Page 45 of Keep Me Safe: A Small Town Suspenseful Love Story

Caleb didn’t have a solid alibi.

That was all I could think about as I got ready for the anniversary party. Caleb didn’t have a solid alibi and that meant there was a chance he could be my stalker and I was absolutely floored. I’d been so sure that it wasn’t him and, if I was being honest, there was still something in the back of my mind telling me it wasn’t him. I couldn’t put my finger on it but none of it felt right. In all the scenarios where I imagined my stalker being caught I thought I’d have a feeling that it was over.

I didn’t feel like any of this was over. Not even close.

I sighed as I stared at myself in Knox’s bathroom mirror. I was getting much too comfortable staying with him, leaving my makeup strewn across the large counter in the bathroom and hanging clothes in his closet. I’d only been there for three days but it was as if I moved in. The routine was easy, waking up next to him felt great and going to sleep next to him every night felt right. It felt like things should always be that way and that was dangerous. We’d only just started a brand new relationship and I didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize that, jeopardize us.

I smoothed my hands down the red dress I was wearing. Flaring out at my waist and falling to the top of my knee, it was a cross between classic and modern with a gold zipper up the back. My hair was down, straightened and falling just below my shoulders and my makeup was done. I tried not to acknowledge the fact that my hands were shaking and my heart was pounding.

Knox knocked on the bathroom door and when I didn’t answer him he opened it, poking his head in. “Beautiful, are you- wow,” he opened the door completely and looked me up and down before giving a low whistle. “How am I supposed to let you leave this house unfucked?”

I gave a small laugh and shook my head. I was tempted to ask him the same thing. My boyfriend - I was still getting used to calling him that - looked downright edible. Black slacks, a dark blue dress shirt and a black tie had him looking like he just stepped out of a GQ ad. His hair, usually messy, was gelled back and he was clean shaven. Knox Fitzgerald, all grown up and all mine.

“You okay?” he asked and touched my cheek lightly.

I shrugged my shoulders and smoothed my hands down the front of my dress again. “I’m okay, just nervous about the party.”

“Liar.”

“Knox.”

“Abbs.”

I huffed and walked out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, slipping into a pair of black pumps that cost way too much money. “I just… I don’t know. Something doesn’t feel right about all of this. I… I don’t think it was Caleb.”

He nodded his head and listened intently before coming to stand in front of me, rubbing his hands up and down my arms. “Listen, I know you’re freaked out and I know all of this has thrown you for a loop. But let’s just give it some time and see if anything resonates later on, okay?”

I nodded my head and opened my mouth to speak but he beat me to it. “I know it won’t be that easy, which is why I talked to my buddy Alex. Alex Ruiz, you remember him? Okay, well he’s originally from New York and he has some friends in the city who own a few flower shops. He said he’d try to get in touch with them and see if they’d look around, try to find something that could connect Caleb to all of this.”

I had to admit that the thought of Knox and Alex trying to give me some peace of mind made me feel better. It meant a lot that he was going to such lengths to make me feel safe and protected, and I prayed that Alex’s friends would find something. But the police had spent months searching and found nothing, so I couldn’t get my hopes up.

“Thank you,” I said and leaned up to kiss him.

He slipped a hand around my waist and drifted lower, squeezing my ass. “Let’s get out of here, yeah? Or else I can’t promise I’ll keep my hands to myself.”

The party was a hit. Half the town was there, the alcohol was flowing and the music was loud. Simone, always the life of the party, had a glass of champagne in her hand as she and Logan danced around the large room, both of them laughing. I looked over at Robbie and saw that his eyes were glued to Simone as she danced around the room in a blue wrap dress.

“You outdid yourself,” my dad said and sidled up next to me at the bar. I sat with a glass of whiskey in my hand. “Whiskey? You really are an Ashford,” he laughed.

I laughed, too, but I had a feeling it didn’t sound authentic because his face turned serious. “Abbigail, I want you to know something. I know I haven’t always been present as a father. I haven’t been there the way I should have been, but I will do whatever it takes to protect you. You know that, honey, don’t you?”

I nodded my head. “I know, dad.”

“You’re my little girl,” he said and put a hand against his heart before reaching out and pinching my cheek the way Robbie did. “You kids are the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Tears pricked my eyes and I hopped down from my bar stool and leaned into him. “I love you.”

“I love you, Abby.”

“You know what I think?”

He took a sip of his drink. “What’s that?”

I pointed towards where my mother was schmoozing the guests. “I think you should ask mom to dance.”

He threw his head back and laughed before nodding and disappearing into the crowd. I watched as he grabbed his wife of thirty five years and dragged her to the center of the room while she had the audacity to look bashful. I knew my mother, knew she was loving every second of having everyone’s eyes on her. My dad pulled her closer to him and whispered something in her ear as he tucked her against him, the both of them swaying to the music and smiling. Happy and blissed out after surviving thirty five years of marriage.

“Boys,” I said as I approached my brothers. “I’d say this is a damn success.”

---