CHAPTER SIX
TOGETHER THEY WENT over every egress in the house. The locks on the windows were surprisingly strong, so he didn’t think he needed to mess with those.
He’d expected the basement to be eerie, but instead long fluorescent bulbs in the ceiling lit every corner of the room. Spotlessly clean—more evidence of Maxi’s cleaning fits—with a concrete floor and dust-free rafters. Additional shelving for canned goods, a massive box freezer, new furnace and air unit, and a water heater made it seem more modern than the rest of the house.
In the center of the floor, situated on a pallet, Maxi had piled ten large bags of cat food.
Eyeing the bags, each weighing sixteen pounds, he wondered aloud, “How’d you get those down the steps?”
“One bag at a time.”
He frowned over that. There had to be an easier place for her to store the food. While he considered it, he checked the two casement windows and found them secure. “Overall, the house is in great shape. It just needs some sprucing up.”
“Will we need to throw out the food in the freezer?”
He opened the freezer, saw the frozen vegetables and meat, and figured they’d be okay. For one thing, no one could break in through the windows, and how would you taint frozen food? “Let me think about it.”
He’d ask Leese, get his opinion and maybe do a little research on his own.
They locked the basement again, then Maxi sat on the porch with him while he changed out the front lock and added a dead bolt.
“Where’d you learn to do that?”
“Do what?” he asked, leaning in to tighten a screw.
“The handyman stuff. And don’t tell me all guys are born knowing how, because I know it’s not true. Gary told me plenty of times that he wasn’t great with a hammer.”
Under his breath, Miles said, “Got to have a hammer first, before you can get good with it.”
“What?”
He shook his head. Bashing her ex wouldn’t get him anywhere. “My dad taught me. He always had me with him when he worked on stuff. Not just repairs, but yard work or cleaning gutters—anything that came up. He was big on me learning everything I could, and I liked dogging his heels, so we both enjoyed it.” Smiling with a memory, he added, “My mom felt the same. She taught me to do my own laundry and load the dishwasher when I was around ten or so.”
“So now you’re entirely self-sufficient?”
“Pretty much.” With the lock done, he stood, then sent a meaningful glance at Maxi. “But not everything is fun to do alone.”
Her face turned up to him, she asked, “Like sleeping?”
“Sleeping with a warm body is nice.” Teasing her, he said, “Unless someone snores.” Keeping his smile banked, he picked up his tools and headed to the back door.
Predictably, Maxi scrambled up to trail behind him. “I don’t snore!”
“I wouldn’t know.” Yet. She’d always dodged out too quick.
“We slept together,” she protested.
“I slept—you snuck off.”
Grumbling, she demanded, “Are we back to that?”
“No. You explained. That’s good enough.” He turned to stare down at her. “But next time we sleep together, I expect to find you in the bed next to me when I wake.”
She opened her mouth—and her cell phone rang. Pulling it from her pocket, she checked the caller ID, scowled, hit a button and put it away again.
Trying for a casual vibe, Miles went to work on the last lock. “You want to tell me who that was?”
She sat on the deck facing him, her back to the yard, her legs folded yoga-style. Ready to hand him any tools he might need, she fiddled with a screwdriver. “I told you Gary calls sometimes.”
“That was him?” Pretending it didn’t matter, he accepted the screwdriver from her.
“Yeah.” She twisted her mouth, her expression peeved. “I ignore most of his calls. I swear, he acts like he wants me more now than he did when we were together. I’ve told him I won’t change my mind, but he doesn’t seem to believe me.”
“Maybe he thinks a sincere apology will cut it.”
“He’d be wrong. I could never forgive him for cheating. Never.”
Glad to hear it, Miles asked, “How’d that go down anyway? Someone ratted him out, or did you catch him in the act?”
“Neither.” She accepted the old lock from him and put it in the bag with the rest of the trash. “It’s really dumb.”
“Yeah?” Dumb he could work with. “Tell me.”
After blowing out a breath, she said, “He texted me. I mean, he thought he was texting her, but it was me. The things he said, the stuff he mentioned, I knew right away.” Her mouth tightened and she looked out at the side yard. “But then he finished it off with a photo. Of his...” She gestured at her lap.
