Free Avalanche by Tallulah Grace

door.
    “We’re never going to live this down,” Jade mumbled,
stacking the wedding books together. Since coming to work at Cliffside, she’d
assembled several packages for prospective brides. As Chelsea already had a
vision of her big day, she didn’t need any of the visuals.
    “It must be nice to have such close female friends,” Pamela
told her. “Even if they can be a pain, sometimes.”
    “I wouldn’t trade them for anything,” Jade glanced up, hearing
the longing in Pamela’s tone. “You must have lots of friends in LA.”
    “None like this. Most of my friends are actually work
acquaintances. I was so busy, all of the time, that building friendships took a
back seat to building work relationships.”
    “I get it. For me, coming to Starsdale was a real eye
opener. I’ve only been here for a little over a month, but I already feel at
home. Most of that is due to Chelsea, Sharon, and especially Dana and Robert. Have
you met them?”
    “No, I’ve been keeping to myself since I arrived. I don’t
remember the names from high school, though.”
    “That’s because they only moved here a few years ago. Dana
runs an organic farm, sells to Cliffhangers, and many of the other restaurants
in the area. Her husband, Robert, is my best friend from childhood. After my
divorce, they insisted that I move here. I’m so glad they did.”
    “And Justin, is he a new transplant as well?”
    “Brand new. He came for the weekend, and never left. We
share Mac’s parent’s house. You should get Red to bring you by for dinner soon.
How about tomorrow night?”
    “Red and I aren’t together, Jade. He’s helping me with
Chandler, nothing more.”
    “Oh, I thought Justin said… Oh well, never mind. Come with
JB and Sharon, then. Or just JB, if Sharon’s working. I’d love for you to meet
Justin, and you have to eat, right?”
    “Sure, thanks. I’ll speak to them and let you know.”
    “Red’s welcome, too. If you like.” Jade kneeled down and
gave Hershey a hug. “So is this guy. You’re such a cutie!”
    “He is adorable,” Pamela agreed. “Apparently, he’s a good
protector as well. Not just a pretty face, are you boy?”
    Hershey placed his head in her lap, eager for as much love
as he could get.
    “I leave you in good hands, then. Or paws, as it were,” Jade
laughed, scribbling something on a pad. “Here’s my number, call me about
tomorrow. I hope you can make it.”
    “Thanks, so do I.”
    Jade headed for the kitchen, reminding Pamela that she’d
promised Red to sit close to the door. Moving to a different table, she
reflected on how good it felt to have friendly women in her life, ones that
didn’t want anything from her.
    “Speaking of which,” she mumbled, finding her phone in her
purse. “What will it take for you to cooperate with me, Kendra?”
    Pressing a few numbers, she waited for her assistant to
answer the call.

Chapter Nine
     
    Red jumped the last few feet, landing at the base of the
pine tree. Looking up, he could barely see the camera’s red light blinking, but
only because he knew where to look.
    “That should do it.” Folding the ladder, the grabbed the
packaging material in his free hand and headed back to Pamela’s house.
    Once there, he set up his computer on the porch, checking
the feeds from each angle. Three cameras on the perimeter of the property, one
on each doorway, and three inside the house gave him nearly a complete visual
of Pamela’s place, inside and out.
    “You won’t get by me next time, Chase. If indeed that’s who
you are.” Red wasn’t convinced that Chandler Chase was the man terrorizing
Pamela. It made sense, from her point of view, but he’d checked on Chase, and
the man was in LA last night at some big opening, complete with photographs.
    Not to say that it was impossible that Chase was the
stalker. Conceivably, he could have flown up to Starsdale, broken into Pamela’s
house, then flown back to LA to attend the party. It was possible, but