Page 18 of Not Afraid to Trust Again
I wasn’t sure what was going on, but for the last couple of weeks, someone had been playing on my phone, and every time I tried to trace the number, it came back with no results. Someone was determined to mess with me, and it was becoming annoying.
“You don’t think it’s?—”
“No,” I said, cutting him off. “Anyway, let me get out of here so I can bring Kanae lunch.”
I needed to leave because I didn’t want to hear Kaleb’s mouth about me handling what I needed to, and I hated that he had to keep my secret for me too. I would have to make sure that whenever it came out, I let Kanae and Janae know not to hold it against anyone in my family.
“Don’t put me in the middle of this shit, because I don’t want any problems with my wife.”
“I got you. I’ll get with you later.” I stood, shook his hand, then left his office.
Another blocked number called while I rode the elevator down to the parking garage, but I didn’t bother answering it. I only hoped whoever it was would get the hint and leave me alone. If it were something or someone important, then they should have said something when I answered.
By the time I got to my car, I pushed all that other shit to the back of my mind and focused on having a good lunch with my babies.
After leaving my brother’s office, I stopped to get lunch for Kanae and me and headed to the pharmacy.
“Good afternoon, sheriff.”
“Hello, Tina.” I greeted one of the customers and continued walking toward the front counter.
“Sheriff, what are you doing here?” Kia, one of the pharmacy techs, asked in her usual flirty tone as I approached the counter.
My eyes were already on Kanae as she filled someone’s prescription.
“I’m here to see Kanae.” I said it loud enough for her to hear, and when she did, she popped her head up and smiled at me.
“Oh, okay.” Kia’s shoulders slumped before she walked away.
Kanae’s hands were in the pockets of her lab coat as she watched Kia as she came toward the front. Kia was the last person she needed to worry about. I wasn’t interested in her and had never been. She was cute but way too young for me.
“Is that going to be a problem?” She crossed her arms over her chest and glanced in Kia’s direction.
I chuckled.
“Not at all. I’m here to take you to lunch.” I told her my reason for being there before she could ask.
Her lunch break was only an hour, and I didn’t want to spend it talking about something or someone irrelevant.
“Hmm. I hope you have something good because I am starving. I didn’t eat much for breakfast but some fruit and crackers.”
“I’m not going to say anything about you not eating enough for now, but that has to change soon. You’re going to have to have something to snack on.”
“Let me get my bag, and we can talk about this later because I don’t need anybody all in my business.” Her head tilted toward Kia, who acted like she wasn’t watching us.
“Okay. I’ll wait here.”
She turned to walk toward the back, and I noticed Kia coming toward me, but thankfully, a customer entered, so she had to deal with them. I didn’t need Kanae to come back out and find Kia in my face and it caused issues for her at work. My phone rang while I waited, and I sighed when another blocked number called. I wasn’t going to answer, but on the off chance it was business, I picked up.
“Hello.” Like every other time, I was met with silence. “If you are calling me for a reason, speak your piece or stop calling.”
The person hung up without saying anything. I had a feeling I would receive more of those calls. My gut told me it was about the secret I had been keeping.
“You okay?” Kanae asked when she came up behind me.
I was so deep in my thoughts I didn’t even hear her approach, and that wasn’t good for a man like me. I couldn’t protect the town and not pay attention to my surroundings.
I forced a smile and faced her.
