Page 20 of Cursed Fox (Willow Creek Security #4)

CHAPTER TWENTY

Nancy

"Stay with me," I pleaded. "Please."

Lex shook his head vehemently as he tried to get out of bed, but I was latched on to his arm.

"I can't. I don't trust myself not to hurt you."

"But I trust you. Doesn't that count for something?"

His eyes pleaded with me to understand.

"I promise to get out of bed if I hear you so much as whimper."

"Don't look at me like that."

I knew exactly what he was talking about, but I played dumb anyway. "Like what?" I asked innocently.

"With those puppy dog eyes. It makes me want to cave even though I shouldn't."

I did the opposite and cranked it up even more. If I didn't fully believe he would be fine, I wouldn't be begging so hard. But I had faith in him, even if he didn't.

"Fine, I'll stay. But you have to promise not to try and wake me again. I can't handle it if I hurt you again."

"You didn't hurt me. See." I showed him my unmarked neck, but he didn't look convinced.

"Roll over so I can hold you."

I did as he asked, surprised to discover that he was a cuddler. When he said he only fucked women, I figured that meant no snuggling in bed. And while I learned very quickly that Lex might never have cuddled before, he was damn good at it. In his arms, I instantly felt safe and cherished.

However, I struggled to doze off knowing that Lex might not get a wink of sleep that night.

When I woke up the next morning, I noticed two things. Lex was still in bed like I’d begged him to be, and his eyes were closed. I tried to remember if I heard him call out in the middle of the night, but my mind was still trying to wake up.

"I can feel you staring at me."

I startled so hard, I almost fell out of the bed.

Of course Lex was right there to catch me. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," he said while leaning over me.

"It's okay. I just thought you were sleeping. Did you get any sleep?" I asked cautiously. Then released the breath I was holding when he smiled at me.

"Yeah, baby. I slept a couple of hours."

"Really?" I asked with so much hope in my voice. "No nightmares?"

Lex shook his head. "Nothing. But it was more cat nap than actual sleeping."

I was so happy I could cry. "That's okay. It's a start." When he leaned down and brushed his lips across mine, all thoughts of crying quickly disappeared. I was lost in all things Lex for what felt like mere seconds but was probably longer.

"We have to go into town," he said after pulling away and resting his forehead on mine.

"Do we though? Can't we just stay in this bubble forever?"

Lex laughed, and damn was it the sexiest sound in the world.

"We could, but then I wouldn't get the pleasure of punching your ex-husband in the face."

I laughed so hard I snorted, then proceeded to cover my face as embarrassment flooded my body.

"Now that was the cutest sound I've ever heard."

I smacked his naked chest. His very defined and totally drool-worthy chest. "Let me up."

He did as I asked, but only to wrap me up in his arms so we were cuddling together on the bed. That was fine by me. I didn't want to go talk to people anyway. I would've been happy if we never left the apartment.

Well, that wasn't true. I would want to visit my kids occasionally. See Jimmy heal and watch him make the comeback I knew he could make if given the chance.

"We really should move," I said a few minutes later.

"I know. I was just enjoying the moment."

Lex would soon become the king of sappy quotes at this rate. And damn did that make me swoon over him.

Eventually he let me go and I rolled out of bed to get in the shower. I took my time under the spray. The last few days had been nothing but rushed showers and constantly being on the move, so I soaked up the hot water while I could. There was no telling what the next day would bring.

Lex jumped in after me but only took about a quarter of the time, barely leaving me enough time to get ready before he was demanding we get a move on.

"Stop rushing me." I swatted at his hands when he tried to put my makeup away before I was done using it.

"I don't know why you're putting that stuff on. You're beautiful without it."

I almost melted into a pile of goo right there and then.

"Has anyone ever told you that you say the nicest things?" I tossed the mascara back in my makeup bag.

Lex snorted. "I don't think anyone has ever said that to me."

"That's because they never got to see this side of you."

He walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around my middle, pulling me back so I was flush against his chest. "And they never will. I reserve that only for you."

At this rate, I was going to be begging the man to marry me.

"All right, time to go." If we didn't get a move on, I would be fucking the man in no time just to show him how much I appreciated all his sweet words.

Lex chuckled but followed me out the door and down the steps to his Jeep.

"Where do you think we should stop first?" he asked as soon as we were both seated.

"Remember Shirley from the antique shop?" When he nodded his head yes, I continued on. "She was one of my best friends when I was in high school and pretty much the only person who saw straight through Thomas's nonsense. I figured we could start with her and see what she knows."

"Sounds good to me."

The drive to Main Street was short. It took longer to get buckled and start the vehicle than it did to drive the couple of streets over. No wonder most people preferred to walk in town.

Once again, Lex parked in front of the building labeled Willow Creek Security. "Is this your place?" I pointed to the sign.

"It was. I'm not sure it will be anymore."

I raised my brows. I hadn't known he was thinking about leaving.

"Before I met you, I wasn't sure Willow Creek was for me."

I had to ask. "And now?"

Lex shrugged. "I'm not sure anymore. The reason I wanted to leave might not be a problem anymore."

This probably wasn't a discussion we should be having out in the open, but I couldn't find it in me to postpone it to a later time.

"And what was that?"

