Anonymous Read online

  A few minutes later, Owen comes inside and shakes his head. “Couldn’t find him. Guess you got yourself a twenty-dollar bill, Ells.”

  The blood rushes from my face and I nod. “Okay.” My voice breaks and Jake peers down at me.

  “You all right, cupcake?”

  “Actually, I’m not feeling really well.”

  His arm tightens around my shoulders and he kisses my head. “Then let’s get you home.”

  Five

  Ellie

  Thanksgiving Day

  My parents, including my sister and her family, are at my house to eat the lavish turkey Jake has been smoking on the grill for hours. Our kitchen is filled to the brim with homemade sides to feast on, not to mention the large assortment of desserts—pumpkin rolls, a lemon pie, a pecan pie, and my favorite fall dessert . . . pumpkin pie.

  Jake brings in the turkey and sets it on the stove, his expression full of pride as he looks at it. He’s a master at grilling, I’ll give him that.

  “All we have to do is let this rest for about twenty minutes and then we’ll be good to go.” He pulls me into his arms and presses his lips to mine. “Happy Thanksgiving, Ellie. The food looks delicious.”

  I wink. “It tastes delicious too. I’ve already been sneaking a few bites here and there.”

  My family’s in the living room, so they aren’t even paying attention to us. I kiss Jake again, only this time it’s deeper. Once Thanksgiving is over, he has to hop on a plane to head right back to Arizona. I’ve had him for three weeks straight, but that time is over.

  “I’m going to miss you this weekend.”

  He scoffs playfully. “I bet. Aren’t you and your mother going shopping?”

  “Yes, but that’s not going to stop me from missing you.”

  His gaze saddens as he looks down at my stomach. “I thought for sure you’d be pregnant by now.”

  I touch his cheek. “It’s only been three months. I took birth control pills for years. We have to let it get out of my system. Besides,” I say, wrapping my arms around his neck, “there’s still a chance I could be right now.”

  “All right, you two, nobody wants to see that.” Owen chuckles and sets down a loaf of fresh bread onto the counter. He points to it. “Kimberly had made a few loaves the other day. I thought I’d bring one over.”

  Jake lets me go and shakes his hand. “Where is she?” he asks.

  Owen’s smile fades. “We broke up a couple nights ago. She flew down to Alabama to spend the holidays with her family. Apparently, she met up with an old flame. As she put it, he’s someone who can give her what she needs.”

  “Owen, I’m so sorry,” I say, holding my arms out to hug him.

  He sighs and lets me go. “It’s okay. I sensed it was going to happen eventually.”

  Jake nods toward the living room where everyone else is gathered. “Come on, man. We’ll get your mind off it. Besides, we have football to watch tonight.”

  “I’ll be right there,” Owen says, heading toward the door that leads to our garage, “I’m just going to grab a beer really fast.”

  Jake kisses me again. “Your mother and sister already set the table. Everything’s ready when you are.” He slips away to the living room where I can hear him and my dad talking about which teams are going to make it to the Super Bowl. Since the turkey needs a few minutes more to settle, I start to head into the living room when my phone beeps.

  Seeing the number, I know who it is, even if it’s different than before.

  (xxx) xxx-6334: Happy Thanksgiving! You didn’t think you’d get rid of me that easily, did you? Also, it was nice seeing you on Halloween.

  Just when I think things are going well, I get a curveball. Mouth gaping, I stare at my phone in shock. There are so many emotions running through me, but the one I feel the most is fear. It paralyzes me.

  “Ells, what’s wrong?” Owen asks, rushing over.

  Jake must’ve heard him, because he came dashing in as well. “Ellie?”

  My eyes are so blurry from tears, I can barely see. Both Owen and Jake stare down at me and I swallow hard. To Jake, I look up at him and let the tears fall. “There’s something I need to tell you.” Then I turn to Owen and hand him my phone. “I need your help.”

  What started out as one of the best Thanksgivings ever, quickly turned to shit. Instead of alerting my whole family of the texting problem I’d had the past few months, I ran through it quickly with both Jake and Owen. Jake’s eyes darkened and there was a lot he wanted to say, but he kept quiet, even through the dinner and the football game.

