Just then he turned and she saw the dark beard on his granite jaw. A pair of piercing blue eyes pinned her to the spot. What she saw, what she felt, it came in a jumble of emotions so strong and unsettling that she turned and ran.
TJ stumbled blindly out the door and around the corner. She leaned against the brick wall and tried to catch her breath. Her life felt out of control. She felt out of control. She’d never had a reaction like that and now, shivering out in the cold, she wondered what had possessed her.
She couldn’t even explain her response to the man. What had she sensed that had her running out into the cold? She shivered, hugging herself as she thought of those blue eyes and the look in them. It was as if he could see into her soul. She knew that was pure foolishness, but how else could she explain her reaction?
“What in the world!” cried her sister Annabelle as she found her leaning against the outside of the building. Chloe came running up a moment later. “What happened?”
TJ couldn’t speak. She shook her head and fought tears. But it was useless. She began to cry, letting out all the frustration and fear that she’d been holding in the past six months.
Her sisters rushed to her, drawing her to them as they exchanged looks of concern. “Let’s get her over to the coffee shop,” she heard Annabelle say.
TJ tried to pull herself together. At the sound of a truck engine, she looked up. To her horror, she saw that it was the man she’d just seen in the gift store driving by slowly. She couldn’t see those blue eyes, but she could feel them on her.
“Who is that man?” TJ asked on a ragged breath before the truck disappeared down the street.
Her sisters turned to look.
“I saw him in the gift shop.” Chloe shook her head. “I have never seen him before that,” she said with a shrug.
TJ had expected Annabelle to say the same thing and was surprised when her sister said, “The mountain man?”
“You know him?” TJ asked as the pickup continued down the street. The truck, she saw with surprise, had a local license plate on it. How was that possible? It was the same man she’d seen in New York City earlier today. But how could that be? She was losing her mind.
“His name is Silas Walker. He moved here about six months ago,” Annabelle was saying. He’d moved here six months ago? That was about the time TJ started getting the letters from True Fan. “He keeps to himself. Has a place in the Little Rockies.”
“You can bet he’s running from something,” Chloe said. “Probably has a rap sheet as long as his muscled arm.”
“Do you always have to be so suspicious?” Annabelle said with a sigh.
“Seriously, he’s either a criminal or an ex-cop.”
“One extreme or the other?” Annabelle grumbled. “Sweetie,” she said, turning back to TJ. “You’re shivering. Let’s get you into the coffee shop.”
It wasn’t until they were seated, cups of hot coffee in their hands, that her sisters asked what was going on.
She wished she knew. Fearing that she was letting her paranoia get to her, she didn’t know what to say.
“TJ?” Chloe prompted.
“She’s finally getting some color back into her face,” Annabelle said. “Just give her a minute.”
She took a sip of the hot coffee. It burned all the way down, but began to warm her ice-cold center.
“Tell us what’s going on,” Chloe said. “Tessa Jane, you looked like you saw a ghost back there. Do you know that man?”
Looking up at them, she knew she couldn’t keep it from them any longer.
It all came pouring out about the fan that at first was so complimentary but soon became more critical, making suggestions that when she didn’t take them became angry.
“Who do you think it is? Probably some aspiring writer with too many rejections who’s angry at you because you got published and she didn’t?” Annabelle asked.
“Or maybe another writer who’s jealous of your success?” Chloe added.
TJ shook her head. “That’s just it. I have no idea. It could be just a reader who doesn’t like the direction my books have taken. I’m not even sure if it is a man or a woman. I’m not the first writer to run into this problem. Readers bond with an author. They have expectations when they pick up one of your books. If you don’t meet those expectations...”
“What? They threaten to kill you?” Chloe cried. “Have you gone to the police?”
She told them what had happened. “The officer was right. My entire life is out there in the cloud. When I was starting out, I hadn’t realized that everything I said to the press or online would be available online forever. At first I was just so excited to be published. I never dreamed...” She shook her head.
“I can’t believe the police blame you,” Chloe said.
Annabelle agreed. “Though I have to admit, it goes with the business. I ran into this with modeling. Once you’re out there, you become public property.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Chloe said.
“Don’t tell me that you haven’t run into this as a reporter,” TJ said.
“People storming in angry about something I’ve written? Of course,” Chloe said. “It’s part of the job. You can’t please everyone. But if you’re being threatened...”
“What are you going to do?” Annabelle asked.
She shook her head. “The police officer I talked to said I should ride it out. That the fan would get tired of harassing me. But I’m worried with this new book that True Fan isn’t going to like it at all. After seeing that man...”
“You think it’s him, your True Fan,” Chloe said. “The one who looks like a mountain man?”
TJ sighed and told them what had happened only that morning on the street in front of her apartment. “He saved me, but did he? I felt someone push me in front of that truck. If he hadn’t grabbed me...” She saw her sisters exchange a doubtful look. “I know it doesn’t seem likely that they are the same person, but...” She halted for a moment. “I swear it’s the same man. I...feel it.”
“Okay, it’s a stretch,” Chloe said. “But I suppose it’s possible. You were in New York this morning and now you’re here. Why couldn’t it be the same for him?”
“He could have even been on the same flight,” Annabelle said. “You flew first class, right? He probably flew coach. And since you didn’t have any luggage to claim...”
“Okay, it’s not that much of a coincidence if he is the same man,” Chloe said. “It doesn’t make him True Fan though.”
“Right, it isn’t like he followed you here,” Annabelle said. “He’s been living here for the past six months.”
“Six months,” TJ said in a whisper. “That’s how long I’ve been getting the letters from True Fan.”
* * *
SILAS DROVE TOWARD the Little Rockies, anxious to get to his cabin. As he drove, he contemplated what had happened back at the gift shop. It didn’t make a lot of sense and he was a man who prided himself on making sense out of situations.
At least he’d been right about one thing. TJ St. Clair had been headed home for the holidays. When he’d realized that, he’d been looking forward to meeting her. But after what had happened back there...