Her CEO Stalker and Her Second Chance Mate Chapter 20

Carter

I rested my elbows on the counter and leaned over as Amber scowled.

“So her documents hold up?” I asked.

“They do,”—Amber agreed—”However,”—she said, holding up the paper she had signed. She had swapped her first and middle names, according to her ID and other documents Amber had copied.

“Not a word of this, Amber, I’m still trying to figure this out; she’s my current assignment.” I let her know and she nodded. If that didn’t stop the gossip, nothing would. His word was law around here. She’d watch her tongue.

“She smells…”

“I know, and that’s not all there is to it,” I let her know without going into details. Amber stared at the door Briar had disappeared out of, with a sad expression.

“You don’t think Jake...”

“I don’t know, Amber, this one’s gonna take some time,” I said, pushing off the counter and heading to the door.

“Don’t be too hard on her, Carter,” she warned.

“Trust me, Amber, I have no intentions of going that route, this assignment is different—she is different,” was how I left the conversation as I walked out the door.

Briar’s heart rate had been going a mile a minute the entire time she was inside. Instead of walking to the driver’s seat, I opened the passenger’s door. She looked over at me, her head rested back against the headrest, struggling to take full deep breaths. No doubt her ribs were giving her some problems with that. 

“You sure I can’t take you to the hospital to get looked at?” I asked, afraid to touch her and make the panic attack worse. She shook her head no.

“What are you afraid of, Briar?” I asked. A tear ran down her cheek and I kicked myself internally. 

She let a long slow breath out before she answered. “Any piece of documentation, is one more lead for him to find me, I don’t think I’m safe anywhere,” she confided. Her eyes glazed over, and she looked away from me as she stared blankly out the windshield. The doom she felt was palpable. I didn’t consciously make the move, but my hand cupped her cheek gently and turned her face to me.

“Not on my watch,” her pretty lips trembled, and she blinked, confused, a few more tears falling down her cheeks. She nodded, if only trying to convince herself she was safe, her heart rate eased, and then her breathing slowly relaxed. I wiped the tears away with my thumbs and pulled away, forcing myself out of the magnetic orbit between us whenever I touched her. “There you go,” I cooed. 

“Thank you,” she said, demurely. That thank you didn’t sit right. It seemed she was resigned to the possibility he would find her. What she didn’t know is, if the mother fucker showed his face, whoever he was, he was a dead man.

Content that she was, at least, going to survive the drive into town, I shut the door and walked around to the driver’s side, hopping in.

“How about a hot meal? My sister owns the diner in town. It’s the only place to eat really and you’re gonna go another couple days without being able to properly cook anything. My treat,” I offered.

She narrowed her eyes at me, however, her stomach took that moment to growl. I snorted. “It’s settled then,” I concluded.

“I didn’t agree,” she protested.

“Your stomach did that for you,” I said, grinning at her. She rolled her eyes at me. Good, demure was gone. I didn’t like that look on her. Inwardly, I preened. I loved getting my way, even if it was subjectively. She huffed, shaking her head, and proceeded to watch the sun set out the passenger window as I wound down the roads into town. At least I could count on Hannah to be tactful.

The diner was thankfully quiet. Two patrons at the bar and two booths taken up by tourists. I guided Briar over to a booth on the opposite side of everyone else, and was none too surprised to see my sister’s brow arch before cocking her head at me. I ignored her and wasn’t surprised she bustled over with menus and a customer service smile.

Briar glanced up, briefly acknowledging her, no doubt trying to keep others from studying her face. She had taken her hood off, respectfully, and pulled out her hair, which cascaded in white blond tendrils long past her shoulders. My eyes were glued to it, until my sister cleared her throat, forcing me to look up at her.

“What will it be tonight, li’l brother?”

“The usual for me and whatever the lady wants,” I said automatically. 

Briar eyed me suspiciously before folding her menu closed.

“A beer, chicken fried steak, double mashed potatoes, and a side of poutine,” she said, handing the menu to my sister and resignedly looking out the window at the quiet street. Hannah and I shared a look. I shrugged and Hannah shook her head, noting it on her pad, and walked away without another word.

“We can grab some gas while we are here and see if that’s what you need to get the truck running but we will probably have to drain the tank,” I offered.

Briar eyed me. “What do you mean we?” she asked, accusatorily.

