Page 26 of Lucky in Love
“Don’t worry about it. All taken care of.”
Alex frowned. “By who? Why didn’t you call me?”
“I knew you were busy with your fella. A guy I met at The Tool Shed helped me out. He’s actually staying in number twelve. Brody?”
Alex had taken a sip of water and spewed it at the revelation. “What? How’d that happen? What was he doing at the hardware store?”
“Oh, uh, I don’t know,” Pops stammered. “Checking things out?”
She sensed caginess, but didn’t have time to pursue it. Popping in her earbuds, she clicked over to the weather app and checked the radar. It showed a full hour until the rain would hit them.
“All right. Well, that’s good, I guess. As long as you’re safe. I haven’t seen the news today. Anything new on The Grocer?”
“Lots of speculation. Nothing for certain. I don’t like the idea of you being out there all alone. Maybe you should come stay with me.”
“We’ll see.” She slipped the phone into the thigh pocket of her leggings, locked the door, and started down the trail to the parking lot. “It’s true there’s not much going on here. Except for cabin twelve, everything’s empty. I need this guy caught. He’s killing business.”
“Better business than people,” Pops quipped. “He’s supposed to be very dangerous. Promise me you’ll be extra careful. Especially running around in the woods.”
“Will do. I’m actually headed out now. If it makes you feel better, I’ll call when I get back.”
“Yes, please do.”
“Fine. Give me forty-five minutes or so.”
She clicked off and as she switched over to her music app, Daisy waddled into the parking lot.
“Oh, crap,” Alex muttered. “I forgot about you. I’ll feed you after my run, okay? Go wait by my cabin.” She pointed up the trail.
“You must have that thing trained pretty well. Will it really do what you say?” a male voice said from behind.
Alex spun around. Brody. Of course. “Doubt it. But I don’t want to be down here in the rain, and I haven’t fed her since Friday.” She noticed the camera slung around his neck. “You know rain’s inbound, right?”
He looked skyward. “Actually, no. I didn’t.”
“You have about an hour till we get a pretty good drenching.”
“Okay. Thanks for the warning.”
Awkward silence. Just as she was about to thank him for helping Pops, he put up a hand to say goodbye and moved on.
She upped the volume on the music, stuffed the phone into her pocket, and set off. The steady beat of her feet hitting the ground set the pace for her breathing. Soon, her heartbeat synced with the rhythm, completing the symphony that soothed her mind.
What had she been thinking with Drake? Of course he wasn’t the kind of man who would ever adapt to small-town living. And as he’d proved the last two days, he wasn’t even the type who wouldtry. Luckily, she hadn’t been too invested.
It was better this way. Now she could focus on the business. A business that would be on the verge of trouble if she didn’t get some renters. The bills for the remodel work and the rec cabin supplies would come due soon. There was some buffer from the loan, but this wasn’t a great way to start her foray into the business world.
She kept watch for roots and rocks under her feet. Part of what she loved about trail running was that she had to pay attention to everything. Focus was key and made it impossible to get too distracted. Unfortunately, distracted was exactly what she was.
Pops’ warning about the fugitive had gotten to her. Every twig snap or loud bird caw had her on edge. She pulled out her phone and pumped up the tunes, but after a second, realized that was just dumb. Putting her head in the sand wouldn’t keep her safe. Instead, she turned off the music completely and focused on the surrounding noises.
Circling the final bend, with only a quarter mile to go, she startled at a sound in the bushes and missed her footing. Her toe caught on a protruding root, and she felt herself falling before she could register what had happened.
She threw out her other foot to catch herself, twisting her ankle in a painful, unnatural way.
“Ahh,” she yelled as the ground rose up for a kiss.
Hands outstretched, she kept herself from a total face-plant, but still ended up on all fours, knees burning, and an intense pain shooting up her left leg. She turned and sat on her butt. Just as the pitter-patter of rain started.
