Chapter 18

"I still don't like him," Brad uttered from a chair in Mike's old room.

Nancy smirked while passing Trisha the other end of the new sheets for the empty bed between them. Tucking her side in, she straightened. "You don't have to like Nick, Trish does."

While unwrapping the new comforter, Trisha glanced at her friend. "I don't like him most of the time."

"Yes, you do." Nancy took the comforter Trisha passed to her over the bed.

"I can't believe he kissed me." Bed made, she sat on the floor under the window. "You know, someone called him that night we had dinner together. Told him to stay away from me."

Brad's gaze searched her face. "Who?"

"He didn't know." She shrugged. "Seems odd, though."

"Maybe because he's new in town," Brad suggested. "This place doesn't like change."

"What difference does it make who I date? Other than you two and maybe my parents, who would care?"

Nancy smoothed out the comforter. "Don't let it worry you. It was probably just a prank."

"You're right." Trisha sighed and stood when Brad held out a hand for her.

"I'm off to make dinner," Nancy claimed. "You two take a breather. You'll need it to gear up for the season."

When she left, Brad turned to her. She could all but see the gears spinning in his mind.

"I'm heading into town. Do you want me to have Eduardo or Chuck watch you?"

She frowned at him. "Don't be stupid. I'm fine."

"You're the one who dropped the charges and let Mike walk."

"He won't bother us again, Brad." She hoped. She'd taken an awfully big leap of faith offering him a second chance. Everyone deserved that much.

"He better not."

"I need a word with you."

Nick lazily glanced up from his desk in the station to the pest in front of him. Exactly what he didn't need right now was Trisha's friend and Nick's current source of irrational jealousy getting in his face. What a kick in the nuts, him even being envious at all. "What can I do for you, Brad?"

He peered around the empty station. "Trisha told me about the phone call you got after your date."

"And?"

"And her parents got some threatening ones like it thirty years ago." Brad sat down in a folding chair across from Nick's desk and crossed his arms.

"What does a crank call years ago have to do with now?" Except the tiny hairs on his neck were standing at attention.

Brad turned his mouth into a thin line before answering. "I don't know. I only know about those calls because my parents are good friends with the Eatons."

"Did Wayne investigate?"

"No. Hank never told anyone. Steve didn't join the force until a few years later." He edged forward in his seat. "Her nightmares act up again, she goes out with you, then the calls start. Not to mention the nasty note after her tree was chopped down and the guy she saw standing in the orchard that night. Something's off around here."

"You're over-reacting." But Nick didn't think so. Too coincidental. One or two instances he might be able to knock off as a fluke, but not the chain.

Brad must've sensed knocking heads with him wasn't going to work, because his tone softened. "Look, something happened to her when we were little, something they covered up."

"They, who? And what do you mean something happened to her?"

"We were both too young to remember. It's a gut feeling and a handful of circumstances that lead me to that theory." He shrugged, frustration marring his brow. "Her parents, law enforcement, the town." He sighed. "I don't know who all is involved or even what occurred. Back then, Hank got a few calls, something about staying away from her. They'd assumed it was in reference to Alexandra Drake, not Trisha, seeing as they shared a property line. Now, I'm not so sure."

"What does the Drake house have to do with this?"

"Trisha had a curiosity for the place. As a girl, she was always wandering over there. Christ, we were only kidsI don't know." Brad rubbed his jaw and leaned back again. "You're a cop. You have to follow your gut, right? I'm telling you, something's off. Brewing. She's" He closed his eyes in a slow blink before meeting Nick's gaze. "I don't want any harm to come to her."

Nick's jaw clenched as he rose from his chair. "That's apparent."

"I don't have feelings for her, not like that. She's my friend, my best friend. If something happened to her, I couldn't live with myself." Brad stood and strode to the door. "Now, get off your jealous high horse and check this out." Looking directly into Nick's eyes, he emphasized, "Quietly."