by Maggie Ryan
“So he may have your cell phone number, but he doesn’t know where you are. Just don’t answer his calls. Eventually he’ll get the hint and stop calling.”
“It’s so upsetting, though, that he thinks he can simply waltz in here and I’ll grab onto his arm so he can parade me around for a while, making him look good again. Why do people like that always end up looking good? They’re jerks.”
“Honey, if he pursues you, but gets nowhere, do you really think he’s going to look good?”
She thought a bit before a slow smile broke out across her face. “No. It might make him look like the jerk he is, though, if he brags to everyone that he’s going to get me back, but doesn’t.”
“There you go,” Matt said. “It was nice of Diane to warn you about this. Now all you have to do is check your phone before you answer it, and if it’s him, don’t answer.”
She snuggled in next to him and was quiet for a time. “Thank you,” she said eventually.
“For the talk?”
“Yeah, I guess. I feel better about it now. I was all upset about it, but you’re right; now that I know he’ll probably call, I can simply ignore the call. I was all upset, but I didn’t need to be. At least not yet.”
“Which is why I’ve told you to come talk to me. It’s way better than you being upset and taking it out on other people.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have anything to be sorry for this time, honey. I’m proud of you for doing as I asked. I’m glad you feel better. I do have one question for you, though.”
“What’s that?”
“You said you don’t need to be upset, at least not yet. What did you mean by that?”
“I’m not sure. Paul has a way of getting what he wants. He doesn’t give up, and he always seems to get what he wants. I guess I’m not sure that my not answering the phone will end this whole thing.”
“Oh, okay. Thank you for telling me that. For now, just ignore his calls. But if he does anything else, let me know, okay? If he starts bothering you, won’t leave you alone, that’s stalking or harassing, both of which are illegal. I may just be able to help you out if that happens.”
Her eyes lit up. “Would you arrest him? That’d show him. His family is big in that area and he throws his family’s weight around a lot. That’s partly how he always seems to get what he wants. It would be so neat to see him get arrested. Especially for trying to intimidate me.”
He looked down at her, his one eyebrow raised. “You seem awfully anxious to see something like that happen.”
“I am. It would be so cool,” she said with enthusiasm. “That would knock him down a peg or two.”
“As much as it sounds like he could use being knocked down a peg or two, I don’t want you to do anything to try to make that happen.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
He saw the sparkle in her eye, and it worried him. He turned her to look at him. “I’m serious about this, Elsie. If you try to do something to get him in trouble, it’s very apt to backfire and get yourself in trouble, as well. I’d hate like crazy to have to arrest you.”
She looked at him, stunned. “If you knew I did something, but you knew I did it because of him, you would still arrest me?”
“If I arrested him and he used what you did as his defense, and what you did was illegal, I would have to. That’s why I’m telling you, I don’t want you getting involved in anything here. If anything happens, you let him bury himself. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
She looked disappointed, but after a few moments, she reluctantly agreed. “Yeah, I guess I do see what you’re saying. But if he somehow finds out where I live and starts pestering me, you’ll arrest him?”
“If he does something illegal, yes, I will, but you better not have done anything to do with it, or you’ll be going to bed that night with a sore bottom. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Yes, I hear you.” When he looked at her, eyebrows raised, not saying a word, she continued. “And I understand what you’re saying. If I egg him on somehow and he ends up doing something illegal, you’ll arrest him, but then you’ll spank me.”
He sighed. “That’s true, but if you do something illegal, I’ll be obligated to arrest you, too. I don’t want to do that, honey. Just ignore his calls and let it go, please.”
“I will,” she assured him. “I’m just not sure he’ll stop there.”
“If he doesn’t, let me know about it. But don’t do anything you could be arrested for.” He took her chin in his fingers and lifted her face. “Look at me. I want you to look into my eyes as you answer this time. Do you understand what I’m saying, Elsie?”
She sighed and her shoulders slumped just a bit. “Yes, I do. I don’t intend to do anything illegal. Honest. I just don’t want him around me at all.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Just ignore his calls for now. If he does anything else, let me know. We’ll decide then what to do about it, okay?”
“Okay,” she said, snuggling back in against him. “Now, you said you had something to tell me. What is it?”
“Oh, I heard about a job opening for a nurse today, and it’s not at the hospital.”
She sat back up quickly. “Really? Where at?”
“The local schools. They have one nurse for the entire district, but all three schools are together on one campus. Are you interested?”
“I might be. I never thought of working for a school district.”
“What types of things does a nurse do for the schools?”
“If anyone gets sick or hurt, which is mostly the younger ones, the nurse looks at them to see if it’s anything serious. If they fell, she cleans it up and treats it if it’s not serious. If there are kids on medicine, she dispenses it at the appropriate times. Most schools do simple vision tests. The nurse usually does those, and if she thinks they may need glasses she sends a note home or contacts the parent. If there’s an outbreak of lice, she checks for that. There are several things the nurse does.”
“I never knew what a nurse at a school did, but it does make sense.”
