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"That’s right, Lindy Lou. This is forever." Lucas says as he walks into the kitchen.

I jump up as soon as I hear his voice and run to him. I wrap my arms around his waist and pull him in as close as I can. "I’m so glad your home."

"I’m glad to be home, baby," he says and gives me a kiss on the top of my head.

I lean my head back and look up at him. "What happened?"

He leads me to the table and tells us everything that happened from the time he left me, until he left the station. Abbie was right. The only thing she left out was Lucas having to be fingerprinted and have his blood drawn. I didn’t understand why they would want all that stuff, but he explained that they just needed it to rule him out. But no one even considered him a suspect. He was out of town during some of the break-ins. Most of the others, he had rock solid alibis. For the last three, he had been in bed with me.

We all talk for a few more minutes, then Abbie leaves. As soon as she walks out the door, I climb into his lap. "I was so scared. I knew you didn’t do anything, but I kept thinking they might not let you come home."

He kisses me softly. "I’ll always come home to you, Lindy Lou."

I kiss him back for a while, then get up and pull him to the bedroom. As soon as we hit the bed, I start kissing him again. I crawl onto him and straddle his waist. "I knew I loved you, but I didn’t know how much until I watched you drive away this morning."

I feel his body tighten underneath me. His hands grab my hips and squeeze them. "What did you just say?"

I shrug my shoulders. "I was just saying how scared I was."

"No, tell me exactly what you just said."

I think back and try to think of the words that I had used. "I said that I knew I loved you, but..."

I don’t even get to finish what I was going to say before he flips me onto my back. He climbs on top of me. "Say it again."

I finally realize what he means and smile up to him. "I love you."

His mouth crashes down on mine. He kisses me for a few moments, then pulls back. "It’s about fucking time!"

I have no idea what he is talking about. "What do you mean?"

"Just what I said. I was starting to wonder if you were ever going to say those words to me."

I shake my head at him. "I tell you that I love you all time."

"You’ve never said it. You told me that you fell in love with me on that day we saw the shark, but you’ve never just said it."

I think about it for a moment and realize that he is right. "Oh Lucas, I am so sorry that I haven’t told you before, but I love you. I’ve loved you forever."

He brings his lips to mine again and whispers, "I love you too, baby."

CHAPTER TEN

"I know what I’m going to be when I grow up," Lindy says.

Lucas looks towards her. "What?"

"A teacher."

LUCAS

I’m trying to focus on my job, but even the 1947 Harley Davidson Knucklehead I’m rebuilding isn’t able to keep my attention. Any other day, I would be drooling over this fine ass machine, but today I just can’t get my mind off Lindy. It’s the first day of school, and it’s also the first day Lindy has been away from me since the night Chris and Dad came to get me.

Lindy is excited to finally be teaching, but I’m on edge. I cannot wait for three o’clock to roll around, so I can pick her up. I want her by my side at all times. That is the only way I’ll know for sure she’s safe. I keep checking the clock, but it’s not quite noon yet. Shit! I hate being away from her.

"When’s my girl going to be here?" Ro
ger asks, as he walks into the garage.

I look up from the bike. "I’ll pick her up at three."

"You are bringing her back here. Right?"

I smile. "Yeah, Rog. She will be here until I get off."

He walks back into his office, but I can hear him mumbling under his breath. "Back in my day, we didn’t make our women work."

Roger and Lindy have grown close over the last few weeks. When he found out about my connection to the victims, he decided Lindy would be staying at the shop while I worked. I figured she’d bitch about coming here every day, but she didn’t complain at all. At first I thought she was scared of being home alone. After a day or two, I realized Lindy just enjoyed spending time with Roger. It didn’t take long for Roger to quit trying to pinch her ass. Instead, he treats her like a daughter.

I look over to Daniel and lift my brow. "You think he likes my woman more than me?"

"Yeah, man. I do," he replies.

I nod my head. "Can’t say I blame him."

"Me neither," Daniel says with a chuckle and goes back to work on his bike.

I am just about to do the same, when the door opens and Kelsey walks in. Damn. I have not seen her since the day she and Chad showed up at our house, and I was beginning to think she’d given up. I should have known better.

I don’t even give her time to walk across the shop. "What the fuck do you want?"

She smiles at me, like the crazy bitch she is, and holds up a bag from BC’s Deli. "I brought you lunch."

"You have got to be kidding me.
I don’t want your lunch. I don’t want one fucking thing to do with you, so just turn your skank ass around and walk out of here."