  My family could tell something was wrong, but nobody said anything. At this point, I just want everyone to leave, so I can talk things out with Jake and see what Owen can do to help.

  Luckily, once the football game ends, my parents gather their leftovers and say their goodbyes, staring at me awkwardly before going out the door. To them, they probably think Jake and I are having issues, which I guess we are, but not in the way they think. My nieces hug Jake and he gives them a dashing smile before they disappear out the door.

  My sister hugs me and whispers in my ear. “Call me later, if you want to talk.”

  I nod and hug her back. “I will.”

  Once everyone’s gone, the tension in the air spikes. Jake storms off into the living room and Owen and I follow him. He runs a hand angrily through his ash brown hair and huffs. “This has literally fucked with my head all day.”

  Owen leans against the wall with his arms crossed, obviously staying out of the way for right now.

  “I should’ve told you,” I say softly. “It’s just I knew you’d get all alpha male, and I didn’t think it was a big deal at first, just someone playing games. Then things started getting weird. That’s why I joined the gym. I started getting feelings of being watched when I was out on my runs. It scared me.”

  His eyes blaze. “And you didn’t think to tell me this? I’m your fucking husband, Ellie. I’m supposed to know this shit.”

  “Calm down, man. This is exactly what she wanted to avoid. Ellie didn’t know it was going to lead to this,” Owen says, trying to smooth things over. Instead, I think it pisses Jake off more.

  “What can you do to find this bastard?” Jake demands. “He was at your fucking house and he touched my wife. I’ll kill whoever he is if he so much as comes near her again.”

  Owen walks over and sets my phone on the coffee table. Jake picks it up and looks through the last set of text messages, his face clenching as he reads them. Luckily, I haven’t deleted them yet. Maybe they’ll help Owen figure out who it is.

  Owen grabs a pen and pad from the kitchen and sits down on the couch. “So, you say this started happening a few months ago?”

  I nod. “The first time was back in August. I deleted the first round of texts and blocked the number. Ninety days later, I get more. Those are the ones that are still in my messages. That same day, I went to the cell store and asked them to permanently block it. I tried searching the number myself and it came up as an old, closed down paint store.”

  Jake paces the floor. “It has to be one of your exes.”

  Owen writes down a few notes and lifts his serious eyes to mine. “The question is . . . which one? I’ve met several of your college boyfriends, just not your high school ones. Are there a couple who really stand out?”

  Jake grabs my wrist and turns me to face him. “You have to have an idea of who it is. Didn’t you date a guy who called you non-stop and showed up at your work to follow you home?”

  The thought makes me cringe. The girls I worked with even told me he was psycho. “I think Owen remembers that guy. And he does have the same build as the man who bumped into me at the party.”

  Owen scoffs. “Who could forget that fucktard. Name’s Travis. I’ll see what I can find out on him.” He writes some more down and looks up. “There are two others though that come to mind, both with the same kind of body type. Can you guess who I’m thinking?”

 
My chest tightens and I feel sick. Groaning, I fall into my favorite brown leather chair. “Tripp and Bryan. Tripp stalked me until I threatened to put a restraining order on him, and he also threatened to commit suicide unless I stayed with him.”

  “Jesus fucking Christ,” Jake growls. “What kind of psychotic pieces of shit did you date?”

  Owen holds up a hand. “He backed off shortly after that, once I got done with him. Now Bryan, on the other hand, was a different story. She dated him off and on for a while, and ended up staying friends for years after that. Right up until you two started getting serious.”

  Jake looks at me and I nod. “You know who Bryan is.”

  His jaw clenches. “How can I forget? You used to go out to lunch with him every week, until I told you I didn’t like it. Then the week of our wedding, he tried to get you to leave me.”

  Imagine my surprise when I’d opened my emails three days before our wedding, only to find messages from him, declaring his love for me. It’d been a mess. “There was nothing romantic between me and Bryan when I met you,” I say truthfully. “It was all in the past at that point.”

