Every Vow She Breaks (17 page)

She pushed the car door open, slid down from the seat then slammed it. “I think he has a bit more class than that.”

With a snort, Jed walked around to her side. “Yeah, right.”

As they approached the diner, his cell phone trilled. Pulling it from his pocket, he glanced at the display. “Hot damn. It’s your ex-fiancé. Told you he wouldn’t be able to resist responding to the message I left.”

Claire’s eyes widened. She stepped through the open doorway, paused beside the taxidermy bear then touched his arm. “What are you going to say?”

“I’m going to wing it. Hello.”

“This is Ross McGregor. Are you the one who left me a message about an old girlfriend suing me for harassment? What the hell are you talking about? What girlfriend? Are you a lawyer? I swear I never—”

Jed cleared his throat. “Are you harassing more than one woman?”

“I’m not harassing
any
woman. Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have told Bambi that when a man buys a lobster dinner and champagne for his date he expects a little something for his time and expense, but she’s hardly an old girlfriend. Is that bitch the one behind this? What did she tell you? Jesus, can you blame me? Her name’s
Bambi
for Christ’s sake.”

“You’re a piece of work, buddy.” His fist clenched around the phone. “What the hell did Claire ever see in you?”

Silence filled his ear as the seconds ticked by.

“Claire? Claire Templeton?”

“Were you engaged to another Claire?”

A long sigh whistled across the airwaves. “I haven’t thought about Claire in a while. How is she?”

Bells clanged over the entrance as a young woman wrestled a stroller inside. Jed stepped closer to the bear and held the door wide. With a harried glance, the mother nodded her thanks before moving past them. When Claire took his hand, he followed her into the restaurant and sat at the same booth they’d occupied the last time. The greasy scent of burgers and fries made his stomach rumble.

“She’d be a whole lot better if you weren’t leaving her a bunch of cryptic notes and idiotic gifts. What’s your problem, jerk? She dumped your ass
years
ago.”

“What’re you talking about? Is someone threatening Claire?”

Uneasiness slithered through him. The man sounded genuinely bewildered. Either he was lying through his teeth or—

“Who the hell are you?”

“I’m a friend of hers.” He lowered his voice as Augusta stopped beside the booth to smile a toothy grin and drop menus on the table. “We know you haven’t been home in weeks. Where are you, McGregor?”

“You checked up on me?”

“You bet. Answer my question.”

“I’m in Connecticut. My grandfather passed away, and I’m helping my mother settle his estate. It’s a mess.”

Leaning back, Jed pinched the bridge of his nose.
Shit
. “You can prove that?”

The man snorted. “I’ve spent the last two days in a courtroom. Hell, yes, I can prove it.”

“Sorry to bother you. I guess someone else is responsible. Thanks for answering my questions.”

“Don’t hang up! Is Claire there? I want to talk to her.”

With an eye roll, Jed handed her his cell. “He wants to talk to you.”

The half-smile faded from her lips as she spoke. “Ross?”

While she talked, mostly in monosyllables, he pretended to study the menu. When the waitress approached, he dropped it on the table to glance over at his companion. Her hair hung across her cheek as she faced the plate glass window overlooking the street. With a hand that wasn’t quite steady, she tucked the strand behind her ear and mumbled something.

Augusta cleared her throat. “You ready to order, hon?”

“Sure. Bring us a couple of burgers and—”

Claire turned with a frown. “No burger. I’ll have the broccoli soup.” She pushed the menu toward the edge of the table. “And an iced tea with lots of lemon.” Her chin dipped. “I have to go, Ross. Honestly, I’m fine. Thanks for your concern, and I’m sorry about your grandfather. You, too. Bye.” She clicked the phone off then held it out. Her lips pinched tight.

His gaze held hers as he took the cell before glancing up at the waitress. “I’ll have root beer with my burger, cooked medium, and fries.”

“Cheese on that?”

“Of course.”

“I’ll be right back with your drinks.” Augusta scooped up the menus and moved away.

He touched her hand. “You okay?”

Claire nodded. “It was strange talking to him again. He sounded exactly the same.”

“The guy doesn’t have much respect for women. Dumping him was the right move.”

