going to grab a drink. Do you guys want anything?” I called up to them.
Roman shook his head no, and Rand held up a full glass of something that looked like water with fruit in it. I went into the house and decided to take that as a sign that I needed water instead of soda and filled a glass from the fridge door. As I drank the water, I looked out the back window at my work. I can’t say mums were my favorite flower, but it was headed into fall and that was about the only option if I wanted my work to last more than about a week. Plus, the vibrant reds, yellows, and oranges were pretty with the leaves.
I was about to go out when my phone buzzed. I took it out and saw that it was a text from Becca. This was the first time I’d heard from her since I left.
Do you want to go get coffee? she asked.
Coffee? Becca didn’t drink coffee, so that was odd.
Well, tea for me silly, coffee for you. You know most coffee shops do sell tea.
I laughed at myself for being ridiculous. This whole stalker thing had me on edge and jumping at shadows.
Sure, Roman and I can meet you, where do you want to go?
I really want to talk to you; does he have to come?
I still have a stalker, Becca, so yeah.
What if Fredrick comes. I can go through a drive-thru and grab the coffee. Then we can go for a drive. We don’t even have to get out of the car. I need to tell you something, and I really don’t want anyone else to hear it.
I debated for a minute and then went up to talk to Roman.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hey, it looks good down there. Almost like we have an actual yard.”
“It does. I still think we should turn the roof of the garage into a terrace like Rand has. I was thinking we could build like a walkway from the balcony to the top of the garage. It’d be cool.”
“That would be pretty awesome,” Rand agreed.
“Right? But a rooftop patio wasn’t why I came up here. Becca wants me to go to coffee with her this afternoon.”
“Okay, what time? I’ll just need to change clothes.”
“She wants to know if I can come without you.”
“Absolut—” he started, but I put my hands up.
“But with Fredrick. He would drive us through to pick up coffee, and then we would go for a drive. We wouldn’t even get out of the car.”
“Why Frederick but not me?”
“She says she needs to talk, and she doesn’t want anyone to hear what she has to say. She trusts Fredrick not to try to butt in.”
“What do you think? Do you want to go talk to her?”
“She’s so mixed up and so headed for trouble. Corey isn’t a good guy, Roman.”
“I know, I met him, remember? Although, I don’t know if I would say he wasn’t a good guy so much as he’s a weird guy.”
“He is. I know I’ve told you all about how we were raised, but Corey’s parents were even worse. They went to my father’s church when we were little. He’s the youngest of a bunch of kids, and they all had crazy rules they had to follow. They also lived by the children should not speak unless spoken to rule. That carried over with everyone, so they were always eerily quiet, but it seemed like they were always watching you. It was creepy. I tell you what, though, in bible class, there wasn’t a question they couldn’t answer or a verse they couldn’t quote, and that’s when we were small. I just want something different for her.”
“I guess if Fredrick is going to drive and you stay in the car, that would be okay,” he said.
“Who’s Fredrick?” Rand asked.
“He’s the Senator’s private security. I’ve worked with him before. He’s a good guy. I trust him.”
“Okay, I’ll text her and tell her it’s okay.”
When Becca texted they were almost here, Roman insisted on going up on the front balcony and watching to make sure the car wasn’t followed. It seemed to me that was very unlikely, but what did I know about how stalkers behaved? Nothing. I saw one of my father’s town cars pull up. At first, I was surprised, but then I realized having Fredrick drive us in Becca’s little car didn’t make sense. Either way, I could see my sister in the back