  Jake huffs. “Maybe on your end.”

  “Bryan was a good guy, but he had his demons. He liked to drink a lot.”

  Owen sighs. “He would drunk-dial her all the time. There wasn’t a weekend that went by when she didn’t have a message on her phone from him. He used to always say that they were meant to be together.”

  “He did,” I agree, “but he was never aggressive. The text today doesn’t sound like him. It’s something Travis would say.”

  “A pussified momma’s boy is what that piece of shit is,” Owen mumbles, before getting up to his feet. He rips his notes off the pad. “Then again, it’s best to research them all. I’ll trace the numbers and see what I can find. I’ll come over this weekend and give you an update.”

  “Goddammit!” Jake grumbles. “I’m supposed to fly out to Arizona tomorrow.” He pulls out his phone. “They’re just going to have to deal without me for a while.”

  “No.” I rush over and grab his phone. “You can’t do that, Jake. I’ll be fine here for a couple of days. I can always stay with my parents.”

  “And I’ll be around too,” Owen offers. “I might even take her to the gun range, so she can practice.”

  I glance at Owen and then back to Jake. “See? I’ll be fine.”

  Jake doesn’t look convinced. Releasing a heavy breath, he pulls me into his arms. “After this weekend, I’m not going back to Arizona until this is figured out. Promise me, you’ll be safe.”

  With tears streaming down my face, I nod and kiss him. “I promise. You know I’m tougher than I look. Whoever this guy is, he’s just playing mind games. I’m not going to let him control my life.”

  Jake’s eyes gleam with untapped rage as he pins them on Owen. “Find him fast, brother. And when you do, I want a few words with him.”

  Owen’s smirk is just as deadly as Jake’s eyes. “So do I.”

  Once Owen is gone, silence fills the air. Jake is stuck in his own thoughts, and I know he’s contemplating not flying out to Arizona. But I can’t have him jeopardize his job for me. His suitcase lies empty on the bed, so I’m the one who starts putting his clothes inside.

  Jake grabs my hand and slams the suitcase shut. “I wish you would’ve told me.”

  My chest is so tight I can barely breathe, and my eyes feel like sandpaper from crying so much. Jake pulls me over to him and I lay my head against his chest. “I didn’t want to keep it from you. I thought the texts would stop once I said I was happily married. Obviously, he doesn’t understand that.”

  “Or doesn’t care,” he counters. “You’re the one who knows these guys. Are any of them capable of more than just texts? Hell, what am I saying, this guy is already showing up at Halloween parties uninvited!”

  “I know, it’s super creepy.” I step back and wipe away my tears. “And it’s been years since I’ve seen or heard from any of them. People are capable of almost anything.”

  Jake nods. “That’s what scares me. I’ve heard plenty of horror stories from Owen. I don’t want you being a victim of any of it.”

  Placing my hands on his stubbly cheeks, I lean up and kiss him. “I won’t. I have a bad ass husband and a best friend who’s a cop. Nothing’s going to happen to me.”

  Pressing his forehead to mine, he breathes me in, a soft growl erupting from his lips. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Ellie. I don’t care if I have to kill the fucker to keep him away from you. No one’s going to take you away from me.”

  Six

  Ellie

  While Jake’s gone, I decide to stay with my parents. I opt not to tell them about the texts because I know they’ll freak out. My mother is a worrier like that. Jake says I get my paranoia from her, and he’s probably right, considering as a child my mother was always looking in her medical diagnosis book every time my sister and I had something wrong with us. Just a simple headache could lead you to the prognosis of a possible brain tumor. Guess you can say she was the original Web MD.

  Speaking of that dreaded book, I pull it from my mother’s bookshelf and open it up. I have to say it’s probably worse than googling your symptoms. I look over at the window seat and smile. I used to love this room as a child. The book shelf is built into the wall and my parents put in an antique desk that I used to do my homework on. The smell of the books is what I love most.