“Let me think about that a day or two. I want to check into it further and see what all the nurse does do. I’m sure there are things I’m not aware of. I think it sounds fun, though, unless I find some things I wasn’t aware of.”
“Okay. You check into it, and if you want to apply, let me know. I’ll take you to see the right person.”
She looked up at him with a smile. “You’ll take me to see the right person, not just give me the name of the person I should see? Does that mean you might have a little pull with the person I need to see?”
“Maybe,” he said with a grin. “Let me know if you’re interested in the job.”
She reached up and kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”
The next afternoon Elsie got a phone call. She picked it up and almost pushed the button to answer it, when she remembered Paul. She checked to see who was calling first, and froze. It was Paul. She put the phone down quickly, as if it were on fire. She watched it until it stopped ringing. She realized she was shaking, and chided herself. There was no reason for her to be upset. He had no control over her unless she allowed him to—and she had no intention of allowing that to happen.
Paul called five more times that afternoon, and she ignored them all. He left three messages, and she debated whether to listen to them or not. She decided she better, in case he said something she should be aware of. He obviously didn’t know where she was, but he apologized profusely. Even though Diane had called and warned her what was happening, his apologies still surprised her. She realized after they broke up that he really was a jerk. He’d never apologized to her for anything. She was sure that was because he never saw anything as his fault.
She spent some time upset with herself for falling for him like she’d done. Now she could easily see right through him, and was upset with herself. He had doted on her, telling her everything she wanted to h
ear, and doing special things for her. She fell for it hook, line and sinker. Her parents had never spent a lot of time with her, and she loved having all his attention.
She took a moment to compare him to Matt. Matt also did a lot of special things for her, and again, she loved having all his attention. But there was a big difference. Matt didn’t tell her everything she wanted to hear. He was honest with her, telling her what she needed to hear, whether she wanted to hear it or not. And the special things he did for her he did because he wanted to. Paul had done them to impress her. But Matt went way beyond that. He watched out for her, protecting her. But most important to her; he was genuine. He didn’t just want the new nurse in town on his arm, which is what she’d found out had been very important to Paul.
Elsie was making dinner for them that evening. While she was cooking, Paul called her twice more. The second time was right before Matt arrived, which had her a little upset when he got there.
He knew right away something was wrong, and after a quick kiss, instead of releasing her, he wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close as he looked into her eyes. “What’s the matter, baby? Did you get a call from Paul today?”
She couldn’t keep from grinning. “How do you always know these things? I know it’s not written on my forehead.”
“No, I read it in your eyes and how upset you are,” he said with a grin of his own. “So why are you so upset? Did you ignore his call?”
“Yes, I ignored his call. Then I ignored his next call. And the one after that. And the one after that. How many times does he have to call me before you can arrest him for harassment?”
“More than that. How many times did he call today?”
“Eight, including the time right before you got here.”
“He may call again tomorrow, thinking you just didn’t have your phone with you today. Keep ignoring them, and he should soon give up.”
“I hope so.”
“Me, too. Now, what smells so good? Is that something Italian?”
“Lasagna. You said a couple days ago you hadn’t had any in a long time. I thought maybe I could fix that.”
“I love lasagna. Thank you for fixing it. I know my mom always said it took a lot of work.”
“I like to cook, though, so I don’t mind, especially once I knew you like it.” His smile and kiss on her cheek made the time she’d spent cooking all afternoon worth it.
After an enjoyable meal, they watched a movie on television. Paul called four more times while Matt was there, but since Matt had her phone and kept it next to him, he always checked it for her. That meant a lot to her, and wasn’t nearly as stressful for her.
He gave her phone back before he left that evening. “If he calls again tomorrow, keep ignoring it. He should give up and stop calling soon. If you need me or feel like you want to talk, call me.”
“But what if you’re busy?”
“I’ll tell you that, and call you back when I have more time to talk.” He gave her a good-night kiss that left no doubt in her mind that he was watching out for her. She fell asleep thinking about how safe he made her feel.
The next two days went much the same. Paul was relentless, and it was starting to get to Elsie. Matt took her to dinner both evenings, knowing how upset his phone calls were making her. He encouraged her to keep ignoring his calls, but he knew how difficult it was becoming for her. He was getting frustrated, as well. Paul Kline certainly was persistent. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much he could do. She could change her number, but she wasn’t too eager to do that, and he didn’t blame her. Although she didn’t have any siblings, she did have numerous aunts, uncles and cousins she kept in touch with. In addition, she had friends from high school and college. She opted to simply wait him out, though Matt hoped he gave up soon. It was easy to see how much his constant calls were affecting her.
After she’d put up with five straight days of what seemed like constant calls, she got another call the next morning from Diane. She answered quickly, hoping her friend had some news. The question she had for her was surprising, though. “Paul asked you what?” she asked her friend.
“He told me he’s been calling, but you won’t answer your phone. Good for you. But he called me this morning and asked me for your new address.”
“You didn’t give it to him, did you?”
