“Hi there, Alyssa,” he said. “Getting ready to close?”
“I have one more client. You can come to the shop for a trim if you like. I think I’ve gotten the message.”
“Hmm? What’s that?”
“You’re all trimmed up but I haven’t seen you. I get it—you found another place to get your hair cut. So I tried letting you know that I’m available to date if you’re interested, but you ran for your life. It wasn’t really necessary to hide your car to keep me from bumping into you at the bar.”
“I think you have the wrong impression,” he said. “I don’t believe I ran for my life—I got a job. And I don’t think I hid my car. I’m not parking behind the businesses anymore, that’s for sure. I had some damage one night. I’m sticking to streetlights.”
“Damage? In Timberlake?” she asked, surprised.
“It’s all right, I took care of it. Are there lights where you park?”
“Just over the back door, but we’ve never had a problem. So...you weren’t avoiding me?”
“Not at all. Just going about my business.”
“Ha, that’s a relief,” she said, smiling. “I thought you’d made up your mind about me before even getting to know me! In that case—”
“Alyssa, I’m not available,” he said. “I’m seeing someone. If you’re looking for a guy who’s available, it’s just not me. I hope I didn’t mislead you.”
“But you just got to town!”
“A couple of months ago,” he said. “Plenty of time to meet someone.”
“Well, for God’s sake, who? In Timberlake!”
He couldn’t help but laugh. “I guess the possibilities are pretty slim, aren’t they.”
“So, who?”
“Come on,” he said with a laugh. “It’s just friendly, but I’m trying to turn the heat up. The point is, my interest is somewhere else and it wouldn’t be nice of me not to tell you that.”
“I thought you heard something...” Her voice dwindled off and she looked at him nervously.
“What did you think I’d heard?” he asked.
“Nothing,” she said. “A couple of years ago there was some nasty gossip about me. That’s hard in a small town.”
Dakota frowned. He assumed it was the usual sexual innuendo. Maybe some of those Vegas trips with the girls got caught on an iPhone when they were compromised. Women really took a hit for all the same things that tended to make men look like studs. He was instantly sympathetic. “I’m sorry, Alyssa. No, I didn’t hear anything. But gossip isn’t likely to affect me, anyway. You seem like a real nice girl but I have something going on.”
“But with who?” she tried again.
“Give a guy a break, would you?” he said, laughing. “I need a little room to work my charm.”
“Is that so,” she said, not particularly amused.
“Hey, I’m sorry you’re upset with me. We’re neighbors now. No reason to be pissy.”
“I’m not,” she said, but definitely was.
“I’m going to grab dinner,” he said. “I’m hungry. I’ll see you around. Take care.” He started to walk away, then he turned back to her. “Oh. I’ve been getting my trims at the barbershop. The only reason I came into your shop the first time is they were closed. I’m really not avoiding you.”
He walked another half block and just before he could cross the street he was stopped by a woman’s voice calling his name from the darkness. “Dakota.”
He stopped and Neely stepped out onto the sidewalk from the storefront where she had been caught in the shadows. It was not yet dark but the sun was setting and the shadows were long. Is there a full moon or something? he wondered. First Alyssa and then Neely? He put his hands in his pockets and looked at her, frowning.
“I guess you’re still upset with me,” she said. “I know, I know, I was aggressive. It’s not typical, I promise. But you’re not typical, either, Dakota. You didn’t give me any encouragement at all.”
“And I suppose that made you angry?” he said, scowling a little.
“Nah, just disappointed. I want to apologize.”
“And maybe offer up seventy dollars for the tow and two hundred dollars for the new tire? One was slashed, the rest were just deflated.”
She frowned and shook her head. “What are you talking about?”
“My tire was slashed, Neely.”
She gasped. “You can’t imagine I would do something like that!”
“It was a pretty strange encounter we had. When I got back to my car, that’s what I found. No other cars back there were damaged. And I had rejected you.”
“You think I’d damage your car because you didn’t take me up on my very slutty offer? Listen, I’m embarrassed, but I’m not a vandal. I wouldn’t do that.”
