Running Back to You (The Running Series, #1) (28 page)

“No, Evan, nothing happened.  I swear!”

“Then tell me.  Now.  Please.”  He starts caressing me with his gentle
touch again.

“Food and drink first.  Come.”  I pull him up and off the lounge chair
with me.  Time to eat.

Evan finds a take-out menu for the local Chinese restaurant that
delivers.  We settle on Lo Mein, Beef & Broccoli, Wonton Soup, and Crab
Rangoon.  While I place the order, Evan opens up a bottle of Riesling.  Trying
to keep the topic light, I ask him where he’ll be spending Easter Sunday. 
We’ve just reconnected and I cannot stand the thought of not seeing him
tomorrow.

“Funny you should ask.  I was just going to invite you to join me at my
sister’s for dinner.  I don’t know if you remember me telling you about Callie,
but she and her husband Dean live in Cedar Grove.  Both my parents will be
there and I really want them to meet you.”

“Baby, I’d love to meet your parents, but I can’t.  I have plans with my
mother and grandmother in Bayonne.”  He puts the bottle of wine down, and takes
three quick strides straight for me, gathers me in his arms and kisses me.  My
mouth immediately opens to welcome him.  Our tongues become reacquainted and I
know immediately that I’m falling deeply, madly, passionately in love with this
man.  How could I think that I could live, for even one more moment, without
him?

He releases me slowly.  “Wow!  I should say no to you more often.”

“That wasn’t for saying ‘no’.  That was the first time you called me
anything other than my name.”

“That’s not true.  I’ve called you chief and bossy man plenty of times.”

“Not the same.  You called me
baby
.  It’s a name that’s only
shared by lovers.  And I absolutely love hearing you call me that.  Especially
now, after everything I’ve told you.”

“I wish I could meet your family tomorrow.  I really want you to meet my
mom, too.” 

“Why can’t we do both?  Can’t we have dinner with one and dessert with
the other?” 

Is he crazy?  It’s easily a half an hour drive between the two towns. 
“Seriously?  I don’t know, Evan.  I’d hate for everyone to have to change their
plans just to suit us.”

“Well, what time is your mother’s dinner?”

“Early, probably around three o’clock.  She’ll start cooking right after
church.”

“See, it’s perfect.  Callie will be eating closer to six o’clock.  That
means dessert’s not until seven.  We can make it in plenty of time.”

“Are you sure about this, Evan?”

“I’m one hundred percent sure.  I’m calling my mother now.  Okay?”

“Okay.”  So much has changed in the course of a day.  Yesterday, I didn’t
know if I was ever going to see him again.  Now we’re making plans together as
a couple and he wants me to meet his family.  Am I ready for this?  Are we
ready for this?

“Hi Mom, how are you?  I’m sitting here talking to Juliette about our
plans for Easter dinner.”  He steps a little closer to me and plants a small
kiss on my lips.  “Yes, she is.  I couldn’t agree more.”  He winks at me. 
“We’d like to stop and visit with her family in Bayonne first if that’s okay. 
We can make it to Callie’s in plenty of time for dessert.  What do you think?” 
Evan looks at me with a grin and a nod.  “Great.  See you tomorrow.  Tell Dad I
said hi.  Love you, too, Mom.” 

I love that he’s obviously told his mom about me.  They must be close.  I
can’t wait to meet them.

“Your mom seems okay with the change in plans.”

“She is.”  He kisses me.

“And she seems to know exactly who I am.”

“She does.”  He kisses me again.

“I guess I should call my mother now.”

“You should.”  Another kiss.

The call to my mother is a little longer than Evan’s call was.  I haven’t
told my mother anything about him.  She’s surprised to hear that I have a
boyfriend, much less one that I’m interested in bringing home for Easter
dinner.  She wants to know everything: how we met, how long we’ve been seeing
each other, how he treats me.

Evan tries to give me a little privacy by grabbing some plates and
silverware to set the table, but I know he can still hear my conversation.  I’m
grateful when the doorbell rings.  Evan leaves the room to pay for our dinner
and I have a moment to talk privately. 

“Mom, I’m really falling for him.  But he has a past.  A relationship
with Evan is going to be ... challenging.”

“Juliette, every relationship has its challenges.  The real question is,
is he worth it?”

