The thought of leaving and never seeing Ryker again caused fresh tears to well up inside her. He was the first good thing to have entered her life in such a long time, and the idea of having to leave him behind made her angry, bitter, and resentful. Garrett was still ruining her life, even a year after the last time she’d seen the man.
For the briefest of moments, she considered staying and letting Garrett catch up to her. She could prepare herself, maybe find a gun from somewhere, and lie in wait for him. He’d never expect her to turn from the hunted to the hunter. Except she’d never fired a gun in her life, and she was sure she’d read a statistic somewhere about being twenty-two times more likely to be shot if you owned a gun. She’d probably end up shooting herself, or Garrett would just take the gun off her and shoot her with it himself. Anyway, getting a weapon involved waiting times and handing over identification—neither of which she intended doing—and she had no idea where to get an illegal weapon.
No, she needed to stick to the plan. Don’t make any connections, don’t leave a trace of herself, and keep moving.
With her mind made up, and to keep her thoughts and temptations away from calling Ryker, she settled back on the bed with her laptop. She had a couple of product descriptions she needed to write, which would keep her busy for a few hours, and then she’d try to sleep.
***
The next morning, she stripped the bed, packed up her belongings, and checked out of the motel. The town was already swelling with people arriving for the annual tomato festival. An air of joviality had filled the place, and she caught sight of stalls setting up all down Main Street, and banners being strung from building to building.
With the feeling of exhaustion and fear she’d learned to live with still sitting on her shoulders, she hauled her bags down the street. She’d had a restless night, partly because she had slept during the day, but also because her mind hadn’t allowed her a moment’s peace.
People nodded their good mornings to her as she walked through town, not totally sure where she was heading. The hour was way too early for Ryker to be done with her car yet.
Her stomach told her breakfast was on the agenda.
What was the harm in heading back to the place where Ryker had found her yesterday? The ambiance of the little coffee shop had been pleasant enough, and the coffee and doughnut had been good. Plus, the place had been quiet so she’d not needed to worry about too many people watching her eat.
But if she was totally honest, she had to admit she was hoping Ryker would find her again.
With her mind made up, she walked the couple of blocks toward the coffee shop. Pushing open the door, the scent of coffee and bacon hit her nostrils, causing her stomach to growl in anticipation.
Jenna ordered coffee, together with the bacon, scrambled eggs, waffles, and maple syrup, and then sat, juggling her cell phone in one hand. She could call him, couldn’t she? Just to check the parts had come in and he was working on the car? She used her teeth to worry at a piece of loose skin on her lower lip and continued to stare at the phone.
To her surprise, the screen suddenly lit up, and she dropped the cell to the table. She’d already programmed in Ryker’s number from the slip of paper he’d left her the day before, and his name flashed up. Quickly, she scrabbled for the phone and hit the answer button.
“Hi,” she said, trying to sound breezy.
“Hey, Jenna. How are you doing?”
The sound of his voice made her heart flutter and swell inside her chest. She pressed her cheek to the phone.
“I’m fine. Any news on my car?”
He hesitated, and then said, “I’m at the garage right now.”
“I hope you’re going to tell me my car is ready.”
“Hey, listen … I’m sorry, but the parts are still in transit. They won’t get here till tomorrow at the earliest.”
“You’re kidding me? I thought they’d be in for today.”
“I said today at the earliest.”
Her stomach dropped in dismay. “What the hell am I supposed to do now? I’ve checked out of the motel, and they’re fully booked. And the town is full of people, I’ll never find anywhere else.”
Could she buy a new car? The idea was tempting but she was low on funds, and if she spent all her money, she wouldn’t be able to buy gas, or more importantly food and a roof over her head. She was stuck.
“Shit, shit, shit.”
She placed the hand not holding the phone against her brow and rubbed her forehead to try to relieve the building pressure. Panic started to mount inside her and she forced herself to take a couple of deep, relaxing breaths.