Page 6 of Don't Look Back

“Ollie?” I lie.

“What is wrong with the men in this town! I need less women who can punch like a three-hundred-pound man living here! You all abuse me constantly. Hell, I still have a sore arm from Skylar punching me in the shoulder last week because I asked her if she was pregnant again. How was I supposed to know she hadn’t lost all her baby weight yet?”

“You can't ask a woman if they’re pregnant, Colton!” I swat at him, but he jumps out of the way before my hand can make contact with his stomach.

“Well, I clearly know that now! Where were you last week when I needed someone to give me a heads up? Damn, is it really a good idea having you and Sky be the leaders of the young minds of this school?” He glances around like the children are going to pop out of the classrooms. “Last I heard the boys are all scared of Riley and keep their distance from her.”

“All except Billy Monroe. He follows her around with little hearts in his eyes.” I grin at the thought of the two of them together.

“Great. I'm sure Tucker will be thrilled to hear Riley already has a boy in love with her.” He rolls his eyes. “Now, stop distracting me, woman!” He takes another step closer and lowers his voice. “What are you scared of, sweetheart?”

He reaches out to place a hand on my hip, but I take a step back and shake my head. If he touches me, I'm going to break down and I refuse to let that happen. Not here. Not now.

“I don’t want to talk about it, Colt,” I whisper softly.

I’ve known of Colton for a long time, but it took Skylar coming to town for him to finally see me. Now, he pays alittle too much attention to me. He sees me and everything I do. He talks to me every chance he gets, which I don’t hate, but I don’t think he wants to date me. And honestly, I should keep my distance from him if I want to keep my true identity a secret.

“Fine, I’ll leave you alone for now, but I'm not letting this go, Les. Something is going on and I want to know what it is. This is my town and I always figure out everything in the end.”

“Really? So, you figured out who keeps toilet papering Mr. Raven’s house?”

“Why does everyone have to be so stuck on Mr. Raven’s house! Damn! I’ll figure it out eventually. It’s the only thing in this damn town I’ve failed to figure out and everyone loves to rub it in my face.” He scrubs a hand down his face in frustration, groaning when he touches his nose. “Motherfucker. That really hurts.”

“Colton, what are you doing in my school?” Skylar stops next to us with her hands on her hips. “Colton Elmer Brown! Why are you bleeding all over the place!” She stares down at the floor and shakes her head.

“Elmer? Really?” I snort with laughter, making Colt frown at me.

“Hey! Don’t make fun of me. It’s not my fault my mama loved Elmer Fudd. She said when I was born, I had a big bald head and I reminded her of Elmer Fudd.” He folds his arms over his chest and glares at Skylar.

“She didn’t know how much you’re like Elmer Fudd when she made that decision.” Skylar chuckles. “Elmer could never catch the rabbit and you still can't catch whoever is tossing toilet paper all over Mr. Raven’s property.”

“Oh my gosh! I’m going to spend all of my time at Mr. Raven’s house just so I can solve this stupid case once and for all!” Colton storms down the hallway towards the front of the school, leaving Skylar and I alone.

“Wanna tell me what’s going on?” Skylar glances at me as we begin heading back to our offices. I keep glancing over my shoulder at Colton’s retreating back. I feel bad for my hand in upsetting him.

“Do you remember that secret I told you?” I arch a brow, hoping we don’t need to discuss this again.

“Yes, and I haven’t told a soul.” She nods her head slowly.

“Good. Well, I kinda slipped up and almost spilled my secret to Colton.” I wince.

“Oh, Les! He’s going to be like a dog with a bone! He hates not knowing a secret. I have a feeling you just won yourself a new best friend. He’s going to be all over you until he figures it out.”

Great! Just what I need.

Chapter 5

Colton

“Do you know why Leslie moved here?” I lean against one of the cars in Tucker’s shop and scroll through an email on my phone.

I hate emails. If you want to talk to me about something, you should be calling me or stopping by. I like face-to-face interactions much more than digital. I know, I know, that’s unheard of in this day and age, but I'm old school like that. However, don’t you dare knock on my door without calling or texting first. I promise I won't answer.

“No. Why would I care? She moved here because she wanted to. Why does she need another reason?” Tucker pushes himself under the car on his creeper and goes back to work.

“I don’t know. I just think she’s hiding something and I want to figure out what it is.” I tap my fingers on the hood of the car.

“Can you stop fidgeting so much? I'm under the car and your thumping sounds a lot louder under here than it does to you.”

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