Every Vow She Breaks (16 page)

* * * *

The motor home was gone.
Shit!
Had Claire finished her story for
Rugged America
and left the area for good? He’d been counting on her to stick around indefinitely to wait for another Bigfoot sighting. Had he misjudged her on that front as well? At this point, it seemed obvious she had no intention of following through on the vow she’d made all those years ago. She’d ignored the nightgown the same way she’d ignored his other gifts. He lowered his head to his chest and closed his eyes. Knowing she’d forgotten her promise to him broke his heart.

He didn’t like having his heart broken.

Giving his door a hard slam, he left the vehicle and strolled into the campground from the woods to avoid the attendant at the kiosk. Lafferty’s SUV was still parked in the site they’d occupied, but his tent had been taken down. The man was nowhere around. Maybe Claire had left because she’d finally realized she had nothing in common with a jerk with no ambition and fewer prospects.

His mood lightened at the thought. Still, Lafferty would undoubtedly know where she’d gone. Once he had the information he needed, he’d simply revise his plan. After all, there was more than one way to skin a cat.

He checked the fire pit. Not a hint of warmth in the ashes. Hard to tell when that idiot had left the campsite. Maybe he hadn’t bothered with a fire that morning. With a sigh, he headed back toward the woods to wait for the asshole’s return. He’d stay out of sight and assess the situation before approaching him. Hopefully he wouldn’t have long to wait.

Dropping down onto the rotted remains of a fallen tree, he massaged his temples. He’d thought for sure Claire would respond to the nightgown. She’d joked with him about her love affair with lingerie. He slammed his fist down on the log, and pulpy bark flew into the air.
Why didn’t she remember?
Sometimes he wished he could simply forget her promise and move on.
Not likely.
No other woman had ever made him feel the way he did about Claire.

What was that?
His chin snapped up as he peered in the direction of the road. The engine rumbled closer followed by a flash of blue and white.
Claire’s motor home?
As he stood to move cautiously through the trees, relief surged through him when Claire’s—
Thank God
—RV paused at the kiosk before turning into the campground.

She’s back.
He rubbed his hands together and sighed, anticipating that first glimpse of his one true love.

The rumble of the engine ceased. A moment later the door opened, and that monster dog shot through to land on the ground with a thump. Claire followed, hair gleaming in the late afternoon sunlight, her laughter echoing in the forest.

He frowned. Surely the dog wasn’t that funny—
God damn it
to hell and back!

Lafferty jumped down without bothering with the step. Claire glanced up at him wearing a smile he didn’t deserve. The asshole leaned in to kiss her.

Pain ripped through his chest. He couldn’t breathe. Doubling over, he focused on drawing in air. After a few quick pants, he forced himself to look. The shithead had stepped away from her and was hunkered down doing something with a jack. Leveling the RV no doubt, so they could go back to staining the sheets. Lafferty stood to move forward then draped his arm around Claire’s shoulders.

He closed his eyes but couldn’t hold back a moan. The way they looked at each other had changed. The self-satisfied expression on the idiot’s face made him want to beat the shit out of him. Claire was sleeping with the asshole now. That had to be it. The love of his life had betrayed him.

Straightening, he clenched his fist at his side. This changed everything! But he refused to be denied. He wouldn’t give up. He’d
never
give up. All he had to do was adjust his plan.

Claire wouldn’t know what hit her.

Jed turned the container of paint to read the label. “
Breezy Blue
. That’s even dumber than
Aqua Swirl
. A breeze doesn’t have a color.”

“I like it. Cool yet comforting.” Claire scribbled on the back of a sample card before adding it to the growing pile in her basket. “
Breezy Blue
is my top choice for the master bedroom. I’ll try a few of the others, though, just to be sure they look the same on the walls.”

He replaced the can on the shelf. “You’re the one who’s going to have to sleep in a room named after the wind.”

“Don’t complain. I let you talk me out of
Sunrise Burst
for the bathroom, didn’t I?”

“It hurt my eyes, not to mention my sense of dignity.”

She grinned as she moved down the aisle of the hardware store to some tan colors with undertones of pink. Thankfully, these didn’t make him want to gag. Not that he had any real say in the matter of paint color. It was her house. Soon to be home. He was merely a temporary fixture in her life. Pressing a hand to his chest, he rubbed against the sudden pain.

