“What can I do for you boys?”
Both Josh and I are over six feet tall and tower over her, but she will always see us as boys.
“I was wondering if you could email me your security footage from last night.”
“I would love to dear, but it crapped out.”
For a second, I’m trying to get over the fact that she used the word crapped in that soft voice of hers when what she says hits me.
“You already looked?” Josh asks.
“Yes. I saw Adela’s report and I wanted to see if it was just Sam walking again. But I went to look and realized the batteries were gone.”
Another chill slinks down my spine. Something is really off.
“Have you had any issues like that before?”
She shakes her head. “I just posted on the Express about it. I’ll let you know if anyone contacts me otherwise. It’s working now that I replaced the batteries. Since I’m leaving today, I wanted to make sure that they were working.”
We thank her again and then I walk Josh to his pickup. “This is growing weirder by the moment,” I say.
He nods. “Some of the kids in Juniper would know how to do that, but a lot of people wouldn’t. It’s a known problem with that doorbell.”
“Seems like a big ass flaw, if you ask me.”
He sighs and looks down the street. “I get this vibe. Something is really off.”
I don’t have to question that. His time in undercover honed his instincts, I’m sure. There is no way he would’ve survived that experience without them. “Definitely. I’m with you. The woman drives me crazy on a daily basis, but stalking her? That’s just insane.”
“Yeah.” He turns to look at me again. “But stalkers aren’t rational people. They’ve become obsessed with their subject. Usually starts as adoration, then morphs into something ugly.”
I nod. “There’s a reason I’m staying.”
His mouth curves up into a stupid smile. The dangerous light in his eyes tells me he’s about to give me crap about something. But he doesn’t say anything. He just continues to stare at me.
“What?” I finally ask.
“Dude, you sure it has nothing to do with the fact that you’ve been crushing on her for years?”
Fuck. I know a lot of my friends knew I had a crush on her when we were younger. Actually, I was just one of many guys who did. Nancy didn’t fit the mold even back then. Loud, funny, and down to earth.
“Get bent, Josh.”
He laughs. “My, you sure seem defensive about it. Why is that?”
I study him and wonder if he would charge me if I tried to punch him. I could probably get at least a right hook to connect with his face. Josh reads my thoughts though.
“Oh, don’t do it. I don’t want to have to pull you in. Especially when you’re needed here.”
That sobers me. “True. Let me know if you find anything.”
“No problem. Have to protect Juniper Springs’ favorite girl next door.”
He slips into his vehicle. After he starts the SUV, he winds the window down on the passenger’s side. “Hey, Travis.”
I step closer, my hands in my pockets. “What?”
“You know that the feeling is mutual, right?”
I frown. “What the hell are you talking about?”
He looks at Nancy’s house, then back at me. “Think about it. Don’t let Nancy be alone. I think this just might be some asshole fucking around, but it’s always best to stay safe.”
Then the window slides up, and he takes off. I know I’m probably overreacting but since Josh just told me to stick close, that’s exactly what I am going to do. First off, I need to know who is coming in and what At Home is going to do.
Me: So, you’re getting her some kind of security.
Not a question, that’s for sure.
Evil Sis: Yes. Grady is on the phone right now. Nancy is trying to refuse under the argument that she doesn’t work for us anymore.
That woman. Seriously, this is her safety. I know part of it is that she can’t stand getting special attention. At least, when we’re off camera. When we’re doing the show, she’s a ham. Granted, not as much as me and that’s why we work well together. She’s a very good straight woman for my comedic antics. There’s this chemistry when we’re working together…just thinking about it leaves me breathless. Although, it wasn’t as good this season. My fault, not hers. Well, and Garrett’s. That bastard made it difficult on set. It didn’t help that I was trying to come up with a way to keep myself shut off from my feelings for her. That’s on me. And I need her to understand that, but I have to come up with a way to explain it without revealing my feelings.
Jesus. I’m a sad sack.
Me: That’s bullshit.
Evil Sis: Yeah, it is. And I argued with her. Grady is still going to get everything set up. We’ll have them on standby just in case.
Me: Good. I’ll be staying here until this gets resolved.
No matter how hard it is on me. I don’t know if it’s a good idea, but damn if I’m going to let her stay by herself. Josh is right.
Evil Sis: She could just come stay with us.
Me: Josh said no. He said if it is a stalker, doing that could put you at risk. Also, he might just wait it out. She can’t stay there forever.
Josh had been pretty abrupt about that. Granted, I still think getting out of town would be a good idea, but then I’m not in law enforcement. All I do is swing a hammer and smile at the camera. Right now, it might just be some jealous jerk who wants to cause her some inconvenience. There’s no reason to really panic. It’s humming through my blood, my mind jumping from one horrible scenario to the next, but I have to keep it at bay. There is just no way I can freak out about this because then Nancy would freak out.
I find the woman in question sitting at the table, a cup of coffee in front of her, but she doesn’t seem to be paying attention to it. She looks defeated, lost. I hate it, especially because it makes me feel impotent. All I want to do is gather her close and tell her everything is going to be okay. That I will never let anything happen to her.
“So, I need to go get my things.”
She startles, as if she didn’t know I walked back in her house. That isn’t good at all. “What?”
“My things. I didn’t bring much, so we need to go get them.”
“Your things? You’re still insisting on staying with me?”
I nod. There’s no way I am going to let her stay alone.
“Then go get your things. You can stay in the guest room.”
I nod. There’s no way I am going to let her stay alone. Granted, the security detail will be here within a couple of hours, but I still don’t like the idea of leaving her after what happened.
“Okay, you can go ahead and get your things.”
I shake my head. “Nope. You have to go with me.”
She crosses her arms and frowns at me. “I’m safe here.”
“Don’t even try downplaying this, Nancy. We have to be extra careful here. Josh said that we need to make sure you aren’t left alone.”
Her expression congeals and I know that it isn’t just me. Nancy has control issues. I can’t argue with her. I have them too, but most of it has to do with her privacy. It’s insane that she loves Juniper the way she does, because there is no such thing as privacy here. Everyone is in each other’s business. But, seeing her like this, a little defeated and a whole lot unhappy cuts me.