Page 65 of Worth the Try
I nod, giving him a tentative smile. “Guess that training my dad made me take when I was a teenager finally came in handy.”
Lennox raises a questioning brow.
“Defensive driving class taught by ex-police officers,” I explain. “Learned all kinds of things.”
“Your dad’s a cop?” Ansel asks.
“Retired,” I answer.
“Should we call him? See if he can help somehow?”
“No.” The answer is flying out of my mouth before he even finishes the question. While my father might be the tiniest bit useful here, he’d fold the instant my mother voiced any kind of opinion. “He can’t help.”
“Are you sure?” Ansel asks.
“She’s sure,” Kari answers for me, her voice steely.
I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding, immensely grateful for my best friend. “I just don’t understand why anyone would want to follow us,” I muse.
“I do,” Ansel states flatly.
My eyes fly to his, but he’s grabbing his phone and stalking out of the room.
“Give the man a few minutes, yeah?” Lennox says softly. “It’s complicated.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “Do you know something?”
He grips his neck and grimaces, clearly uncomfortable. “It’s…not my story to tell.”
Kari crosses her arms. “Seriously, Lennox? My best friend wasterrifiedwhen she got here. Not to mention the safety of that little girl. And you’re going to hide behind a stupid statement like that?”
Pain flashes across Lennox’s face before he schools it away. “I said what I said.”
“Pathetic.” Kari practically spits the word.
I look between the two of them. There’s definitely something deeper between them going on here, but no way Kari will tell me right now.
Ansel reappears, beelining for me. “Ready? I’ll take her home.”
I gape at him. “Are you—What’s going on?”
“Later,” he says. Then he turns to his daughter and crouches down, scooping her into his arms and letting her pop a candy into his mouth as they go.
I force a smile at Rosalie as she waves at me behind Ansel’s back. “See you at the house!”
Tamping down the irritation that threatens to overtake me, I turn. “Lennox,” I start.
He holds his hands up, remorse all over his ruddy face. “I’m sorry, Elodie. But I can’t. Whatever Ansel has or hasn’t told you, he’s done it for a reason. I’m not going to override that.”
“Fucking coward,” Kari bites out. “Like always.”
Lennox clenches his jaw, but keeps his eyes on me, not backing down.
Sighing, I grab my keys. “It’s okay, Lennox. I understand.” Even though I don’t. Not really.
To Kari, I say, “I’ll call you.”
Ansel and Rosalie are gone by the time I make my slow way to my CR-V. Who was that? Better yet, why?
