Page 20 of Mountain Freedom
“Oh really?” I asked, feeling my own heart rate pick up. This was entirely unprofessional. I shouldn’t have been feeling, well,anythingwhile examining a patient. But standing so close to Jackson suddenly had my mouth going dry.
“Really,” he said, grinning. “We never got to finish our conversation last night. Are you free for dinner? I’d love to continue catching up.”
Now I was the one swallowing hard. On one hand, there was nothing I wanted more than to go to dinner with Jackson. He was a friendly face in a town where I hadn’t seen many of them. I felt completely comfortable with him, like our friendship had never missed a beat. On top of that, I was attracted to him in a way I really shouldn’t have been.
But there was the problem. For one thing, I had just turned Danny down, and things had been awkward there ever since. If he saw me go out with Jackson after I’d told him I had just gotten out of a relationship, it would make things even worse.
Plus, like Beverly had said, Jackson was a town VIP. Getting involved with him only to have a public breakup—because in small towns like Rosemary Mountain,everybreakup was public—would worsen my reputation. I knew that, no matter the true circumstances, the public would decide I was the one at fault and hate me for breaking his heart. It would be the final nail in the coffin.
“I don’t know,” I said slowly. “Jackson, Igot out of a relationship recently, and—”
“Whoa,” he said, holding up his hands. “I didn’t mean on a date. I’m talking about dinner as friends.”
“Just friends?” I asked.
“Sure.” He flashed that grin at me again and I thought I saw a little challenge underneath it.
“Okay,” I agreed, despite knowing it was still a bad idea. “Why not?”
“What time do you get off work?” he asked.
I just laughed. “Whenever the work is done.” I checked the schedule. “Looks like my last patient is at four twenty. Assuming everything goes well, I should be wrapped up here by five. I’ll want to grab a shower. We could meet around six thirty?”
“Sounds good,” he agreed. “You name the place.”
“Is Marco’s still in business?” I asked, my mouth watering at the thought of the pizza from my childhood.
He laughed. “No, it’s not.That’sa long story. But we have a new pizza place now. It’s not Marco’s, but it’s not bad. It’s right off the highway, on the north side of town.”
“Sounds perfect,” I said with a smile.
Pizza was safe. Pizza was friendly. Pizza wasn’t a date.
Even if part of me sort of wanted it to be.
Chapter Eight
Jackson
When I leftAllison’s clinic, I saw Russell disappear behind the building across the street. My body immediately tensed. I threw my shoulders back and marched across the street to confront him. But when I rounded the corner of the old brick building, the alley was empty. He had disappeared into thin air.
Typical.
When I had first moved back to the area, he had practically been a ghost, content to stay in his trailer on the outskirts of town and make his contacts come to him to arrange work. I’d never had to see him unless I sought him out deliberately, needing information—or to reassure myself he couldn’t touch me now. My uniform, badge, and age had formed the kind of protection I hadn’t had as a kid, an invisible shield that even he didn’t dare cross.
But lately, he had been showing his face more and more, and I had the feeling he was up to something. Of course, this was Russell—he was always up to something. And as I stood in thealleyway, watching carefully for movement, wondering when he might reappear from wherever he was hiding, I felt the certainty in my bones. He was messing with me. The only question was why.
It was a conflict of interest for me to investigate him, so technically speaking, I should report my suspicions to the sheriff. But I felt as dumb as rocks telling Greg I was getting freaked out just by seeing Russell in town. That was only going to land me a psych review. Before I went to him, I needed something solid. Something worth presenting.
So I’d keep it to myself for now.
“You might as well show yourself,” I said, feeling silly as I spoke to the empty alley, but I made sure my voice didn’t show it.
Nothing.
I gave it another minute. Then I finally turned and walked away, knowing it would eat at me the rest of the day.
While I waitedfor Allison to arrive at the restaurant, I told myself my excitement was about catching up with an old friend. After all, that’s how it had to be. Even if my own resolve to stay single had wavered a bit when I’d asked her to have dinner with me, she had made it clear she didn’t want more than friendship. That was perfect. It kept us both exactly where we should be.
