, that she’d moved on. Deciding to risk his wrath, she said, “I’m with Josh now.” If only that were true.
Will was nowhere near Josh’s size, but he was wiry and strong. Still, Shay hoped he would only be willing to face someone weaker than him. Someone like her. Maybe the threat of facing Josh would get him to leave.
“He’s going to be coming for me,” she said. “So you’d better leave. If he finds you here, he’ll hurt you.”
<
br /> To her horror, Will laughed. “I don’t think so, Shay.”
Still lying on the bed, she lifted her head. “What did you do?”
“Take a look out the window.”
Afraid of what he’d done, she went to the window, which overlooked the entrance to the barn, and peered out. She could clearly see a rope tied to the barn door, the other end of the rope staked to the ground. The door opened inward, so there was no way Josh would be able to open it as long as that rope was secure.
“Your boyfriend had all the gear I needed in his garage,” Will said. “I saw the two of you go in that barn earlier, yet only you came out. The solution was obvious.” He chuckled. “And with his hurt shoulder, I don’t think there’s a whole lot he’ll be able to do to get out.”
She was on her own.
Will grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked her away from the window. “Time to go.”
Screaming in pain and fury, Shay lashed out, but Will only pulled harder and a wave of dizziness nearly knocked her off of her feet.
“Calm down,” he said, his voice a monotone.
Shay’s head throbbed where he’d hit her, but she had no intention of letting him drag her away. Going limp and falling to the floor, she gritted her teeth against the pain in her scalp where Will’s fingers were tangled in her hair, then she punched his lower legs over and over as hard as she could. She would have preferred to kick him, but she couldn’t put enough distance between them to use her legs.
“Damn it, Shay! Stop!”
There was no way she would stop fighting, but a moment later she felt a blinding pain in her head and then everything went black.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Josh finished watching the first quarter of the game he was studying, then shut off the TV. It was time to go outside with Shay, to watch her work in the garden. Eager to be with her, he walked to the door that led outside. Gripping the knob in his hand, he pulled on it, but it wouldn’t open.
“What the…?” Yanking harder, when it wouldn’t budge, a sense of unease swept over him. He’d never had trouble with this door before.
Illegal Procedure (Fair Catch Series, Book One) Page 16
