Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 113272 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 566(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113272 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 566(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
12
Things were not great.
Stepping back from her cake, she turned off her recording equipment and stretched. Her back was killing her.
“My back is killing me, Horse. I need a proper bed.”
He let out a small woof that she took as sympathy.
She wished she’d been able to afford the custom furniture that one of the locals made, but her savings were depleted from the move here. She’d head into Freestown and see what she could find
Scrolling through her last few videos, she frowned as she saw several people had added negative comments. The weird thing was the comments all sounded similar.
Was one person writing the same things?
She went through and deleted as many as she could find, rubbing her forehead.
What she needed was some decent sleep.
She walked toward the bathroom to have a shower. Maybe that would help her back.
Five minutes into her shower, it went from hot to cold and she let out a groan of disbelief. Why did this keep happening?
She had to quickly finish her shower in freezing cold water. By the time she got out, her teeth were chattering.
It seemed she also needed to get a plumber in. That was probably something the landlord should do. Which meant calling Ravina.
Awesome.
Jake had yet to drop off any keys to her so she was still using the spare keys from Cliff.
Just make the call.
Fifteen minutes later, she’d left a message on Ravina’s phone and gotten dressed.
As she drove through Haven’s main street, she spotted a bakery. There were people lined up right out the door and it looked packed inside. Deciding that she might need a coffee and something to keep her going on the drive into Freestown, she pulled into a parking space a few buildings down and got out, putting Horse on his lead. But as soon as she headed down the street, she saw them walking toward her.
Shit.
No!
Of course, what she should have done was be mature and walk past them with a hello.
She could have been cool but polite.
Instead, she frantically searched for a place to hide like a mad woman. Opening the door to the shop closest to her, she rushed in with Horse beside her.
Once inside, she peeked out of the window. The two men were still walking this way. But it didn’t seem that they’d seen her.
She let out a sigh of relief.
“Are you all right?” someone asked from behind her.
Arabella jumped with a scream, turning to find a very pregnant woman standing there looking concerned.
“I’m so sorry I scared you,” the other woman said, reaching out to pat the top of Horse’s head. “Whoa, you’re a tall guy, aren’t you? Is there something wrong? Do you need me to call the sheriff’s office?”
“What? Oh, um, no.” Shoot. This woman clearly thought that she was in trouble or something.
And who could blame her with the way she’d rushed in here and then stared out the window like that?
“I’m not in any trouble. I was just . . . well, I was avoiding some people.”
“Two extremely handsome FBI agents by chance?” the other woman guessed.
“Um, yeah. How did you know?”
“I took an educated guess since they’re about to walk in here.”
“Oh shit!” she cried.
“Are they bothering you?”
“No, I just . . . it’s pathetic. And silly.”
“Laken, where do you want this box?”
Arabella glanced over as Shaw walked in. What was he doing here?
“Arabella? Hi.” He gave her a small smile.
Shoot. He still looked worn out.
“Shit, they’re coming in!” the other woman said. “Shaw, quick, hide her.”
“Why? What’s going on?” Shaw asked.
“Incoming. K and E. She’s hiding from them.”
Shaw grinned and Arabella groaned even as she rushed over to him. She tripped and practically fell against him. But he managed to keep on his feet.
“I’m never going to hear the end of this, am I?” she asked.
“Nope,” Shaw replied as he grabbed her hand and led her into the backroom.
To her surprise, Horse followed along without any sort of protest.
With a sigh, she sat on one of the chairs he indicated just as she heard masculine voices from the shop.
“Am I an idiot?” she asked.
“Hmm, that depends on why we’re hiding from them. Is it because you hate them and don’t want to talk to them? Or because you’re attracted to them and don’t want to talk to them?”
“Is there a third option?” she asked tiredly. “Like that I just don’t want to talk to anyone?”
“I’m so hurt,” he gasped, putting his hand on his chest as he sat across from her.
Had he been ill? She wanted to ask but wasn’t sure how. She could do small talk for hours but a meaningful conversation with someone she actually cared about?
Yeah. That wasn’t something she was used to.
Would it be rude to ask?
“Sorry,” she said hastily. “I didn’t mean you. Of course I want to talk to you. You’re actually part of the reason I came here.”