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.He was gone.I’d never gotten dressed so quickly in my life.I unzipped my suitcase and pulled out the first thing I could find: a pair of jean shorts and a linen blouse.I threw on my clothes with my back pressed to the wall, keeping an eye on the windows in case the man came back.I stepped into the pair of slip-on wedge sandals I wore yesterday and ran out the door.On the way to the main house, I looked over my shoulder every few steps as I trotted along the stone path.The back door was unlocked, and I flung it open.“Jake? Sara?” I called out for them, but there was no answer.Oh no.Had he gotten to them first? My knees trembled with the electric sensation of fear.I raced to the counter where I left my car keys.They were still there.A note was tucked underneath them.Come down to the barn.We have breakfast.Sara signed it with a smiley face.I felt a moment of relief.And then, it occurred to me: what if the strange man wrote this note? What if it was a trap?I couldn’t stay here and wait for him to find me, but I wasn’t about to go anywhere unarmed, either.At home, I kept a can of pepper spray handy for situations like these.But I hadn’t brought it with me because I didn’t dream I’d need it here.I grabbed my keys, along with a big butcher knife from the block on the countertop, and sprinted to my car.I sped down the driveway as quickly as possible given its steep grade and winding turns, and screeched to a halt in front of the barn.I clutched the knife by my side as I entered the barn with cautious steps.A rustling sound came from behind the bar.For a moment, I thought about running out of there.But what if the intruder had tied up Jake? What if he needed my help? I crept toward the sound.A shadowy figure appeared behind the sheet of plastic covering the doorway behind the bar.I screamed.“Tessy?”Jake pulled the plastic aside and stepped through the opening, followed by Sara.A man popped up from under the counter.But not just any man.The man, the one from the firehouse who’d been stalking me moments before.I screamed again.“Tessy, what’s gotten into you? This is Thatcher.Sara’s friend? The guy I told you about last night?”The stalker, who I supposed wasn’t a stalker after all, made eye contact with me for a moment, and then looked down, pretending to be engrossed in something on the floor.“Oh.” I took a step back.“You startled me.”He mumbled something I couldn’t hear.My pulse returned to normal.I was relieved to know this guy was a friend of Sara’s.And yet, it didn’t explain why he’d been spying on me.In the bathtub no less.I was debating whether to say anything about the matter when Sara spoke up.“Tess? You’re carrying a knife.”I glanced at the knife.“Oh… yeah.”“Why?” She raised an eyebrow.“Because… because there was something very… creepy lurking around the cottage.”“What?” Sara asked.“Probably a bear,” Jake said.Thatcher coughed as if he were trying to conceal a laugh.I stiffened.Is this guy serious? He spies on me, sends me into a panic attack, and now he’s laughing at me? What a sleaze.Jake put a hand on my shoulder.“You’re not going to fight a bear off with a knife, Tessy.”I looked at Thatcher and narrowed my eyes.“Wanna bet?”He didn’t seem to notice me glaring at him.Sara held out her hand.“I was about to run back up and get something to cut the watermelon, anyway.” I passed her the knife and she disappeared through the plastic door.I stepped behind the bar and followed her into the back room.This must be where they once bottled the wine.There was a long countertop and an industrial sink lining one wall.A few pieces of steel equipment were positioned in one corner of the room, dusty from years of rest.Several crates of empty wine bottles were stacked in another corner.Sara sliced into a small watermelon.“How’d you sleep, Tess?”“Oh, amazing.I love the cottage.”“It’s pretty great, isn’t it?”Before I could answer, Jake called out to Sara.“Hey babe? The lawyer called.He’s dropping by so we can sign those papers.”“When?” she asked.“Ten minutes,” he said.“Honestly!” She plunked the knife down on the counter and turned to me.“Sorry, Tess.We have to run up to the house.Carl’s estate lawyer has one last thing for us.”“No problem,” I said.“Why don’t you stay here and get to know Thatcher a little bit?”“Oh.No, I—”“We’ll be right back.”Less than five minutes later I sat on the bar in the tasting room, dangling my legs over the edge and chewing a bagel alongside Thatcher.Neither of us had spoken since Sara and Jake left.The longer we sat in silence, the more uncomfortable the atmosphere became.To pass the time, I occupied myself with counting the wood beams on the ceiling.Thatcher cleared his throat.“You always wear heels?”At least, I thought that’s what he said.His voice was soft and sort of raspy, probably from being out late last night.“Excuse me?”“Your shoes.You were wearing ’em yesterday, and you’re wearing ’em again today.Little impractical is all.You’re liable to fall.”I turned to look at him.Yesterday, he seemed so… groomed.I thought he was handsome, gorgeous, even.Today, his sandy brown hair was tucked under a camouflage baseball cap.He wore an old T-shirt cut off at the sleeves, with ripped jeans and the dirtiest, ugliest boots I’d ever seen.He was a mess.And here he was giving me fashion advice.I loved Sara, and Thatcher was her friend, but he was already rubbing me the wrong way.“You may be right,” I said.“The thing is, though, I didn’t have a ton of time to worry about getting dressed this morning.Some weirdo peeping Tom was spying on me and saw me naked.”He shook his head and looked down.I couldn’t quite see his face because it was hidden behind his hat, but it seemed like he was trying not to laugh again.“Relax, Heels [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]