Happily Never After Read Free Page A

forth.”
    “I’ll be sure to bring my ear plugs. If you’re going to be home tomorrow, I’ll drive out and see them.” She glanced back down at the menu. “I’m starving.”
    David leaned toward his wife. “What are you in the mood for, honey?”
    An intense pang of loneliness enveloped Kelsey at the obvious affection between them. For the first time in her life, she longed for someone of her own to love.
    The waitress left with their orders and Bev sat back in her chair. “David told me that you met Bode Taggert today in the office. The man is a hottie. What did you think?”
    “I didn’t notice.”
    Bev arched one brow. “Liar, liar, pants on fire.”
    “Okay, maybe I noticed a little.” And wasn’t that the understatement of the year? He was a handsome man with high, proud cheekbones and straight, black hair. His bronze skin and hawk-like nose gave him an air of wildness.
    “After you left this morning I started thinking about what you told me.” David paused to give her one of his looks. “More importantly, what you didn’t tell me when you jumped at my invitation to come visit. What else is going on?”
    The day of reckoning had arrived. “I may have a slight stalker problem.”
    "Someone may be stalking you,” David repeated, spacing his words evenly as if he strove to remain calm. “How is that possible, Kelsey? They either are or they’re not.”
    In a defensive gesture, she folded her arms across her chest. “I’ve been getting a lot of hang ups and someone broke into my car.”
    David’s lips thinned in anger. “What did the authorities say?”
    She shook her head. “There haven’t been any threats made. They checked and the calls came from a variety of pay phones. There’s no indication I’m in danger, so you know how it is. Resources get allocated to more pressing matters.”
    The police hadn't found anything in her past cases that raised a red flag, so they wrote both things off to her recent publicity. She didn’t agree. Without a single word being spoken, the calls felt personal somehow.
    David rubbed a hand over his head in frustration. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me any of this before. There’s no way I’m letting you go back now.”
    “I have commitments. My apartment and my job—”
    “A job you haven’t been going to. Everything else can get handled.” The arrival of their food ended David’s tirade.
    The conversation slowed as they ate. It gave Kelsey a moment to consider her options. When she bolted from Dallas, her scattered thoughts hadn’t gone beyond remaining in California long enough for her stalker to lose interest. But why go back at all? Being around loved ones could be a chance for her to grow whole again.
    They finished eating, and she begged off after dinner drinks or following them home.
    “I still wish you would come to the house.” The corner of David’s mouth tipped with exasperation. “Will you at least call me when you get to the hotel?”
    Her lips quirked with humor. “Yes, Dad.”
    David hugged her tight. “Come back to the office in the morning, and we’ll get all the details ironed out.”
    She contemplated the evening as she drove. The impulsive decision to live in Redding had come out of nowhere. Stalker guy couldn’t call her if he didn’t know where she was. But just in case, she would keep her reservation at the hotel. The last thing she wanted was to drop a bag full of crazy on David’s doorstep.
    Without warning, her car wrenched to the right, and loud thumping began. Her heart took flight like a startled bird and her breath grew ragged. Her clammy hands gripped the wheel in a death grip while she maneuvered to the side of the road. A freakin' flat tire. She placed her head on the wheel and fought to calm down enough to deal with this. A, b, c, d . . .
    Bright headlights shining into her back window brought her head up in alarm. Her eyes riveted on the rearview mirror. The vehicle appeared too large to be a car.