No One But You (Silver Springs #2)(28)

He put down his fork. “Telling you to find other work has nothing to do with me. It has to do with keeping you from experiencing anything like what I’ve been through. How do you think I’ll feel if someone vandalizes your house the way they did mine? A woman who has a five-year-old child to protect? If they see you coming here every day, making my meals and fixing up the place, they’ll assume you’re on my side, which means you’re not on their side, and they’ll make you a target, too. I should’ve thought of that.”

Sadie remembered Sly’s cop friends paying her a visit at Lolita’s to warn her that they’d be slow to respond if she got herself into trouble working for Dawson. They’d made it clear she was fraternizing with the enemy, that they considered her actions disloyal. Dawson was right. Sly wasn’t the only thing they had to worry about—although the problem her ex presented was difficult enough. Compared to how nasty he could get, right now he was being relatively nice. But she knew his patience wouldn’t last forever. What would he do if she refused to listen and quit working for Dawson? What if she not only stuck it out here at the farm but became a friend of Dawson’s—a defender?

The possibilities were frightening. She wouldn’t put anything past Sly.

But she already believed Dawson was innocent. That meant she couldn’t abandon him. “I guess we’re both taking a risk, aren’t we?” she said.

He drank some of his beer. “That means you’re staying.”

“Yeah.”

He sighed before forking another bite of meatball into his mouth. “Well, at least you can cook.”

She grinned at him—and laughed when he tried to scowl instead of grinning back.





7


As Sadie cleared the dishes, she was happy in a way she hadn’t been happy in a long time. She couldn’t point to one specific reason. She just felt...free. She also felt productive and capable of taking care of herself, which made her view the future in a more positive light. Then there was Dawson Reed, of course. She’d been so worried that he was as bad as everyone was saying, that she was making a mistake by answering his ad. But she didn’t believe that anymore. She liked him, thought he was a decent man. Although she could be wrong—there were people who’d been fooled by killers before—she couldn’t imagine him harming the Reeds. He hadn’t said or done one inappropriate thing. On the contrary! What kind of killer tried to bring his mentally handicapped sister home so he could take care of her—because she’d be happier with him? What could Dawson possibly get out of assuming that responsibility? Nothing! He was paying for a caregiver for Angela when he could be spending those dollars on a farmhand who would make his own workday easier.

Sadie certainly didn’t get the impression he’d lured her into his employ for some nefarious purpose. He was less likely to engage her than she was him. She heard from him only when he came in for dinner.

She was tired when she walked out to her car to go home, but after she backed out of the drive, where she could see the house from a better perspective, she paused to look. She’d done a good job covering the writing that’d been painted on the front. She was so glad to have gotten that off.

Eager to see Jayden, she put on some music through her phone—the radio, like the clock, didn’t work in her car—and finished backing out of the gate. That was when she spotted a squad car parked down the street, just out of sight from the house.

Sadie slowed as she went by. Sure enough, Sly sat behind the wheel.

Damn him! How long had he been there, waiting for her?

Determined not to acknowledge him, she pressed the accelerator. “Go home and leave me alone,” she mumbled. But one glance in the rearview mirror indicated he’d pulled onto the highway behind her. She really didn’t want her ex-husband waiting for her every night, didn’t want to deal with him nearly that often...

Her cell phone rang, interrupting the music, and his name appeared on her screen. Her car was so old it didn’t have Bluetooth capacity, but she had a Bluetooth device in the ashtray. She would’ve used it, if only the battery wasn’t dead.

She pulled over so that he wouldn’t follow her all the way to Petra’s again. She didn’t want him taking Jayden out for more ice cream. She missed her son, wanted to spend some quality time with him before bed—and she didn’t want Sly involved in any way. He made her anxious, on edge. His moods could be so mercurial; she never knew if he’d be pleasant or go off on some rant in which he held her accountable for “ruining his life.”

He parked behind her and came walking up.

“What are you doing?” she asked, lowering her window via the hand-crank as he approached.

“Nothing. I was just out for a drive.”

She made a face. “So finding you outside Dawson’s house was purely a coincidence.”

His lips twisted into a wry grin. “Maybe not entirely. I was making sure you were safe. What do you think? You should thank me.”

“Except that it’s not necessary for you to waste your time. And it’s more than I have a right to expect, since we’re no longer together.”

“Our separation is merely a temporary setback, Sadie. I’m going to prove that to you, prove that I can make you happy.”

They’d tried for ten years and nothing had changed. She was no longer in love with him, hadn’t been in love with him for at least half that time. “I’m flattered by your tenacity. But I think it’s important to know when to let go. We both need to move on.”