Incredulous, Miles straightened. “His junk?”
Color filled her cheeks, but he didn’t know if it was embarrassment or renewed anger. “Yes. Then he made a few references to what he wanted her to do with it. Again.”
He choked. Laughing was a real possibility, except that he didn’t want her to think he was making light of something that had obviously hurt her. “What an asshole.”
She nodded. “When I didn’t reply, he finally caught on and realized where he’d sent those damning texts. He tried calling, but I didn’t answer. I couldn’t.” She picked at the hem to her shirt. “I thought we were forever, you know?”
Not liking that idea at all, Miles asked, “You still love him?”
“God no.” She actually shuddered. “I’m embarrassed and disappointed and...” Lifting her head, she looked beyond him to the yard. “Finally.”
“What?”
“The rain has completely stopped.”
Miles turned, and sure enough, the hot sun pressed through the dark clouds as they blew away. Steam wafted off the sodden ground. With the air now so damp, it’d be a scorcher in no time.
Thinking she’d deliberately changed subjects, he said, “I’ll finish up here and get started on the security lights.”
The minutes ticked by in silence.
Determined not to pressure her, Miles had nearly finished before she spoke again.
“After my grandma died and I moved in here, I realized I was glad not to have to deal with Gary. He’d have hated this place and all the cats. He’d have been right there with my brother and sister insisting that I sell.”
Miles pointed out, “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”
“True.” Shaking off her melancholy, she gave him a brilliant smile. “Now that you’re here to help me figure out the threat.”
Liking that smile a lot, he waited while she got to her feet, then leaned in to kiss the bridge of her nose. “Grab your rubber boots. We have more work to do.”
* * *
MAXI ENJOYED PLAYING the part of Miles’s right-hand man...or woman, rather. He didn’t do any actual electrical; in a house that old, they both agreed it’d be better to have an electrician handle any wiring, just in case. Instead, he added bright solar lights to the barn on all four sides. Since there was already electricity in the barn, he ran some thick outdoor extension cords to motion-activated security lights that he mounted on the tallest peaks of the barn. The beams extended all the way down to the pond, to the yard behind the house and to the driveway.
The last thing he did was change out the lock on the basement door. After creating two sets of keys, one for him and one for her, he advised that she not leave them on the key hook in the kitchen anymore. If someone was coming in, why make it easy to copy keys?
Made sense to her.
In her silly rubber boots, they fed the cats. It warmed her heart when Miles bent to pet several of them. The same black cat that had led her back to the house the night before now twined around his legs.
“This one is friendly.”
“More so every day.”
“Have you named any of them?”
Pointing, she said, “That’s Baby, Handsome and Smudge. Let me see, Sweetness, Sugar—”
Miles laughed. “Not that you’re getting attached or anything.”
“I am attached,” she admitted softly. “They’re very sweet.”
Looking around in satisfaction, Miles said, “Now that we’ve got all that done, I need to unpack and set up my laptop.”
She still trailed him, but not so closely now.
Little by little she felt more at ease. She folded the laundry while he fetched a table from the attic to use as a desk in his bedroom. She listened for him but didn’t feel the need to stick so close.
He wasn’t going anywhere, not for a while anyway, and that fact alone renewed her confidence that she’d be able to make it work by keeping the house and honoring her grandmother’s wishes.
When Miles brought down a small card table, she saw that it was layered in dust. Grabbing up his clean clothes, as well as a dusting cloth, she followed him into the bedroom—and pulled up short seeing a gun on the dresser.
Miles glanced up, followed her gaze and said, “Don’t worry about it.”
“I wasn’t worried.” But a gun!
Well, it made sense that he had one, but it still shocked her. Having never seen a gun “in person,” she set the clothes on the bed and eased closer. A holster was next to the gun, piquing her curiosity.
Miles suddenly stepped in front of her. “No,” he chastised.
“No?”
“You don’t touch a man’s gun.”
Where did that rule come from? “I wasn’t touching it. I was looking at it.”
“You were thinking about touching it.”
Why the hell did this suddenly sound so sexual? Fighting a blush, she muttered, “Was not,” even though she had been.