  “What are you reading?” my mother asks from behind. Her voice catches me off guard and I jerk around. I hold up the book, and she laughs. Everyone says our laughs are the same. “Uh-oh, are you not feeling well? Did we shop too much yesterday?”

  “I’m fine, Mom.” I make sure to smile as I say it. I slide the book back on the shelf with the encyclopedias I used to use for research as a kid. Back then, we didn’t have the internet. I take a seat by the window and sigh. “Shopping yesterday was fun. It’s good to get out.”

  She leans against the antique desk. “Did you shut down the bakery for the whole weekend?”

  I nod. “I’m not about to make Vikki come in when I know she has family in town. Besides, I got everything done that I needed. We don’t have any new orders until next week.”

  She crosses her arms over her chest. “Well, I’m glad you’re here. It feels like old times.”

  A smile lights up my face. “Yes, it does. I’m not used to waking up to breakfast already on the table.” I hold up a hand. “Wait, I take that back. Jake will make his spicy eggs every now and again.”

  That makes my mother cringe. When it comes to food, my parents are simple. They like salt and pepper, and occasionally, they’ll move out of their comfort zone and try some garlic and herbs. When I cook, they get a mouthful of flavors.

  “Is he coming back tomorrow?” she asks.

  I shake my head. “Monday afternoon. If you don’t mind, I’d like to stay here tomorrow night as well.”

  “Of course. We can make spaghetti tomorrow. Your father wants to grill steaks tonight.”

  My stomach growls. “Perfect. Just like old times.” I didn’t start eating steak until I was in high school. When I was in fifth grade, I choked and was so afraid to eat after that. That’s why I stayed away from heavy meats and ate things that were easy to swallow.

  My mother sighs. “That’s how it was, wasn’t it? Fish on Fridays and steak on Saturdays. Except you used to have your father grill you a hamburger so you could put barbecue sauce on it. When you started eating steak, our food bill went up.” She snickers and starts for the door. “Come downstairs and we’ll watch a movie.”

  “Be there in a sec.”

  “All right, sweetheart.” She walks out the door and down the stairs. Turning back to the window, I peer out at the river down the hill. My parents had wanted me and Jake to buy their house, so they could move into a smaller one, but we hadn’t needed all the space. However, now that we want to start a family, it might not be a bad idea.
<
br />   My phone rings and Jake’s name pops up. “Hey, babe. How’s it going out there?” I answer.

  He sounds relieved to hear my voice. “Good. I’ve been worried about you.”

  “Jake, I’m fine. I’m at my parents’ house, getting ready to watch a movie with my mom.”

  “Any other texts come in?” he asks, his voice clipped.

  “No, thank God. I’m hoping Owen will call with some kind of news soon.”

  He sighs. “Call me as soon as you find out something. I’m busting my ass to get done as early as I can. I’m going to try to get a flight out of here tomorrow night, and hopefully, take Monday off.”

  “Even better,” I say excitedly. The bakery is closed on Mondays. “We can spend the day together.”

  “That’s what I’m hoping.” He takes a big breath and his voice lowers. “Hey, there’s something I want to tell you and I don’t want to do it until I see you. I think it’s what we need.”

  I look back out the window and smile. “I think there’s something else we need too. Remember when my parents offered to sell us their house? With us trying to start a family, I think it’s what we need.”

  He bursts out laughing. “You might want to wait and hear what I have to say before we do that.”

  “I’m intrigued. Why can’t you tell me now?”

  He laughs again and it’s so good to hear it. “Because it’s a surprise. I’m hoping you’ll agree to it.”

  My curiosity piques, but I’m a sucker for surprises, so I’ll deal with the torment. “Fine. I can’t wait to hear what it’s about.”

  I can hear a male voice in the background, and then Jake huffs. “All right, cupcake, I have to go. I’ll call you tonight. It doesn’t look like I’m leaving this office until late.”

  “Okay,” I say. “I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  We hang up and I move away from the window to join my mother downstairs, when my phone rings again. It’s Owen. Hurrying to the door, I shut it lightly. My heart races out of control.