Time went into a weird flux for Tansy. It was both far too long of a wait for Saturday and it seemed only a few moments before she was leaving Sam’s car and walking through the park to the trailhead.
Sam was annoyed. Actually, he was pissed off.
He’d wanted to be with her, holding her hand through the meeting.
That would never work.
James needed to feel he was in control. He wasn’t smart enough to realize Tansy held most of the cards. He probably thought he was going to intimidate her physically.
By now, she assumed he’d talked himself into believing it had been a fluke that she’d been able to kick that lamp out of his hands.
He’d known she worked out daily and did a lot of martial arts, but he was bigger and stronger. If it came down to a physical encounter, Tansy was confident she could hold her own.
Even if she didn’t have Sam as her backup.
This was the perfect opportunity for her to wear her skin lotion tracking device. She wouldn’t need it, but this gave her a real-life opportunity to track the data. Her tablet was recording her movements from the truck. She wouldn’t be even a mile away, but the data would be invaluable.
In the two days since her email to James, she’d spent almost all of her time working on her projects. That kept her from obsessing about the things she couldn’t control.
She’d been unable to sleep, even with Sam, and had taken to wolf-napping and working on her tablet and laptop while he slept.
Joe had called her multiple times, as had Nico, peppering her with hints about how to deal with James. She’d finally told the two of them to stop calling and get out of her head. And she’d told Sam he had to stop talking about it as well.
She was a little annoyed that he’d told the other two about the meetup at all.
They were making her nuts. Making her feel like she didn’t know her own mind anymore. They were treating her quiet little life as if it was a spy movie.
She didn’t want any part of it, but she would go along with their plans. They had more expertise with criminals even if they didn’t know James like she did.
The only way to stop it was to face it directly and make it stop. This meeting with James might be the key to that.
At least there hadn’t been any more intrusions onto the property. Well, none they knew about.
Which was another thing keeping her awake at nights.
Had she brought trouble to Vermont? Midnight Lodge was in a peaceful area and the town of Phail certainly didn’t need any trouble.
Tansy focused her breathing and slowed her movements. She wasn’t going to let James see any nerves or upset. She was going to treat him like dirt.
She wished she wasn’t wearing a recording device. It made her feel awkward and she really didn’t want Sam to hear anything embarrassing James might drag up.
But the three protective men she loved as much as anyone in the world had pestered her until she agreed. And she wouldn’t go back out on an agreement.
Needing to get herself centered on the upcoming conversation, Tansy stopped where she was and did some focus breathing. She had arrived early to ensure she was in place before James arrived.
Feeling better, she strolled to the trails, glad to see an empty bench. She wanted to project relaxed, not amped up, so she would sit and keep her bouncing to a minimum.
The recording device she wore wasn’t two-way, so she couldn’t hear Sam on the other end. But she knew he was there, not far away.
And suddenly, the thought soothed her. He was a good man who would literally and figuratively have her back.
Unlike the idiot she was about to meet.
And there was the exact reason she was so annoyed. James wasn’t a good man. He’d never had her back.
Yet she’d been with him for six weeks before finding out he was using her.
It was embarrassing. Probably the most embarrassing thing she’d ever done. And Sam was going to listen in to her meeting with the man.