The Acadia Killer

Chapter 13

To say it was weird climbing back into bed with a man I barely knew and wasn't in a relationship with was an understatement. I wasn't about to argue though, given how exhausted I was. I didn't have the energy. Not to mention, it was Blake I was getting under the sheets with. How could I complain at all? But still, how handsome a man is doesn't necessarily take away the awkward feeling in the pit of your stomach when you know you're doing something that makes you somewhat uncomfortable, regardless of the innocence of the action.

Michelle would tell me I'm nuts for even thinking that way, and maybe she would be right to say that, but I still couldn't shake it from my mind that I was going to end up hurting someone or getting hurt. Relationships just didn't end well for me. They never had. And here I was cuddled up under the comforter with a man I could absolutely see myself accidentally falling for, and the thoughts in the back of my mind were screeching like fire alarms that I shouldn't have even gotten involved with such a good man who didn't deserve to be one-nighted and left behind when my trip was over. But what could I do? It wasn't like I was going to stay in Maine forever.

"You know what I've noticed about you, Mackenzie?" Blake mumbled from the pillow beside me.

He was laying on his back with his arm folded behind his head and I was so close to curling up against his side, but I wouldn't let myself do that. The heat radiating from his body was enough to make me feel like we were touching already though, and I felt my cheeks warm at the thought.

"That I overthink a lot?" I guessed, staring up at the ceiling fan giving off the slightest squeak as it spun. "You're not the first person to point that out."

He snorted a laugh and turned his head to look at me. "That doesn't surprise me, given how obvious you are about it. I can practically hear your brain going into hyper mode. What's bothering you?"

How do you tell someone who you don't want to hurt that you care for them a lot, but you don't want to pursue anything with them, for fear everything will go up in a ball of flames? If ever there was a good case for the dreaded it's-not-you-it's-me bullshit, this was it.

"I'm just stressed about this homicidal shit," I lied, hoping he wasn't a natural lie detector. "I'm still freaked out about whoever has been snooping around outside and I'm worried they'll come back. I mean... can I even continue to do what I came here for? Can I go do my job and not have to worry that Freddy Krueger might be chilling on the patio when I come back at night? It's getting ridiculous, Blake."

Okay, so maybe it wasn't all a lie. I hadn't been thinking about the Acadia Killer at all until it slipped out of my big fat mouth and then I actually did start getting a little flipped out again. It was true. I was definitely concerned about what would happen if "Steve" or whoever else was roaming around the other night made a return. I didn't trust that neighbor story at all. Who would pound on your door like that for no reason? Had he been the one snooping around outside a couple nights prior as well? It was getting to be too much to deal with.

"I understand," Blake said softly with a sigh and rolled onto his side to fully look at me this time. "Mackenzie, I'm going to do everything I can do make this shit stop. If I have to stay here until the guy is caught, I can do that... if you want me to. I don't want you to feel unsafe. Besides... I'm enjoying getting to know you."

There it was again. That getting-to-be familiar tingle in my veins that sent my nerves dancing wildly. No man had incited a reaction in my body like that one since my last serious boyfriend, which was years ago. Truthfully, it felt wonderful to be the object of someone's affection again, but I still just couldn't push away that awful nagging feeling in my stomach telling me to run the other way as fast as I could.