Page 11 of Unexpected Danger (Mountain Justice #2)

Unfortunately, the police had nothing concrete to pin on BJ Nuss. The thought of him lurking around every corner or potentially showing up in her house or texting or calling her again caused incredible trepidation.

There was no sign of a break-in. Apparently, Mr. Nuss or whoever it was wandered right through the front door. Detective Rivas, while sympathetic, had doubted her when she insisted she’d locked the door.

Dustin continued to accompany her to the parking garage and home each day.

There was only one problem with his repeated offers.

She appreciated his thoughtfulness, but it was a little awkward.

She knew he liked her, and she wasn’t sure she could return his affections.

Not that Dustin wasn’t nice, because he was, and he was a great catch, as Jasmine pointed out on numerous occasions.

But honestly, one of the other single women in the office who had their eye on him should probably make a move because Londyn wouldn’t be.

Nothing had happened in the past few days, so Londyn’s stress level decreased somewhat.

Before they left for work, Jasmine pointed out that Dustin might not wait forever for her when Londyn had declined his offer to take her out tonight.

Londyn had only wanted to go home and snuggle up with a book and relax.

On another note, if she were out with Dustin, she would feel safer than she would even in her own apartment. Even if a patrol officer would occasionally drive through the neighborhood.

Dustin perched near the corner of her cubicle and smiled. “Have you given any thought about tonight?”

How could she deny his request when he had been so thoughtful and dedicated in making sure she was safe?

“Sure,” she heard herself say.

“Awesome!”

While she would have preferred to stop at home and freshen up a bit first, it made better sense to go directly from work instead of having him follow her home and wait for her.

Jasmine appeared with a suspicious smirk on her face. “It’s about time you said yes, Londyn. You two have fun tonight. I will see you Sunday at church, Dustin.”

The partly cloudy skies gave a glimmer of hope that spring was on its way.

Dustin walked her to her car, and they stood together briefly in the parking garage.

The only other people on this crisp Friday evening were a few people Londyn recognized from the law office in the same building as her employer.

Most wanted to exit their work and head home after a busy week.

“Do you want to just hop in my truck and go to dinner? I can drop you off after we eat and follow you home.”

“That makes sense, but honestly, I prefer not to come back to the parking garage tonight, especially if it gets too late.

“I understand. How about I follow you over to the restaurant?”

“That sounds good.” She anticipated a relaxing evening, even if her plans had changed.

She pulled out of the parking garage, and Dustin followed her to the Rowland Steakhouse, an upper-end restaurant on the far western side of town. The parking lot was already packed. They might not even get a table.

Dustin parked his maroon diesel truck beside her SUV and exited his vehicle.

“Do you think we’ll get a table?”

Dustin grinned at her, a glimmer in his dark eyes. “I’m not worried.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, someone may have made reservations.”

“But how did you know I would say yes?”

Dustin shrugged. “I didn’t. But it’s easier to cancel the reservations than to try to make them at the last minute. Besides, now we have a table.”

The guy truly thought of everything. Londyn was shocked he wasn’t already snapped up and married with three or four kids and living in the suburbs.

They wove their way through the crowded parking lot and stepped into the ritzy steakhouse, where the aroma of steak and potatoes greeted them.

Dustin informed the hostess that he had reservations, and she led them to a private table on the second floor overlooking the nearby lake.

“Wow, the view is amazing.”

“Yes, it is.” Dustin kept his focus on Londyn for several seconds before handing the hostess what appeared to be cash, before she went on her way.

“I thought you would enjoy this spectacular view. It’s the best table in the place.

” Dustin walked over to her side and pulled out her chair.

She appreciated his chivalry. Maybe she should consider dating him.

Brodie’s image flashed through her mind. If there was no chance with him due to her foolishness, maybe Dustin would be a second option.

“You look beautiful tonight,” Dustin said, interrupting her thoughts.

Londyn reached up and fiddled with one of her earrings. “Thank you.” She appreciated his compliment; however, with the best seat in the restaurant, now she wished she’d been able to go home first and change into something a little classier than jeans and a sweater.

The waiter arrived shortly after to take their drink order.

