So Sensitive (2 page)

“I think it’s time you tel me what’s wrong, Gracie. And don’t tel me it’s nothing.”

She shook her head and blew her nose as she tried to step around him. Wade blocked her path. He cupped her chin in his palm and forced her to look at him. “Is it me? Did I do this?”

She blinked a couple times, as if unsure what he meant, then she let out a hysterical laugh. “Wade, your ego is showing.”

The fact that she was laughing, even while tears continued to stream down her cheeks, was further proof that something was very wrong. For the first time, Wade looked beyond the soft red hair, curvy figure, and pouty lips. He saw the dark circles under Gracie’s eyes now, and they spoke volumes. She looked as if she hadn’t slept in days. “Gracie, I know we may have gotten off on the wrong foot, but I can be a good listener if you want to talk.”

She squared her shoulders and gently wiped her eyes in an attempt to get a handle on her emotions. “It’s just a woman thing, Wade. I’m fine, real y.” The chimes over the door jangled, signaling a client’s arrival. “I’ve got to get back to work. Thanks for the concern.”

She brushed past him, and Wade was left staring after her, dumbfounded. His instincts were screaming at him. There was more to that crying jag than PMS. He’d bet his new truck on it. Short of tying her to a chair and interrogating her, there wasn’t a damn thing he could do.

When he went out to the front, his gaze sought out hers. She smiled, and she looked as contained as ever. If it weren’t for the redness in her eyes, he never would’ve guessed she’d been so upset. Which made him wonder just how often she wore that mask. Layers and Gracie Baron were old friends. Wade was determined to get beneath a few and find out more about the intriguing woman.

Of course, it might help if she weren’t so damned stubborn.

Gracie watched through the large glass windows as Wade climbed into his truck and drove off. She let out a relieved sigh. She was smart enough to know that had Cherry’s next client not shown up when he did, she would have ended up pouring out al her problems to the big, intimidating man. It would be a horrible mistake to involve someone else in the mess her life had become. It was enough she had to live it; others shouldn’t be forced to as wel .

She looked back at her monitor and groaned. Another e-mail from her crazy stalker. This one had a more sinister feel to it somehow. He’d threatened her before, but now it seemed there was an edge of desperation to the words on the screen.

I watch you every day, my love. Every move you make is recorded in my soul. I love the way you move. Always in such a rush and yet so
graceful. You should know, though, I’m not happy about your second job. I asked you to quit, and you ignored me. This can’t be allowed to
continue. I’ve let you have your fun, but it’s time you understand obedience. It’s for your own good; remember that. I love you, Gracie Lynn.

Nevertheless, sometimes I will need to be tough to prove to you that our love can withstand all obstacles.

Forever,

Your Admirer

Gracie shivered even as she saved the e-mail to her flash drive. She’d started saving them when she realized the man wasn’t just a secret admirer; he was plain nuts. She now had over a hundred e-mails. At first it had seemed sweet. He’d been complimentary and always signed the e-mails with “your admirer.” She’d never replied, but she’d felt flattered. The attention had bolstered her self-esteem. Then he’d used her first and middle name together, and it had sent cold chil s down her spine.

Her middle name wasn’t listed. Anywhere. Not on her driver’s license, in the phone book, not even on her credit cards. Whoever had sent the e-mails had done his homework. She’d known then that ignoring them wasn’t going to make the situation go away, so she’d done what any woman with a crazy e-mail fan might do; she’d gone to the police. That road had gotten her exactly nowhere. He hadn’t threatened, so he’d done nothing wrong, the detective had explained. He’d instructed her to save the e-mails and contact him if the situation worsened.

That had been two weeks ago, and the e-mails hadn’t let up. In fact, he’d gotten more persistent. He e-mailed every three hours now, like clockwork. Each e-mail rambled on about how much he loved her, how they’d be together soon and they’d be able to live happily ever after.

Stil , he was careful never to threaten her outright. She had nothing to bring to the police save for a lot of e-mails from a guy who had the hots for her.

Bile rose in her throat as she imagined what sort of person spoke like that to a complete stranger. It was like something out of a scary movie.

