Page 8 of Peak Suspicion
“Of course.”
Jamie returned and handed Mira a sheet of paper. “Here’s everything you need to know about dealing with your car. I wrote my number at the bottom. Call me if you have any questions.”
“Thanks.” Mira stared at the paper, too numb to absorb whatever was written there.
“Let me help you up.” Carter offered his hand. She hesitated, then took it. Her hand was cold, and felt fragile in his grasp. She trembled, and he wondered if this was merely the aftershock of what she had been through, or if she was still afraid.
Mira eased herselfinto the passenger seat of Carter’s Jeep. “I’m going to be sore tomorrow,” she said.
“Soak in a hot bath with some Epsom salts when you get home,” Carter advised.
Was this the same guy who had been flirting so hard with her yesterday? He was all serious concern today. “Did you learn that in search and rescue?” she asked.
“Nah. High school wrestling.”
An image flashed into her mind of a younger Carter in a wrestling singlet. With his earnest green eyes and dazzling smile he had probably had half the girls in school in love with him. “Where was high school?” she asked.
“Vermont. A little town called Waterbury. How about you?”
“Santa Fe. I was born and raised there. Eagle Mountain is only the second place I’ve ever lived.” Did that make her sound unsophisticated? Naive, even?
“I’ve never been to Santa Fe. But I hear it’s pretty.”
“It is. It’s in the mountains. Like this, only different.”
She fell silent, gaze focused out the window. The realization that she had come close to never seeing this beauty again was beginning to sink in.
Carter cleared his throat. “About that note you received. Or was it more than one? You said something about ‘notes,’ plural.”
So he had picked up that slip of the tongue. “There were two notes, actually.” She shifted toward him. He was probably wondering why a note about jaywalking would upset her so much. “One was left on my front door and another in my car. It’s just so creepy. Whoever wrote them knows where I live and what my car looks like. They knew where I parked at school.” She wrapped her arms around herself, determined not to give in to fear.
He nodded. “That’s freaky. But those things aren’t hard to find out in a town this size. They could have followed you home one afternoon, or to work one morning. Have you seen anyone suspicious?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Any men giving you a hard time? Someone you turned down for a date?”
Other than you?she thought. But that wasn’t really fair. He may have come on a little strong initially, but he hadn’t beencreepy or rude. “Nothing like that,” she said. “I mean, I’ve only been here three weeks.”
“And no one’s asked you out? Guys around here are usually faster than that.”
The mock outrage that accompanied this assertion surprised a laugh from her. This was the confident flirt she was used to. “Am I supposed to be flattered?”
“I’m just surprised.” He turned onto the street leading to her apartment. “So would you go out with me?”
Guess she should have seen that coming. “Now’s not a good time.”
She braced herself for the pushback. The cajoling. Maybe even scolding. Instead, he said, “That’s cool. Maybe you’ll change your mind and if you don’t, no pressure.” He flashed a grin. “I just wanted to make sure you knew I was interested.”
She wanted to frown at him. To let him know she wasn’t falling for his charm. But she didn’t have it in her. It would be like being angry at a puppy. A really cute, buff puppy, but just as harmless, surely. And she couldn’t forget how kind he had been in the aftermath of her accident.
He parked and unfastened his seat belt. “You don’t have to go in with me,” she said.
“At least let me walk you to the door.” At her hesitation, he added. “In case there are any more notes.”
Maybe it would be a good idea not to be alone if that happened. “Okay.”
He followed her up the steps to her front door. She froze a few feet away. A piece of paper—pink this time—flapped in the breeze, tacked in the middle of the door.
