Page 35 of Clumsy in Love

Holly called in a pizza order and texted Jen to say they’d bring dinner. She pulled into her driveway and immediately felt something was off. Cole must have sensed it too because he unholstered his gun before opening the truck’s door.

“Stay put. Lock the doors when I get out. And lay on the horn if you see or hear anything.”

She thought about going with him but decided she’d be more trouble than help. The minutes he was out of sight wereagonizing. He’d circled the house, then pushed the door open and entered. Which was a bad sign, considering she was sure she’d locked it on the way out this morning.

Finally, he jogged back to the car. She got out. “How bad?”

His grim smile said it all. “Pretty bad.”

He wasn’t kidding. The house was ravaged. Furniture overturned, books ripped from the bookcase, pictures turned upside down. All the kitchen cabinets were open and empty, the floor a sea of broken dishes. And that’s just what she could see from the entryway.

“Bears hunting for food do less damage,” she said. “Is the whole house like this?”

“Afraid so.”

“I’m not hiding anything,” she said, fury building. “He did this just for spite.”

“This is a warning, Holly. Thank God you weren’t here.”

His cell phone rang. He pulled it out and answered it. “Sheriff.”

He listened for a minute. “Yeah. We’re here now. Someone broke in and tossed the place good.”

Another pause. “All right. Thanks.”

“Was that Sheriff Hayes?”

“Yeah. Gave him my card last night at the bar.”

“What’d he say?”

“Well, you were right about word spreading quickly. A guy fitting Cruz’s description asked about you at the coffee shop. A barista told him you’d moved to Ireland.” He scratched his head. “Not sure where that came from.”

“That was probably Hope. When you meet her, you’ll understand. Keep going.”

“Hope watched him get into a red Kia Soul and drive away. She called the police, but by the time they talked to her at the coffee shop and started out here, someone else had already seen the same car on the road out of town.”

“A Kia Soul would definitely stick out around here. So, he’s gone?”

“For now. But he could be staying nearby, ready to come back tomorrow or the next day. What do you think about leaving town for a few days?”

“I can’t. I have work. And I want to be here for the Fourth.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “I gotta say. The town grapevine sure worked nicely.”

“Don’t sound so surprised. We can really close ranks when it’s important.”

“Hm. Well, get what you need and let’s go.”

“I think we should pick up Lady. She’s real good about telling me when something’s wrong.”

“Can’t hurt,” he said. “You know anyone who could come board things up here?”

“No need.” She waved a hand. “No one from here will mess with it. And it’s not like Cruz could do any more damage.”

She did her best to ignore the wreckage in her bedroom. Anger boiled at the thought of him touching her stuff, but she tamped it down. After jamming a few necessities into a duffel bag, she rejoined Cole in the living room. He had righted the couch and stood with his hands on his hips, surveying the damage.

“Sorry about this, Holly.”

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