Evan is back with our Chinese.  He’s standing at the dinner table,
sorting through the cartons and pouring us more wine.  I can easily see this
becoming routine.  Sharing meals together, chatting about our day, making
plans.  He looks over to me and our eyes meet.  “Yes, Mom, he’s definitely
worth it.”

Immediately, Evan’s at my side, feasting on my neck and shoulders with
his hungry kisses.  He knows how much it tickles and that he’s torturing me.  I
can’t hold back and a small giggle slips.  It doesn’t go unnoticed by my
mother.  “Yeah, that’s Evan.  I’m going to go now. Give Gram my love.  See you
tomorrow, Mom.”

“Was that necessary?” I scold Evan as I try to push him off me.  It’s no
use, that man is hard as steel.

“It was completely necessary.”  He wraps his arms around my waist, lifts
me off my feet, and kisses me deeply.  I tangle my fingers in his hair, close
my eyes, and revel in the delightful sensations coursing through my body.  Too
soon, my feet are placed back on the floor and Evan is leading me towards the
table where our dinner awaits.

As we eat, we chat about tomorrow’s plans.  If we leave around noon, we
should arrive at my mother’s place in plenty of time for a nice little visit
and dinner.  I cannot show up without dessert, and now it seems I have to make
twice as much.  That means a trip to the grocery store tonight.  I want
everything to be perfect.  It has to be; you only get one shot at a first
impression.

Once we’re done and all cleaned up, I try to stall a little longer. 
“Evan, can you take me to the Food Mart now?  I have to get a few things for
tomorrow’s dessert.  You know we can’t show up empty handed.”

“Sorry, Juliette, but time’s up.  The grocery store can wait.  Let’s go
sit in the living room and finish our talk.”

There’s no use arguing, so I sullenly follow him back to the living
room.  “You’re going to be mad,” I tell him.

“I don’t know how I’ll feel until you tell me what happened.  But I can’t
imagine anything you could have done that would change how I feel about you.”

“It’s not what I did; it’s what I didn’t do.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Well, yesterday, there was a flower left on my car when I got out of
work.  It was wrapped in cheap plastic with a sticker on it.  I knew it wasn’t
from you.”

“No, you’re right.  It wasn’t from me.  Did anyone follow you again like
last time?”

“No, I’m positive.  I drove straight home and called Derek to come pick
me up.  That’s where I was when you texted me last night.”

“I can certainly understand why you drank so much.  I’m so sorry I wasn’t
there for you.”  He sweeps a random lock of hair off my face and behind my
ear.  “I don’t suppose Derek tried to convince you to call the police, did he?”

“No, he didn’t.  What am I supposed to tell them, Evan?  There was no
threat, no harm, and no damage.  What could they do?”

“I definitely wish you would have called the police.”  He holds me close
and I can hear him take a deep breath.  “You had me worried.  I thought it was
much worse than that.”

“There’s more.”

“Okay.”  He releases me and I sit back in the couch.  I don’t want to
look at him when I tell him this next part.

“When I got home from work today, I found signs that someone had been in
my house.”  Evan stands up and walks to the other side of the room.  He has his
back to me.

The timbre of his voice is off.  “What kind of ... signs?”  He’s mad.  Really
mad.

“For one thing, the dog was outside.  Auggie and I never leave Maddy out
all day.”  I hesitate for a moment and consider leaving it at that, but my
conscience gets the better of me and I tell him the rest.  “Someone was in my
bedroom, too.  A sexy red dress, thong, and stilettos were laid out on the bed
for me.”

He punches the wall.  I was afraid of this reaction.  “Juliette, do you
have any idea what could have happened?  He could have been waiting for you in
your closet, under your bed, in another room.  This sick fuck could have taken
you, raped you, and killed you.”  Now he’s pacing around the room frantically.

“That’s why I called you and came right over.”  The reality of the
situation is starting to sink in.  I’ve been telling myself all along that
songs, flowers, and dresses are harmless.  But the truth is that he seems to be
escalating.  He’s invaded my work, my car, and now my bedroom.  What’s next?

“Get your shoes on.  We’re going to the police.  Now.”

“It’s Saturday night, Evan.  There’s no one there but the dispatcher
right now.”

“I don’t care.  Let’s go.  I’m not kidding, Juliette.”  He walks over to the
hall and grabs his wallet and keys.

