Dangerous Obsession. Jessica R. Patch
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Cosette dropped to her knees and yanked them out of the vase. Jeffrey would not get this pleasure.
Then she saw a small black velvet box buried in the weeds. Her lungs turned to brick.
Hands trembling, she picked up the box and opened it. Inside were a pair of pink tourmaline earrings. Round. Simple. Cosette scanned the secluded cemetery, finding its hallowedness and peacefulness gone. Jeffrey had ruined this. She hung her head and sobbed, fear rising in her throat and leaving her dizzy and angry...so angry that he would do this. Wreck this one place she held dear. That’s when she saw the slip of paper.
She wiped her eyes and removed it from the box.
I’ll always love you.
Would she ever be rid of this man? Why would he come back after two years of being quiet? It wasn’t like she’d used cash or changed her name. She’d blocked him from her cell phone, but she hadn’t changed the number; her patients might need her, and she wanted to be available to each one of them.
If he’d hired a PI, it wouldn’t have taken this long to track her to Atlanta. Something must have triggered him. She wadded up the note and dropped the earrings in her purse.
Lord, I know You’re probably not listening much to me, since I’m unwilling to forgive my dad—You know where I stand on that. But please, please don’t let this turn into what it was in Washington. Please!
She searched the tree line. Had she evaded his trap by coming early? If he was in Atlanta, following her, wouldn’t he know she’d left for the airport two days ago?
“Sorry to cut things short, Mama, but I’m in real trouble here and I’m scared.” Scared she’d end up lying right next to her. Because Cosette would never surrender to Jeffrey and it would eventually bring him to a vengeful state. He’d try to kill her before it was over. And if Beau had decided to come after her...she was in a heap of trouble.
“I love you, Mama, but I gotta go.” She kissed her fingertips and placed them on Mama’s headstone, then scurried back to the car.
Wilder scowled. “I’ve read maybe ten pages and I’m not a slow reader. What’s up?”
“Nothing. I’m ready to go.”
A dark eyebrow arched and he held her gaze a beat longer than she liked, but then he motioned to the passenger seat. “We have time to kill before we have to be at the airport. You hungry?” he asked.
Not even a little bit. “Sure.”
They chose a restaurant near the airport.
Inside, at their table, he said, “When Caley was about six, she climbed a tree. She’d watched me and Meghan do it earlier. Mama told her not to. But hey, she was six and had something to prove.”
Good grief. Another anecdote.
“But she fell and skinned her knee and bloodied her nose. You picking up what I’m putting down?”
“Stay out of trees?”
He huffed. “If you keep trying to hide whatever’s got you scared...you’ll end up bloodied. Don’t wreck that pretty face by falling on it.”
He wasn’t far from the truth. She might very well end up exactly as he said. She didn’t want to run again, and anyway, where would she go? She was safest with Wilder. Not telling him might get him hurt. But she wasn’t sure what scared her most: admitting the truth, Beau Chauvert or Jeffrey Levitts.
“If you don’t want to talk about it, fine. I don’t like it. I probably won’t keep quiet for long. But right now, you can eat in peace. Talk about something else.”
“Are you letting it slide because you know I’ll expect you to reciprocate and give me therapy time? Fair is fair, after all.”
“Nothing about life is fair, Cosette.” Wilder ran his finger down the menu, browsing. “And the difference is I don’t need to talk. I’m not scared. You most definitely are, which means there’s a threat out there. I can make that go away for you.”
“What happened to eating in peace?” She couldn’t even concentrate on the menu. Nothing appealed to her stomach, but when the server returned she ordered the salmon and jasmine rice.
“I also said I probably wouldn’t keep quiet for long.” His playful smirk loosened some of the nerves bundled in her chest and she breathed deep. Decided to switch subjects.
“I do want to talk to you about one thing.” It had been on her mind for the past few months. “Equine therapy.”
“I don’t want to lay on your couch and blabber, and I don’t want to ride horses to soothe my soul. I’m solid.”
Cosette unrolled her silverware and placed the linen napkin in her lap. “I’m talking about reconstructing and expanding that stable on the plantation, putting up fencing and opening an equine therapy practice. I’d get a loan and take care of the costs, and pay you rent, of course.”
“I don’t know, Cosette. People trying to heal on the same property as people who are in serious trouble sometimes... That might put them at risk.”
“I’ve thought of that, but we rarely have serious risks, and it’s far enough from the main house. I could even add an office area off the stables for more privacy, and have a road paved so clients could bypass the main house altogether... And if something dangerous is happening then I can cancel.”
“Five months ago, a sniper tried to take out Evan. He shot through the guest bedroom window. We didn’t know it was dangerous until it was. Remember that?”
Yes, she’d been at the clinic where she worked part-time when that happened. “Wilder, please consider it. I’ve written up a proposal and I’ll give you some information to help you understand how important this is. Patients are making great strides with this kind of therapy and the plantation is such a peaceful and lovely place.”
“Yet you moved out.”
Cosette finally felt like Jeffrey’s reign of terror had ended and she was safe. Now with Jody moved out, since she and Evan were married, it was odd living upstairs while Wilder lived downstairs. “Just think about it. I’ll give you the information when we get back into town.”
“Fine.”
The drive and boarding the plane were relatively quiet between them. Cosette pretended to read on the flight, but her mind was a muddied mess. What would come next? By the time they landed and retrieved their baggage, it was late. Wilder drove to her apartment, brooding. He pulled up in a visitor parking space. “You want me to come in?”
“Why would I want that?” Yes!
He gripped the steering wheel and sighed. “I guess I don’t know.” He hauled her bags to her door. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Yes. Good. Okay.” She unlocked her door and Wilder gently grasped her arm.
“Cosette, you can tell me anything. You know that, right?”
“And you can tell me anything but you never do.” This man needed to open up. To talk out his feelings. Bottled up emotions eventually blew. With everything he’d seen being a SEAL, and his job, and the death of his sister, there was plenty for Wilder to discuss, to air out. Why wouldn’t he trust her?
“Anything... Okay, I’ll tell you something I’ve never shared with anyone.”
Finally.
“I’m vain about my hair. I know I’m a soldier and, you know, a legit tough guy...but I just like my hair.” He grinned, all charming like. It almost worked. She felt the smile forming deep in her heart, but caught it before it reached her lips.
“Well, yippee skippy, you’re vain. You’ve failed miserably at keeping that a secret. Everybody already knows it.” She rolled her eyes and pushed open the door. Wilder