Page 39 of No Bed Of Roses

She shivered at that. What if this person tried again? Was it Ed? The man had been a slime, but she couldn’t imagine him doing this. Crossing the country to sabotage a ladder and her car? Seemed ridiculous.

Levi squeezed her shoulder. “I’m sorry. I got sloppy and relaxed. I should have been investigating the ladder incident. I should have checked over your car. I should?—”

Isla turned and put her fingers over his lips. “Stop. This isn’t your fault. None of it. We’ve both talked about it, but the threat didn’t seem real enough.”

She glanced at the ruined car and back at him. “Now we know someone is actually a threat. But it wasn’t your job to fix it. You’ve been busy with your fields and planting. Helping with the demolition in town and working with Sean to fix up the farmhouse. Don’t you dare feel guilty.”

His eyes widened, and he kissed her fingers. “Does that go for you as well?”

She shrugged, but Levi cupped her jaw with his hand. “If it’s not my fault, it’s not yours, either. We can’t change the past, but we can change our focus now that we know this is a genuine threat. We’re going to dig more seriously.”

They’d done some internet searches, but not enough.

Isla nodded. She needed to keep Levi safe from whoever was after her. Her heart said there was no way it was her father, but maybe she should start there. If she could rule him out, she’d feel so much better. It was bad enough that he’d cut her out of his life without a backward glance, but she couldn’t image how much he would have to hate her to try to kill her.

Levi’s arms tightened around her. “It’s going to be okay, Isla. We’ve got a great team to help us, and we’ll figure this out.”

Marcus came over and squatted in front of them. “We are. We now have proof that there was sabotage on your car. That gives me more power to ask questions and track down answers. I’ve got Ed Pringle on the list, along with your father and cousin. Have you had any more thoughts on the matter?”

Did anyone else want to hurt her? That was a depressing thought. “No. I think I’m going to call my father when we’re back at the cottage. I’ve been working myself up to it over the last few days. Now I want to do it. I need to know he’s not behind this.”

Marcus watched her carefully and nodded slowly. “Okay. Why don’t you have Levi listen in? He’s good at observing, at seeing more than people want him to see. He’d also be there to give you some moral support.”

Would that make it more awkward or less? It would be demoralizing if her father didn’t remember her. Or disconnected the phone as quickly as he could.

She had to believe Levi would understand. She nodded and sighed. “What do I need to do about the car? Wait. Are the people in the other car okay? They didn’t get hurt or pushed off the road, did they?”

A look up the hill had her stomach dropping. They’d tumbled down a long way.

Marcus was quick to reassure her. “They’re fine. The driver could tell your car was out of control and pulled over to the side of the road to call for help. They stayed to direct us.”

“Who are they? Can I thank them?”

Marcus grinned. “It was a couple from over in Londonderry. They were in town to pick up a dog from Kimi. They’re waiting to make sure you’re both okay.”

Marcus stood. “I’ll need to take your statements. Why don’t we get someone to drive you home, and then I’ll drop by later to talk to you?”

Isla’s body was aching, and she wanted nothing more than to sink into a hot bubble bath, but she needed to face reality first.

As she rose, Levi helped her up. With him at her side, she knew she could face what came next.

Levi was worried that Isla was overwhelmed. Her eyes were wide, and while they weren’t shocky, they were wary and worried. It took more than an hour before they were able to leave the site of the crash.

Troy drove them home to Isla’s cottage and said he’d get Levi’s truck dropped off for them later. As Levi helped Isla from the truck, he looked at his buddy. “You have a few minutes to help me look over the buildings to ensure we’re good?”

Isla’s head whipped up to look at him, and she leaned into him as she looked around the property. “I didn’t think of that. I was thinking that soon we’d be home and safe. But home might not be safe after all.” Her eyes filled with tears, but she blinked them back.

Levi wanted to go on the attack and eliminate any and all threats to Isla, but he also wanted to tuck her into his arms and hold her tight.

Hopper had realized they were outside and started barking up a storm. Happy barks, but strangers might not know that. Troy grinned at him. “I’m going to guess no one would be dumb enough to try to get inside with your dog standing guard like that.”

Isla smiled, but it faded quickly. “What if they try to hurt Hopper?”

“He’s fine, and we’ll make sure he stays that way. Let’s open up and let him out.”

Hopper bounded outside and licked them all before returning to Isla’s side and rubbing himself against her legs. She dropped to the porch and hugged the dog tightly.

Levi met Troy’s gaze over her head. His buddy was almost as worried about her as Levi. They had to get this asshole soon.

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