Page 12 of Recklessly Yours

Hattie’s silky brown hair brushed her shoulders as she shook her head, not looking at all concerned about the situation. Only confusion showed in the lines of her brow. “It was all such a mystery because, according to Jamie, a young boy handed them to her and said they were for me.”

“He probably slipped him some money to do it.” I explained away something that didn’t seem to be a mystery. A gesture like that wouldn’t have seemed harmful to a kid. But who was the kid? I might be able to talk to him.

“We couldn’t even figure out who the kid was. It doesn’t seem like he belongs to any of the families we know.”

So much for that idea.

She shrugged. “I didn’t think anything of the flowers until I got a text telling me not to throw them away.”

“Was that the message you said you deleted?”

She nodded. “Yeah. It came right after I threw them away.” She tilted her head, her brow creasing again. “What’s wrong with your face?”

“Why? Does it look like I’m having a stroke? Because that’s how I feel.” Rhett had always been a little oblivious, but I didn’t realize it was a full-on family problem.

Her lips turned up in a smirk.

Jaw locked, I huffed. “This is not funny.”

“Maybe not.” She shrugged, still trying to hide a smile. “I just never realized you were so dramatic.”

Was she serious right now?

“I’m not being dramatic.” I balled my fists at my sides, my body taut with annoyance and concern. “You could have a stalker. There could be a person wandering out there with plans to hurt you. Yet you’re laughing.”

She sucked in a breath, and her eyes widened. “Are you trying to scare me?”

“Yes. Yes, I am.” A little fear might help Hattie take this all a bit more seriously.

Finally, she was quiet as she stared at me. Maybe I’d gotten through to her? I shouldn’t have been surprised that she was being so laid back about this. In my experience, the vast majority of people didn’t understand how dangerous a stalker situation could be or how quickly it could escalate. Almost like the stalker’s anonymity would keep the victim safe.

“If it was such a big deal, why did you wait two days to tell me about the phone?”

It was a fair enough question. “Remember the big fire yesterday on the outskirts of town?”

“Yeah,” she said, arching one brow.

“It was declared arson. Once the blaze was out, we had to secure the scene, then wait for the state to take over.”

“Oh.”

“I ran the number after I saw you on Wednesday, and I would have come by yesterday if not for the fire.” I cleared my throat. “But also, I didn’t know about the flowers.”

She cocked her head. “If you’d known about the flowers, what could you have done differently?”

“It took me twenty minutes to find out about the burner phone. If I’d had any idea you’d been receiving flowers, I could have followed up on that the same day.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s evidence of escalation. These things typically follow a pattern. And these patterns usually lead to the victim being hurt or kidnapped.”

“But I haven’t gotten another text since then.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “’Cause I blocked the number.”

“You blocked it?” She cocked her head.

Shit. I may have overstepped by doing that. Honestly, though? I hadn’t really even thought about it before I did it. Just didn’t want some creep continuing to bother her. Now I was reconsidering that decision. More texts could help paint a picture of what we were looking at here. It could be anything from a teenager with an innocent crush to a crazy-ass stalker that intended to do harm.

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