Page 68 of Hold Your Breath
“Brenton Lloyd.” When Rob raised his eyebrows, as if expecting something more, she clarified, “Brenton Michael Lloyd.”
“Address?”
Lou rattled it off to him.
“You said he works for your stepfather. What’s the company name?”
The interrogation continued for a while, long enough for Lou to go hoarse and start to feel the wind cut through her coat. When she shivered, Callum stepped forward, easing his bulk between her and Rob.
“Enough for now, Rob,” he said, his voice calm but implacable. “She’s cold.”
The sheriff eyed him narrowly for a long moment, and Lou had the mad urge to hum the preshoot-out theme from an old Western. Rob broke the tension by flipping his notebook closed and tucking it into his pocket.
“You working today, Lou?” he asked.
“Shoot!” She yanked Cal’s sleeve back so she could see his watch. To her relief, she had almost an hour before her shift started. “Phew. And yes. Noon to seven thirty, or thereabouts.”
“Don’t you want to take some time off?” Early asked, frowning. “After, you know…” He jerked his chin toward the remains of her house, but she avoided looking at the charred mess again.
“No,” she said without hesitating. “I need to be busy, or I’ll think about it too much. Working is good.”
“I’ll stop in this afternoon, and we’ll finish this then.” Rob tapped his pocket where his notebook was hiding.
She just nodded, resigned to more questions. It seemed to have become her life recently. The hard knot in her stomach seemed to have settled in permanently.
“Ready?” Callum asked, tipping his head toward his pickup—their getaway vehicle. He’d been a steady, quiet presence the entire time they’d been there, and she appreciated it more than she could ever say.
“Yes,” she responded with such relief that he smiled.
As they moved out of earshot of the other three men, Callum tilted his head closer to hers. “Sure you want to work?”
“Positive.”
He gave her an appraising look out of the corner of his eye.
“What?” she asked.
“You’re just…very resilient.”
“Not really.” Lou made a face. “I’m a few short steps away from a major breakdown. I just don’t want to hang around home…your house, I mean.” Her new reality smacked her in the face, and she swallowed before continuing. “All I would do is dwell on everything. And probably rearrange all your stuff out of boredom, which would lead toyournervous breakdown. Going to work is best, I think.”
After another careful look, he just nodded silently and opened the passenger door of his truck for her. After he circled the front of the pickup and climbed into the driver’s side, she studied his profile.
“You know,” she said thoughtfully, “there’s been a lot of bad stuff happening—HDGs and stalkers and burning cabins and close calls with death and such.”
“Yes?” Callum sent her a curious glance as he turned the key, bringing the pickup’s engine to life.
“You’re the good part of all this. Getting to know you was worth everything that happened.” With a frown, she added, “Although HDG might not agree with that.”
The skin over Callum’s cheekbones had darkened to the color of brick, and Lou was pretty sure it wasn’t all because of the cold. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Leaning her head against the seat and basking in the heat beginning to flow through the truck’s vents, she promptly fell asleep.
* * *
There were now two positives to almost dying: more time with Callum, and Ivy was being nice. Kindness sat oddly on her boss, like a coat that didn’t quite fit, but Lou appreciated the effort. She also took advantage of Ivy’s temporary fit of sympathy by asking if another staff member could close with her at night. Although the sweetness quickly soured, Ivy grudgingly agreed she would schedule two people to close, as soon as Sylvia’s newly hired replacement was trained.
Buoyed by this concession, Lou stayed fairly positive for the busy first hour of her shift. Lou had the impression that the majority of those who stopped in were driven by curiosity. The news of her cabin burning had apparently spread across Field County quicker than the flames had eaten her home. Although her smile stretched thin when she was faced with some of the more prurient gossips, most of the people offered real sympathy and support.