Miles slowly grinned. “You knew I’d be armed, right?”
“I hadn’t really thought about it.”
“I won’t carry the gun on me when I’m here in the house, but I’m not putting it away either. I want to be able to get to it easily if the need comes up.”
Narrowing her eyes, Maxi said, “You’re not threatening to shoot Gary, are you?”
He countered with “Do you expect him to show up here?”
“No, but if he did—”
Miles stroked her cheek with one finger. “I already told you I wouldn’t do anything to him unless he oversteps. And if he does, I guarantee I won’t need a gun to show him the error of his ways.”
She wasn’t the violent type—so why did that give her the good kind of shivers? Because he was being protective? Yes, probably.
Annoyed with herself, she asked, “What kind of gun is it?”
“A Glock. I also have a small revolver in the nightstand. It fits in an ankle holster—and no, you can’t touch it either.”
She closed her mouth, swallowing the words she’d almost let free. “Apparently all I can touch is a dusting cloth.”
No sooner did she say it than Miles grinned at her. “Oh, I don’t know about that.”
Images rushed into her brain, and along with them came a load of sexual heat. Yes, she’d like to touch him...in numerous places.
She was thinking delicious things when Miles plucked the dusting cloth out of her hand. “Hey.”
“I can do my own cleaning, honey. And next time I’ll do my own laundry, too.” He gazed down at her. “You don’t need to wait on me.”
He’d moved the table into an empty corner. It actually looked good there, matching the bedroom furniture and appearing sturdier than the small kitchen table. It made a believable desk. “Did you see a chair, too?”
“Saw several, but none that I want to use. I’ll call Leese and ask him to grab an office chair for me when he comes out tomorrow. Until then, I’ll use the laptop in the dining room.”
“While you do that, I’m going to open a can of soup and make a couple of sandwiches. For both of us. And don’t you dare tell me I can’t after you’ve done so much today.”
Expression far too serious, he tossed the cloth on the table, looked down at her a moment, then looped his arms around her waist. “Food sounds good. Thank you.”
Oh my. Seeing Miles, being near him, was enticing enough. But when he touched her? She wanted to drag him to the bed beside them. “Can we agree to share the load?”
“I suppose so. As long as you don’t feel obligated.”
Promising, she said, “I won’t.”
“All right. Then thank you. Afterward, if the rain holds off and there’s still enough sun to see, you can put on those crazy boots again and walk me down to the pond. I want to see where you woke up. With the storms today, it’s doubtful I’ll see anything important, but I want some perspective on it.”
A heavy weight settled on her heart. She didn’t want to relive it, yet it made sense for him to see just how far she’d been from the house. She nodded, then turned to go.
Miles didn’t let her go. “I’ll be in here a few more minutes.”
“I’m okay now.” She realized it was true. “Not saying I want to be here alone, but I think I can unglue from your side enough to get the food ready while you finish setting up.”
He studied her face as if searching for the truth and must have been satisfied, because his hands dropped away. “Just so you know, I like having you close.” He stole a kiss, pulling away before she could really assimilate what had happened, and even turned his back to her as he got to work cleaning the table.
The smile came slowly. Yes, she could do this.
And tonight? Somehow she’d figure out a way to keep them both on the same floor at least, if not in the same bed.
Who knew Miles could be so stubborn about that? He seemed to want her still. God knew, she wanted him. But he hadn’t made any obvious moves.
She pondered that while she prepared their food. From the kitchen she could hear Miles on the phone, talking with his friend. Minutes later, he came and went from the room, putting his laptop on the table, then bringing the dust rag back to the laundry basket in the pantry. He went into the downstairs bathroom with his shaving kit, detoured into the kitchen once to sniff the air and steal a piece of cheese.
He finished up just about the same time as she put the food on the table, using her grandma’s beautiful vintage milk glass dishes and linen napkins.
“Fancy,” he said, holding out a chair for her. As she sat, his hand briefly caressed the nape of her neck.
After that casual but somehow intimate touch, it took her a second to find her voice. “My grandmother used to keep the napkins ironed, but I didn’t go quite that far.” Ironing would be a luxury after she got everything else in shape.
