“Then I’ll make sure I don’t. Is there anything else I should know about them?”

“Yeah.” His lips twitched as he gave Molly the apple. “Stock up on bug repellent.”

Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

Alanna closed the door to Jody’s home, finally done for the day. She was in a rush to get home to shower and change before Matthew came over for dinner. She had made a new Crock-Pot recipe for them to try out. The last two had been hit or miss.

She entered the trailer and started taking her shirt off before she was out of the living room. She had spent too long talking to Ginny and had been playing catchup ever since.

After she removed the rest of her clothes, she stepped into the shower. The last month had flown by with her spending most of her free time with Matthew. Usually, he would show up at dinnertime, and afterward, they would take a long walk, holding hands. Then they would settle down to watch a movie or just sit and talk with music playing.

Each day, she felt as if her head was in a guillotine, and she was just waiting for the blade to drop. She had never been happier in her life. Her smile slipped, worried about the call she’d received from Diamond.

Her lawyer was meeting her at Silas’ house in the morning to discuss her case. Alanna was sure she was going to be given her court date. The thought of going to court not only terrified her because she might lose her freedom, but also potentially having to end her budding relationship with Matthew.

Each evening they spent together, their kissing sessions had become longer and more intense, leaving them both shaking and their breathing labored. She kept putting the brakes on them moving their relationship to a different level of intimacy.

She couldn’t bring herself to have sex with Matthew until she was free of the court case, Owen, and, more importantly, Kate. If Kate found out she was in love with Matthew, she would somehow use it against her. That was what Kate did, with ruthless disregard of the carnage left behind.

Dressing in soft-as-butter jeans, she tugged on a robin-egg blue sweater, which was the same color as her jeans. After putting on socks, she went to the small kitchenette to make a salad to go along with the Crock-Pot lasagna.

The smell coming from the Crock-Pot had her stomach grumbling. All she had eaten was a sandwich at Ginny’s house.

A rap at her door had her hurrying to answer it. Matthew was standing outside with a platter of cookies that had clear wrap over them.

“Those look familiar to me.” Moving aside, she let him in.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Matthew carried the purloined cookies to the small table where she had placed the salad.