I forced myself to nod. “That’s true,” I said, my voice stiff sounding even to my ears. “Do you have other guys besides me out here, sir?”
He looked at me, his eyes so like Carrie’s it gave me the creeps. Even though they were the same shade, they were completely unreadable to me. He also had a way of staring me down that made me want to confess all my sins. Hard. Cold. Calculated.
He clenched his jaw. “Have you seen anyone else following Carrie lately?”
“Just thought I saw a few shadows moving.” I shrugged. “Could’ve been my imagination.”
“Keep an eye on it. As of now, you’re the only one out here.”
Thank fucking God. “I will, sir.”
He tapped his fingers on the door. “If you need backup…”
“I don’t. I’m fine.” I adjusted my seatbelt again. “If that changes, I’ll let you know.”
“Are you juggling the Marines and my daughter with ease?”
Was it just me, or was that question rife with innuendo? “Yes, sir. I have to report for duty this weekend, but I’m sure she’ll be fine without me watching her. She’s proved to have a remarkably good head on her shoulders. You must be very proud of her.”
The senator smoothed his jacket, a look of pride taking over his face. Not a smile, but the closest thing I’ve ever seen from him that wasn’t directed toward his family. “Indeed, I am.”
“As well you should be, sir.”
He looked out the window. “Your father says hello.”
I swallowed hard. Part of me had hoped he would have come here, too. I missed him. “I look forward to seeing him once I return home for the holidays.”
“He was going to come along, but something got in the way.” The senator turned away, his jaw hard but his eyes somehow softer. “Something unavoidable.”
“Oh?” I loosened my seatbelt, my heart quickening at the odd reply. I hadn’t heard from my father a whole lot lately, and it hadn’t even registered on my radar with all the other shit I had going on, but now it was glaringly clear. “And what would that be? Is everything okay with him, sir?”
He looked back my way, and the momentary flash of emotion had dissipated. The relentless politician I was accustomed to had returned. “I think that’s something you need to talk to him about.”
That didn’t sound fucking good at all. What unavoidable thing could my father have had come up? “I’ll call him after breakfast, sir.”
“Good.” Senator Wallington looked out the window again, giving me a reprieve from the nonstop scrutiny. I’d never seen the man so damned restless before. “I have to say, I had my suspicions in coming out here. Suspicions that led me to come out here directly.”
And just like that, my heart stopped beating, then painfully accelerated. “Sir?”
“I knew Carrie was hiding something. I came here because I knew she wasn’t being completely honest with me, and now I know what she’s hiding.”
My chest squeezed tight. “What would that be, sir?”
“Don’t you know already?” He leaned closer, eyeing me like a predator with its prey. “I think you do. I think you know exactly what I want to know, and you’re going to tell me every detail without leaving a single thing out.”
“I don’t know what you want to hear from me, sir,” I forced myself to say. My voice sounded pretty damn calm. I leaned back against the seat, even though I wanted to bolt and warn Carrie. My heart pounded in my ears, echoing like a drum solo in an empty room. “I’ve been doing my job. Watching your daughter. Keeping her out of trouble.”
He leaned forward and gripped my shoulder far too hard to be comforting. “Well, tell me everything you know.”
This was it. This was the fucking beginning of the end. Even knowing this, I forced myself to calmly ask, “About what, sir?”
He narrowed his eyes at me, for once not looking cold. No, he looked fucking pissed off. “Why don’t you tell me?”
12
Mom tilted her head, fingering the sleeve of the soft teal sweater in front of her. “I don’t know, honey. Which one do you think you’ll get the most use out of?”
“I like this one,” I said, my mind not really on the sweater. It was on Finn and the chemistry homework I’d never finished, and the lab I had to do tomorrow morning. “It’s a lighter shade.”
Mom nodded. “And feel how soft it is.”
I sighed, reaching out and touching the soft sweater, trying my best to look as into the whole shopping experience as she was. I’d never been able to last as long as she could, and today was no exception. We’d been shopping for three hours, and I was done. D-O-N-E, done. I didn’t care which one she bought thirty minutes ago, and I didn’t care now either.
It was a shirt. A shirt Finn would undoubtedly rip off me at some point.
“It’ll go better with your hair.” She held the sweater up to me, and I held my arms out as she studied my complexion. “Yes, this’ll do. Now, for some pants…”
I followed her, barely biting back a groan. Truth be told, I wasn’t much of a shopper, but she was, and it made her happy. I smiled and acted as if I cared what color socks I wore with my sweaters because it made her smile. As she combed through a rack of black jeans, I peeked over my shoulder for the ten-millionth time.
Finn still wasn’t out there. Just a pair of suits.
Where was he? Was I just not seeing him? For a while after our big fight, he’d done a good job at staying hidden from me. Maybe he was incognito or something.
“Oh, look at the pockets on these.” Mom pulled out a pair of black jeans with zippers on a bunch of pockets from the back of the rack. “They look like something a biker chick would wear, don’t you think?”
They did. I could easily picture myself sitting on Finn’s bike, wearing those pants and wrapping my arms around his waist. I bet he’d like them, too. For the first time this whole shopping trip, my heart picked up speed. “Yeah, and I like them. Are they my size?”
She looked at me with a raised brow. “Of course they are. I wouldn’t have pulled them out if they weren’t.”
“I’ll take them.” I smiled at her, my eyes still on the pants. “Thanks, Mom.”
“You’re welcome, dear.” She pursed her lips and looked at me, her eyes narrowed. I stiffened. Last time she looked at me like that, I’d been forced to get a haircut because it was fresh and fun. I’d hated it. “Shall we get you some biker boots to go with it?”
I tensed. She sounded suspicious. As if she knew I was riding a bike now. She couldn’t possibly know that. I forced myself to relax and smile. “Um, sure. Why not? They’re fashionable now. Maybe with some laces that go all the way up?”
She tapped a finger on her lip. “Your tastes have changed.”
“I’ve grown up.” I looked over my shoulder, searching the crowd outside for Finn. Still no sign of him. I turned back to Mom. “Is that so bad?”
She smiled and headed for the register. “Of course not. As a matter of fact, I think I like the changes. You look happier.”
That’s because I was. I had Finn. “I am, Mom. Really, really happy.”
“Good. And I’m glad you’re free of all the stresses from our life out here.” Mom stood in line, tapping her foot as she waited. “Last week, we hosted three senators and a governor for dinner. Everything was rolling along smoothly, but then, wouldn’t you know it? Christy got the flu and couldn’t make the dinner. We had to scramble for a replacement chef at the last second, and Dad was on a rampage.”
I flinched. I was all too familiar with the stresses that came with being a Wallington. “Who did you find?”