"I can't argue with that."

"What are you going to do now?"

"I think shaking her is out of the question," James said, immediately regretting the joke. "I'm going to try and talk to her."

"I don't think she's ready to listen."

"Then I'll camp out on her doorstep until she is ready," James said. "She can't stay in there forever. There's no food."

"I hope you fix this," Heidi said. "You guys are my hope."

"Your hope?"

"My hope that I'll find what you have someday," Heidi said. "You guys are the dream."

"Well, I'm going to go and reclaim my dream," James said. "I'll have her call you when she's feeling better."

"Will you call me regardless?"

James nodded. "Yeah. Just give me some time. I don't think this is going to be quick."

"Good luck."

James watched Heidi pull away from the building, squaring his shoulders as he marched to the apartment door. He raised his hand to knock and then thought better of it. He searched his key ring, finding the right one on his third try. He inserted it into the lock and pushed the door open.

She might not want to face him but he wasn't going to give her a choice.

The door opened four inches and then stopped. "Ugh." She'd engaged the security chain. "Mandy?"

No one answered from inside. "Baby?"

Still nothing.

James sighed, sinking down to the hard cement and leaning against the door. "I want to talk to you."

James leaned on his elbow and peered into the apartment. The angle of the door didn't give him much of a view. "I know you're in there. I guess I'm going to have to talk to you from right here."

Silence.

"Everything you told Ally is wrong," James said. "Every single thing is wrong."

A woman approached the stairwell, heading up toward a higher floor. She paused a few feet above him, shooting him a dirty look. "No means no, buddy."

James rolled his eyes. "Your neighbor thinks I'm stalking you. You've got to let me in so I can apologize."

"Do you really think stalking her is going to win her back?" The woman had a set of keys clasped in her hand. "I'm going to call the police."

James scowled. "I'm not stalking her. She's my girlfriend."

"That doesn't mean you're not stalking her."

James jangled his own set of keys. "I have a key. Does a stalker have a key?"

"She's got the security chain on," the woman said. "She obviously doesn't want you bothering her."

"She's just upset."

"Stalker."

"Busybody."

"Mean stalker."

"Annoying busybody."

"I'm definitely calling the police," the woman huffed, climbing the stairs.

James sighed. The last thing he needed was police intervention. "I'm going to shut and lock this door, Mandy. I'm not leaving, though. You can't hide forever. I'll be in my truck."

When the door was locked, James trudged back toward the parking lot. He pulled up short when he saw Emma watching him curiously from a few feet away. She'd moved into the building after losing everything in a fire. James had almost forgotten that fact. "What's going on?"

"Mandy has lost her mind and I'm trying to make up," James said.

"Oh."

"Her upstairs neighbor threatened to call the cops," James explained. "I'm going to wait out here."

"Do you want me to try?"

James shook his head. "I don't think that will be much help right now. I'm hoping, after a full night's sleep, that she reconsiders things."

"How long are you going to wait?"

"As long as it takes."

"Maybe you should go back to your apartment and give it some time," Emma suggested. "I'm sure it will be okay in the morning."

"I'm not leaving."

"You're going to just sit out here? It's going to get cold."

"I'll sleep in the Explorer."

Emma tilted her head to the side, glancing between Mandy's apartment and James' vehicle. "That seems a little extreme."

"We haven't spent a night apart in ten months."

"You being in your car and her being in her bed is being apart."

"I can't change that," James said. "I won't leave her. I'll never leave her."

"I know you'll never leave her," Emma said. "That's not what I was getting at."

"It doesn't matter. If she needs me, I'm going to be here."

Emma smiled. "You can stay in my apartment if you want."

"No. I need to be here, right outside. I'm not going to risk missing her."

"I hope things work out."

"They'll work out," James said. "Losing her isn't an option for me."

Eleven.

If James thought sharing a bed with an injured Mandy was detrimental to his sleep pattern, trying to get a few hours of shuteye in his truck was a learning experience he never wanted to repeat. There was no way he could take another night of this. He had to be proactive.

An idea forming, James called Grady.

His brother arrived about a half hour later, his eyes still puffy from sleep. He didn't look happy. "Seriously? How can this be happening again?"

James climbed out of the Explorer. "What do you know?"

"Ally has a big mouth," Grady replied. "She called everyone."

"Everyone?"

"Everyone," Grady confirmed. "She's upset."

"I slept in my truck and Mandy is pouting inside," James said. "Ally doesn't have anything to be upset about."

Grady tried again. "Okay, Ally is worried."

"I'm worried," James said. "Why do you think I called you?"

"I think you just missed me."

"Are you trying to be cute?"

"Hey, you're the one that called me at the a.s.s crack of dawn to come and babysit your apparently deranged girlfriend," Grady reminded him. "I had a beautiful, naked woman in bed with me a woman who has been chasing this case as hard as we have, by the way and I still came to help. Don't give me s.h.i.t."

"I'm sorry," James said. "I don't want her here alone."

"So you want me to sit outside and just watch the apartment?"

"She'll probably let you inside," James said. "If she does, try to keep her calm. Oh, and make sure that you change the bandage on her back. You might not like it, but it's overdue."

Grady waved him off. "I'll change her bandage, man. That stuff doesn't bother me."

"Well, it bothers her."

"I think it bothers her because it's you," Grady said. "She's not sleeping with me."

"She's not sleeping with me either right now."

"Yeah, Ally said that was part of the problem."

"I'm going to kick Ally's a.s.s the next time I see her," James said. "She'd better get a running start."

"What are you going to do?"

"I have a few quick errands to run," James said. "I won't be long. I'll text you when I'm back. We'll figure things out from there."

Grady reached over, gripping James' shoulder tightly. "I'll take care of her."

"I know."

"She's just upset."

"I upset her. Again. I keep doing that."

"That's love, man. It's going to be okay."

"I know," James said. "I just need to get a few things. I'll bring breakfast back when I come. She doesn't have any food in there."

"I'm on it."

GRADY was nervous when he knocked on the door. This wasn't the first time he'd been in this situation. After James' morning-after jilting, Grady had been the one left to pick up the pieces. It hadn't gone well.

This time, it seemed James had been acting out of love not neglect or self-preservation. He just hoped Mandy wasn't going to blame him for James' actions.

Grady heard noise on the other side of the door, the slight shuffling of feet on the carpet catching his ear. He stood back, making it clear he was alone in case she was peering out of the peephole.

"What do you want?"

"I came to see you," Grady said. "You don't have to worry. I'm alone."

"Where is James?"

"He had a few errands to run."