Page 164 of Chasing Infinity

I realize as I watch Addison wash her breakfast dishes that I must have been fooling myself by thinking I could come back to Willow Heights for any reasonotherthan her. No matter what I try and tell myself, she was at the forefront of my decision-making.

“Well I better get downstairs,” she says to me, crossing the distance between us and standing up on her tip toes to press a kiss to my cheek. “Will you stop by later?”

“Of course,” I reply, giving her a little pat on her ass as if to seal the promise.

She grins and grabs the rest of her things before disappearing downstairs to the diner. I put around the apartment for a while until it’s time for me to head to PT.

I go through the rehab regimen, doing all the reps of each exercise, hoping that one of these days, I’ll finally start to feel the strength return to my hand. All my therapists and assistants at the office are friendly and understanding, encouraging me as I continue to see minimal improvement. I appreciate their positive attitudes, but I’m getting frustrated with the process. I would like to be further along than I am currently, but I know there’s not much else they can do.

Therapy takes a few hours. When I return to town, I decide to take a walk and get some fresh air to clear my head. Addison still has an hour or two before she gets finished at the diner, so I have some time to kill. I stop in at the diner to give Addison a kiss and get a hot coffee, telling her I’ll see her at home later. Then I go back out to the street and start walking.

It’s a dreary day. The sun has gone into hibernation with the winter. A low layer of gloomy, gray clouds takes its place, hovering over the town like a blanket that has lost all of its heat. The Christmas decorations are still up, though they are attempting to emanate some cheer.

I take a sip of my coffee, glancing around my little town and wondering for a moment what it would be like to stay here for the rest of my life. I promised Addison I would never leave her again, so now the possibility of me becoming a permanent resident of Willow Heights has increased exponentially. The risk of my father is still looming in the background, but all I can do is hope that what goes around will come back around in his case.

“Noah,” a voice calls to me, and I stop mid-stride, turning around to see Charlie leaning out the window of his patrol car and waving me over.

I grumble under my breath but make my way over to him. “What do you want?”

He tilts his head toward the passenger side door, and I roll my eyes. I round the car in a few strides and get into his car. He studies me closely, eyes zeroing in on the hickey I know Addison gave me last night. Thankfully, he chooses to let it slide.

“I needed to talk to you,” he finally says, pressing his lips into a thin line.

“Okay, well, you’ve got me. Get to it then.”

He taps his hand against the steering wheel a few times, gazing out the front windshield. “I’m not comfortable with how things are currently with your father.”

I narrow my eyes. “What does that mean?”

“It means he’s been baiting me on purpose. I don’t know. All last night he would make a point to make a snide remark every time I was around. There’s just something not sitting right with me.”

I place my coffee in his cupholder so I can turn and look at him more head-on. “Give me specifics, Charlie. What did he say?”

The sheriff rubs at the back of his neck. “Just stupid bullshit like how he hopes nothing terrible happens again to our town or that he has faith in our police department to prevent any more serious crimes. Then came the routine insult that I don’t know how to do my job.”

“That’s it?”

Charlie grimaces. “And he brought up Addison.”

The hair on the back of my neck stands straight up, and my body goes rigid. “What?”

“Nothing major,” he says quickly as if to ease the storm he can see brewing inside me. “He just made sure to say something about her. It was along the lines of ‘I’m so glad Ms. Parks has a small army standing at the ready to protect her.’ Or something dumb like that. He was commenting on the fact that she has you, me,andEli all keeping an eye on her.”

“I don’t like that he brought her up at all,” I mutter. My brain buzzes as I work to piece it all together. He would have known Charlie would relay this message, so what was he trying to say?

“I don’t either. As I said, there were no specifics, but something about his demeanor doesn’t sit well with me. Slimy snake. I don’t know what he’s up to but I don’t like it.”

I lean my head back against the seat rest. “What should I do?”

“There’s nothing to do right now, Noah. Maybe I shouldn’t have told you, but I felt you needed to know I’m concerned.”

I shake my head. “No, I’m glad you told me. Just keep me posted, and if anything changes, call me.”

“You’ll be the first to know,” he says, then rethinks. “Well, after my crew.” I nod, grateful that Charlie is still keeping me in the loop. “Just take it easy until then, yeah?”

I laugh under my breath. “I’ll try. See you later, Sully.”

I get out of his car and start trekking toward home. My coffee is now cold and so is my desire to be out and about any more than necessary at this point.

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