The menu offered multiple palatable options, and Londyn ordered the chicken and broccoli pasta while Dustin ordered a ribeye steak.

They carried on a pleasant conversation, first starting with work, and then Dustin asked her a few questions about her family.

“Not much to say. My mom is remarried to her most recent husband, Jason, and they just moved to Arizona. I have a brother named Logan, but I haven’t seen him in years.”

“That stinks. Jas mentioned you weren’t close to your family.”

Had Jasmine told him everything?

“Yeah. It doesn’t bother me too much.” Well, it did on occasion, but most of the time, Londyn didn’t give her dysfunctional family a second thought. Especially not since she considered the Brennemans her family.

A niggle of guilt stabbed her in the gut. If someone had treated her like family as the Brennemans had, why had she hurt them so much? Londyn blinked away the emotion. “What about you?” she asked Dustin.

“My family lives in New Mexico.”

“That’s quite a distance from here. Do you see them often?”

Dustin shrugged but said nothing, leaving her to believe he was probably not close to his family either. She completely understood. He placed the napkin in his lap. Would he elaborate? Londyn had known him to be a rather private person, even more private than she was.

“What made you decide to move to Rowland?” she asked.

“I saw the job offer, and it paid better than where I was working before.”

“Have you lived in Rowland for a while?”

“Yes, several years. And you moved from where?” But before Londyn could answer, the waiter returned with their food.

Londyn prayed over her meal and was glad to see that Dustin appeared to be praying over his food as well.

She vacillated back and forth once again between giving Dustin a chance and foregoing the possibility.

Thoughts of being just like Mom entered her mind.

But it’s different, she argued with herself.

Was it? Could Londyn so easily forget about Brodie, just like Mom forgot about her ex-husbands? She’d initiated every divorce except the one with Dad. If Londyn and Dustin married, would Londyn stay with him until death parted them like Mr. and Mrs. Brenneman, or would she soon replace him?

They finished eating and talked a while longer before Dustin followed Londyn to her apartment in his truck.

It had been an enjoyable evening; she would be sure to reiterate to Dustin how much she appreciated a reprieve from the thoughts that permeated her mind over her stalker.

And what the stalker’s next actions could consist of.

She drove into her carport, and Dustin parked behind her. She grabbed her purse and exited the SUV, making sure she hit the lock button more than once. Dustin leaned against his truck, the slight breeze ruffling his blond hair.

“Thank you for the nice evening,” she said.

“My pleasure.”

They stood in silence as the seconds ticked by until Dustin spoke. “I can always come in, and maybe we can watch a movie or something?”

Londyn couldn’t really put a finger on why she’d decline, other than she didn’t want to give Dustin the wrong idea.

She had wavered back and forth in her indecision so many times, but something she couldn’t determine stopped her from pursuing a relationship with him.

If she did choose to date him, she endeavored to take it extremely slow.

Her morals and convictions would allow for nothing else.

“I’m really tired. But I do appreciate all you have done for me these past few days. ”

Something akin to irritation flashed across Dustin’s face, and then it was gone. Had she even seen it at all? He reached for both of her hands and held them in his.

She waited for that jolt of electricity to rush through as it had with Brodie. But nothing came.

Of course, she couldn’t place a huge emphasis on feelings as they were oftentimes untrustworthy and faulty. Just because she didn’t experience heart-fluttering moments of being with him didn’t mean Dustin wasn’t worthy of a relationship.

“Londyn,” he said, his voice husky as he inclined slightly toward her. “I really like you and would like to take our friendship to the next level.”

Even though Londyn had given this some thought in the past few minutes, his comments still caught her off guard. “I’m not sure.”

“Not sure about what? It’s obvious we make a great pair.”

“We do make a good team, and I do like you.”

“Then what’s the problem? It might be helpful if we were dating. That might cause that Nuss guy to leave you alone if he knows there’s a boyfriend in the picture.”

Londyn doubted that anything would dissuade BJ Nuss if he was bent on getting revenge, like she imagined he was. Revenge on her for something she had no control over.

Dustin was so close that she could see what was probably a chickenpox scar on his left cheek.

“What do you say?”

“I don’t know.”