“I have some news, too. You’re looking at the newest Driggers Porcelain employee.”
“That didn’t take long. You must have made quite the impression.”
“It helped that Hammy and Spike were nowhere to be seen. I was able to get an appointment this afternoon with the shipping manager. Turns out they just fired someone yesterday. I filled out the paperwork, and once I pass my background check, I’m in.”
She lifted one brow at him. “Is there a chance you won’t?”
He grinned. “Depends on how forgiving they are.”
She studied him. The grin said he was teasing her, but sometimes even teasing held a seed of truth. Maybe he really was on the run, had obtained fake ID and was hoping his deeds wouldn’t catch up with him.
And she’d given him a key to her house, had watched him slide it onto his ring next to his own keys. She only hoped that wouldn’t be yet another dumb decision to add to her ever-growing list. She’d done it for the promise of help with Buttons. Now Shane was going to work and she was back in the position of having to find someone to take him out during the day or hurry home herself.
And Shane still had her key. She could ask for it back, but that was probably pointless. If she really had anything to fear from him, the damage would already be done. He could have made a copy while he’d had the chance.
When they walked into CJ’s garage, the owner was the only one there. She signed the receipt, reiterating her promise to pay the following week. Then she took the keys he handed her, feeling like the charity case she’d mentioned to Shane yesterday.
She’d never been in a position like this, at least not since finally getting on her feet after fleeing Harmony Grove for Miami. She was once again on the verge of broke. She didn’t even have a credit card to fall back on, because when her business went belly up, her credit was canceled.
After climbing into the driver’s seat, she frowned over at Shane. “Now that I’ve got the brakes fixed, what’s to keep the same thing from happening again?” Or something even worse. Like planting a bomb. Then again, if someone really wanted to kill her, they wouldn’t have given her a warning.
“A security camera aimed on your driveway wouldn’t be a bad idea.”
She gave him a scowl. “Since I couldn’t even pay for the brake repair today, a security camera is out of the question.”
In the silence that followed, she glanced over at him. His brow was creased in concentration, as if trying to solve a pressing problem.
She turned the key in the ignition. “If you’re thinking about having one installed for me, don’t. I can’t afford it, and like I told you earlier, I pay my own way.”
“They make some inexpensive ones. If anyone tried anything else and the camera picked them up, we might be able to figure out who’s behind the threats, maybe even who killed your sister.”
“Even inexpensive is outside of my budget right now.”
“Let me at least look into it. You can always pay me back later.”
She heaved a sigh as she pulled into traffic. Accepting his help went against her good sense. Getting indebted to anyone was never a smart thing to do. But if it would get her closer to bringing Prissy’s killers to justice, she’d consider it.
“All right. You can look, get all the info, but don’t buy anything.”
Before he could respond, his ringtone sounded, and he pulled his phone from his pocket. He pressed it to his ear, skipping the greeting. “Can I call you in about five minutes?”
He apparently got an affirmative answer, because he swiped the phone and pocketed it again. The caller was probably the same person who’d phoned last week when he’d been at her house. Then he’d had the person hold on until he’d gotten well away from her.
She turned on her left signal and eased to a stop, waiting for an oncoming pickup to pass. “Girlfriend?”
“Nope, don’t have one of those.”
“I take it that wasn’t your mom, either.”
“Nope.”
He obviously wasn’t going to tell her. Not that it was any of her business. His secretiveness was just one more thing to make her question why he was here.
From the moment she arrived, he’d increasingly inserted himself into her life, insisting on helping her with the house, inviting her to dinner, and now walking her to and from work. No one would volunteer that much time out of the goodness of his heart, especially for a total stranger. He likely had ulterior motives. Maybe he was on an information-gathering quest himself. Or maybe he was there to make sure she didn’t find something she wasn’t supposed to see.
He’d shown up just before she had, shortly after Prissy’s murder. What had brought him to Harmony Grove? One thing was certain. He wasn’t a writer who happened to wander in looking for a change of scenery.
So just who was Shane Dalton?
Chapter Eight
Shane hoisted a box onto the top of the pallet. His back was beginning to ache in spite of the brace he’d been issued. It was Monday, a new week and the start of his new job.
Over the weekend, he’d gotten an important task accomplished. He’d ignored Jess’s objections and purchased a wireless two-camera system at Lowe’s. He’d finished the installation Saturday afternoon. Not bad considering they’d just discussed it on Wednesday.
Now he was three-fourths of the way through his first day as a Driggers employee. He’d been assigned to the seven to four o’clock shift. So far, he hadn’t seen either of the Driggers brothers. Hammy’s absence was no surprise. Judging from the man’s condition the last time Shane saw him, he wasn’t likely to show up anytime soon. He wasn’t the decision-maker anyway.
Spike was, without a doubt. Shane didn’t need to fully understand the inner workings of the company to know that. The man probably barked orders