Only in the movie the bad guy usual y ended up dead and the damsel in distress would be rescued just in the nick of time.

Fear threatened to consume her when she thought of what this guy might be wil ing to do to keep her al to himself. An image of Wade Harrison fil ed her mind, and Gracie quickly banished it. She couldn’t think of Wade. He would only want to help, but she refused to burden him with her problems. Besides, what would her stalker do if he suspected she desired another man? The creep hadn’t done anything to harm her yet, and she knew it was partly due to the fact she kept to herself. She didn’t date, didn’t even go out with friends. When she wasn’t at work, she was alone. The instant someone came into her life, someone as handsome and charming as Wade, things would escalate. She could very wel be putting more than just herself in danger then.

The rest of the afternoon passed in a rush of clients. Gracie had been only too grateful for the distraction, as brief as it was. After the last client left, Gracie shut down the computer, then picked up the flash drive that contained al her crazy admirer’s e-mails. Just as Gracie slipped it into her purse, Cherry came out of her office. “Ready to go?”

“Yep.”

Cherry always insisted they leave together. More often than not, Dante would show up and escort both of them out. Gracie liked Cherry and Dante. They were good people. As if she’d conjured him, Dante opened the front door and held it for the two of them. He waited while Cherry set the alarm and locked up, then he took her hand in his. The little green monster rose up as Gracie watched them. She wondered what that kind of bond was like. That kind of al -consuming love. Would she ever know?

“I wanted to tel you now that Wade’s not here that if he real y ever bothers you, just say the word and I’l have a talk with him. I don’t want you feeling uncomfortable, Gracie.”

Gracie smiled for the first time in hours. “He doesn’t bother me. Not real y. I just like to give him a hard time.”

“I sort of figured. Do you like him?”

Gracie stiffened, unsure how much to say. “He’s attractive. The idea of going out with him is very appealing, but I don’t have time for a man right now.”

Cherry looked up at Dante and smiled. “Sometimes it’s worth it to make time.”

Gracie nodded, pretending she understood. In truth, she’d never been loved. Not the way Cherry and Dante loved. She’d had boyfriends, but hers had always been surface relationships. Deep, soul mate stuff wasn’t something she knew anything about.

Once Gracie was in her car and on her way, she thought back to the day Cherry had hired her on as a receptionist. Gracie had been thril ed.

The extra income meant she could help her father with his bil s and stil keep her own apartment. Maybe she could even get him out of debt once and for al .

Hel , who was she kidding? Her father was a drunk and a pathetic excuse for a human being. He started drinking when he woke up in the morning and didn’t stop until his head hit the pil ow. The only thing keeping a roof over his head was his only child working two jobs. If she didn’t pay both their bil s, one of them would be on the street.

As she turned a corner and started down the long, winding road to her apartment complex, her mind once again went back to Wade. God, the man was beyond delicious. His large, hard body and gorgeous brown eyes were like something out of a tough guy action movie. She’d been sucked in. He’d grinned at her, and she’d nearly fal en at his feet. His dark hair seemed forever disheveled. Models spent good money on hair products to get that tousled look, while Wade simply ran a hand through his hair. Women sighed as they watched him, longing to do the same. She knew, because she was one of those women.

The first time he’d asked her out, she’d nearly caved. Then, like an omen, a bel on her computer signaled a new e-mail message. When she recognized the e-mail address as her stalker’s, the “yes” she’d been about to utter died on her tongue. She’d tried every trick in the book since to keep Wade at a distance, but, damn, the man was tenacious. She had to admit to herself that he didn’t push, not real y. Deep down Gracie knew if she truly meant no, he’d hear it and leave her alone. He wasn’t an ass, just intuitive. He knew the attraction wasn’t al on his side of the desk. He just couldn’t understand why she was so reluctant to act on it. Unfortunately the truth simply wasn’t something one brought up in casual conversation.
“Oh, by the way, you might become the target of a crazy man if you and I went out on a date. My stalker has this thing about
having me all to his wacko self.”
Yeah, that’d go over wel .

