“I’m sure Christine will be back shortly,” Laurie said. “Would you like a cup of coffee while you wait?”
Don’t do it! Tell her you’ll come back, Christine thought. She needed Travis to leave so she could get out of here. She needed time to come up with a plan for how she would act when she came face-to-face with her one-night stand.
“Thank you.”
“Are you from around here?” Laurie asked. “What did you say your family name was?”
“I’m Travis Cain, and no, this is my first time in Cedar Valley.”
Christine shook her head. Why was Travis giving out unsolicited information? He was making it too easy for Laurie. The man knew how to deflect personal questions. He did it during her Vegas weekend. Did he want to hide something from her or was Laurie just that good at interrogation?
“I knew you didn’t look familiar,” Laurie said, her voice fading as they went closer to the front door, where the complimentary drinks were served. “So how do you know Christine?”
Christine strained to listen to Travis’s reply but all she heard was the timbre of his deep voice. Her stomach twisted as she imagined how he replied. I met her while she was gambling away her life’s savings.... I spent the weekend with her in bed.... She was going to be the talk of the town before lunchtime.
She couldn’t let that happen. She had spent the past ten years building a reputation. Christine Pearson was no longer the dreamer who didn’t understand reality. She now was the woman who knew how to make dreams happen for others. She was the advocate for her friends and neighbors and got to live the dream through them. She was the fairy godmother she’d never had. She wasn’t going to let one wild weekend ruin that.
She had to do something, but she needed help. Christine carefully uncurled herself from under the desk and reached for the bottom drawer. She hissed as the metal rubbed against metal. She grabbed her purse and found her cell phone. Christine hunched her shoulders and returned to the safe haven under her desk as she speed-dialed her friend.
“Jill’s Dry Cleaning.”
“Jill?” she whispered fiercely and then paused. As far as she could tell, no one heard her in the quiet bank. “It’s Christine. I need your help.”
“You got it.” Jill’s voice dropped low. “Why are we whispering?”
“Travis just showed up at the bank.” She didn’t know how Jill was going to handle the news. Neither of them had ever had a man follow them to the ends of the earth. Or Cedar Valley, which sometimes felt like the farthest edge of civilization. Would Jill worry or cheer her on? She hoped it would be brief because it was getting extremely uncomfortable under this desk.
“Travis?” Jill said the name as if she was testing it out on her tongue. “Who’s Travis? Wait, wasn’t your one-night stand named Travis?”
“Yes, that’s the guy. Travis Cain. He drove up to the bank on a motorcycle and is talking to Laurie.”
“Uh-oh. Of all the people to meet in Cedar Valley. She’s going to find out everything you did in Vegas and tell everyone,” Jill predicted. “Then the whole town is going to question your judgment. Jumping out of a building is one thing, but gambling? And a one-night stand with a stranger? They aren’t going to trust you with their money.”
“I know.” Christine rubbed her hand over her face as she considered the worst-case scenario. Any lack of faith and she could lose her job. “Travis is hanging around waiting for me to return.”
“Where are you?”
“I hit the floor the minute I saw him,” she admitted. “And now I’m hiding under my desk. I can’t escape without anyone noticing.”
“This guy followed you from Vegas? Should I be concerned?”
Christine jerked in surprise. “No, Travis isn’t a stalker. I didn’t get any creepy vibes from him. He never made me uncomfortable. In fact, I was the one who was in charge of this fling. I took him to bed.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Jill said. “But how did he know where you live?”
“I don’t know.” Christine shook her head and sighed. “I may have mentioned Cedar Valley once or twice.”
“Christine! The next time I see you, we will discuss what you can and cannot reveal when you have sex with a stranger.”
“I really don’t think this situation will come up again,” Christine whispered fiercely and clapped her hand over mouth. She looked from side to side as she listened for anyone approaching her office. “Tell me how to get out of this.”
Jill clucked her tongue. “There is only one thing you can do. You need to suck it up, buttercup.”