"My night terrors. The only way to keep them at bay was to stay busy enough that I would go to bed at night completely exhausted. If last night proved anything, there's other ways to get rid of them."

I had a feeling I knew what he was referring to, but I wanted to be sure. "And what ways are those?"

Lex smirked at me. "Oh I think you know."

My face heated at the suggestion. I needed to get out of the Jeep before I got myself arrested for indecent exposure when I jumped Lex's bones. "Let's go see if Shirley has any information for us."

I watched Lex get out of the vehicle and walk around to my side. I gladly took his offered hand and held it as we walked to the store.

A little bell dinged as soon as we walked in. "I'll be right with you," Shirley's sweet voice echoed throughout the place.

I looked around the shop and instantly found several pieces that I loved. "I could cause some serious damage in this place."

"Is that what you like? Antiques?" Lex looked at me with genuine curiosity.

"When it comes to furniture, absolutely. They don't make dressers and such like they used to." I loved seeing how older items lasted over the years. It was nothing like the newer stuff. Everything nowadays was made flimsy and barely lasted a few years.

"Nancy!" Shirley exclaimed when she walked out of the back room. "I'm so glad you decided to stop in."

"I wish I could say this was a social visit, but I need your help."

Shirley's smile slipped a bit. "Sure. What can I do to help?"

I cleared my throat and got right down to it. "Do you know where Thomas is living these days, or know anyone who does?"

Shirley scoffed. "I don't have the slightest idea. You know how I felt about him when you were married. Couldn't stand the guy. But you should ask Tim Senior. He keeps all the records of everyone in town. I bet he would know where the asshole is."

I knew there was a reason I liked Shirley so much. She had been the only one in town who saw Thomas for who he really was.

"Tim Senior owns the service station down at the end of the road," I explained to Lex.

His only answer was a jerk of the head as if to say let's go.

"Give me one second."

I walked straight over to Shirley and gave her a hug. "As soon as this mess is over, we need to get together. Maybe grab a drink so we can properly catch up."

"I look forward to it. And I don't know why you're looking for Thomas, but be careful. I always got a bad feeling from him."

She wasn't the only one. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of ignoring my feelings as a teenager and instead listened to everyone else in town.

I said goodbye and followed Lex out of the shop. We walked in silence until we came across Wickedly Delicious.

"After we speak to Tim, I want to stop in here and grab a few things."

Lex looked up to see where we were and gave me a smile. "Maverick introduced you to Maisie's scones, didn't he?"

"Oh my God, yes. I would marry the woman if she wasn't already taken."

He laughed. "Yeah, Hendrix wouldn't stand for that. He's a bit possessive when it comes to Maisie."

"I'd like to meet her and Olivia." I watched closely to see how Lex reacted to that, and wasn't the least bit surprised when he smiled.

"They are going to love you."

I sure as hell hoped so.

We continued our walk down the block and stopped when we hit the old service station. Tim Jr. was working the counter and gave me a big smile as soon as he saw me.

"Hey, Nancy. I heard you were back in town."

Tim Jr. was around my age. He was a decent-looking man in the boy-next-door kind of way, but he had nothing on Lex.

"Hi, Tim." I smiled. "And yeah, for a little bit. I was actually looking for your father. Is he here, by chance?"

"Of course. I think he's tinkering in the shop. He's usually here every day no matter how many times I remind him he's supposed to be retired."

I laughed at Jr.'s explanation. From the little I remembered about his father, he was always working on something or other. The man loved his antique cars.

"Let me just go grab him for you."

"Thanks, Tim."

I glanced around the small service station and realized nothing about the place had changed.

The decor was still stuck in the sixties.

The old soda fountain machine was still in the same spot and looked to be in working order.

It brought back memories of riding my bike down there on hot summer days just to grab a drink. It was the hot spot back in the day.

"Nancy, dear." Tim Sr. pulled me back from memory lane as he slowly walked straight over to me and pulled me in for a hug.

I had forgotten how big this town was on hugging people. "Good to see you, Senior." As kids, Tim hated to be called sir, so he insisted we all called him Senior.

"Bee told me you were back in town, but what brings you around to my place? Lookin' for a drink, perhaps?"

I smiled at the old man. "Not today. I was actually hoping I could pick your brain some."

"Well, it ain't what it used to be, but I'll do my best."

"I need to know where Thomas is these days. Shirley mentioned that you keep records of everyone in town."

I wondered if that meant he’d known about me moving to Divot? I pushed the thought away. It didn't matter at the moment.

"I sure do. And are you talking about that ex of yours?"

I bobbed my head. "The same one."

"Well now, it's been a while, but last I heard he was in Oklahoma. Same as your boy."

I tensed at the mention of Jimmy. "You're sure?"

"Again, it's been a few years since I asked around, but yeah, I'm sure that's what was said."

"Who said?"

Sr. gave me a soft smile. "Now, I can't tell you that. A man can't reveal his sources."

If there was one thing I remembered well about Tim, the old man was a vault. He kept secrets better than anyone else in town. A surprise really, considering gossip ran rampant in a place like this.

"Well, if you could ask those sources and find out for sure, I would really appreciate it."

"Anything for you, dear. Can I ask why you’re lookin' for him?"

"No particular reason." Sr. wasn't the only one who could keep a secret if needed. And when it came to my son, I could do just about anything I put my mind to.