She reaches out and tries to touch my face, but I jerk away before she can reach me. "Did you not hear me? Get the fuck out of here."

She looks up at me with tear-filled eyes. "I know you don’t mean these terrible things you say to me."

I lean my head down and place my face only inches from hers. "Get the fuck out!" I yell.

Kelsey’s eyes grow as big as saucers, and she takes a step back. "Please, Luke. I just want to spend some time with you."

I look over at Daniel. "I know you’re probably getting tired of this shit, but can you please get this psycho bitch out of here."

"No need," Roger says, as he walks out of his office. "I called her dad. He’ll be here to pick her up in just a few minutes."

Kelsey turns toward Roger. "You didn’t," she says in a shocked voice.

Roger nods. "Yeah, I did. So, you can either leave now or get your ass dragged out of here by him. It’s your choice."

Kelsey doesn’t even wait for Roger to close his mouth before she sprints out the door. Less than a minute later, I hear her car drive away.

"Thank you, Rog," I say.

"It’s going to take more than a thank you. I hate her father. Gregory Reynolds is the biggest prick in the whole damn town. I only called him because I knew it would earn me some of Lindy’s chicken and dumplings," he says as he walks back in his office.

"I think Kelsey has a screw loose," Daniel remarks.

I turn towards him. "You’re just figuring that shit out?"

"No, but I mean a seriously fucking loose screw. Just listening to her talk gives me chills."

I nod my head in agreement. "I know, man. Between her and this sick fuck running around attacking woman, I don’t know how in the hell I’m supposed to protect Lindy."

"I feel for you, Luke. I’m worried about Tara too, but she doesn’t have half the target on her that Lindy does. Shit, if I was you, I would be going insane," Daniel says, with a shake of his head.

"If it wasn’t for Lindy’s job, we’d take off until this fucker is caught."

"Ms. James will not be going anywhere until fall break. At least she won’t if she wants to keep her position," a male voice says from the door. I look over at Kelsey’s dad and have the urge to scream. I cannot believe I forgot Mr. Reynolds is the superintendent for Warrington schools. This bastard is Lindy’s boss.

He looks around and then back towards me. "I was told my daughter was here. Where is she?"

"You just missed her. She left a few minutes ago," I reply.

"What was my sweet girl doing in a place like this?" he asks while looking at the classic bike I have been working on like it’s a piece of dog shit.

"She was here harassing Luke again," Daniel answers for me.

Mr. Reynolds looks toward Daniel. "My beautiful baby has no need to harass Lucas Beck. In fact, she has no need to even be speaking with someone like him. I will talk to her and find out what truly happened. I can guarantee you that you will never see her in a place like this again."

I shake my head at how much of an asshole this guy is. "Thank you for that. I would also appreciate if you could get her to stay the hell away from Lindy and me. Her ass has been dogging us for months. I’m tired of her shit. If she keeps it up, we will be pressing charges. You may have got her out of it when she cut Lindy’s tire, but you won’t be able to save her if she keeps this shit up."

He jerks his head towards me. "I can assure you my daughter will no longer be contacting either you or Ms. James. My baby has a very bright future, and I have big plans for her. I won’t let anyone ruin them. That includes you."

I start to say more, but he rushes out the door.

Daniel lets out a whistle. "Damn. I guess we know where the psycho gene comes from."

I nod. "Yeah, and that dick head is Lindy’s boss."

"Fuck, man. I can’t imagine working for a prick like that."

"I just hope he leaves her the fuck alone!"

LINDY

Facing a room full of third graders is harder than I thought it would be, but it has been fun so far. They all seem to be pretty good kids, but I can already tell who the trouble makers are going to be. They are both the cutest little boys, but they like to act out. I made the mistake of sitting them beside each other, and they are even worse. I think I could handle them better if I move them apart. Its lunchtime now, so instead of eating lunch, I am moving their desks.

I am almost done when Mr. Reynolds walks into my room. At first I wonder what Kelsey’s dad is doing at the elementary school. He was the principal of the high school, when I was there. Then I remember hearing he was promoted to superintendent. Oh crap, he is my boss.

"Ms. James," he says as he walks towards me.

"Mr. Reynolds." I nod in acknowledgement.

"You and I need to talk."

"Of course. Would you like to see my lesson plans?" I’m hoping he is here about my class and not about his daughter.

"No. I want to talk about my little darling."

