April nodded. “Thank you. Sure.”
She filled a small cup with water and grabbed a sandwich before heading to the dining area. Bristol glanced up and waved her over.
“Wow, you all have been busy. I’m impressed you can keep up so well.”
April shrugged. “I’m used to this type of work. I’m not sure what I will do once I get my degree.”
“What is it in?”
“Computer programing. Coding is easy for me, but I’m not sure how I will deal with sitting in an office all day.”
“Yeah, I get that. As an artist, I need to be somewhere that inspires me. A bland office building wouldn’t help much.”
April took a bite of her sandwich and nodded. After she swallowed, she sipped some of her water. “It’s cool that you live here. This is a beautiful area.”
Bristol laughed. “I never intended to live here. It’s a great town, though. Maybe I’m biased because I love my guy and his friends are great.”
April glanced at the door when it opened and saw it was only Silas. He wouldn’t give Steph too much trouble. “I don’t know where I’ll end up. It freaked me out that someone was in Myrna’s house yesterday.”
“Do you feel safe there?”
April took another bite of her sandwich and waited until her mouth was empty to talk. “I was there this morning, and it didn’t feel odd. I think I’ll be okay. Brock and Ethan are helping me change locks and get cameras installed. I know I’ll feel better after that.”
“If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Thank you. You’re all so nice.”
“We just like looking after our friends.”
“It’s so different. When I was at school in Texas, none of my friends cared that I was being stalked. They all thought I was making it up. I know it’s odd to be upset about things like gum being left at my door, but it progressed to having mints placed on my counters in the bathroom.”
“Wait. This person broke into your house and left stuff there?”
April nodded. “It freaked me out. The cops told me I was delusional. And with my mother’s history, that is really scary to think about. I mean, what if I just imagined it all?”
“But you weren’t, right?” Bristol asked.
April shook her head. “No. For a while, I thought I was. Whoever was leaving stuff for me had to be watching me closely because they knew what would trigger me. I was in class one day—well, it was a lab class, and no one was really paying attention to each other. Also, there were workstations with dividers, so you couldn’t see the other people easily. Anyway, I got up to use the restroom. When I came back, there was a mint sitting on my chair. No one knows who put it there, but it freaked me out. I finished that class and took off. That’s what drove me away. A mint on a padded seat. Ridiculous, right?”
Bristol shook her head. “No, it’s not. Even someone leaving you gifts isn’t always positive. It’s how they leave them and when. Someone broke into your house. That’s a huge violation.”
The door opened, and a group stepped in. April checked the time and realized she needed to get back to work. “Sorry. I need to work some more. Thank you for stopping by.”
Bristol took her hand. “You have my number now. Call if you need anything. I’ll probably be taking off in just a few. But I’d love to talk to you again later.”
April nodded, feeling like Bristol really would be a friend to her. “Sure. That would be great.”
April went back to work, and Bristol took off. Customers kept her busy until almost two thirty when Brock and Ethan came in. A minute later, Cohen and Raid were in the shop, too. They each ordered coffee and sat at the tables right in front of the register. When she finished filling their orders, she moved to their table.
“Thank you all for helping.”
Cohen met her gaze. “Bristol told me about the mints. That’s creepy. We want you to stay safe, so we also picked up an alarm system.”
Surprise blasted her. “Oh, you didn’t have to do that.”
“It’s one a customer rejected a few weeks ago. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it,” Ethan said.
“Oh, I didn’t know you installed security systems.”
Ethan shrugged. “Usually, I don’t, but the client paid well. I have the parts and was contemplating what to do with them. Putting them in Myrna’s house seems like a good idea. Brock texted her, and she said it was probably a good idea since she was traveling so much. She said she would call you later and check-in. She wants to make sure you’re safe.”
A little fear twisted through her. She hadn’t called Myrna, and she should have. Her aunt had always been on her side, and she’d ignored her biggest supporter for the last eight or nine months. Things between them weren’t bad. They just weren’t great.
“Thank you.”
“The alarm should be installed by six this evening,” Ethan said.
“You don’t—”
“We want to,” Ethan said.
“The cameras should be here in a few days,” Brock said.
“Oh, I was going to pay for those.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Raid said.
“Yeah, it wasn’t that much, and we all pitched in. Mac said he would stay at your place tonight. Is that okay?” Cohen asked.
Heat raced up her neck. “It’s good.”
“Good.” Ethan stood, and the rest of the guys got up.
She took a step back, unsure how to repay these guys. They had saved her. She hadn’t wanted to sleep in the house another night, not without some sort of protection, and now she had it. The alarm wouldn’t stop someone from coming in, but it might make them think twice. It would also wake her up. She’d feared sleeping through someone coming into her home, watching her while she was in bed. Now, if someone broke into the house, she would know.
The guys took off, and she closed out her shift, pocketing the cash tips Steph handed her. Steph hadn’t asked why the guys had stopped by, and she appreciated her not asking. April didn’t want it spread all over town that she was afraid of being out. If someone had tracked her here, they didn’t need to know they’d sent fear straight through her.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Mac finished the hike early because the group on his tour decided they wanted to cut the hike short since there were bugs outside. He had no idea how these people hadn’t figured out bugs existed in the wild, but he didn’t want to argue with them and took them back to the trailhead. They hadn’t blamed him for the bugs and gave him a tip. At least that counted for something.
He headed to his apartment to get cleaned up before driving to April’s place. He’d agreed to stay at her place tonight. The guys hadn’t given him hell about sleeping with April either. He was glad they acted like it was normal for him to be with his woman.
No doubt, the guys his own age would have totally razzed him for staying the night with April. She wasn’t just some woman he wanted to have sex with. He could see himself involved in a relationship with her. Sure, they were young, but sometimes you just knew what was right.