In Close (Bulletproof #3)(43)
Author: Brenda Novak

“How do you know unless you try?”

“I did try,” she replied. “With Rusty, the other night.”

Laurel clutched the arms of the chair. “You went out with Rusty? Myles’s deputy?”

“One and the same.”

“That’s great! He’s wanted to take you out since forever! He’s made no secret of that.”

“I know.”

“And?”

She grimaced. “It sucked. We got into an argument because he was coming on too strong and I ended up walking home.” She left out the part about Isaac picking her up and letting her hide at his place for the rest of the night.

“That’s too bad,” Laurel said. “But this’ll be different. Myles and I will be with you. The four of us will go out to dinner. We’ll have a great time, no pressure at all. I promise.”

Claire blew out a sigh. Why not? She couldn’t do any worse than she’d done with Rusty. And maybe this blind date would get her mind off Isaac. “Why do you think he’s so perfect for me?”

“He’s very stable, for one.”

“You did say he’s an accountant.”

“Don’t say it so deadpan. He’s an interesting accountant.”

“Who’s not married because…”

“He hasn’t found the right girl.”

“Or he picks his nose in public or eats gum that’s already been chewed or has some other revolting idiosyncrasy!”

Laurel looked hurt. “That’s what you think of my taste in men? My, aren’t you positive today!”

With a laugh, Claire shook her head. “Myles is wonderful, and you know it. I’m sorry.” She thought of telling Laurel why she was having such a hard time. Her friend would sympathize with her, maybe even have some advice on how to repair the damage Claire had inflicted on her family relationships.

But she wasn’t ready to smooth things over with Tug, Roni or Leanne. For some reason, she’d reached a threshold where the truth mattered more than anything else, and playing nice was a handicap in that regard.

“Claire? You okay?”

She’d been staring off into space. Refocusing, she infused her smile with a fresh dose of determination. “How do you know him…this interesting accountant?”

At last, Laurel allowed Claire to recline the chair. “Most everyone who works for the sheriff’s department uses him to prepare their taxes.”

“So worst-case scenario—” she squirted shampoo into her palm “—I’ve found a new tax consultant.”

Laurel applauded her improved attitude. “That’s the spirit.”

“When do you want to go?”

“I’ll have Myles see when he’s available and get back to you.”

That sounded loose enough. Hoping she’d be able to put the date off indefinitely, Claire agreed and hurried to finish. She was eager for Laurel to leave so she could call Isaac and apologize. But hurrying didn’t do any good. After Laurel had left and she was free to call, Isaac didn’t answer. Even worse, Laurel contacted her only an hour later to say that accountant, “Owen Rodriguez,” happened to be free Saturday night.

“Sounds like his social calendar is as full as mine,” Claire murmured.

Laurel sighed. “Drop the sarcasm, okay? Don’t start being negative again.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll be ready at seven.”

“What will you wear?”

Claire didn’t feel passionate enough about the event to plan that far ahead. “I’ll find something.”

Twenty-four hours later, Claire still had Isaac’s twenty bucks in her pocket. She hadn’t been able to give it back because she couldn’t get him to answer his darn phone or return one of her many messages, which upset her for two reasons. Not only did she want to apologize, she wanted to tell him that a stranger had called her last night, just before bed—a man—to ask if she’d hired a private investigator. When he wouldn’t identify himself, she refused to answer, and he’d hung up. That was the extent of their exchange. She’d tried using star sixty-nine but he must’ve called from a blocked number because it didn’t work. The whole thing made her uneasy. She guessed it was Les Weaver, trying to determine if what Isaac had told him was true.

She wished she could discuss it with Isaac. He’d mentioned that he was going to do some more research. After what had happened yesterday, she was pretty sure he’d dumped that idea, along with their “friendship,” but she needed to put right what she’d destroyed. So, after holding out until late afternoon, hoping she’d hear from him, she paid him a visit, which didn’t help, either. He wasn’t home.

She frowned at his empty driveway as she plodded back to her Camaro. Where had he gone? Had he left town on another extended trip? He’d said that he was taking some time off from all the travel. She’d thought that meant he’d be sticking around Pineview for a while…?.

Maybe he got an offer he couldn’t refuse.

“Damn.” If only she could talk to him. He hadn’t been happy when he threw that twenty on her station, but he couldn’t be that mad, could he? So what if she didn’t want her best friend or anyone else to assume they were in a romantic relationship? What difference would it make to him? His list of conquests was impressive enough; it wasn’t as if he needed the ego boost of making their relationship public.

So what was going on? Was he out of town? Or was he purposely avoiding her?

Irritated that he wouldn’t give her the opportunity to apologize and return his money, she sat in her car with the engine idling, hoping he was merely out running errands and would return shortly.

After twenty minutes and still no sign of him, the wait began to feel futile.

“Fine,” she grumbled. “Have it your way.” She stuffed the money in an envelope she’d brought with her, wrote a quick note on the outside and left it under his mat. Then she drove back to town and, once again, told herself to forget him.

Which worked about as well as it had the other three thousand times.

“I told you not to get involved. I told you this would happen. You can’t even be friends or he takes over every waking moment.”

But the question was why? Why did he have such a big impact on her?

As obvious as the answer was, she didn’t want to accept it. Disappearing completely from her life after being with her so much lately had left her with a fresh void to fill. Suddenly, she missed David even more poignantly. She was also tempted to visit her stepfather and stepmother to see if she could make peace with Roni.