I had forgotten about his pet names. I have never heard him call Kelsey by her name. It was my darling this or my sweet that. One time in high school, I even heard him call her his delicate little butterfly. I always thought it was weird then, but it’s just plain freaky now that she is an adult.

"Okay," I say, with a nod.

"Whatever vendetta you have against my daughter, I want it to end. If not, you can consider your position at Warrington Elementary temporary."

I cannot believe he just said that. "I have no vendetta against Kelsey. I am not the one that cut her tire or keeps threatening her."

"That was all in the past. It was all just a little misunderstanding. You need to move on, and leave my lovely alone," he finishes with an edge to his voice.

I shake my head at him. "I will gladly leave her alone. The problem is Kelsey will not leave me alone. If she isn’t threating me, she is calling Lucas. It’s crazy, and it’s got to stop."

"That will be taken care of. You just stay away from her, or you will find yourself without a job." Looking pleased with his threat hanging out there, he spins on his heel and leaves the room without giving me time to respond. My God. He is as crazy as she is.

As soon as I see Mr. Reynolds walk down the hall, I pick up my phone and call Lucas. "Hey, baby."

"You will not believe who just came to talk to me."

I hear him blow out a frustrated sigh. "Kelsey’s dad?"

"How did you know?"

He tells me all about Kelsey’s crazy visit, then her father’s odd one. Then I tell him about my visit from Mr. Reynolds.

"They are both insane. What in the hell is up with those names he calls Kelsey? It’s my this or my that. It’s like she is some sort of a possession, instead of his daughter."

"I don’t know, babe, and I don’t really give a fuck. I just want you to stay clear of him. He could make things hard on you at work," Lucas advises.

"I know. He already threatened to fire me if this stuff with Kelsey doesn’t settle down."

"No fucking way! Don’t let that prick scare you. He can’t fire you over something you have no control over. It’s his bitch of a daughter doing this shit. If he don’t like it, then he needs to take it up with her."

"I know, but he is my boss. He could find a reason to let me go if he wanted. Only I would know the truth." The lunch bell rings so we wrap up our conversation, and I walk to the lunchroom to get my students. As we pass the principal’s office, I see Mr. Reynolds and the principal talking. They are both looking at me, and I know instantly my job teaching at Warrington Elementary is in no way secure.

LUCAS

As soon as I pick Lindy up, I know she has had a shit day, so I decide to take her to Catalina’s to get some dinner. Roger started to argue that Lindy owed him chicken and dumplings, but he stopped as soon as he saw her. Lindy is definitely one of those people who wears her emotions all over her face.

We are just sitting down when our waitress comes over to take our order. I am still looking at my menu, when she says my name. As soon as I look up, I have the urge to grab Lindy’s hand and get the hell out of the restaurant. Instead, I just lift my chin at the waitress and start to tell her what I want.

She cuts me off. "Are you seriously not even going to say hello to me?"

"Hello, Deidra." I say to her, but I am looking at Lindy. Her already shitty mood is getting worse.

"I called you like ten times. Why didn’t you call me back?" Deidra says, while tapping her pen on the order pad.

I start to respond, but shut my mouth when Lindy joins the conversation. "Excuse me. Deidra was it? I’m not sure if you noticed me, but I am sitting right here. Right across from Lucas, who just happens to be my man. If you have something to say to him, other than what can I get for you, sir, then run it by me first."

"Your man? Luke does not do exclusive. You better get used to it now, or you are going to get hurt later. You’ll be lucky if you get a round two," Deidra says with a sneer.

"You’re wrong. He does not do exclusive with women like you. Me, on the other hand, he’s been living with for the past two months," Lindy says, in a very loud voice.

I look around and everyone in the restaurant is staring. I see the manager walking towards our table. Lindy and Deidra are just starting to shout at each other when he arrives. He quickly pulls Deidra away and tells us that he will send a new server right over.

As soon as they walk away, I look over at Lindy. I start to tell her how sorry I am, but she just shakes her head. "Don’t say a word. Let’s just eat our dinner then go home. The next time you want to do something nice for me, make sure you aren’t taking me to somewhere one of your whores work."

Dinner is uncomfortable, to put it lightly. We just sit there and eat in silence. She doesn’t even offer to share her food or take any of mine. As soon as Lindy takes her last bite, we head home. When we walk through the door, she heads straight to the kitchen. I know better than to even try to talk to her, so I plop down on couch and turn on the TV. A little while later, I can smell peanut butter cookies baking. A few minutes after that, Lindy walks into the room, sits down beside me and hands me a plate.