Guarding Sophie Read Free

“renting” an apartment there and applying for an administrative job with the local police department. Sophie moved into a battered women’s shelter while she implemented her plan. Her apartment wasn’t safe anymore. She had cut up her credit cards, slowly withdrawn from social media, bought a burner phone, and left her paid-off 2000 Honda Accord in a bad part of town with the keys in the ignition, the window rolled down, and the pink slip in the glove box.
    She couldn’t fly using cash to pay for a ticket. The bus trip across the country was long, but it gave her a lot of time to think. She would never forget how she felt when she stood on the sidewalk in Noel for the first time and got a lungful of fresh, pine-scented air. The constant stress ache between her shoulders had vanished around Utah. The mountains that rose around Noel felt like a ring of protection. She didn’t even mind the omnipresent sound of Christmas carols.
    She wasn’t stupid enough to believe that her life was ever going to be the same as it had been before she met Peter. She loved teaching, but she wasn’t going to be able to teach again. Elementary schools would be the first place he looked for her. She wasn’t sure when she’d be able to see her family; she was worried that contact would make them a target.
    Hopefully, she could carve out some peace and happiness here. She’d rented a mother-in-law apartment three blocks from Noel Foods. Her new landlord didn’t run a credit report and didn’t mind getting the rent in cash. It was cozy, furnished, and Sophie didn’t need a car.
    She had a nice place to live, a good job, and hope. Right now, that was enough.

Chapter Two
    K YLE WALKED INTO Noel Foods a little after noon on a sunshiny Tuesday. The interior designer had stocked his refrigerator with a few of the basics, but he’d managed to eat it all in short order. He’d had exercise equipment installed in one of the upstairs bedrooms before he moved in, and lifting made him hungry. Plus, he’d never been a fan of pouring beer over his breakfast cereal.
    He didn’t know how to cook. A chef visited his former house to cook meals for him during the season; there were approximately a hundred restaurants within a five-block radius of his condo in Bellevue, so he could manage to feed himself during the off-season. Learning to cook was never a priority for him. He realized there were a few restaurants in Noel, but he’d like to find some ready-made stuff so he could get his ass back home and do a few other things he’d been putting off, such as contacting his family to let them know he was fine. He’d rather avoid the argument he knew would ensue when he told them he wanted to be on his own for a while. His “friends” would flip out when they found out their money spigot was cut off, they’d call his family and insist something was wrong, and all hell would break loose unless he made the calls.
    Only an egotistical ass would wear sunglasses inside, but now he understood why celebrities did it. He was like every douchey pro athlete he’d ever seen interviewed while wearing sunglasses. He grabbed a grocery cart out of the nest and nabbed a few things in the produce section—fruits, vegetables, and some of the ready-made juices. He owned a juicer. He didn’t know how to use it, either. Four bucks for a little bottle of juice wasn’t cheap, but he’d survive. He headed toward the deli area for some more ready-made food and came to a halt in the middle of the aisle as he glanced around the check stand area. He looked, and then he stared.
    It couldn’t be her. And it couldn’t be anyone else, either.
    He hadn’t seen her for almost ten years, but he’d never forgotten her. The high school cheerleader outfit with the short skirt was gone. Her flyaway cinnamon-colored hair was contained in a long, thick braid that hung over one