Page 41 of A Brambleberry Summer

Jen shook her head. “Not him. But maybe a friend of his. I can’t be sure. I only caught a glimpse of him through the window, but I think he was looking at me as if he knew me.”

Her panic was only too familiar to Rosa. She knew just how it felt to be hunted. The memories crowded into her mind but she pushed him away.

This was not about her. This was about Jen and her fear and the man who had made her life hell for months.

Rosa did not offer platitudes because she knew how useless they could be.

“What do you need? Do you want me to call the police? You know you can trust Wyatt. Detective Townsend. He is a good man.”

For a moment, Jen looked as if she would consider doing just that, then she shook her head. “What would I say? That I think I might have seen a man who might be friends with a man who scares me but who has never actually touched me? He will think I’m crazy.”

“He will not think you are crazy.” Rosa did not know how she knew this so completely, but she had no doubt that Wyatt would take Jen’s concerns seriously. “Stalking is against the law in Oregon, just as it was in Utah. I believe Wyatt will help you. He will want to know what you think you saw.”

Again, Jen looked tempted. Rosa even pulled out her phone, but her friend finally shook her head firmly. “I’m imagining things. I’m sure of it. It was only a man who looked like someone from our town. I don’t want to bring Wyatt in.”

“You know he will help.”

“Yes. If there was anything he could do, but there’s not. I cannot run from shadows for the rest of my life. Aaron would have no reason to know I’m here. He doesn’t know one of my dearest friends lives here. I never mentioned you to him. And if it was his friend, he couldn’t possibly recognize me. I don’t look the same. I’ve lost thirty pounds, my hair is shorter and a different color. I have contacts now instead of glasses. He would have no reason to even connect Jen Ryan with the woman he knew as Jenna Haynes.”

Rosa was still not convinced. She had heard the fear, the sheer terror in Jenna’s voice when Rosa had called her. She thought it would just be a regular phone call to wish her a happy birthday. Instead, Jenna had spewed out such a story of horror that Rosa had been physically sick to her stomach.

“You must come here,” she had told her college friend firmly in that phone call. “I have an empty apartment right now. Just bring Addie and come tonight.”

“I can’t drag you into this,” Jen had replied through her tears. “You’ve been through enough.”

“That is why I have to help you. You are my friend. I cannot let you live in fear if you do not have to. Come to Oregon, where this man does not know anyone. You will be safe here.”

Jen had been desperate enough to escape her situation that she had finally agreed, leaving in the middle of the night with only their clothes.

She was finally beginning to relax and enjoy her life again. Rosa hated to think of her living in fear again.

“Please. Consider talking to Wyatt,” she said now. “He knows something is wrong. He asked me about it the other night. You know he is a good man. He will do what he can to keep you safe.”

“I’ll think about it,” Jen finally said. Color had returned and she seemed to be breathing more easily, Rosa was glad to see.

“Give me a moment and I will give you a ride home.”

Worried that the man stalking her had put a trace on her vehicle, Jen had traded her car in the Boise area for an older model sedan that had seen better days. It was currently in the shop, where it had been for several days.

Jen shook her head. “No. Thank you, though. I would rather walk.”

“Are you sure?”

“It’s less than a mile and I can pick up Addie on the way. The walk will clear my head.”

“Are you sure?”

Jen nodded. Her features grew soft. “I meant what I said earlier. I cannot thank you enough for all you’ve done for me. You’ve given me hope that someday soon I will stop looking over my shoulder. I wish there was some way I could repay you.”

“You have, a hundred times. I love seeing you take back your life. You and Addie deserve everything wonderful I know is in store for you.”

Jen smiled, though traces of panic still lingered in her eyes. As soon as she left, Rosa almost picked up her phone and called Wyatt herself, but she decided against it. Jenna’s story was her own. She had her reasons for keeping it to herself.

Rosa, who had plenty of secrets of her own, could not fault her for that, even though she knew Wyatt was the kind of man who would do everything he could to keep Jenna and Addie safe.

Chapter Nine

After leaving Carol and another of her part-time workers to close the store, Rosa returned to Brambleberry House tired, but in a strange, restless mood. She needed to bake something. The urge did not hit her very often, but when it did, she tried to go with it.

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