“Thanks for not saying what you’re really thinking.” She sighed. “I know what an idiot I was to get involved with him. At the time, Ross’s interest was flattering. I was young and still pretty naïve. It took me a while to realize what a complete ass he was since he was the exact opposite of Ian. Ian may have his faults, but at least he’s genuine.”

“You figured out McGregor was a user before it was too late. That’s what matters.” He pulled his gaze away from her troubled eyes and smiled when the waitress delivered their drinks. “Thanks, Augusta.”

“You bet, hon. Your food will be ready shortly.”

Jed sipped his root beer. “You know what this means, don’t you?”

“Hmm.” Claire squeezed a lemon slice into her glass then dropped it on a napkin. “What?”

“Ross didn’t leave the wedding paraphernalia.”

“I told you guessing games weren’t his style.”

“Which means either Ian or Dallas is guilty.”

Her hand jerked, sloshing the tea. “Damn.”

“We need to confront them. Individually. It’s time to end this.”

She lifted her gaze to meet his, piercing and direct. “Past time. Let’s go do it.”

His nose twitched as Augusta approached carrying their lunches. “Just as soon as I eat my burger.”

“We missed Dallas by fifteen stinking minutes.” Claire pried the lid off the paint can and frowned into the swirling blue depths. “He left for a three-day hunting trip with one of his buddies right before we got there.”

Theresa leaned against the window sill with arms crossed. “Good. Dallas needs to have a little fun.”

“Not good. I wanted to settle this whole stalker thing, damn it.”

Her old friend gave her a commiserating look. “Okay, the timing for the trip could have been better. Did you question Ian?”

Using a flat stick, Claire stirred the paint. Some slopped over the side. “No, he and Lee are camping out in the woods for a couple of nights. After they finish repairing the damaged equipment along the perimeter of their observation area, they’re pushing deeper into the forest to look for any signs of Bigfoot occupation. I got the impression it’s a last-ditch effort before they admit defeat and pack up to leave.” She poured a stream of shimmering blue into the roller pan. “Oh, Bart may be by later today to help. Do I need to give you another rundown on who’s who in the Bigfoot camp?”

“I think I can keep them straight. How does Jed feel about Bart hanging around to work on the house? The way you described him, he sounds kind of sexy.”

“Uh, Jed missed that part of the conversation. He was chasing after Scoop, who was terrorizing the wildlife. Thank God it turned out to be a rabbit and not something that would have fought back. By the time Jed saved the poor little bunny, Margaret had arrived and was spouting off about something or other, and I forgot to mention Bart’s offer.”

Theresa snorted. “Forgot?”

“Okay, I chose to withhold that piece of information in the interest of avoiding an argument.” She ran a roller across the pan. “Jed thinks Bart has the hots for me.”

“Does he?”

“Yep. No doubt about it.” Standing, she applied fresh paint to the wall. “Hmm. That looks nice.” When Theresa didn’t answer, she looked over her shoulder. “Are you going to help me paint or watch?”

“Help.” She checked her cell before shoving it into the pocket of her pleated trousers. “I have an hour before I need to leave to pick up Shelby. Do you have another smock? I don’t want to get my good blouse dirty. I was showing property earlier and didn’t have time to change.”

“There should be one in that box.” Claire pointed then turned to re-apply the roller to the wall. “Pretty, don’t you think?”

“Absolutely. There’s a hint of silver in the blue that adds a nice glimmer. Speaking of Jed, where is he?”

“We ran out of tape, so he went to get more. I think he was glad to have an excuse to escape the tedium of masking off windows. He mumbled something about taking Scoop down to the beach for a run afterward.”

“I thought you were replacing all the windows.”

“Eventually. There are other more pressing projects, and I’m not sure how far my budget will stretch. In the meantime, I don’t want to look through paint-splattered glass.”

“I don’t blame you. Are you staying here now? I noticed your motor home parked outside.”

Claire nodded and rolled on more paint, satisfaction mounting as the wall turned from off-white to silvery blue. “We checked out of the campground. No point in wasting money. Plus, this is more convenient. I’m not planning to sleep in the house until we finish most of the interior work, but we can use the shower.”

Theresa tucked a strand of dark hair behind one ear as she started on the adjacent wall. “Is Jed a permanent fixture? I didn’t realize your relationship was so serious.”

