Obsession Falls(78)

She rolled her eyes. “You read too much.”

“I know, I really do. It’s given me very unrealistic expectations. But I still think he secretly likes you.”

“He totally does,” Audrey said.

“You girls are sweet, but I’m too old for that kind of love story.”

Marigold gasped. “No you’re not.”

“What do you think, Josiah?” Audrey asked.

I glanced at the three of them. Audrey and Marigold watched me with expectant eyes, as if I were about to say something profound to settle the argument. Sandra’s expression was full of skepticism.

“I’m not getting involved in this conversation.”

Audrey laughed and lightly smacked my arm. “You’re no fun.”

“I never said I was.”

Audrey and her friends chatted over their drinks. I was content to drink my beer, more or less in peace.

But one thing that Sandra had said stuck in my head like a splinter. You said the job was just until you got back on your feet.

Temporary.

I knew Audrey hadn’t moved here with plans to stay. That was why I should have steered clear of her in the first place.

But I hadn’t been able to stay away from her.

And I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d made a mistake.





CHAPTER 30





Audrey





Something was wrong with Josiah.

It wasn’t the fact that he’d been quiet that tipped me off. He was usually quiet. If he had something to say, he’d say it, but otherwise, he didn’t fill the silence. It was refreshing, reminding me that I didn’t have to fill every awkward silence either.

But today was different.

I sat at the kitchen table in my house, picking at the remains of my breakfast, my laptop open but powered down. He walked by and didn’t stop to kiss my head or my cheek, like he usually did.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Yeah.” He poured a cup of coffee. “Tile guy will be here any minute. I need to go let him in.”

“Okay.”

He left without another word. And without a kiss goodbye.

Maybe I was being too sensitive. Nothing had happened. He couldn’t be upset with me. Maybe he was just distracted, thinking about the remodel next door.

It was coming along. Painting with him had been fun and we’d gotten a lot done. It was amazing how much different it looked from the first time I’d seen it. Now it had most of the flooring, new windows and doors, baseboards and trim. I couldn’t wait to see the kitchen when it was finished. It was going to be gorgeous.

I pushed my plate to the side, brought my laptop closer, and turned it on. Despite my plucky attitude when I’d talked to Sandra about my job, I was worried. What if Lou expected me to come back without any sort of apology? I couldn’t let this go without standing up for myself. But I really needed this job.

What if he didn’t ask me back at all? He might blame me for Sandra and Ledger walking out and decide to replace all of us.

Or he might finally close the paper down.

That made me oddly sad. Why did I care if the tiny Tilikum newspaper finally closed its doors. It was inevitable, wasn’t it?

But, for a moment at least, it had felt like we were making headway. Giving the community something they wanted and were willing to pay for. It seemed a shame for all that work to go to waste.

I checked the Tribune website. It hadn’t been updated. It didn’t say the newspaper had closed, but that wasn’t a good sign.

For a second, I felt a pang of guilt. But this was not my fault. And I was not going to shoulder the blame, even just in my own mind.

If anyone was to blame, it was whoever was stalking me.

My phone rang, startling me out of my thoughts. Assuming it would be my mom, I picked it up to answer. But it wasn’t her number on the screen. It said restricted.

It had been a while since I’d gotten one of these calls. I’d stopped answering them and whoever was behind it never left messages.

I didn’t know why, but I answered. “Hello?”

Silence.

“Hello?”

I waited. Still nothing.

“Why are you doing this to me?”

I didn’t expect an answer and I didn’t get one. The call ended.

Clearly I was becoming desensitized to the whole stalking thing. I wasn’t even upset. I put my phone down and went back to my laptop, like nothing had happened.

Although to be fair, a hang up call was small potatoes compared to messages written in animal blood on my door.

What I needed was an alternative in case my job at the Tribune really did vanish. The hang-up call hadn’t upset me, but the thought of being unemployed again sure did. My stomach twisted with dread at the thought of the stress. The desperate searching, waiting to hear back, wishing someone would at least give me an interview.

But how was I going to find another job in this town? The job market wasn’t exactly hot around here.

I thought back to the interview I’d declined for the job on the east coast. Had that been a mistake?

The problem was, everything hinged on Josiah. And I didn’t truly know how he felt.

That was the trouble with the strong, silent type. He was so hard to read.

Maybe I could find something remote. Or mostly remote with a little bit of travel. I could handle something like that.