Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33577 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33577 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
“If Tami fires you for this, I’ll eat broccoli for three days straight.”
She stared at him before nodding. He knew she remembered their first conversation about his least favorite food. They’d joked about it several times at dinner time.
“Thank you for trusting me. First, the police station,” he instructed and watched her finally turn and head for the bedroom to grab her shoes.
When they returned home after several hours, Melissa toyed with the bracelet on her wrist. It was a simple beaded design, like everyone was wearing. There was one special feature. The largest embellishment held a tracker and a panic button.
“Is it too tight?” Rocky asked, reaching out to pull her hand close to him. “It seems okay.”
“It’s fine. I just don’t like the idea of having to wear one.”
“I know. Would you like to watch a movie in a bit and forget about all this for a while?”
“Can we have popcorn for dinner?” she asked, perking up.
“I will risk having the hulls permanently stuck between my teeth just for you,” he teased.
“I’ll go choose a movie.”
“Let’s call Tami first.”
“I thought you’d forgotten,” she said, scuffing the toe of her sneaker on the carpet.
“No, Lissy. I want you to be safe.”
Melissa pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed Tami’s number. Hopefully, her friend would give her a good reference.
“Melissa! Is everything okay? Your arm isn’t hurt again, is it?”
“Thank you for being worried. My arm is fine. Unfortunately, I have a problem with someone. When we cleaned out my apartment, I found picture of me at one of my regular client’s house—the Wilson’s. Someone had slid it under my door. I’m pretty sure it’s my creepy neighbor—former neighbor.”
“That’s not good. Did you go to the police?”
Melissa could hear Archer in the background asking questions. “You can put me on speaker if you want.”
“Thanks. That makes it easier. Archer is worried about you, too.”
“Hi, Archer. I’ll put my phone on speaker, too, so Rocky can hear.” As she found and pushed the right button on her phone, Melissa heard Tami bringing him up to date.
“What did the police say?” Tami asked.
“They’ve made a record and copied the note and the photo. They’re going to have an officer stop and interview him, but that’s really all they can do. He hasn’t hurt me,” Melissa reported.
“What can I do from my end to keep you safe?”
“Is it possible for there to be a shuffle of clients? I love everyone I see during my week, but maybe if I took different houses, this jerk couldn’t find me,” Melissa asked.
“Got it. Great idea. Is it okay to loop Tim in on the call?”
“Of course,” Melissa said, relieved it didn’t look like she was going to be fired.
In a matter of minutes, Tim had traded his route to Melissa, and he would take on Melissa’s regulars. Relief flooded Melissa that she wouldn’t have to return to the Wilson’s home. She loved their floofy shih tzu, Monkey, but not enough to look over her shoulder constantly. Tami would create an email to notify the dog parents, and they’d swap the three-ring binders with all the information and keys tomorrow in the office at eight.
“That was easy enough. We probably need to look at all the stops to make sure we’re being efficient. It doesn’t hurt to mix things up a bit, but I’ll worry about that another day. You two be ready to talk about the dogs that you see to share your advice tomorrow as well.”
When Melissa disconnected from the call, she looked at Rocky, stunned. “I really didn’t want to make that call.”
“I know. Tami doesn’t just see you as an employee. You’re a reliable part of her business. Plus, you’re a friend and a good person.”
“I am a good person. I’m not going to let that jerk bother me. He doesn’t have the right to screw up my life just when everything seems like a dream,” Melissa said, standing up for herself.
“That’s my Little girl. Now, food and a distraction. Go choose a movie.”
“Can we have extra butter? I think I deserve it.”
“I do, too, sweetheart.”
CHAPTER 11
The holiday movie with Santa and elves had worked to diffuse all the stuff that had happened the day before. When Melissa opened her eyes on Monday morning, she knew everything was going to be better.
The handoff went well, and she set off for Tim’s first stop. Getting to meet all new four-legged friends and one Tripod who enchanted her with his unbeatable spirit absolutely made her day go well. It took her a bit more time than normal because she had to stop and read the directions, find the code, and introduce herself.
By the time she hopped in the car after the last stop, it was almost fully dark. She hit the lock button to seal herself in the car as Rocky had instructed. There’s no reason to sit in an unlocked car.