Chapter Sixteen
Jaxson
Jaxson dismounted and pulled off his rain slicker. The rain had stopped about halfway up the mountain.
At first glance, Sanctuary wasn’t anything like he’d pictured. It looked more like a high-end resort than a halfway house for veterans. Big mansion. Manicured grounds. Spectacular view.
“Can I help you?”
Jaxson turned to the voice. A guy stood outside the main entrance, his stance deceptively casual. Jaxson pegged him immediately as former military. Probably an officer.
“I hope so. I’m not sure I’m in the right place. Is this Sanctuary?”
“It is. Are you military?”
Jaxson nodded. “Was, until recently. Jaxson Adams.”
“Matt Winston. What can we do for you, Jaxson?”
The guy’s voice was calm and friendly, but his eyes were wary. Jaxson sensed he was the kind of guy who would see through bullshit, so he didn’t bother.
“I’m looking for someone.”
“Who?”
“A woman. Samantha Appelhoff. I was told she lived here.”
Winston’s gaze was probing. “Is she expecting you?”
“No.”
“I don’t suppose you want to tell me what this is about.”
He was right. Jaxson didn’t.
“A private matter.”
“Why don’t you leave your name and number where you can be reached?”
Jaxson wasn’t happy about it, but a smart man knew when to push and when to back off. “I’m staying at Mel’s.” He rattled off his mobile number.
Winston nodded but made no move to write it down. “I’ll see that she gets the message.”
“Please do. It’s important.”
Jaxson turned to go. As he was getting back on his bike, he glanced up and caught sight of someone watching the scene from behind a large window. Several somebodies actually. And one of them was very familiar.
* * *
When the mountain road met the Sumneyville town limits, Jaxson pulled into the Gas and Guzzle, conveniently located at the intersection. He filled up his tank, his current state of irritation further magnified by the sight of the recent scratches, thanks to a woman who couldn’t seem to stay out of his way.
Then, he parked his bike along the far side of the convenience store and waited.
According to the GPS on his phone, there was only one road that led from Sanctuary to Sumneyville. That was, unless someone wanted to cross over the mountain and come around the base, which would add about forty miles, give or take.
Jaxson didn’t think Penny would take the long way, which meant she’d have to come through there eventually.
It wasn’t as if he had anything better to do, especially since Penny had taken it upon herself to disrupt his plans yet again.
He grabbed a hoagie and a bag of chips, and then he sat down to eat and wait and bide his time until she showed. His plan: to follow and demand to know if her determination to sabotage him was a personal thing or just something she did to everyone.
Why couldn’t the woman just mind her own damn business? Keeping her out of his thoughts was hard enough without encountering her every time he turned around.
The worst part? As troublesome as she was, he believed she was coming from a good place, which made it even more difficult to keep distance between them. And when he was near her, his thoughts tried to go in a completely different direction.
But not this time, he told himself.
This time, he was irritated enough to hold his ground.
And this time, he would be the one tracking her and getting up in her business.
As luck would have it, he didn’t have to tail the van. Penny pulled into the station and went inside without looking over in his direction. When she came back out with a slushie, he was waiting for her.
“What the hell, Penny?”
Startled, Penny dropped her slushie. It hit the ground and exploded, sending vibrant blue ice over his boots.
“Seriously?” he said in disbelief.
“Shasta daisies! I’ve been looking forward to that all day.” She glared at him—or at least tried to. The woman was about as adept at making an angry face as a puppy. “You shouldn’t sneak up on people like that, Jaxson.”
“What’s your deal?” he growled. “Do you stay up at night, thinking of ways to ruin my day?”
She looked up at him with big brown eyes—stay strong, Jaxson—and blue-tinted lips. “Excuse me?”
“They knew I was coming. That was your doing, wasn’t it?”
Her cheeks grew red. She didn’t bother denying it. “I thought Sam should have a heads-up, yeah.”
Jaxson cursed. “I thought you said you wanted to help.”
“I do, but you can’t just hit people out of the blue with something like that. They deserve a little warning. Especially since her father—”
“Is there a problem here?”
Jaxson had been so intent on Penny that he hadn’t noticed the cop pull up in his cruiser. The badge got out of the car and placed himself slightly in front of Penny. It was the same guy Jaxson had seen in O’Malley’s. Jaxson hadn’t liked the guy then. He liked him even less now.
“There’s no problem,” Jaxson told him. “And this is a private conversation.”
The badge scowled. Penny placed her hand on the cop’s arm. For some inexplicable reason, that small gesture sent Jaxson’s blood pressure skyrocketing. He had a powerful urge to take Penny’s hand and tug her over beside him.
“It’s okay, Lenny,” Penny said soothingly and with too much affection for Jaxson’s taste.
“You sure?” the badge asked.
“I’m sure. Thanks for checking though.”
Lenny shot a withering glance at Jaxson, then turned back to Penny. “I’ll see you for dinner tonight.”
“You will?” she asked.
With one last glare at Jaxson, Lenny leaned down and kissed Penny on the cheek. Jaxson’s blood pressure spiked again. The only thing that kept Jaxson from slamming the guy up against the bricks was the fact that Penny seemed just as surprised as Jaxson was.
The cop went back to his patrol car and slid into the driver’s side but continued to glare at them.
“You and him?” Jaxson asked, shaking his head in disbelief.
Penny’s cheeks grew redder. “That’s none of your business. And you should probably go.”
Jaxson folded his arms over his chest and widened his stance. “Not until you explain what’s going on. What were you saying about Sam’s father?”
Penny exhaled heavily and looked down at the quickly melting slushie on the ground. “I need to clean this up, or everyone who walks by is going to have sticky shoes.” Then, in a softer voice, she said, “Not here, okay?”
“Where? And when?”
“I’ll come by the motel in a little bit.”
When he narrowed his eyes and didn’t move, she added, “I promise, okay? Just go before Lenny remembers he has a Taser and decides to use it.”
Jaxson wasn’t about to allow Lenny to do anything of the sort. Even injured as he was, Jaxson had no doubt he could take the cop, but doing so would probably get his ass slapped in jail, and he had better things to do.