Until Meredith.
“I love you, Meredith,” he practiced and cringed.
Hugo barked.
“I’m not talking to you.”
People thought he had a way with words. If they could only see him now…He kicked the couch. He hated feeling this way. Like the floor could turn to quicksand. His feet weren’t grounded. He took a breath, trying to be still, calm. It would all turn out okay.
“Right, boy?”
Hugo leapt at his leg.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
Meredith picked up on the second ring. “Hi, there. Company gone?”
“Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “I was…hoping you could come over.”
“I can be there in twenty. Start a fire. Oh, and open some wine. I feel like getting silly drunk.”
His mouth dried up. Lust tangled with nerves. “Okay.”
“See you soon,” she sang.
He set the phone away. Tell her before or after they made love? Being a guy, he wanted the latter, but he knew it wasn’t right. Best tell her straight out and let her decide if she wanted to stay. God, he hoped she’d want to stay.
His phone rang again almost instantly. When Peg’s photo popped up on the display, he smiled. He looked around for something Keith had left. The little stinker.
“Forget something?”
“No. I need you to stay on the phone with me.”
Her voice was off. He pushed Hugo from his lap and sat up straight. “What’s the matter?”
“A sheriff’s car is following me,” she said in a hushed voice. “My gut tells me it’s Barlow.”
“Jesus, Peg.” He shot off the couch. “Where are you? I’ll come—”
“No. He’s only trying to intimidate me.”
“Oh, Christ.” The thought of Barlow stalking his sister and nephew turned his guts to raw meat. His boots pounded on the hardwood floors as he strode back and forth.
“He turned his lights on, and he’s speeding up.”
His pumping heart reverberated in his ears.
“Mom, are you speeding?” he heard Keith ask.
“You can’t stop, Peg. We don’t know what he might do.”
“Dammit, I know that. Gimme me a sec. Keith, I need you to be quiet for a minute. Okay?”
The piercing siren carved a ragged edge in his nerves. This helplessness was like watching families be gunned down in a village where he was reporting. Only worse. This was his family.
“How far is the next gas station? I’m about two miles out of town. Just passed the golf course.”
Tanner pulled the map up in his head. “There’s one about a mile ahead of you.”
“Okay. Keith, honey. Mommy needs you to do something really important. I need you to tell the officer you have to go to the bathroom really bad when we get to the gas station.”
“But I don’t have to—”
“I know, honey, but I need you to hold the front of your pants and dance around. It’s like you’re in a school play.”
Tanner put his finger in his other ear so he could hear their conversation over the sirens.
“But why?” Keith asked.
“Because Uncle Tanner thinks this police officer is a bad man. I don’t want you to be scared. You know I’ll protect you, right?”
“You have your gun?”
“That’s right, and I’m really smart. I want you to stay close to me. If I tell you to do something, you do it, just like we talked about. Right?”
“Yes, Mommy,” Keith cried, his voice unnaturally high. “He’s coming closer, Mommy. I’m scared.”
“I know. Tanner, he realizes I’m not going to stop. I want you to get the number for the state police ready, but we won’t call them unless there’s a need.”
“Dammit, just head back to Dare. I’ll meet you.” He grabbed his keys.
“No! I’ve got this.”
“Peg, let me—”
“No, it’s safer this way. Keith and I can make him believe we didn’t stop because he had to go potty. Otherwise, he’ll know I’m involved in this mess. I’m putting you on speaker now in my pocket so you can hear everything. You’ll know if you need to call the police. I love you.”
“I love you too,” he said hoarsely.
“Okay, Keith, when mommy stops the car, you and I are going to run inside. You remember what I said about pretending you need to go potty.”
“Mommy, I’m scared,” Keith cried.
“I know, but I won’t let anything happen to you. See, lots of people are getting gas. It’s going to be okay. I’m turning into the parking lot now, Tanner.”
He heard the siren stop and a door slam.