Once Upon A Half-Time 2(117)

Nolan didn’t argue with me. He struck for the kill.

“Look at the offer again. How much of that money will pay for Granddad’s gambling debts?”

“We’re done here.”

The chair squeaked as I kicked it back and stood. Nolan gestured to the waitress. He buttoned his suit jacket and took my elbow before I made it to the door.

We stepped outside, but he didn’t release my arm. He forced me to his SUV, and for one heart-pounding second, I feared he’d force me inside.

He hesitated like he shared the thought.

I twisted. He pushed me against the door the Escalade and held me there, too far from the restaurant and parked between the post office and Paul’s Fish and Tackle. It wasn’t a good place for an assault, but I couldn’t scream and accuse Mayor Rhys of anything more improper than checking over the mural Ms. Patch’s second grade class painted outside the Bistro.

Nolan stepped close. Too close, just how Maddox used to trap me, but it lacked that playful danger that gave me the good shivers. I was glad I didn’t eat. Nolan’s gaze turned my stomach.

I usually trusted my instincts. The last time I felt this way in Nolan’s presence, the night my store burned, I couldn’t remember everything that happened. I ignored the chill chasing those lost memories. No way was I letting Nolan Rhys scare me. Not now. Not when he already took so much from me.

I’d let him get angry, and I’d wait for him to make a mistake that would finally pin him behind bars.

“Sell the property.” Nolan brushed his hand against my cheek. “The next time I offer? I might need something more than a little smile to sweeten the deal.”

He really was a creeper. “Is this the first time anyone’s ever told you no?”

“You’ve told me no before.”

“Get used to it.”

“I don’t know why you fight me so hard. I’m trying to help you. Trying to make it easier on you.”

He dared to touch my lip with his thumb. I batted his hand away.

Wrong move.

Nolan was quicker than me. He gripped my hand, squeezing until I bit my lip to keep from crying out.

“You hurt me, and there won’t be a safe place in this world for you to hide,” I whispered.

Nolan’s expression twisted. “But I don’t see your felon boyfriend here.”

“You’re lucky.”

“You realize how many favors I had to cash into get his parole hearing?”

My stomach flipped.

That didn’t make any sense. Nolan’s influence moved the parole hearing?

“Why would you help Maddox?” I asked.

“That’s my business. You’ve made it clear you don’t want to be a part of it.”

“Never stopped you before.”

“I’ve tried to be reasonable,” he said. “I want you to remember this conversation. A little professional courtesy would make this transaction a lot smoother…unless you intend for Maddox to be permanently imprisoned six feet under. Your choice.”

I kicked him. I didn’t have time to aim, but I grazed an over-inflated part of him. He grunted, releasing me to collapse against the Escalade.

“Don’t touch me again,” I said. “Don’t come near me. Don’t threaten Maddox. Leave us alone.”

“Don’t do this, Josie.” Nolan struggled to his feet. “I only want what’s best for you. You know I’m in love with you.”

“You have a strange way of showing it.”

He let me go, but he had no choice. I doubted he could chase me with his newfound bruise, and I didn’t like him thinking with that particular part of his anatomy.

Despite the clear sky and beautiful sunshine, I shivered as though I darted through the streets in a rainstorm.

What the hell had happened?

Saint Christie wasn’t a town where someone looked over their shoulder when crossing between Ted’s Hardware and Prissy’s herbal medicine shop. Occasionally we had a rowdy goose in the pond that got a bit feisty, but nothing like this.

Nothing that left me feeling so…rancid.

Maddox texted me during the lunch, wanting to meet with me. No way. Not yet. All I needed was Nolan seeing him with me. Or Maddox seeing me with him.

This was just how everything spiraled out of control a year ago. Nolan threatened Maddox, and I couldn’t risk anything happening to the man I loved or the man I despised. Lies crumbled in my mouth like dry peanut butter, and secrets choked what remained.

I had to clear my head. Maddox wasn’t about to give me space, and I had to calm down before turning him away again.

Except it was usually Maddox who gave me comfort.

I texted Delta, offering to meet her for lunch. I darted through Saint Christie’s park and plopped onto a bench in the gazebo. Someone left a Frisbee from a past tournament. I hid it under the bench. Ultimate Frisbee was the new skateboarding—and the town council received enough complaints and passed enough ordinances that the underground clubs were suddenly the most popular and illegal sport in the park.