and didn’t handle that as well as I should have. So, I kind of got blacklisted. That combined with some other really poorly timed bad luck, coupled with an unfortunate shark attack, had me packing up and moving out this way.”
“Unfortunate shark attack, huh?”
“Don’t you hate it when that happens?”
“I sure as hell do.” Riley grinned. “Are you sure you don’t want us to help you hire a lawyer or something? If you’ve been accused of something you didn’t do, maybe we can help you get your job back.”
The thought of going back on the Harvard campus to fight for her innocence didn’t appeal to her. Especially since Peter had been the one leading the charge against her in the first place. The more she tried to prove he was incorrect, the more she was going to look like a bitter ex-wife angry with the man who divorced her.
“I appreciate the offer. I’m not sure there’s anything that can be done or if that’s what I want in the long run. I need to take a little bit of time to reevaluate, decide which route is the best for me.”
“And that might not include Harvard?”
“I never thought I’d say this, but yeah, I’m not sure the future I want includes a career at Harvard. Honestly, I don’t know what it includes right now.”
“Well, if Boy Riley and I can’t help you figure out your future, I hope you’ll let us do the next best thing.”
Quinn raised an eyebrow. “What’s that?”
“Get dressed. You’re about to experience an Oak Creek girls’ night out.”
Chapter Eighteen
Baby should never have agreed to stay away from Quinn while Gavin looked into the Boston incident. He’d known Gavin wouldn’t find anything that would prove Quinn was trouble.
And, low and behold, Gavin had stopped by the garage this afternoon to share that very fact.
“I didn’t find anything. The police report on Quinn Harrison-Pritchard ended up being exactly what it looked like at first glance—a slight disturbance on campus and someone making sure they covered their ass.”
Gavin held out a report for Baby to look at. Baby grabbed the cloth sitting on the table next to the engine he was working on and wiped some grease off his hand but didn’t take the papers. “You know what? I don’t care. I don’t want to know what some beat cop wrote up about the situation.”
That was the truth, and he should’ve realized it before now. Before he’d left her that dumbass message.
He’d known from the first moment he’d laid eyes on Quinn that she was coming from a world way outside of Oak Creek. He’d known she had haunted eyes and definitely hadn’t been a waitress.
So she’d had some issue at Harvard, big deal. He knew better than to look at one side of the story—which is exactly what that police report was, one side.
“I wanted to let you know that it doesn’t look like she’s any sort of threat to anyone.”
Baby threw the cloth back down on his wheeled toolbox with a snap, pissed. Not at Gavin, at himself.
He’d known Quinn wasn’t a threat. And if he had any doubts, the way she’d talked to Ethan and her concern about that damned dog should’ve confirmed it.
“I’m not surprised. Did you ever figure out who sent that report in the first place?”
“Yes.” Gavin’s eyes narrowed. “It actually came from Reddington City, not back East.”
“Somebody local sent you a report about Quinn?”
Gavin shrugged. “You know there are still busy-bodies in this town who would like nothing better than to dig up dirt on somebody new. Or maybe someone at TSC could’ve taken a notion to find more information about her. This police report wouldn’t have been hard to find with any sort of computer skills whatsoever.”
“I guess.” Baby shut the toolbox. “I’m going to go talk to her.”
“You seem awfully taken by her. I wouldn’t have pictured that.”
Baby turned away. “Why? Because she is a Harvard professor, and I’m a high school dropout who barely managed to get my GED?”
“What? No. All I meant was she’s a little older than you and seems to be more into big city Boston things than hiking and camping and the outdoor stuff you like to do. Everything I found out about her screams high-maintenance.”
Baby grinned at Gavin, careful not to let it show that he was still convinced Gavin thought Quinn was too smart for him. Which was nothing but the truth. And yes, she was older than he was, but that was a