Page 186 of Fly's Path

“No, ma’am. It isn’t.”

“Then I think you should be moving on, or I’ll be forced to call my nephew.” She’s a tiny little bit of a woman, but she shows no fear.

Impressive. “I’m wondering if you could help me.”

“We aren’t very helpful around here to strangers. Are you a stranger or do you know someone?” She tries to lift an eyebrow at me, but all that happens is her forehead wrinkles get more pronounced.

“I am a stranger, but I might not be one for long. You see, my woman grew up here.”

“Your woman? You, sir, don’t own a woman. And you’re clearly not married to one since your finger is bare…so I think you need to change the way you talk about women before I get irritated.”

Don’t laugh.

Don’t laugh because as old and frail as this woman appears to be, I wouldn’t bet against her in a fight. “I hope to make her mine. You see, I’ve fallen in love with her and failed to properly communicate that to her, which caused her to return home instead of staying with me. Now I’ve come looking for her to correct that confusion.”

The woman stares at me for a long moment. “You better not try coming into my store until you’ve put two rings on her finger.”

Huh? “I’d never dream of it, ma’am.”

“Then what’s her name? Maybe I can assist you in your endeavor.”

“Her name is Sheridan Who—”

“Sheridan. Finally. What took you so long to find her? That woman has needed a good man in her life for far too long. She must be around here somewhere. This is her car.”

My heart sinks. Sheri’s been living in her car. Where’s her family in all of this?

It doesn’t matter. She’s not living in her car anymore. “I’m sorry it took me until two months ago to meet her. My heart has been waiting to find her since the beginning of time.”

“That sounds cheesy. You need to work on your lines, or you’ll never end up with a woman like Sheridan. She’s a talented author.”

My phone rings.

“Excuse me just a moment.” I step a few feet away and pick up. “Hello.”

“She’s got a stalker,” the Whiz Kid blurts out.

“I know.” That’s why I called you.

“Well, you were right. And this creep is nutty. He keeps proposing to her. This guy is twisted, Fly.”

My hand flexes into a fist.

“He’s been stalking her for a long time. Like over a year. Did I mention he keeps asking her to marry him…That’s weird. She just blocks his number or changes hers.”

I’m going to kill this guy.

“And get this…he lives in her hometown.”

“WHAT?”

“Is our signal cutting out? He lives in her hometown.”

My gut clenches as the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. “Name and address. Now.” I click off the phone and dial Havoc. “I need a cleanup team.”

“Where?”

“Track my location.” I click off my phone.