Claire’s hand stilled. “Permanent is overstating the situation. I’m not sure how long he’s staying.”

“Aren’t you two—”

“Yes.” Hunching one shoulder, she painted a little faster. “I knew going in he’d take off eventually.”

“Oh, sweetie. I’m sorry.”

The sympathy in her friend’s voice made her eyes smart. After some rapid fire blinks, she forced a matter-of-fact tone. “My choice, and completely my fault if I get hurt.”

“Maybe he’ll stay.”

“Doubtful. Jed isn’t big on commitment.”

“He seems to like you more than a little. When you’re around, I might as well be invisible for all the notice he takes. In my opinion, the man has some serious feelings for you.”

Claire set the roller in the tray then hauled the ladder she’d borrowed over to the wall. After climbing up a couple of steps, she swore before reversing direction to grab a paintbrush. She’d edge around the top of the window frame with a steady hand if it killed her.

“He does care about me, but that doesn’t mean he’s looking for a long term relationship.”

“Is that what you want?”

She drew in a breath then released it slowly. “I guess it is. I’m just not sure Jed is the right man to invest my time in, no matter how good he is in bed.”

Theresa sputtered and coughed. “Oh, my.”

“That’s not the only thing I like about him. He’s funny and sweet, and his toleration for my dog has grown into an actual bond. Scoop’s going to miss him, too.”

“Then why shouldn’t you dive into the relationship headfirst and convince him to stay?”

She pressed her lips together. “Honestly, he’s kind of a flake about the future. The man lives in the present. Period. I’m a planner, so I fear we’d end up clashing in the long run.”

“Compromise is a beautiful thing. You should try it.”

“I will—if we ever get to that stage. Right now, we aren’t even close. What we have together is more like vacation sex.”

Theresa glanced over and frowned. “Are you sure about that? The way he’s pitched in to uncover the identity of your stalker shouts serious boyfriend more than casual fling.”

After climbing off the ladder, Claire set down the brush and picked up the roller again. “Like I said, he…cares. The L word has
not
been mentioned.”

“You have plenty of guts, my friend. Take a risk. If you have strong feelings for this man, tell him. His response just might surprise you.”

* * * *

Jed gave the stick a hard toss then stuffed his hands in his pockets to follow the galloping dog down the long stretch of sand. Drawing in a breath of salt scented air, he turned his face up to the weak sunlight filtering through a layer of clouds. This was why he worked outside. If you could call what he did work. He’d been told by more than one irritated woman that his life was more suited to an adolescent than an adult. What did they know? After spending an endless morning taping off windows, he remembered exactly why he’d quit the construction business. Life was too short to spend half his waking hours doing something guaranteed to bore him into a coma.

Even for Claire. And damned if he wouldn’t do almost anything for her. Except get a soul-sucking, nine-to-five job. Not that she’d asked him to, but he could see the direction they were headed.

When Scoop skidded to a stop in front of him and dropped the chunk of driftwood, he stooped to pick up the stick then tossed it with all his strength. He wasn’t sure which would be worse, walking away from Claire…or staying. So instead of committing either way, he was doing what he did best, avoiding a hard choice and going with the flow. For now, indecision was working.

When his cell trilled, he pulled it from his pocket and checked the display. Kane. His lips curved upward as he answered. “Shouldn’t you be working? Or are you so good crime has taken a vacation in Vine Haven?”

“Smart ass. For your information I spent the morning busting a bunch of pot growers. One of them even took a shot at me. Luckily, his aim was off, and the bullet just nicked my arm.”

Jed faced the endless stretch of sea and pushed an unsteady hand through his hair. “Jesus. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Rachel was a little upset, threatened to shove a hot poker up the guy’s ass.”

Snorting with laughter, he reached down for the stick Scoop dropped then threw it. “Good for your wife.”

“Rachel insisted I call you and Dad, even though the wound is no big deal.”

“I’m glad you did. How is he, by the way?”

“Same as always. Dad mentioned he hadn’t talked to you in a while.”

“I’ll call him. I’ve been…distracted.”

“Why don’t you head down the mountain for a visit? Dad would appreciate the company, and I can’t get away from work right now.”

Up the beach, the dog ran full speed at a flock of seagulls gathered around something dead. The birds squawked their displeasure before taking flight. Jed turned away.