Chapter Five
Jenna
The longer you ignore me, the worse it is going to get. Those words echoed in the back of my mind as I clicked out of my email with a trembling breath. At least I got notifications from my social media in my email account. It was the only way I could check things without alerting anyone to where I had gone.
Leon was the only one who suspected I would use my email account to check my social media pages. Everyone else just messaged me out of concern of where I had gone. I couldn’t tell them, though, as much as it hurt my heart to lose my circle of friends back in California. The thought of Leon trying to hassle them for information put cold fear in my heart. He was angry. He wanted to find me, and I had blind hope that moving to a large city would be enough to deter him.
The library was quiet for a Thursday morning. Everyone was in school or at work. I had spent the past hour applying for jobs that were posted online. Anything at this point would be better than nothing. I could rebuild my life as I went.
I hesitated in gathering my purse. Since falling from the roof, I had done my best to avoid Derek as much as humanly possible with us living so close. Nothing seemed to make that man happy. A cricket would set him off, but not like Leon. He was in control, guarded, and never once seemed physically threatening.
Except the one time he came tearing around his house with a gun pointed directly at me.
Navy SEALs. He’d had combat training at one point in his life. That much I could sum up him from the day he had rescued me from the roof. Running toward the sound of danger had been instinctive for him. Maybe having Derek next to my house wasn’t such a bad thing.
I left the library. Along the way, I rummaged through my purse for my phone to call my mom.
“Leon messaged me,” I said the second she answered. “He emailed me, actually. He knew I’d check my email.”
“You’re supposed to close those social media accounts,” she scolded, sighing into the phone. “I know this is hard, Jenna, but you need to listen to what the police told you. You know that jail only pissed him off. When he got out—”
“I know.”
A headache pounded in my temples. The hot summer air settled heavily on my shoulders. The sound of traffic washed over me. The first stirrings of dread started in my chest.
“He’ll come to Colorado,” I said quietly. “He knows where you live, Mom. Remember? We visited you once at Lone Tree.”
Anna blew an angry breath into the phone. “I’m not afraid of him,” she said defiantly. “Hell hath no fury like a mother protecting her child who has been hurt.”
That did not help my fears. It made everything way worse. I rubbed at my eyes tiredly as I climbed into the driver’s seat of my car.
“You should be,” I said.
“Honey, men like Leon live off threats. I’ll contact someone here, though, to see what they say about the situation.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
I pulled up to the house at 8:20 a.m. to find Martha and Derek talking with each other on the sidewalk. I felt Derek’s gaze threaten to burn holes into me as I climbed out of the car.
“I wish I could say that I could watch him,” Martha said. “It’s just too much, Derek, to do that every night. He needs a steady schedule, and he’d sleep better at your house.”
“I know all that,” Derek said, pointedly turning away when I approached them. “It’d just be for a little bit until I can find another permanent babysitter who can stay here overnight with him.”
Martha caught sight of me approaching. Her eyes twinkled mischievously. “What about Jenna?”
“Me?” My eyes widened at the thought of staying in Derek’s house overnight. “I don’t know if—”
“You’re in a need of a job, dear,” Martha said. “That’s what you told me the other day. Derek pays $100 a night Monday through Friday.”
That’s $2,000 a month. I looked up at Derek, who looked less than thrilled judging from the sharp glare he sent Martha.
“Well—”
“I have no idea who Jenna is,” Derek said flatly.
Martha rolled her eyes. “Does she honestly look like a criminal to you?”
“Appearances aren’t everything,” he replied. He ran a hand through his hair in visible frustration. “Please, Martha. I just need this until I can find—”
“I can do it,” I said. They both turned to look at me. “I can do it. I love kids. I took a couple of courses in child psychology as part of my degree.”
“There you go,” Martha said cheerfully. “Problem solved, Derek. It’ll be a good thing to get know your next-door neighbor.”
I caught sight of the wink she sent in Derek’s direction. Realization dawned on me then why Martha had suggested me.
“Martha—”
“Well, I better go,” she said, checking her wristwatch with a smile. “I have to get some errands done before picking up Julie from school. Jenna, call me if you need anything.”
She left us standing there on the sidewalk. I scuffed the heel of my sandal against the concrete while I waited for Derek to say something. I wasn’t thrilled about babysitting for Derek, but the pay was too good to ignore. I needed something to keep going.
“Listen, I can babysit until you find someone else,” I said. “I’m not some horrible child abuser on the run, if that’s what you think.”
Derek’s eyes narrowed at that. “What are you on the run from?”
I stiffened in surprise at the question. “Th-that’s none of your business if I’m on the run.”
“It is if you are going to watch my kid,” he said.
I threw my hands up in frustration.
“Fine,” I said shortly. “I was just trying to offer a solution until you figure something else out. It’s called being nice.” I started up the sidewalk, his gaze burning holes into me. “Maybe you should learn something about that.”
“Wait.”
I paused. Footsteps slowly came up behind me.
“I appreciate the offer,” Derek said, and I turned back to face him. “I go to work at 8:00 p.m. My shift ends at 5:00 a.m. You can sleep on the couch.”
My heart skipped in relief. The last thing I wanted to do was spend time in Derek’s house, but I needed the money until I figured something else out as well.
“I’ll be over at around 7:30 p.m.,” I said. “I can cook Owen something to eat too. I’m not a completely helpless person like you think I am.”
Derek didn’t respond. Dark and tired circles surrounded his eyes. It was hard to read the expression on his face.
“I’ll cook him dinner,” he said. “I’ll expect you around 7:30 p.m.”
He didn’t wait for a reply. He didn’t utter a thank you. I watched the strong muscles in his back flex through his shirt as he walked up the pathway to his front door. Something told me that pleasantries and politeness weren’t a part of Derek’s personality.
He’s still sexy though.
I sighed inwardly. I didn’t need to get involved with another man who was obviously emotionally unavailable or otherwise scarred. I was just going to stay the night inside his house, on his couch, while he went to work. There was nothing strange about that. Nothing would happen.
I had no idea if I was relieved about that or not.