Miles sat across from her, his laptop beside him. He put his napkin on his lap and picked up his spoon. “This looks good.”
It was such a simple meal that the compliment flustered her. “Just canned vegetable soup. And hot ham and cheese sandwiches.”
“It’s perfect.”
In something of a daze, she watched him dig in. The humidity of the day left waves in his dark hair. His shoulders stretched tight the soft T-shirt he wore. His hands fascinated her, always had. He was so strong, so thick with muscle, that he should have been clumsy, but he was too limber, too smooth. She supposed that was the athlete in him. Strong, but also agile and fast.
And of course, that put her brain right back on sex. It was a miracle she could go a whole minute without thinking about it, given how combustible they’d been together.
Catching her stare, Miles asked, “What?”
She shook her head. “It tastes okay?”
“It’s perfect.”
“I’m actually a decent cook, but I rarely bother, since it’s just me.” Now it was Miles, too, though, so maybe she’d put in the effort. “What do you like to eat?”
He cocked a brow. “You have a grill?”
“No.” Blast, she should have thought of that.
“We’ll pick one up, some steaks, too. This time of year, grilling is a necessity, and then we won’t be straining that ancient kitchen.”
She wasn’t sure what to say to that. The visual was nice, though, the two of them outside on a summer day, sharing a meal beneath the shade of the tall trees. Would the cats be a bother? Probably. “Maybe I’ll invest in a patio table, too.”
“Great idea. Both a grill and some outdoor seating would be perfect off the back deck with the pond as scenery.”
The pond...where she’d been carried, unconscious, by an unknown person. That heaviness filled her chest again, making her struggle for a breath...
“Maxi.”
Strangely desperate, she looked up.
In a very matter-of-fact way, Miles said, “You plan to stay here, right? This will be your home?”
Come hell or high water, she’d find a way to make it all work. “Yes.”
“Then you need to face your demons.” His eyes looked very green, and very sexy, as they encouraged her. “I’ll be with you. Tonight, and tomorrow, and the day after. However long it takes, okay? You don’t have to do it alone.”
Tears burned her eyes. God, it had been so long since anyone completely, totally backed her. Blinking away the emotion, she nodded. “Thank you.”
This time he didn’t make a joke about her paying his wages. He just nodded and, after another long look, went back to eating.
That was nice, too, sharing a meal with him. She hadn’t used the dining room much. Usually she ate on the couch with either her music playing or the TV on, just to help fill the silence. Now, with Miles, she actually enjoyed her music again, so much so that she found herself tapping a foot.
It was more than an hour later, after they’d done the dishes together, that they walked down to the pond hand in hand.
“I feel like the Pied Piper,” Miles said, constantly looking back at the trail of cats following them.
He’d locked up the house, insisting that she should always do the same. “When you’re down here, you’re far enough away that someone could go in. Always lock it and keep your keys on you.”
She’d agreed, especially since the key ring he’d used attached to a springy cuff that fit over her wrist, but could also be hooked to a belt or purse strap.
At the edge of the pond, Miles watched a large frog leap in and dive under. “Do you have any fish in there?”
“Sure. I see them sometimes, especially in the morning when everything is calm.” Doing her best to fight off the unease, she said, “I’ve seen big turtles, too, and there’s probably snakes.”
“Ever swim in it?”
Eyes wide, she asked, “Are you nuts? Did you miss what I just said? Fish, turtles and snakes!”
He shrugged one big shoulder. “They’re more afraid of you than you are of them.” When he turned, he almost stumbled over the cats sitting around him, staring up with their yellow eyes.
“They’re really good at tripping me.”
“I bet.” He pulled his hand from hers, but only to wrap his arm around her shoulders. “Wanna show me where you woke up?”
Not really, but she’d been wimpy enough. Pointing without actually looking, she said, “Over there, on the other side.”
He glanced back at the house, which was now a good distance away. Then up at the sky. “All these trees probably blocked out any light from the moon.”
“Mostly.” It’d be so easy to lean on him. He’d invited her to; that was what the arm around her meant. He was strong enough and solid enough to take some of her worries. But he was right about her having to face up to things. If she gave in to the fear, that meant some faceless, nameless bastard won.
