Love's Paradox

Chapter 18: Squishy

I inhale deeply. "Mmm," I say, exhaling. "I love the smell of horses."

Parker glances at me as he drives down the gravel road headed back to town. "Really?"

"Of course. Don't you?"

He sniffs himself. "I stink."

I snicker. "That's what happens when you don't watch your step."

"Shut it, you." He grabs my hand and kisses my palm. "I have a feeling I'm going to be sore for days."

"Is that so?" I infuse my voice with coy sarcasm.

Those dark eyes peer back at me. "Well, not that sore."

"You know, I'm the one with the bandaged thigh."

"Oh, right. How is that?"

"Sore."

"Is that so?" His probing eyes seem to x-ray me before he turns back to the gravel road.

"Well, not that sore," I say.

He smirks, eyebrows wiggling.

The winding gravel road from the stables takes us about five minutes to navigate thanks to the now pouring rain leaving rivulets gouged in the grit. When we reach the end, I stiffen at the sight of Ian's white truck parked where the gravel road meets the main one into town. Its windshield wipers lazily swipe back and forth, and a hauntingly white cloud of exhaust vaporizes into the rain.

The laidback, joking mood I've been reveling in all day vanishes in a poof of Ian-tainted smoke. Through the pouring rain, his steely eyes glare at us. For a moment, it's like we're in some weird staring contest. Who will blink first?

My heartbeats seem to reverberate through my body, echoing in my ears. "Drive," I order.

Parker hesitates for only a second. Then he throws the Caddy into its sport utility mode and hurtles down the road, flipping through each gear with a jerk of the engine. I turn around as Ian's truck lights come on, their beams piercing through the torrential rain, carving out a single-minded path.

Parker yanks his phone from the middle console and tosses it into my lap. "Call the police."

"And tell them what?"

"That he's stalking you. This has to stop."

He's right, but: "The police won't do anything without a restraining order," I say.

"Tell them he's trying to run us off the road. Tell them anything, I don't care."

I shake my head. "I know you mean well, but calling the police will only cause more problems."

"Rae," he pleads.

"When you get to town, a State Trooper's office is right off the bypass. Pull into their parking lot. He won't stop; he's too afraid."

"And then what? Hope he stops? How long has he been doing this kind of stuff, Rae? When will you finally put a stop to it? This will only escalate."

"Oh, come on, Parker. Don't take life so seriously; it's not like we're going to get out alive."

He scowls, glancing in his rearview mirror. "He's not going to stop."

I sigh, hating that Ian has spoiled our wonderful day once again. "Besides yesterday, he hasn't hurt me since I left him. He's shown up to places in town when I'm hanging out with my friends, but he never approached or talked to me. He only watched."

"So what's changed?" he demands, flying through a yellow light in hopes of losing Ian. The white truck doesn't even slow as it races across the intersection right after the light turns red. "Rae? What's different? Did he say something to you?"