But Courtney had something to do first.
The drive to the big-box store in Bexford took a solid forty-five minutes from the office. She could only pray she wouldn’t recognize anyone once she got inside.
Courtney parked her vehicle off to the side of the building and took the walk to the front door while fighting against the urge to vomit. She walked past the row of neatly stacked carts. She didn’t need one but didn’t exactly want to hold a pregnancy test out in the open, either. She picked up a handbasket instead, figuring she could load it with a few items.
Part of the reason she’d come to this store was the fact that it had self-checkout stands. That and the point that she didn’t want the whole town of Jacobstown to know she thought she might be pregnant. If she was, then, yes, she would have to have an awkward conversation with the baby’s father, but she’d rather not deal with the gossip if she turned out to be stressing over being late on her cycle for no reason.
Walking through the aisle caused her pulse to race. A man walked past. She froze, pretending to be interested in a feminine napkin package. She mentally chided herself for being ridiculous. But this felt so much bigger than she could handle. If word got out, there’d be questions, and there was no way she wanted this tidbit getting around.
Her heart played a steady beat, hammering her rib cage.
It was then she realized she should’ve bought the other items first so she could immediately cover what she came for.
Taking in another deep breath brought enough calm over her to pick up the pregnancy test and drop it into her basket. She moved over two aisles and randomly threw in any item that she might ever need. Allergy pills. Stomach acid reducer. Cotton balls.
It shouldn’t be a big deal to get from where she stood in the middle of the store, and yet it felt like miles away.
She turned and out of the corner of her eye caught sight of a youngish man who favored his left leg when he walked. The hairs on the back of her neck pricked. She told herself that her reaction was most likely because of the conversation she’d had with Zach and Lopez a little while ago and not because the Jacobstown Hacker was in The Mart walking twenty feet in front of her.
His back was to her, but she could see that he was average height and build, maybe even a little wiry. She’d learned the hard way that wiry guys could be surprisingly strong. His hair was light brown in a short cut, commonly referred to as a buzz. He wore Carolina-blue basketball shorts and a dark hoodie.
There were all kinds of logical reasons that could account for his slight limp, Courtney reminded herself as she kept one eye trained on him. He turned at the end of the aisle toward the sporting goods section. This guy could be coming from the gym. He could have strained a muscle in a workout. Or he might play sports and could have tweaked his ankle during a game. It could’ve been a pickup game. How many of her colleagues in Dallas had done the same during last-minute lunch-hour basketball rounds?
She was being paranoid, but with no answers in Breanna’s murder after weeks of investigating, everyone with a limp was worth checking out. The reality that the killer knew the area struck. He really could be any guy she’d just walked past in order to follow Blue Trunks. Ice-cold creepy-crawlies trailed up and down her spine when she really thought about it. A familiar shot of adrenaline jacked her heart rate up a few notches. She used to get a burst of excitement when that happened. Now, it felt a lot like dread as she reminded herself to control her breathing. Her stress response was out of whack after what had happened on her last job.
Courtney increased her speed as she rounded the aisle. She ran smack into a hard, male chest that felt more like a wall.
Before she could tell the man to watch where he was going, she blinked up. Jordan Kent.
“What are you doing here?” The words flew out, and her cheeks flamed with embarrassment. If he saw the pregnancy test in her basket...
No, he could not see that. She subtly shifted her elbow backward in order to use her body to block the contents in the basket. Her skin still sizzled from the weeklong fling they’d had a month and a half ago.
The tall, over-the-top handsome rancher took a step back. His dark curls were barely contained underneath a black Stetson. A slow grin spread across perfect lips and straight white teeth in one of those smiles that had been so good at seducing her. He had the sexiest dimple on his right cheek. He was one seriously irresistible, hot package. Another bout of nausea struck. She didn’t want to be reminded of exactly how tempting he’d been.
Jordan quirked a dark brow. “Shopping. Why? Is it against the law now?”
COURTNEY STARED AT Jordan like he had two foreheads. He’d been used to teasing her when they were kids but running into her in the least likely place a month and a half ago, he’d seen her in a whole new light.
“Why aren’t you still in Idaho?” She blinked at him like he might be a mirage or something.
“Family business. I was asked to come home.” The last time he’d seen Courtney ten years ago, she’d been the cute but young friend of his little sister. Running into her after a decade of absence had caused him to