“No, of course not. I don’t actually have it. I know you’re staying at your grandmother’s, and I know it’s just outside of Springdale, but I don’t have the exact address. I’m sure you don’t want me to give it to him, but I thought I better warn you. He told me he’s going to find you so he can talk to you one way or another, but it would be a lot quicker if I’d just give him your address, rather than make him hire a detective to find you.”
“Oh, my gosh,” Elsie said.
“I didn’t like the sound of that, so I thought I better call you. What do you want me to do?”
Elsie took some time to think, and then sounded resigned. “Unfortunately, he knows enough about me that if he hires someone I’m sure they could find me. I think he even knows my social security number.” Diane started telling her how dumb it was to let him have that, but Elsie cut her off. “I know how stupid that is, but it’s a long story, and it is what it is. But knowing that, if he’s going to show up here, I at least want some control over it. Go ahead and give him my address, but tell him I’m working and don’t get home until 5:30 or after. I’ll tell Matt, and I’m sure he’ll be here with me in the evenings, so he’ll be here when Paul shows up. Maybe he can get rid of him once and for all.”
“Are you sure you want to do that? Maybe you should answer the phone and just tell him you don’t want anything to do with him. Maybe then he’ll let you alone.”
“I don’t think so, and Matt doesn’t, either. I suggested that once, but Matt says he’ll probably just see it as he’s getting to me, wearing me down, and see it as a victory for him. Knowing Paul, I think Matt’s probably right. I’d rather just give him my address, and have Matt here with me. Don’t tell him Matt will be here.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. I won’t even tell him you’re seeing anyone. You don’t think he’s going to cause any trouble, do you?”
“I hope not. I’ll feel better knowing Matt’s here with me, though. The more I think about this, the more I’m sure that’s what I want to do. I’m kind of looking forward to it now, so maybe we can finally get past this. Let me give you my address. Before you give it to him, though, ask him what he’s planning on doing. Make sure he’s not going to do something stupid or dangerous. If he seems okay, go ahead and give it to him, but then call me and let me know. Then I can expect him a day or two later.”
“Okay, but are you sure Matt will be there with you?”
“Positive. Once Matt knows he has my address, I can guarantee he’ll be here every night. My address is 226 Oakwood. It’s about fifteen, twenty minutes east of Springdale, off of Route 6.”
“I remember you saying it was outside of town and you had to watch for the road to turn off onto.”
“Yes, it’s easy to miss.”
“Okay, if you’re sure you want me to do this, I’ll give it to him. I’ll call him tonight after I get off work or in the morning.”
“Okay. I’ll tell Matt tonight. Paul works during the day, but he may take off work tomorrow afternoon so he can be here when he thinks I’ll get home from work, around 5:30. Unless something comes up, Matt will be here by then, I’m sure. If he’s not here yet, maybe I’ll leave for a little bit.”
“Call and let me know how it goes, okay?”
“I will. And thanks, Diane, for the heads up, and your help.”
Elsie stopped to think a few minutes about what she’d just done. She hoped Matt wouldn’t be upset with her, but she was tired of Paul’s constant phone calls. She wanted rid of him once and for all. She hoped this would do it.
That evening Matt pulled into his driveway, glad to be home a little earlier than usual. He wa
s taking Elsie to a restaurant she hadn’t been to yet, and was looking forward to it. He smiled, just thinking about her. She’d become very special to him, and unless he’d lost his ability to read other people well, she had similar feelings. He enjoyed looking out for her, guiding her, and was extremely happy to see she not only seemed to accept it, but was thriving with it.
He hoped she would decide to apply for the job as the school nurse. He was pretty sure with his recommendation she would get the job, and he wanted her to have a job here and call this home. He’d talked to Louise a few times since he’d been seeing Elsie, and he knew she felt the same way. She loved her granddaughter, and would love to see her living close by. She was also quick to let him know she felt the two of them made a good couple, and were good for each other. He had to agree with her.
He planned on taking a quick shower and changing before going to pick up Elsie, but as he pulled into his drive, he slowed down, concerned. He was almost sure the light in his kitchen, which was in the back of his house, had been on, and flicked off as he pulled in. He wasn’t completely sure, but his instincts as the sheriff had him on high alert as he parked his car.
He checked his gun, then carried it with him as he quietly walked around to the back of the house, staying up close to the side of the house. He ducked down and moved to the window. He carefully pulled himself up high enough that he could look in the corner of the window. It was dusk, so he couldn’t see really well. It was light enough, though, that he was able to make out a man standing in the doorway between the kitchen and living room, where his front door was. The man was facing the front door, like he was waiting for someone to come through it. The invader didn’t look familiar to him, but he couldn’t think of anyone he knew who would break into his home.
While the man was facing away from him, Matt took the opportunity to look around, see if he could tell what the man was up to. He didn’t look too concerned about getting caught, standing out in the open. That was good. He didn’t look to be armed, which was also good. There didn’t seem to be any items the man had collected from throughout the house, which Matt would have expected if he were planning on robbing the home.
