Page 16 of Unforgotten

“Connecticut.”

“And you’re here for the opening?”

“Yes, but I’m here for Candace too.”

When Chuck’s eyebrows raised, Candace said, “Officer Mulaney very kindly offered to give me a hand. I have three events in different parts of the county today.”

Chuck whistled low. “That’s a lot of territory.”

“By the time I finish, it’ll be dark,” Candace said.

And just like that, Chuck’s expression eased. “Good thinking. No telling what could happen to a young woman on the road by herself.”

A chill went through her.

Until Ryan lightly pressed a hand to the middle of her back. “Are you ready to meet everyone?” he asked in a low tone.

Pure relief filled her, which kind of didn’t make sense. How could a man she’d just met create such a feeling of security?

Just as quickly, she tamped down her silly thoughts. Of course, she would feel that way about him. He was a cop, and she had a stalker. She was feeling vulnerable, even though she seemed to be the only person in the state who felt she had a right to be.

“Candace?”

“Sorry.” She flashed her best smile at him. “I am.”

For the next two hours she smiled with little girls, signed glossy photos, and talked about her dress, her shoes, andthe tiara on her head. Then, to her dismay—and Ryan’s amusement—Chuck asked her to pose for pictures holding spark plugs and car wax. Luckily for her, Ryan had asked her about the time of the next event, factored in time for the drive and a lunch break, and then told Chuck that she was going to need to leave.

When they got to his SUV, he helped her into the passenger seat, stowed her bag in the back, and then headed for the hospital.

It felt almost like a date except it wasn’t. Candace didn’t know Ryan, he didn’t know her, and it seemed they were both benefiting from each other’s standing in the community. Or it could be that she had simply grown suspicious thanks to her stalker’s presence in her life.

As he sped down the highway, she figured they might as well make conversation. “So, how long have you been in town?”

“Three weeks.”

“What do you think of southwestern Kentucky?”

“It’s different than what I expected, but I like it.”

“Really?” Even though she hadn’t been too many other places, she loved her small town and wanted other people to love it too. Even a cop from a big city on the East Coast.

He chuckled. “Yeah, really.”

“Well, in that case, I’m glad. It’s nice to have another officer on the police force.”

“Why do you say that?”

His attention was pointed. Like he was looking for a specific answer. She realized that he had no idea about what had happened with Peter Miller. The right thing to do would be to tell him about it. He was from the big city. Women got assaulted all the time—or at least the news sure made it sound like they were. But here in their area, it had been shocking.

It still was.

But did she want to be the person who relayed it to him? No way. It was too difficult to speak about. Every time she thought about how it had affected her cousin, she wanted to cry.

Selfishly, she realized that she was glad Ryan probably didn’t know about what happened to Bethanne. It was kind of nice being around someone who wasn’t asking her about the “real” story of what happened. Around Ryan, it was almost as if it had never happened.

Which would be a blessing.

Sure, keeping him in the dark was wrong, but he’d find out about Bethanne before long and connect the dots to her.

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