Page 46 of Unforgotten

Imagining all sorts of awful things, she looked Ryan’s way. When their eyes met, she gave a brief nod of her head toward the food court.

Ryan turned his head, caught sight of her stalker, and then stood up.

“Please welcome Miss Crittenden County!” Jennifer called out.

As Candace stepped forward, her heel wobbled, but she quickly regained her balance.Please don’t let him have a gun, she thought.

Just as she reached the microphone, a crash came from the food court. Her stalker was gone, but his chair had been overturned and the paper bag lay on the ground.

She sucked in her breath, reminding herself to keep calm. All these people were watching her.

Ryan, who’d been scanning the area, focused on her. He clearly hadn’t understood what she was trying to convey. “You okay?” he mouthed.

She nodded even though she wasn’t. But what else could she do with all these people looking at her? Panicking would only make the situation worse. She needed to give her speech like nothing had happened. So she forced herself to focus and did just that.

Afterward, she invited questions from the audience. A bunch of little girls’ hands went up, and she pointed to one girl. “Yes?”

“Where does your crown sleep at night?”

In spite of the way her nerves were strung tight, Candace smiled. “When I’m not wearing this pretty crown, it sleeps in a wooden box on my dresser.”

Up went five more small hands. “How about you?” she asked a dark-haired girl sitting with her father near the back.

As the child asked her question and then Candace answeredin as cheerful of a tone as she could manage, she watched Ryan out of the corner of her eye. He was moving toward her. By the time she called on the next child, he was slipping through the small crowd, apologizing to a couple of the mothers holding their little girls’ hands.

“Excuse me, please,” he said to a teenage girl with glasses.

When Ryan finally reached her side, she sighed in relief. He was strong and solid and familiar. Unable to help herself, she leaned a little closer to him. His aftershave—a woodsy, dark scent—further calmed her nerves. Centered her.

“Candace, what’s going on?” he whispered to her.

“I think that was my stalker.”

His posture changed. “Yeah, I thought that guy might be him.” He grimaced. “Unfortunately, after seeing him, I scanned the area to make sure he was alone. By the time I started toward him, he was gone.”

“I have no idea where he went. One minute he was there, the next minute, all I saw was that chair clattering on the ground.”

“Did you see him when we walked in?”

“No.” Or had she? She was feeling flustered now. “I mean, I don’t think so.”

The look Ryan gave her let her know that they were going to be having a long conversation on the way back to town. She deserved it too. She shouldn’t have told Ryan she was okay. “He was at the nearest table in the food court. See the sack on the floor? He was holding it.”

His eyes searched the food court. “I see it. Five minutes.”

Five more minutes. She could do that. “Sorry about that, everyone. Are there any more questions?”

Up went a few hands. Choosing an older girl who looked nervous, Candace tried to smile as naturally as possible. “How about you in the red T-shirt?”

“You said you got a lot of scholarships. How did you do that?”

“First, I studied hard in school and made the best grades I could. Then, I asked the counselor at the high school about applying. She helped a lot. The scholarship was the main reason I entered the Miss Crittenden County pageant. It’s a good one.”

After another two questions about her dress, Ryan signaled that it was time for them to go. He was holding the bag in his hands and texting on his phone.

“Last question,” she said brightly. Choosing a girl who looked to be about twelve who wore glasses, she said, “How about you, honey?”

“Is he your boyfriend?” The girl smirked mischievously.

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