My Deadly Valentine - By Valerie Hansen & Lynette Eason Page 0,52
through her. “I don’t know. That’s weird. You think someone else is up there?” Still getting misted from the spray, the cold seeped in through her heavy down coat. “I’m freezing, Eli, let’s go.”
But he simply grinned at her. “I have very fond memories of this place.”
This time the shiver had nothing at all to do with the cold. It was pure Eli. And the memory of their first kiss.
More dirt and rocks rolled down, this time pinging off her face. She brushed the stinging particles away and moved closer to the water. Eli frowned and grabbed her hand and looked up as though he expected to see something. “Come on, I don’t like this. We’re taking the long way back up.”
Her hand snug in his, she followed him as he took a zigzag path up through the trees. Heart pounding, she wondered what might meet them at the top of the falls. By the time Eli pulled her the rest of the way up, her breath came in pants and her leg muscles ached.
Eyes darting, expecting something to jump out at them from behind every tree, she scurried behind Eli. “Do you see anything?”
“No.”
“Hear anything?”
“Just the waterfa—Wait a minute. What’s that?” A low hum, then a roar met her ears.
“I don’t like this, Eli, let’s get out of here.”
Approaching the truck, she saw the flash of Eli’s weapon tucked under his arm in a shoulder holster. It made her feel a little safer.
She reached the truck and stopped. “Eli?”
“Yeah?” His gaze was still focused on the woods in the direction the noise had come from. Now all was silent except for the rush of the water.
“Eli. Come here.”
Turning, he made his way over to the truck. “What is—” He broke off as he saw what had her attention. “Well, well, looks like Alex has struck again.”
A dozen red roses lay scattered across the hood of Holly’s truck.
FIVE
Arriving at the church, Holly breathed a sigh of relief. The roses had bothered her. Not the flowers themselves, but the fact that Alex had followed her up to the falls and left them for her, especially since he knew she was traveling with Eli. Why did he continue to try so hard? Why would he continue to want to be with someone who didn’t return his affection?
Doing her best to push Alex to the back of her mind, she found four other workers already there sorting through the collected items. Hiram Fellows and Pete Owens met them at the entrance to the gym. While the guys unloaded, Holly made her way inside to greet the other two ladies on the committee with her. Hiram’s and Pete’s wives.
“Holly, welcome to the madhouse,” Mary Fellows offered with a chuckle. She had her long gray hair pulled up into a smooth ponytail. Janine Owens, forty years younger and a newlywed, flashed her bright smile and said, “We wondered when you were going to show up. Alex is inside.” She winked and nudged Holly with an elbow.
Dread evaporated the happy face she’d pasted on. Giving a weak smile, she said, “It took me a little longer than I thought it would.”
Alex came out of the building dressed in jeans and a heavy down overcoat. “Hey there, darlin’.”
“I’m not your darlin’,” she muttered under her breath. Obviously returning his gifts had accomplished nothing. Anger stirred. “Did you leave roses on my truck a little while ago?”
Innocence radiated from him. “Moi?”
Fake innocence. Holly snapped her mouth shut. He simply looked pleased with himself. Then he took her hand and pulled her to the side. “Come on, Holly, give me another chance. I promise if you just spend some more time with me, you’ll see I’m a good guy.”
Hating the hurt she saw on his face, remembering her own shattered heart when Eli had left her, she tried to soften the blow once again. “Don’t do this, Alex.”
Pleading puppy-dog eyes stared back at her. She refused to let that affect her. “Now leave me alone…please.”
Dropping his hand, she brushed past him. Feeling eyes on her, she saw Eli watching with narrowed eyes. However, if he had anything to say, he kept it to himself.
“Hey, Holly!”
She turned. Mary waved her over to the table where she was working, putting prices on various items. “Do you mind seeing if you can find some more price tags for me? I think there’s some in the workroom, in the file cabinet next to the closet.”