Page 2 of To Bring You Back
Hoping she’d imagined it, she peeked. Sure enough, Gannon had followed her around the trailer to the street.
Adeline’s fist tightened, knuckles pressing against her collarbone. She fixed a pleading gaze on Asher. If anyone could intimidate Gannon into leaving, it’d be her tall, imposing boss. But Asher assessed her and Gannon, then retreated, shutting the trailer door behind him. She should’ve expected that. Asher hated drama more than anything.
She had to escape. She took a step to cross the street, but a strong hand caught her arm. Her hair shifted with the breeze as a truck she hadn’t seen flew by.
“Settle down, okay?” Concern that looked genuine enough filled Gannon’s eyes. “You’re going to get yourself killed.”
“Ironic.” She shrugged out of his grip, abandoned her plan to cross the street, and opted for the closer sidewalk. “Since when have you cared about people getting killed?”
He hadn’t missed a beat when Fitz died.
“That’s not fair, Adeline.” He said her name confidently, as if perhaps he’d thought of her as often as she’d thought of him. If so, this encounter wasn’t a coincidence, and walking away wouldn’t ensure he’d leave her in peace in the future.
She turned. “Why are you here?”
He swiped his head as if he wanted to pull off the hat, but he left it in place, his brown hair sticking out underneath. “This is the first I could get away.”
“In eight years.”
His mouth tightened. “Since John said he saw you at Christmas.”
Though she’d lost touch with the rest of the band, she still considered John, the drummer, a friend. When she’d seen him back home over the holidays, she’d wondered if he would mention their brief conversation to Gannon. As months slid by, she’d realized it wouldn’t matter if he did. Gannon wouldn’t be curious about her anymore, and seeing him again would accomplish nothing for her.
And yet, here he was.
“Christmas was seven months ago.”
“Our schedule’s crazy, and you moved to the middle of nowhere.”
Excuses.
She couldn’t do this again.
He lowered his face so the hat shielded him as a pair of college-aged girls passed. Gannon’s voice may have made him famous, but now he also acted as a celebrity judge on a reality show. People might need prompting in this setting, but it wouldn’t take much for them to recognize him.
And once they did, he’d be forced to deal with them.
Hope of rescue allowed her to take her first satisfying breath since he’d appeared at the window.
She moved back and pointed. “Look! It’s Gannon Vaughn.”
Heads swiveled.
He lifted his hands as if she’d pulled a gun. “Come on. Really?”
Still pointing, she stepped toward the college students. “Do you have a pen? I need an autograph.”
“Itishim!” A middle-aged woman hustled up. “Can my son send his demo? He and I never missAudition Room. You’re our favorite judge.”
One of the students pulled a marker from her tote and advanced toward Gannon, but a man with thinning blond hair blocked both her and the middle-aged woman. He motioned the lead singer to cut down an alley. After a glance toward the food trailer, Gannon obeyed.
Adeline and the tourists stared after them. When had a bodyguard last ushered a client off Lakeshore’s Main Street?
Or maybe the second man hadn’t been a bodyguard. He’d looked soft around the edges. A friend? Someone Gannon worked with? It didn’t matter as long as they were gone.
Except even in their absence, her peace didn’t return. Maybe she’d been wrong to rebuff him instead of finding a way to get closure.
Closure? She scoffed, ran her hand over her ponytail, and headed back to Superior Dogs.
