He sighed. He’d so wanted to tell Carlise that all was well, that there were no messages, so she wouldn’t stress. But he wouldn’t lie to her. First, that would be a dick thing to do; second, he didn’t want her to let down her guard. And she needed to warn her mom to be careful as well.
He respected women. They were no more supposed to “obey” a man than men were supposed to expect subservience. As far as he was concerned, women made the world go round.
He sat in his Jeep on the side of the road, contemplating what his next steps should be. He’d need to talk to Carlise when he got back to the cabin, make sure she understood that whoever her stalker was, he wasn’t going away anytime soon. Then he’d talk to Chief Rutkey, get him to look into her ex, Tommy. He wanted to discuss everything with his friends, make sure they were aware of the situation. They’d help keep Carlise safe; he had no doubt.
The truth of the matter was, even though they’d decided to go into the tree business and not do anything clichéd for former Special Forces soldiers, like security or bodyguard work, Chappy still felt a deep-seated need to keep others safe. He kept a close eye on the men and women he led on hikes on the Appalachian Trail. He and his friends were all very protective of April, not only because she was their employee but also because she didn’t seem to have anyone else to rely on. Chappy didn’t know her story, none of them did, but they’d gotten the impression that whatever it was, it wasn’t great.
Chappy had no doubt that when Bob, Cal, and JJ heard about Carlise’s situation, they’d do whatever it took to make sure her stalker didn’t get anywhere near her.
Sighing, he forwarded the emails she’d received to his own inbox, then made a folder called Yucky Stuff in her email program. He couldn’t delete them since they were evidence, but he didn’t want her to have to see them either. He opened the emails she’d received from her mom and Susie but didn’t read them. He only wanted Carlise to be able to read them without cell service or Wi-Fi when he got back to the cabin.
He was in a quandary as to what to do about the hateful texts she’d received from her stalker. In the end, he left them because he knew they were more evidence, but he’d at least ask Carlise not to read them to avoid additional fear and stress. To trust him to take care of the situation.
He loved her. More than he ever thought possible after little more than a week. And it scared the hell out of him. Now that he’d had a glimpse of what it meant to find his person, to be loved by her, and what life could be like with Carlise at his side, he was terrified of losing her.
Looking at his watch, Chappy swore. He’d been gone longer than he’d thought. Especially with a stalker out there, pissed off at Carlise for some reason he hadn’t been able to ascertain. As far as he could tell, she’d done nothing more than break up with a man who was abusing her and was now trying to move on with her life. Not only that, but also none of the emails or texts actually talked about wanting to get Carlise back . . . or any mention of the breakup or their relationship.
If the stalker was Tommy, wouldn’t he at least reference their time together?
That was just one of the things that was so confusing about Carlise’s stalker. From what he could tell, she wasn’t the kind of person who would incite such . . . fury from someone else. She’d broken up with Tommy and moved on. Chappy didn’t know if Tommy had moved on, but whoever was sending the messages obviously hated Carlise.
Whoever this stalker was, they were less than stable. That much was obvious. Many men had the mindset that if they couldn’t be with a woman, no one else could either. He’d never understood that kind of thinking. If a woman didn’t want to be with him, why the hell would he ever fight to keep her? It made no sense.
His mind swirled with all the things he needed to do, but first and foremost was getting back to Carlise. It was an odd feeling, being so desperate to be by someone’s side. To want to know what they were doing at all times. Not because he was being overbearing or possessive, but because he wanted to make sure she had everything she needed or wanted.
Before stopping to turn on her phone, Chappy had also checked her CR-V. She’d been extremely lucky when she’d driven off the road. Yes, she’d hit a tree head-on, but it was clear she hadn’t been moving too fast at the time. There were also two other trees close by that were twice as big and would’ve messed up her car even worse, no matter the speed.
Still, the small SUV would need some fixing before she’d be able to drive it. As he’d suspected, the battery was dead. And from the way the car was leaning, he had a feeling she had one, maybe two, flat tires.