Absolute Zero (17 page)

“I just…it interests me, that’s all,” she lied as convincingly as possible. It didn’t seem to work, judging by his skeptical expression.

“Brain surgery is one on one; pharmaceuticals can help the masses, right?” she added. He still didn’t look convinced. “So, we were going to the Lab?” She took a step toward the door, hoping he didn’t decide to pry any further.

He followed her through the door and into the hallway. They hadn’t take any more than ten steps before two figures could be seen walking toward them in the distance. Two men discussing something. Her eyes shifted to the man next to her as they walked.

“So you said you thought Ron hired me?” she asked.

“I’m pretty sure. He was still here when you were interviewed. I’m just surprised he didn’t interview you himself. That situation is a little strange. We can ask HR. Oh,
Geezus
…” he added with a gasp, causing her eyes to search his suddenly alarmed expression before shifting her eyes forward and then down when it appeared the two men were closer.

“Well, all right, maybe we…ah…” He was gone. Her step faltered slightly when she realized that she was talking to no one.

“Harry?” Her head swiveled to look to the side and behind her only to see a closing door to one of the offices.

What the hell?

She could hear the voices speaking in the hall as the two men walked closer. One was a deep voice; the other had a decidedly Scottish accent.

Geezus
was right.

Her nerves jumped as her stomach decided to plummet. Of course he saw her. She was the only person in the hallway other than the two men walking toward her.

Thanks
Harry
.

After a moment’s hesitation, she turned and continued placing one foot in front of the other, her eyes downcast, hoping against all hope that he would walk by without incident. It would look extremely strange if she turned and walked in the other direction, although, to be honest, that’s exactly what she wanted to do. It would also look strange if she opened the door to the utility closet on her right. Much the same as ‘Harry the Coward’…

She watched the pointed toes of her pumps appear and disappear from her vision as the voices neared.  Apparently they were engrossed in conversation and for a fleeting moment, it truly appeared that she would be able to walk by without any type of acknowledgement.

And then she felt it.

Whisper soft.

His hand brushed hers. His pinky finger linked hers for the briefest of moments before their skin slid against each other and then…nothing. It caused her feet to stop immediately as the strangest feeling washed over her. She could hear their conversation continue although her pulse was beating erratically in her head.

Almost as if it didn’t happen.

She slowly turned back to watch McClellan, her eyes following his retreating form as he continued to speak to the man next to him. He never bothered to look back.

Maybe I imagined that.

She didn’t imagine that.

Her hand clenched automatically before she tried desperately to remember where she was going before he decided to hijack her body with his touch.

*****

Shelby Collins.

She had all but forgotten the name until she turned into the Memorial Park lot later that night. Thinking about
her
made her think of
him
. Strange that the man that kissed her and touched her was obviously so in love with his dead wife as to memorialize her so predominantly throughout this small town. It was disturbing to say the least. She shook that thought aside as her eyes scanned the full lot.

She found a vacant spot after a bit of searching. Soccer games took up the majority of the small fields, the playground was jammed with children and parents. Even the trail running around the perimeter of the park was occupied with runners and walkers.

The sight of so many people caused her to pause as she pulled the keys from the ignition, rethinking her plan for the evening. Of course her other option was to stay at home and run the risk of another visit from McClellan.

She would stay at the park.

*****

The path was slowly becoming more and more vacant each time she made another lap around the one mile distance. Three to go and she would force herself to stop, she decided as she passed by the playground again. Music poured through her earbuds as she ran around walkers with strollers or other joggers, concentrating on the path ahead. Suddenly a figure appeared in her peripheral vision causing a small jolt of alarm which only magnified when she felt a touch to her shoulder. She almost ran into a body in front of her before sidestepping quickly, causing her to bump into the figure next to her.

She looked up quickly and let out a small sigh of relief when her eyes found a woman looking at her with eyes widened in surprise before a smile crinkled the corners.

For a moment, she thought it might have been McClellan. She was clearly paranoid and for good reason.

She recognized the face. It was the same woman from the grocery store.
What was her name?

She quickly pulled the earbuds from her ears as the woman’s mouth was clearly moving. She was saying something.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!” she gasped out with a nervous laugh. Her hand was firmly gripping Anne’s upper arm to steady her. Anne’s eyes scanned the path quickly before her body was gently tugged toward the grass to the side. She stepped back immediately, dislodging the other woman’s grip.

“I saw you running, I thought I’d say Hi, maybe give you a break. How many times were you going to run around this path? I make it one time and I feel like I’m going to die,” Shay admitted before taking a breath. “You training for a marathon or something?” she smiled.

“Ah…no? I just like to run,” she mumbled in response.

“Well, more power to you. That’s never been my bag. I’m watching my kids play soccer. It’s the funniest thing when they’re this young. Come on, you can keep me company,” she stated before taking a step back.

“Ah…well, I wasn’t done…” Anne looked at the path longingly.

“Puh-leese girl, you’ve been running around this park for at least an hour,” she huffed out before grasping Anne’s wrist and giving a slight tug, causing her to take a step toward her. “I have some water in a cooler. It’s kind of warm for Spring, you must be parched. Come on.” Another tug. Anne seriously considered planting her feet but how extremely awkward would that be? Her gaze swept the general area, wondering how to extricate herself from this pushy woman. Another tug and her body followed involuntarily. After a few steps, the woman let go of her wrist, chattering about something as she wandered through the grass toward one of the many occupied soccer fields.