“But you would lure a guy into a dark alley—”
“Stop!” she said, holding up a hand. “It was impulsive and stupid and regrettable but I backed right off when you made yourself clear. I was humiliated and couldn’t even think of showing my face around here for about a month.”
“Why should I believe you?” he asked.
“You can check and see if I have any kind of record, I suppose, which I don’t. But I swear to you, I’m not that kind of person. I’d never hurt a fly.”
He just continued to stare at her.
“Well, I’ve certainly learned my lesson, Dakota. And I’m sorry about the tires but I can’t imagine who would do that. You have someone pissed off at you?”
“Besides you? No one I can think of. And I did call the police.”
“They never contacted me. I suppose you told them...”
“Of course.”
She ran a hand straight up her forehead, combing her hair with her fingers. “Oh dear God. It’s been such a long time since I was this stupid.”
“Let’s call it done,” Dakota said. “I don’t have proof. But it was a reasonable assumption.”
“Can we start over?” she asked.
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m not going to just forget the experience that quickly. But what we can do is move on.”
“We’ll be friends?” she asked.
“I don’t think so. But we’ll behave ourselves.”
“Certainly,” she said. And then suddenly her face fell. “Oh God. Oh, no. Oh, Dakota...” Her eyes were large and childlike. “What if...? Oh God, there’s this guy. A man I was seeing for a very short period of time. He was intense and a little off and I stopped seeing him almost immediately. I think we went out a few times in a couple of weeks and he was ready to take ownership. I had to block his calls, block his emails, and I did see him hanging suspiciously close to my usual haunts.”
“Stalking you?” Dakota asked.
“Almost but not quite. I talked to a friend who’s a police officer and the guy hadn’t done anything scary or threatening and I couldn’t get a restraining order. My friend said I was doing the right thing—staying alert and staying away. He never crossed the line, never damaged my car, broke into my house or tried to corner me or anything. But what if he—”
Dakota just waited, frowning.
She took a deep breath. “What if he was following me and saw us together and retaliated against you?”
“I think you better talk to the police in Timberlake,” he said. “Tell them about the possibility.”
“I don’t want to make trouble for him if he’s innocent. That might come back on me, stir him up, you know.”
“Well, someone isn’t innocent, Neely. I had some significant damage to my car. So will you do that for me? Tell the police of this possibility? Before it happens again or gets worse?”
“Sure,” she said. “Oh God, I’m so sorry, Dakota. Please say you’ll accept my apology.”
He gave her a single nod. “No more tricks, Neely,” he added sternly.
She put up her hands. “Of course not. Um, I was just going to grab a chicken Caesar...”
He gave her a forced smile. “Then I have an appointment,” he said, not even bothering to conceal his irritation.
“Oh, for God’s sake! I’ll sit at a table or booth, as far away as I can get!”
“I’m going to have dinner at the diner tonight,” he said. “Take care.” He turned and walked down the street. Though it was tempting, he did not look over his shoulder. He went to the diner and found Lola was behind the counter.
“Hey,” he said. “I don’t see much of you here.”
“Two afternoons a week. It’s not for the money, I assure you. On my diner nights, I can feed the boys here.” She indicated two young men in a booth by the window. “On nights Trace works at the bar and grill, he usually gets a burger, but the only time he gets vegetables is when I give him dinner. Cole is a little harder to feed—he’s nineteen.”
“I guess I didn’t know Trace was your son,” Dakota said. “I eat at the bar a couple of times a week. I see him all the time. Good-looking kids, Lola.”
“Yeah, they’re gorgeous,” she said. “But they’re also good. I think. So what can I get you?”
“Just coffee. And I’ll look at a menu, but it would break Sid’s heart if I let someone else feed me.”
“Sid?” she asked, lifting eyebrows. “You and Sid?”
“Well, maybe you shouldn’t say anything like that since she hasn’t agreed to go out with me yet. But that hasn’t stopped me from asking a lot.”
“I love Sid,” she said, grabbing a cup and pouring coffee. “She’s a sharpie, that one. She’s helping Trace with physics.”