It was past noon. The gnawing in his stomach must have migrated north. There couldn’t be any other explanation for the hollowness behind his ribcage. At least not any he was willing to think about.

“I like
Sand Storm
for the living room. Pretty, don’t you think, with that rosy glow?”

“Uh, sure. More weather related colors. You seem to have a theme going.”

She leaned back against his shoulder as she held up two different samples in muted shades of green. “I do, don’t I? Guess I should go with
Sea Mist
for the tower bedroom then.”

A throat cleared behind them. Jed glanced to his left then tightened the arm around Claire and squeezed. “Look who’s here. Hey, Dallas.”

“Hey.” The man took a step back and rubbed his hands down the front of the denim apron covering a gray shirt and jeans. “I was stocking shelves, but my clerk said you’d been back here a while. I was wondering if you needed some help.”

When Claire pushed against his arm, Jed reluctantly released her.

“I’m choosing paint colors. Did you hear I inherited my great-aunt’s house? I still can’t believe it.”

“Theresa mentioned it when I ran into her earlier.”

Claire’s eyes brightened. “She was almost as thrilled as I am that I’ll be staying in the area. After we finished jumping up and down and squealing with joy like a couple of schoolgirls, she promised to line me up with a reliable contractor for the major repairs.” She waved toward the racks of samples. “I’ll handle painting myself.”

Dallas glanced toward Jed. “Well, let me know if I can do anything to help.”

“Actually, you can.” Claire stepped around the cart and touched his arm. “Theresa told me if I set up an account and order the materials myself instead of having the contractor do it, I can avoid some extra costs.”

“Sure. We just need to sit down together to fill out the form.”

Jed glanced at his watch. “I thought we were going to go get some lunch.”

“Do you mind waiting? Since we’re here, I’d like to get this finished.”

He let out a slow breath, knowing he was acting like a jealous idiot because she was being nice to one of her former boyfriends.
Time to quit being such a moron, moron.
“Of course not. I probably won’t starve, though it may be close.”

Her smile for him took some of the sting out of the one she turned on Dallas.

“Do you have an office we can use?”

The man nodded with unwarranted enthusiasm for the task at hand. Not that Claire seemed to mind. With his customary bitter expression replaced by one of good humor, Jed could almost see what had attracted her to the store owner when they were teens. Simms had a certain degree of appeal…at least he assumed a woman would find the combination of brawn and ardent fascination attractive.

“Uh, my office is kind of cramped…”

“No problem.” Claire glanced over her shoulder. “Jed can pick out some more weather-related colors for me while we take care of the paperwork.”

Dallas stared at her. “Huh?”

“Inside joke.” She disappeared around the end of the aisle, chattering away to the football hero.

Terrific.
At least Dallas wasn’t the one stalking her. With a sigh, he turned back to the paint samples. Maybe he’d pick out a couple of colors he actually liked.

“Jed?”

Jerking around, he nearly knocked the cart filled with brushes and rollers into a stack of paint cans. Ian and Bart stood at the end of the aisle. Judging by their frowns, neither was thrilled to see him.

“How’s it going?”

The beach boy zoologist crossed his arms over his chest. “Not that great. We had another tampering incident. Whoever has been messing with our equipment broke one of the mounts for a camera. We need a couple of new bolts to re-secure it.”

Jed glanced between the two scientists. “You didn’t catch the guy?”

Ian scowled. “No, but we will.” Shoving his hands into the pockets of his cargo pants, he rocked back on his heels. “I’m surprised you’re still hanging around the area.”

“I’m helping Claire with some repairs to her great-aunt’s house.”

The man’s gray eyes darkened. “I thought Claire finished her story and left for San Francisco. What’re you talking about?”

Jed eyed the pair. Both seemed genuinely confused—or their acting skills were superb. Claire’s stalker would know exactly where she was. One more reason to believe Ross was the one harassing her, not Ian.

“I guess the news hasn’t spread to your camp yet. Claire got word from a lawyer that her aunt left her a house not far from here. The place needs some work, but she intends to move into it soon.”