Though it made her a little sick, she started around the pond.
Miles kept up with her, his pace slow and easy—to give her time, she knew. The cats followed, occasionally one racing past, or climbing a tree, occasionally distracted with a bird.
“Do they ever catch any?”
“Birds? Unfortunately, yes. They don’t eat them, though. They leave the bloody carcasses on the porch for me. Like a morbid gift.”
He laughed. “You’d think the birds would learn.”
“You know what I’d like? A few of those super tall poles with birdhouses on top. Cats can’t climb poles, right?”
“We’ll make it happen.”
She stopped under the tree where she’d awakened. The raw ground was spongy now, more rocks washed to the surface, weeds tangled. She choked down the strangling memory and whispered, “Here,” with her eyes fixated on the spot.
Miles turned her toward him, for a hug, she thought, but then his hand curved around her neck, his thumb under her chin, tilting up her face...and his mouth settled on hers.
A wash of sensual heat clashed with the cloud of memory—and won. The fear disappeared in the wonder of finally kissing him again. Opening her hands against his chest, feeling the heat and hardness of him, she gave a soft moan.
He turned his head, his lips moving over hers, coaxing them to open. The second she followed his lead, his tongue slowly sank in.
Maxi clung to him, lost, confused, in need. She got closer, as close as she could.
His hand moved down her back, fingers spread, until he ended just above her bottom. He eased his mouth away with soft nibbles, making her sigh.
Of course she knew what he’d done, and she appreciated it. “Nice distraction.”
“Yeah,” he said, his voice low and rough. “That was as much for me as for you.” His arms crushed her tight. “I’m sorry I doubted you at first.”
“It’s a bizarre story.” She tilted back to see his eyes. “Thank you for believing me now.”
After one quick nod, he gave her another kiss, this one quick and firm, then released her so he could study the area. “I think we can rule out a woman, unless she’s a beast. Only a man, a strong man, could carry you this far from the house. Deadweight...” He flashed her a look of apology.
“I know what you mean.”
Face tight, he ran a hand through his dark hair. “Unless someone used a wagon or something, right? The ground was dry and solid that night, so tracks wouldn’t show.” He crouched down, picking at a few rocks.
“That’s the first thing I felt,” she said. “Those blasted rocks digging in. I didn’t understand, you know?”
“The drugs were still in your system, too. Rohypnol has an amnesiac effect.” He twisted to examine the trees. “Let’s put some lights down here, too. There are solar spotlights that work great without electricity. We can place them around the pond and on a few trees beneath the branches.”
“We’ve got time to walk the whole property if you want.”
“How many acres do you have?”
“Twenty-five, but only about ten that are cleared.”
Standing, he gently touched her face. “Let’s save that for tomorrow. It’s been a long day and you need a good night’s sleep.”
She didn’t want to think about that yet. Sleeping meant her going upstairs alone and she just knew she wouldn’t be able to close her eyes.
After that kiss, she’d hoped he’d take things a few steps further, but he hadn’t yet made that move. Her jitters were returning big-time, and the idea of the dark really did her in.
As they made their way back to the house, she said nothing, but she noticed the lights, some of them already flickering on as dusk fell.
Miles had accomplished so much in such a short time.
No matter what else happened, she owed him an enormous debt—one that went well beyond his salary as a hired bodyguard.
* * *
THROUGH THE BINOCULARS, hunkered in the woods a good distance away, he watched Maxi and the man stroll back toward the house. He couldn’t see the man’s features well, but he looked big. Was he a boyfriend? He’d meet him soon and draw his own conclusions.
Not that it mattered. Whoever he was, his presence complicated things. He’d have to adjust his plans...and ramp up the pressure.
He thought about them kissing. Odd that Maxi had chosen that particular spot, right where he’d put her. He’d thought drugging her would be enough, that she’d finally give up and move out.
Instead, she’d brought reinforcement.
Damn, but he almost admired her gumption. She was a tough lady. But not tough enough—because he couldn’t lose this particular game of wills.
One way or another, she had to go. There was no other option.