“Well, I figured I’d help you,” I let her know.

“I didn’t ask for your help,” she snarked. That felt like an ice arrow had struck me in the heart. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.“Look, you’re here in a new place, on your own, after going through some tough shit; it doesn'tseem right not to help, not to mention, whoever this guy is, if he does come around, it’s my duty to protect the citizens of this municipality. So, since you have become one of those citizens, it is also my duty to serve and protect you, not to mention, I don’t have a life, so I may as well help you out and do my job,” I tried to reason.

“I’m sure your girlfriend will love that,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“Don’t have one, try again,” I said, flashing her a grin.

“I’m not looking for a knight in shining armor.”

“Good, because I’m not one,” I said, folding my arms on the table, waiting for the next comeback.

She sighed exasperated, “You’re insufferable.”

A chuckle came from my left as the drinks were placed down in front of us. Briar eyed my drink.

“Aren’t you on duty?”

“I’m always on duty, doesn't mean I can’t have a beer with my dinner break.” I pointed out.

“Don’t worry, one beer isn’t going to make Safety Patrol Carter unsafe to drive,” Hannah teased me. I gave her a death look and all she did was chuckle.

“I’ll have the rest out in a few,” she said, walking away with a bemused smile on her face. Big sisters were the worst.

“What was that about?” Briar asked.

I sighed. “When I was in grade school, they let me be “safety patrol” and it went to my head. I’ve been the butt of jokes ever since. Come on, like it was my job, and I took it very seriously, just like I take the job I have now very seriously.

Briar snorted. It was the cutest sound I had ever heard.

“You’re laughing at me,” I accused, narrowing my eyes at her. She smiled.

“There, that’s what I was going for,” I said, satisfied. She rolled her eyes, but the smile remained as she looked down under the booth.

“Yes!” she said, scrambling for her bag, pulling out a phone and plugging it into the wall with the charger. She pushed it to the corner and her shoulders sagged with relief.

“I haven’t told my friends I’ve made it,” she said, when she looked back at me. She had completely ignored what I had just said. I observed her in her moment of relief as Hannah placed our food before us.

“Baby brother,” Hannah said, and I tore my eyes away from the woman in front of me to look at her. “Mind you come by for Sunday supper this week, you missed the last two.” 

I cringed inwardly as Briar looked over her glass taking a long gulp. “I hear you, sis, fine, but I don’t want any of Gavin’s bullshit,” I promised and warned at the same time.

“You know he only rides you because he cares.”

“Well, I don’t need that kind of caring. I’m doing just fine,” I growled out. Hannah shrugged and Briar stuck an ungodly large forkful of chicken fried steak drenched in potatoes and gravy in her mouth. Now that was sexy.

“I’ll have the poutine out in a minute,” Hannah let Briar know. Briar just nodded, chewing without looking at her.

“What’s that all about?” Briar asked, scooping more potatoes on her next piece, as I cut into mine. 

“Means my brother in law can’t mind his own business and has to stick his nose in mine.” She gave me a look to elaborate, as I dredged my chicken fried steak into my potatoes and gravy.

“He thinks I should be settling down; settle on a woman and commit,” I found myself saying, and I groaned, sticking the fork in my mouth. Why was I opening up to her? I sighed. “Most people around here fall in love with their high school sweethearts and that’s it for them. For me, that’s not the case.” I tried to downplay the gravity of my world. To them, I was an enigma, but I had my principals staring me in the face. Just not how I ever expected it to happen, and I just didn’t know what to do with that.

“Sometimes, you think you’ve found the one, and it bites you irrevocably on the ass,” she said sadly, as I watched her choke down the next bite. That told me more about her situation, and my next bite tasted like ashes, as I supposed every bite she took did, too. We ate quietly for a while after that, before Hannah came back with the poutine. 

She sighed and rubbed her stomach a moment.

“Wanna help me with this? My eyes were bigger than my stomach, but Uncle Jake always made it for us, so I had to have it.” A woman after my stomach’s heart.

It was Jake’s favorite dish, so I nodded obligingly, and we each took our forks in turn into the gravy, cheese curds, and fries without another word, however I felt her emotion and respect with every forkful. She wasn’t a fraud. She knew Jake down to the core. I wasn’t sure what to do with this information, and goddess help me, I’d already choose her over him.