“I thought that old biddy died years ago.” Ian’s brows pinched. “When we were still…together…Claire mentioned the woman had stopped responding to her letters.”

“There was a misunderstanding.” Jed edged his cart down the aisle. “Good to see you both. I’ll be sure to tell Claire I bumped into you.”

“Maybe I’ll offer my help with the renovations.” Bart’s smile flashed in his tanned face. “Since she intends to stick around, there’s no reason she and I can’t get together.”

Maintaining a civil expression took an effort.
Overconfident ass.
“You have plenty of time to spare?” He couldn’t resist a little dig. “No Bigfoot sightings?”

Ian grunted. “Not yet.”

“Too bad. I’m headed up to the check-out line. See you around.”

He escaped to the front of the store. When Claire didn’t show while the clerk rang up her purchases, he pulled out a credit card to pay for them then carried the bags outside. Scoop greeted him with an enthusiastic round of barking while he loaded the supplies into the back of the SUV.

He patted the mutt’s huge head. “Quite frankly, I’d rather spend time with you than any one of Claire’s ex-lovers or current contenders for the title. That Bart guy is a definite player. I have a feeling if I turned my back for two seconds—”

“Talking to yourself or the dog?”

He smacked his head on the lifted rear door and swore loudly. Turning, he frowned at Preston. “Jesus, it’s Grand Central Station around here.”

“Oh, yeah?” Brown eyes gleamed with humor.

“Ian and Bart are inside buying replacement parts for more damaged equipment. They’re pissed, so you may want to make yourself scarce.”

The journalist shrugged. “What do I care? I didn’t do it.”

“Maybe not, but I doubt they’ll take your word for it.”

“I’m not afraid of a couple of squints.” He leaned against the bumper. “Where’s Claire?”

“Inside opening up an account. She should be out shortly.”

“Did you track down Ross?”

“He’s MIA. Interesting, don’t you think?” Pushing the dog back into the cargo area, Jed slammed the door.

“You said before this guy is leaving Claire gifts. So, you think McGregor’s the one?”

“I do.”

Preston scowled. “I wonder why he’s pursuing her now.”

“I don’t have a clue.” Jed shook his head. “Neither does Claire. She’s still having a hard time believing Ross is responsible.”

He glanced toward the hardware store when the door opened. A man with a bushy brown beard carrying a box of nails exited.

“So, when do you two plan to leave the area?”

“Actually, Claire’s staying. She inherited a house on the coast just south of here and intends to fix it up. That’s why she’s opening an account. I’ll be around for a while, at least until we confront McGregor and stop his harassment.”

“You’re kidding?” Preston’s brows shot up, disappearing into a mop of red hair. “A house on the ocean? Well, good for Claire.”

“Yeah, she’s pretty excited about it.” Jed straightened as the door opened again and Claire emerged. “Here she comes now.”

Preston raised a hand and waved. “Hey, lucky lady. Jed told me the news.”

A smile flashed. “I’m still trying to process it. I went from homeless to homeowner in a blink.” She met Jed’s gaze. “The clerk told me you paid for my supplies.”

“I wanted to get out of there. You can pay me back.”

She nodded then turned to Preston. “Jed’s a bottomless pit, and it’s past lunchtime. Would you like to join us?”

“Sounds fun, but I have notes to compile since I’m still working on my story. We’ll do it another time.”

“Sure.”

Preston strolled away, and Jed opened the passenger door for Claire. “Did you see Ian and Bart?”

She hopped up onto the seat then turned with a frown. “No.”

“They were inside. More damaged equipment to repair, and they needed parts.”

“Wow, Ian must be ready to explode.”

“Neither of them was in a good mood…until I mentioned you were staying. Then Bart turned into Mr. Congeniality.” Jed cranked the engine and accelerated out onto the street. “I have a feeling he’ll be in contact with you soon.”

Claire scratched Scoop’s ears when the dog pushed his head between the seats. “Great. I’ll put him to work painting. The more the merrier.”

Whipping around a car trying to parallel park, he pulled up in front of the diner. “I’m pretty sure the only thing he’s interested in painting is your naked body with whipped cream and chocolate.”

“Jed!”

“What? The guy practically drools when he says your name.”