chapter 43

Back at Ky’s cabin, David asked the question Ky had been dreading. “So when is Nita coming back?”

Those words did what no amount of fighting had done. They opened up gashes in his heart. He couldn’t get in touch with Nita. He didn’t know what was wrong. All he knew was that she’d left and hadn’t even said goodbye.

They sat in his backyard, drinking beer from a cooler. Liam had the grill going and on any other day Ky would’ve thought it was one of the best ways to spend some time relaxing. Not so that day.

“She’s not,” he replied.

“What?” Liam asked, stopping the beer midway to his mouth. He closed the grill top and marched for the picnic table. “Why not?”

“She’s not answering my calls. I don’t know what the hell is wrong,” he growled.

Liam frowned, chugging down on his beer. “She didn’t seem upset at all when we left.”

“That’s what’s killing me,” Ky said, rubbing a hand over the back of his wet neck. “The worst part is I don’t have her address.” He raised a hand when David opened his mouth. “She’s unlisted, I checked everywhere. Why do you think it’s been hard to find her all these years? It’s not like I didn’t try.”

David slammed his bottle on the table. “I got it!” He smiled.

“What? I do have a brain. I’m more than just good looks and charm, you know.”

Liam laughed and returned to the grill. “What is it you think you got?”

David smiled at Ky. “How did you find her again?”

“I didn’t. My sister called the Paranormal Dating Agency and somehow got her to come.”

David raised his bottle as if he’d just cured all the world’s problems. “I rest my case.”

“You still haven’t made any sense, cousin it.” Liam took burgers off the grill and brought them to the picnic table.

“The dating people. They have her address.”

The misery consuming Ky suddenly dissipated. “You’re right!” He stood and turned to his house.

“Where are you going?” Liam asked. “Did I just cook all this food for you to leave it?”

“You sound like a wife,” Ky joked, no longer so distressed. “David and his beard will help you get rid of it.”

“Ha ha, real funny,” David said, holding his beard out of the way to take a bite of his food.

“You’re right,” Liam agreed. “I’ll make sure he eats more than the beard.”

“Don’t you have a woman to go get,” David argued. “Quit it with my beard. The woman who falls for me will love it.”

“You and I have to talk,” Liam said, turning back to David. “That beard, bro. It’s gotta go.”

Ky headed for his cabin to dress and get in touch with the woman who ran the PDA. He knew that was the fastest way he could get Nita’s address. But he also knew he’d have to plead his case in person. He doubted anyone would just hand off client information because he was in love. He would lay on the charm when it came to the owner of the service. One thing was for sure: he wasn’t leaving her office without Nita’s address.

No way in hell.

* * *

Ky knocked on the door to Mrs. Wilder’s apartment and tried not to stress. Jess had told him Mrs. Wilder was sort of brusque, but very good at her job. She then proceeded to hug him and wish him luck. When he’d called Mrs. Wilder from the road, she’d refused to speak to him over the phone and said he needed to come to her house if he wanted anything discussed.

The scent of fresh baked honey buns filled his nose. His stomach growled. So did the bear inside him. Shit. He’d forgotten to eat.

Mrs. Wilder’s door swung open to a petite older woman with raised brows giving him the once over.

“My my my. You are every bit a bear, aren’t you?” She whistled. “Check out those big arms. Just enough hair to make a woman want to rake her nails over them.”

He wasn’t sure what to do.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t been hit on by older women before, but this was uncomfortable. And a little scary.

“Thank you,” he said, shifting from foot to foot like a schoolboy.

Mrs. Wilder continued eyeing his arms with renewed interest. “Well come inside. I don’t have all day.”

He snapped out of the weird younger man being eyed by a cougar moment and followed her inside the apartment.

“Go on and sit in the living room. I’ll bring you a snack,” she called out from the kitchen. “I know you big guys like to eat.”

Did he ever. He sat down on one of the large sofas, taking up every bit of space and feeling like a giant. She finally showed up with a tray piled with honey buns. The twiddling of his thumbs stopped.

“Go on and grab one. They’re not gonna bite you.” She smiled. “But I just might.”

He needed to get the information on Nita’s address fast. Mrs. Wilder had that predatory smile that he knew all too well. He took a honey bun, placed it on a small plate and took a bite without making a mess. At least he hoped he hadn’t made a mess of it all over his face.

“So, now that you’re sitting and that bear of yours stopped growling for food, what can I do for you?” She filled a cup with tea and honey and placed it next to his plate.

“Nita. I want her address.”

She didn’t stop pouring her own tea. Instead she nodded and added sugar in complete silence. “And why should I break my client’s trust and give you that information? If she wanted you to have it, she’d have given it to you herself.”

He picked up a napkin and wiped his fingers. “She could be in trouble. Something had to have happened. When she left she said she’d be back and she’s not answering her calls. She hasn’t returned.”

Mrs. Wilder frowned and picked up her cell phone. She pressed some buttons and then waited for a moment. It buzzed. She stared at the screen and put it down. “Nope. She’s fine.”

Fuck! That meant it was him. He’d had to have said or done something to upset her. Maybe she wanted him to outright tell her to stay versus sending her a text.

“Did you and Nita talk while she was there?” Mrs. Wilder asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Yes. Of course we talked. We did a lot of talking.”

She leaned on one of the arms of her seat. “Did you at any point tell her who you were?”

Oh. Shit.

“No. I thought about it at first, but I liked that she didn’t have the image of my scrawny insecure self from high school in mind.”

She snorted and picked up her cup. “You silly boy. If she cared about you at all back then, don’t you think she’d be happy to know you’re the person she’s been matched with?”

He didn’t think of that. All he thought of was her seeing him again as the boy who stuttered and couldn’t tell her how he felt.

“Has she changed from how she was back then?”

“Yes. She’s different. More self-assured. Sexy. Still just as beautiful,” he replied.