“Evan, this is a small town.  Please listen to me.  There’s a
non-emergency number we can call.  They will send someone here.”  I take out my
phone and find the number for the police station and hand Evan my phone.  “Just
hit ‘call’.  Go ahead.  Make the call.”

The dispatcher tells Evan someone will be here within the hour.  He’s
pacing the room again.  It’s much worse than I anticipated.  Evan makes another
call.  He asks Adam to come over, too, although I’m not sure why.

When Evan speaks to me again, he’s practically shouting at me.  “Juliette,
you’ve been here for over two hours.  This should have been the
first
thing out of your mouth!  When something is wrong, you have to tell me.  I want
to take care of you, dammit.”

Now I’m getting angry.  Evan’s got to know my limits.  “I’ve taken care
of myself for a long time now.  I don’t
need
someone to take care of
me.  My father only cared about taking care of himself.  And my mother?  Her
idea of taking care of someone was to stay out of the way.” 

Evan is now looking at me like I have three heads.  A smile spreads
across his face and he begins shaking his head.  Then he laughs, loudly.  Not
the reaction I was anticipating.  “What’s so funny?” I bark at him.

“I’ve never been interested in taking care of another person in my life. 
Ever.  I finally find someone who I want to be with, share everything with, and
take care of.  And how does she feel?  She doesn’t
want
me to take care
of her.”

“You think you have it bad?  I have huge trust issues with men, and here
I am, falling for a man who didn’t want to tell me his real name!”  Now we’re
both laughing.

“You’re right, we should end it now.”  He walks over and extends his hand
to shake.  “It was nice knowing you.  Good luck with all that nasty little
stalker business, Miss Fletcher.”

“Yes, it was nice finally meeting the real you.  Good luck with those
annoying intimacy issues, Mr. McGuire.”

I turn to leave, and Evan grabs me by the hips and spins me around. 
“You’re going to be the end of me, you know.  What am I going to do with you?”

“I have a few ideas.”  As I kiss him deeply, I find an opening beneath
his shirt and run my fingers across the toned muscles of his back.  He grabs my
ass and pulls me closer to him.  He whispers in my ear, “You’re not going home
tonight.”

“I had no intentions on going anywhere tonight.  Not unless you were to
come with me.”

“Sweetheart, I have every intention of coming with you, believe me.”

Before things get taken too far, there’s a loud knock, followed by
opening of the front door, and the familiar voice of Adam.  “Hey guys, I’m
here.  What’s going on?”

Evan brings Adam up to speed on the details of the past few days.  “Why
didn’t she call the police?”

“Damned if I know.  She thinks she can take care of it herself.  Do you
believe this shit?”  They keep talking about me like I’m not even in the room.

“You’re not letting her go home tonight, are you?”

“Hell, no.  She’s not setting foot in that house alone until we install a
security system.  Can you take care of that?  You know who to call, right?”

“Sure.  But tomorrow’s a holiday.  I can’t get anyone there until Monday
or Tuesday.  Does anyone else live in the house?  They shouldn’t go back there,
either.”

Crap.  Auggie.  I never even thought about the danger I was putting him
in.  How could I be so thoughtless? 

“Yeah, she has a roommate.  Juliette, please call Auggie right away.”

While the boys continue their conversation, I step out onto the deck to
call Auggie.  I tell him absolutely everything: all about Evan, our rekindled
relationship, and my unwelcomed attention.  He says he can stay at Brandon’s
until things are straightened out.  The two of them will go back to the house
together to get a few things.  Brandon even allows him to take Maddy with
them.  I don’t know what I would do if anything happened to him or Maddy.

When I come back inside, Adam’s nowhere to be seen.  “Did he leave?  I
wanted to thank him.”

“No, honey.  He’s in my office making a few phone calls.”  I wrap my arms
around his waist and lay my head on his chest.  He’s right, I should have
listened to him sooner.  He’s not only taking care of me, he’s taking care of
those I love.  How could I have ever doubted him?

The police arrive to take our statements.  Just as I suspected, there’s
nothing they can do right now.  Nothing was stolen or damaged.  But Officer Harper
assures us that we did the right thing by filing a report now.  If anything
else were to happen, there will be a record of previous activities.  Additional
patrols will be made on my street for the time being.