“Yeah. I have a new boyfriend.”
“You do? That’s awesome! Who is it? Someone I know? Where’d you meet him?”
“Yeah,” she said, sounding almost shy. “He’s great. Loves me so much that he hates when someone looks at me wrong. He’s possessive but in a good way.”
Carlise wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that. Tommy had been possessive, too, and at first, she’d thought it was flattering. It soon turned stifling, and he was scary when he confronted people who’d simply said hello to her.
But after finally calming her friend, she was unwilling to upset her again or rain on her parade.
“I’m happy for you,” Carlise said. And she really was.
“Thanks. I’m happy too . . . except for my best friend not telling me where she was going or not being able to get in touch with her for the last week and a half.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll be better at staying in touch from here on out.”
“Good. I really do appreciate you calling, Car. And I’m sorry I flipped out. Will I talk to you again soon?”
“Yeah, you will,” Carlise reassured her. “And please don’t be mad at me,” she pleaded. She was uncomfortable with a lot of their conversation, but Susie was still her best friend. Things would calm down, and she’d realize once she met Riggs that she had nothing to worry about.
“I’m not,” Susie said with a sigh. “I’m just worried about you.”
“I’m good. I promise,” Carlise said.
“How would you feel about me coming out there to see for myself?” Susie asked.
“Seriously? Yes!” Carlise exclaimed.
“I want to meet this Riggs character and make sure he’s good enough for my best friend.”
“I’d love that. I promise to keep in touch better than I have, and we’ll figure out a good time for you to come. I mean, Newton isn’t exactly on the beaten path, so I’ll have to give you specific directions,” she teased with a laugh.
“Okay. Stay safe,” Susie said softly.
“You too. If you see Tommy anywhere around, just go in the other direction. Riggs said he was going to help me end this stalker stuff. He’s going to get his friends involved and the local Newton police.”
“That’s a relief, at least,” Susie said.
“Yeah.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Love you, Suz.”
“Love you too. Bye.”
Carlise hung up, not sure how to feel about the conversation with her best friend. She and Susie had always been brutally honest with each other, but all her worry aside, today she seemed . . . weird. She couldn’t put her finger on exactly why, but the feeling persisted. Maybe it was because Susie seemed almost more angry than concerned.
She hated that her friend couldn’t be supportive of her relationship with Riggs, but she knew Susie had good reason to be wary, considering Carlise’s last relationship. And she probably hadn’t said anything that wasn’t expected. But she also didn’t know Riggs. Once she met him, she’d see that he was nothing like Tommy. That his feelings for Carlise were genuine.
It wasn’t until she got up and put the phone back on the kitchen counter that she realized Susie hadn’t told her anything about her new boyfriend. She’d neatly changed the subject.
Mentally shrugging, Carlise decided that would be the first thing she asked when she talked to Susie next. She wanted to know all about the new man in her life.
At the moment, though, she needed to see Riggs. Talk to him. Reassure herself that he was the man she thought he was and not the monster Susie seemed to assume he could be.
She put on her boots and jacket and stepped outside. Baxter saw her and immediately ran in her direction. He came close enough for her to just brush her fingers over his head before he bolted away and grabbed a mouthful of snow, throwing it up in the air.
Laughing, Carlise turned toward Riggs . . . and stilled. He was headed in her direction with a look she couldn’t interpret on his face. If she had to guess, she’d say he looked upset.
“What’s wrong?” she asked with a frown as she stepped off the porch.
“That’s what I was going to ask you. Were you not able to get ahold of your mom or Susie? Are they sick? Do we need to get you to town or back to Ohio? We can probably be there within a day if we drive, or we could head up to Bangor and catch a flight to Cleveland.”
Carlise stared at him in surprise. “Are you even real?” she blurted.