As she neared the S curve a half mile from her home, Gracie pushed the maudlin thoughts out of her head and concentrated instead on simply getting home in one piece. Friday night, and she was alone. Damned pathetic. Pressing her foot down on the brake, Gracie managed the first curve and had started into the second when something slammed into her rear bumper.

Gracie automatical y hit the brake. As she slowed down, her hands shook as panic started to settle over her. She glanced in the rearview mirror, but it was too dark to see more than a set of headlights behind her. She started to move her smal sedan to the side of the road, her mind already on cal ing the police and exchanging insurance information, when another impact, harder this time, sent her car careening out of control.

“Oh, God!”

Panic turned to al -out terror as she witnessed the other vehicle speed up and smash into her yet a third time. As fear tore a scream from her throat, her car spun. Looking through the windshield, Gracie’s gaze locked onto the thick woods, and the deep ravine she knew lay hidden fifty feet beyond. She clutched the wheel in a death grip and pushed the brake pedal clear to the floor, her only thought on keeping from diving into that ravine. Her car tore through weeds and brush, the world turning upside down. Suddenly, everything went black.

2

G
racie woke to a conversation that sounded way out of control. While she tried to get her eyelids to lift, she heard her father’s bel igerent voice, and she stil ed.

“I’m her father! You have no right to keep me from seeing her.”

“You can see her once you’re sober. I won’t have my patient stressed unnecessarily.”

“Bul shit. Gracie can handle it. She’s a sturdy girl.”

“That may be, but I can’t al ow you to upset her in her condition. I wil cal security and have you escorted out of the hospital if you insist.”

“Fine. What the hel do I care? Damn girl’s nothing but trouble anyway.”

Gracie waited for her father to leave before she opened her eyes. Her gaze clashed with the doctor’s, and she saw sympathy there. She’d seen that look before. First on the teachers’ faces during her school years and later on her boyfriends’. She hated that look.

The elderly doctor took her wrist and looked at his watch. After a moment, he smiled, kindness in his brown eyes, before writing something in her chart. “So you decided to stop playing possum, huh?”

Gracie tried to sit up and regretted the action instantly. “Ouch.”

“You have a fractured wrist and lots of bruising. Thank God that’s al you ended up with, considering.”

She remembered then. “My car.”

“Is probably totaled,” he said, compassion clear in his expression. “Did you have insurance?”

“Yes. And I wasn’t playing possum . . . exactly.”

“Wel , young lady, you’re very fortunate. The outcome could have been much worse. Your seat belt and airbag saved your life. The good news is you wil mend, and you can buy a new car.”

“I can leave then?”

He patted her hand. “Let’s wait until tomorrow. I’d like to do a few other tests to be sure everything is okay.”

Damn, she hated hospitals. The last hospital she’d been to she was ten years old, and her grandma had lain there dying. Gracie had been too young to understand why her grandma couldn’t just wake up and come home. After she’d passed, Gracie had been left alone with her father. Her mother had never been in the picture. She had no memories of her at al . Her father never let her forget how grateful she should be that at least he’d stuck around.

“In the meantime, there are a few people who want to see you,” the doctor said, interrupting the train wreck of her thoughts. “A Cherry DuBois and Wade Harrison. Ring any bel s?”

“Cherry’s my boss, and Wade is . . .” She stal ed out. What was Wade?

“A friend, yeah, I figured that out by the way he was carrying on in the hal . He’s none too happy to be kept outside the room. He rather insisted on seeing you immediately.”

She smiled despite her aches and pains. “Persistent. Yes, that’s Wade.”

“Would you like to see them? They’re pretty anxious about the accident. I don’t think Wade is going to be convinced you’re alive until he sees you with his own eyes.”

“Of course. Thank you.” Then another thought occurred. “Wait, who told them about the accident?”

“You asked us to cal your boss. Don’t you remember?”

She shook her head. “I remember driving home from work, but nothing much after that.”

“A hit-and-run.”

Gracie tried to remember, but her mind was a blank slate. “Someone hit me then took off?”

He nodded, his eyebrows scrunching in anger. “It happens more than you’d think.”

“I wish I could remember. It’s so strange. I just remember getting in the car and starting out of the parking lot.”