of those options appealed to him. “I’m going to the cabin. I’ll talk to you later.” He froze at the door and turned back to Zach. “What were you just saying about a car with California plates?”
“My friend Scotty is a state trooper and he just pulled over a red Fiat with California plates. Said she was going about ninety when he stopped her.” Zach looked up sheepishly. “I may have mentioned that I met Julie Fraser and it made him think of this car with L.A. plates.”
“Did he describe the driver?” Troy asked, every instinct telling him to bolt out the door.
“A cute blonde and her boyfriend in the passenger seat.”
Warning lights erupted in Troy’s head. Carrie Ann drove a red Fiat.
So Julie must have called her at some point once they’d hit town, and Carrie Ann had told her brother. But there’s no way Carrie Ann had known exactly where they were before she set out driving if she was already in the area now. So what had her flying like a bat out of hell to reach Julie before she even had an address? Had she wanted to warn Julie about her brother? Why not pick up a phone if that was the case? Or why not call the cops? Unless she wanted to protect her brother. Which led to the question, how much did she want to protect her brother?
“Zach, call back your friend. I need the name of the blonde now. Five minutes ago.” Troy slammed the door behind him, his heart hammering like a stampede of buffalo. He couldn’t be too late. Not now.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Julie heard the crunch of gravel and headed to the front door where all her things waited in a neat row. Her two suitcases, pillow, blanket and stupid crutches. She was happy to be off those idiotic things after six days.
The setting sun made the sky beautiful shades of purple and orange, and it seemed incongruous to have such beauty when she personally felt like such shit. Every time she thought about Troy, she got sick to her stomach. How could the man she met, trusted, screwed, run away with and fallen in love with have been spying on her? God, he’d saved her life, but he hadn’t been honest with her. How could he do that? Now she doubted everything.
She spotted her bag on the kitchen counter and snatched it up. Footsteps sounded on the porch and she swung the door open as Cal attempted to knock.
“You!” Julie said, grabbing her best friend in a bear hug. “You are the most awesome woman in the world and the perfect birthday present.”
“I know. I rock.” Cal returned the squeeze, then stepped back.
Julie didn’t waste time grabbing her bags and setting them on the porch. “If you need to make a pit stop do it now, because we’re not staying.” She’d call Troy on the way out of town to let him know she’d decided to leave. This far from home, no one but Cal knew where she was, so she was still safe, and she planned to keep a low profile on the trip back.
“Hold your horses. I have a surprise for you. But you have to close your eyes.”
The tears that had been building pricked to the surface, but Julie held them back. “What? Why?”
“Because I have to get your surprise out of the car. Two surprises actually. Well, three.” Cal grinned. “Go on, close your eyes. No shut-eye, no surprises.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
Oh, God, she wasn’t in the mood for this. “Fine.” Julie mimicked her move with her arms over her chest. “Eyes closed.” Cal’s footsteps crunched in the gravel. A door opened. “Please tell me you brought chocolate. I could really use some chocolate. Desperately,” she added quietly to herself. More shuffling sounded and it seemed as if there were two sets of footsteps this time.
“Open your eyes,” Cal instructed.
Cal held a cake in her hands, and next to her stood a man. His bushy dark hair ruled his head and overcompensated for his thin frame. His wide eyes took her in with rapt fascination.
“Happy birthday,” they both said.
“I picked this up at a grocery store on the way here,” Cal added.
“Wow. Thanks.” It seemed awkward to stand there with a stranger watching her. “Hello.” It seemed the appropriate thing to say, but the last thing Julie wanted to do was play at being gracious right now. She was feeling as far from