Obsessed With You by Jennifer Ransom Page A

take it lightly at all if she ever found out, which she
wouldn’t, if he could help it.
    Aaron now owned two houses,
neither of which was a home. He needed to unload one, if not both of
them. Wasn’t his job on the bay done now? He had moved next to
Cathy in desperation to make sure she was okay. He had made a vow to
himself the day he told her he loved her that he would always be
there for her—to love her, to protect her, and to support her.
That’s what partners did, and Cathy was his partner.
    But Cathy didn’t seem to need
Aaron anymore. It was time for him to move on, perhaps. He could keep
tabs on her, from afar. He would always be there if she ever needed
him no matter what his circumstances in life happened to be.
    But right now, he was obsessed
and a little psychotic. He was drinking too much and not eating or
sleeping enough. He didn’t even recognize the bearded man who
stared back at him from the mirror. He was no longer earning a
regular income, though thankfully he still had his investments. Aaron
was a worker, a producer, a contributor to society. He was not a
stalker ex-fiance.
    He stood to leave when he heard
voices coming from Cathy’s house. He whipped his binoculars to his
eyes and trained them on Cathy and the boyfriend coming down the
porch steps. There was enough light to see that Cathy was smiling.
The boyfriend leaned down to kiss her. The kiss went on
excruciatingly long. The boyfriend pulled Cathy to him. He rubbed his
hands along her back, then her butt, pulling her even closer.
Thankfully, Cathy pulled away after a minute or so and went back in
the house.
    Jealousy roiled through Aaron. He
stood there a full minute, staring at Cathy’s door before he headed
home. Seeing someone else kiss Cathy, put his hands on her, gave him
a new determination. He had to get back to Atlanta to find out who
had set him up. No more pussyfooting around about that. No more
spending the day in the recliner feeling sorry for himself. No more
hanging around in the woods like a lunatic. Time to get moving. It
was the only way he had a chance with Cathy, if he wasn’t already
too late. And if he was too late, then he’d force himself to move
on.
    But for now, he had to produce
the goods.

Chapter
Thirteen
    Neil popped the cork off the
champagne bottle and poured it into four vintage flutes Lindy had
brought as a gift to Cathy.
    “ This is the biggest job I’ve
ever had,” Neil said. “It’s gonna give us a good start on our
marriage.”
    “ You should see the house,
Cathy,” Lindy said. “It’s gorgeous but it hasn’t been taken
care of. Neil’s gonna make it a gem on the bay again.”
    Neil, Lindy, Cathy, and Zachery
clinked their glasses together.
    “ To Neil,” Zachery said.
    “ Let’s get the boil started,”
Cathy said.
    Everyone followed her into the
back yard where Neil and Zachery had made a fire pit and started a
slow-burning fire. A huge stockpot sat on the grate. Cathy picked up
the lid and peered inside. It wasn’t boiling yet.
    “ You know a watched pot never
boils,” Lindy said laughing.
    Cathy clanged the lid back on the
pot.
    “ Let’s get the corn and
potatoes ready,” she said.
    “ We’re going down to the
pier,” Neil said. He and Zachery grabbed their beers and headed
toward the shore.
    “ Just leave us with all the
work,” Lindy said. “Don’t get used to this, babe.”
    In the kitchen, Cathy started
husking the corn, placing the ears in a neat row on the counter.
    “ You can cut those into
pieces,” she said motioning at the corn.
    Lindy got a sharp knife and began
to cut each ear into three pieces.
    “ Dammit, I should get the
potatoes ready first,” Cathy said. She banged her fist on the
counter.
    “ Hey, girl,” Lindy said.
“What’s up with you?”
    Cathy turned to her. “I need to
have a girl’s talk,” she said.
    “ Go for it,” Lindy said.
“I’ve noticed you’ve been a little tense lately.”
    Cathy lowered her voice to a
whisper even