Why me?
She all but chanted in her head as she walked behind her.

“Here we are, have a seat,” she indicated a blue fabric chair situated next to the one she was seating herself on.

Anne debated for a brief moment before seating herself carefully. At least this would serve to keep her out of the house longer, lest a certain someone pop in for a visit, she reasoned.

“So watch Pooch. This kid is hilarious. The ball comes anywhere near him and he runs the other way. He hasn’t quite caught on to the concept of the game yet,” Shay said. “Watch him, there he goes.”

Anne’s eyes scanned the field of children, picking out the small boy she recognized from the store. The ball was rolling toward him and he backed away before a shout next to her caused her eyes to flit back to the woman.

“Get the ball, Baby!” she yelled.

He bent over and picked it up causing a whistle to sound immediately.

“
POOCH!
Geez, kid. Put the ball down!” she yelled before dissolving into giggles.

Anne fought to hold her own laugh back.

“That kid…” Shay breathed out. “Now Clara, on the other hand, scores about half the goals for the team. She’s a nut. She definitely gets her athletic ability from Rand, that’s for sure,” she stated before turning in her seat to fully regard Anne.

“Speaking of Rand, I talked to him last night about this Benefit tomorrow night and he has informed me that he does
not
want to go, which of course leaves me with an extra ticket. You wanna come with?”

“No.” Anne blurted almost immediately.

“Damn. What’s with you people? It’s not a firing squad; it’s just a dinner dance,” she laughed out. “It’s for a good cause. All of my friends are either bringing their husbands or have dates. I am
not
walking into this thing alone. Seriously, it would be a good opportunity to meet people, trust me.”

‘I’m sorry, that’s just not my thing…” Anne tried to keep her voice controlled.

“That’s what Ian said too. He came over for dinner last night and I asked him and he said exactly the same thing,” she stated.

Anne’s body warmed at the mention of his name for some inexplicable reason she would
not
ponder further.

“It’s for the Breast Cancer Alliance. We’re raising money for new equipment for the Women’s Center. Open bar, Connelly’s is catering. You like Connelly’s right? We have the best band playing. You have to go. You have some big plans for the evening or what?”

“Yes.”

“Yeah? What are you doing?” she fired off.

“Ah…I’m…”
Damn. Think
. “I was going to the…movies,” Anne blurted the first thing that came to mind and instantly regretted it.

“Oh! Right. Yeah, like you can’t do
that
any time. This is
so
much better. Did I mention open bar? Do you have a dress? I just bought this little red number and it is totally hot, except for the fact that my husband refuses to take me out in it. His loss, right?” she chattered on, causing Anne’s eyes to travel from her face back to the field of children as she tried to conjure up a better excuse for not going. They were running in haphazard fashion chasing the ball, except for Pooch who was now picking dandelions on the opposite side of the field.

“Pooch! Pay attention!” She could hear yelled next to her.

“That kid…I swear,” she muttered. “So I can drop by your house, but you have to drive. I am
dying
for a ride in that car, which, by the way, is my dream car. You’re so lucky…”

No, I’m not…

“…and maybe show up a bit early. I have to see your closet. I’ll bet its’ fantastic, right?”

She could feel the onset of panic or just plain discomfort. Whatever it was, her nerves were starting to feel taut, to the point of snapping.

“I’m antisocial,” Anne stated forcefully, cutting off whatever the woman was going to say next.

“Excuse me?”

Anne turned toward her, piercing her with a glare.

“I keep to myself. I don’t really like social situations. The thought of going to this event makes me want to vomit,” she stated quickly before taking a deep breath.

The dark brown eyes gazing back at her widened for a moment before the other woman finally spoke.

“So tell me what you
really
think.” She returned the eye contact as they stared each other down for a few beats before the woman’s features crinkled up into a smile.

“I like you, Anne. You crack me up and you don’t even know you’re doing it,” she stated before her voice dropped a bit lower and her expression sobered. “I’m sorry. Maybe I just don’t get it. I love being around people, I guess I just assume everyone else should be like me. I promise it won’t be that bad. Half the people that go to these things are stuffy snobs anyway. They won’t even look in your direction let alone attempt a conversation. The rest of them are like me, which is to say they are extremely fun and completely down to earth. I’ll make sure you’re comfortable,” she stated with an earnest expression on her face.

“I don’t know…”

“Just give me your number and I’ll give you a call tomorrow morning after you think about it, OK?”

That seemed fair. Although, given this woman, this relative
stranger
her number was a bit disconcerting.

“Look, I’m not…” Anne started as the woman pressed buttons on her phone.

“Number. Give it,” she demanded; her eyes on Anne and her finger poised over the screen.

Anne automatically recited her number, briefly considering changing one of the digits but deciding against it at the last moment. That would be ridiculous and completely obvious.

“Thank you.” She stated as she pressed the last button with an exaggerated stab and turned toward Anne with a smile. “Now, was that so hard?  Don’t answer that,” she cut off the expected response. “I’ll give you a call tomorrow morning and you’ll say yes and I won’t have to hound Ian anymore. Besides, knowing him, he’d walk in with me and like disappear two minutes later. He’s almost as antisocial as you seem to think you are.”

“So, he’s not going?” Anne asked with a hopeful tone in her voice.

“Not if I can get
you
to go.”