“I’m fine,” Raven said calmly.
He ran his eyes over her and, the strange thing was, he could tell she was fine.
“You are,” he agreed with a smile. “How about a burger and some fries?”
She smiled. “I was thinking I’d finish it off with a slice of chocolate cream pie.”
“Now that’s a plan I can get behind.” He squeezed her hand.
When Darby stopped to get their orders, Raven quickly told her what had happened to her that day.
Less than five minutes later, Carrie showed up and Darby took a break from work. The four of them moved to a booth, and Raven filled both of them in while they ate.
They didn’t pay any attention to the looks or the gossip surrounding them for the rest of the night in the diner. Oh, he knew that she understood it was going on behind her back, but he could see the strength she felt when surrounded by her friends.
Only once did he notice something bothering her. After they had paid and he was walking her back to her car, she tensed as two men walked by them and said her name loudly.
He eased her mind by reaching over and taking her hand in his again and felt her instantly relax.
“You okay?” he asked when they stopped by her car.
She took a deep breath before answering. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
“If you need—”
She stopped him by leaning against his chest.
“Cade, I’ll be fine. I knew that coming back here was going to be rough. I had a feeling I’d have to deal with my family. My grandmother had prepared me for her son’s… shenanigans.”
He enjoyed the feeling of her body against his and wondered if he should push his luck and invite her back to his place again. Then she glanced down at her phone and sighed.
“I’d better go. I have an early morning meeting with the kitchen staff.” She leaned up on her toes and placed a soft kiss on his lips. “Thanks for… last night and for today.”
His hands ran slowly up her sides as he kissed her again. “Call me if you need any help putting your new things away.” He smiled, remembering the sexy items she’d purchased. “Especially that little red number.”
She chuckled. “I bought that with our next date in mind.”
“Friday,” he blurted out, causing her to laugh.
“Saturday?” she countered.
“I’ll pick you up at six.”
“Make it six thirty.” She kissed him again. “Good night.”
“Night.” He watched her drive away before climbing into his own truck and heading home.
When he got there, he sat out on the back porch and waited while Blue enjoyed the dying sunlight as night fell around them.
He had to admit, he felt the emptiness of his home for the rest of the night. Even Blue’s company couldn’t break him out of his loneliness.
What he wanted was someone to spend the rest of his nights with. Someone to talk to. Someone to hold.
Lying in his bed alone, his mind kept playing over how different tonight was than last night. Finally, he gave up trying to sleep and pulled out his cell phone and sent her a text message.
“Did you get settled in your new room okay?”
He was happy to see an almost immediate response.
“Yes, I’m in room four-eighty-two. It’s smaller than the last room, but it will do until the west building is up to date.”
He was still reading her response when another text from her came in.
“Thanks again for being there for me today. I don’t think I could have handled that alone.”
“Something tells me you could have handled it just fine. But I’m happy I could help,” he texted back. Then he smiled. “So, what are you wearing?”
She sent him a little emoji that looked a lot like her with a bunny suit on, which had him laughing.
“Sexy,” he replied.
“It keeps me warm.” Then she added, “I’m saving the red number for Saturday night.”
“Looking forward to it.” He realized he really was anxious to see her again. To be with her again. And not just for sex, even though it was really great sex.
How long had it been since he’d felt excited to just spend time with someone? With Julia, he couldn’t even remember wanting to spend time with her. In his mind, that relationship had been purely sexual. She’d been the one to drag him around for dates.
“I’d better get to sleep. I have an early meeting,” she texted.
“Good night,” he replied.
“Night.”
He shut off his phone and sat it in on the charger. Suddenly, he felt tired and lay back in the bed. Blue was snoring at his feet, and he was just drifting off when Blue jerked his head up and started growling, then barking.
His dog normally didn’t turn on his security dog mode at night. During the day, Blue would bark at squirrels or racoons, but at night…
Cade climbed out of bed and followed Blue to the glass door that led to a small balcony that sat off his bedroom. He glanced out and was reaching for the light switch when a dark figure darted across his side lawn.
“Shush.” He nudged Blue slightly and twisted to get a better view of the figure, who had disappeared behind his garage.
Rushing to the bathroom, he looked out the window and watched, but when he didn’t see anything, he headed to the guest room and looked out that window. Blue had lost interest and had climbed back up in the bed. Since he was up, Cade grabbed a flashlight, put on his mud boots and jacket, and headed out to see if he could figure out who was sneaking around.
He flipped on all the flood lights. The moment he stepped outside, Blue was on his heels, looking excited to be going out in the middle of the night.
He made two rounds around his place and couldn’t find anything out of place. He didn’t spot so much as a single footprint.
Maybe he’d dreamed it? Either way, when he finally climbed back in bed, he was totally exhausted and fell asleep immediately.
The following morning, when he and Blue climbed into the truck to head to work, he realized what had happened.
The piece of paper on his windshield hadn’t registered with him at first. He’d had to climb back out and gather the note. The words were slanted and had obviously been written by a very drunk person, but he continued reading.
“Tell the stupid bitch to get out of my business. The slut actually thinks she can take over! This is my town. I’ll do whatever it takes to get her out of my way.”
He felt his anger grow.
* * *
He decided to swing by his uncle’s office before heading into work.
“I found this on my windshield this morning.” He tossed the note down on his uncle’s desk. “Saw someone sneaking around my yard last night around one,” he added as he sat down.
Sean opened the note and frowned down as he read the threats.
“Stupid son of a…” Sean shook his head and then glanced up at him. “I’ll swing by and have a talk with Colin.”
Cade glanced down at the note and felt his anger rise again over the threats Raven’s uncle had aimed, not at him, but at his niece if Cade didn’t back away from her.
“So, you and Raven?” Sean said, changing the subject.
“Yeah.” He ran a hand through his hair. “What of it?”