Page 73 of Hold Your Breath
“Good night, Tyler,” she called as the door swung closed behind him.
“Excuse me a moment,” Rob said, following his son outside.
Lou could see them in front of the shop, although she half-heartedly tried not to watch their interaction. When Rob turned back toward the door, Lou hurried to busy herself, restacking plates that really didn’t need restacking.
“Sorry for the interruption,” Rob said as he returned. The professional mask was back in place, worried single father hidden again. His deeply tired look remained, though, and Lou had the same urge to help him as she’d had before. Something about the lost father-and-son pair brought out her nurturing side.
“No problem. Any more questions for me?”
Consulting his little notebook, Rob finally shook his head. “Not right now. I’ll call if I think of anything else. You’ll be staying with Callum at his house for a while?”
She nodded, feeling a little awkward admitting that.
“Good.” He tucked away the notebook. “He’ll notice if anything is wrong.”
Making a face, she couldn’t resist asking, “And I won’t?”
“Sure,” Rob said, although his expression didn’t exactly agree. “It’s always good to have a second pair of eyes, though.”
“True.” Plus, Lou had to admit that the idea of hanging out with Callum at his house was considerably more appealing than the thought of staying somewhere alone. Just the thought made her shiver. This, in turn, made her angry, since she’d been by herself and happy for over seven months, and Brent ruined that for her. At the thought of Brent, her hands tightened into fists. “Any luck finding him?”
“Not yet,” Rob admitted. “But we have some solid leads we’re following.”
“Good.” She hesitated to ask her next question, since it somehow felt as if she was admitting she was afraid. “Will you tell me? When he’s in custody, I mean. So I know he’s not running around somewhere.” The idea made her glance out of the window into the approaching dusk.
“Of course,” he said. “And, with a little luck, that will be sooner rather than later.”
“Good.” Lou glanced through the window again, hating that this ordeal was turning her into someone who flinched at shadows. Straightening her spine, she resolutely turned her back on the window and any watching stalkers. “Would you like something to drink for the road?”
Chapter 14
Callum was acting…different. For almost two hours, while he’d sat on his usual stool, she’d been trying to put her finger on what was making him seem odd. Finally, after she’d closed the shop and climbed into his truck, she couldn’t take it anymore.
“What?” It probably wasn’t the most diplomatic leadoff to a discussion, but she was tired and tense and ready to get home—his home—and change into flannel pajama pants—her only pair now—and his weirdness wasn’t going to allow her to get comfortable, warm pj’s or no.
“You and Derek are friends,” he stated. Since he hadn’t really asked a question, she waited for him to continue. When he was silent for too long, she decided to give him a verbal prompt.
“Yes.”
“And…?”
She turned in her seat so she could stare at him. “And what?”
His lips tightened in annoyance. “Are you…anything more?”
“More?” It was a little like having a conversation in pig Latin. She could pick up the gist, but it was maddening and made her want to smack him. “More than friends, you mean?” At his short nod, she blew out a breath. “No. Even if hell froze over and he broke up with Artie, I’d never be tempted. He’s like the brother I never wanted. How could I date that?”
Although he didn’t smile, at least his mouth relaxed slightly. “Rob.”
“Oh, for the love of Pete, just spit it out! What about Rob?”
That slight easing of his tension was gone. “Are you interested?”
“In Rob? Romantically? No. Sure, he’s hot in a sexy-but-damaged kind of way, but there’s no zing between us. And can you imagine me as a stepmother to a teenager? The poor kid would be traumatized.” With a mock shudder, she purposely did not mention that the sheriff had implied his interest. Sharing that would not be helpful during the current discussion—or any discussion with Callum, actually. Instead, she asked, “What’s with the line-up of possible love interests?”
Adjusting his baseball cap, he stared through the windshield with more attention than the mostly cleared road required. “I’m trying to understand,” he finally said.
“Understand…?”
