Nancy Sheridan's white Kia turned the corner. Erikka opened the front door of Chuck's house the rest of the way and jogged down the driveway, waving her arm to get Nancy's attention. The car slowed down and pulled over in front of her.

She'd played cat and mouse with every neighbor on her street since seven o'clock that morning.

The passenger window rolled down. Erikka leaned over and braced her hands on the door. "Sorry to bother you, Nancy. I wanted to ask if you've had anyone leaving gravel in your mailbox lately?"

Nancy's puckered lips relaxed. "Rocks? No."

"Okay." She patted the opening of the window. "Thanks for stopping and letting me ask."

"Why are you asking?" Nancy looked in her rearview mirror and ran a finger over her eyebrow.

"No reason, really." She stepped back from the vehicle. "It was probably some kids being clever and gifting me with rocks."

Nancy laughed. "I rather receive rocks than bills if that helps."

"It does." She waved. "Thanks again, and have a good day."

Nancy drove off, and Erikka turned and jogged back inside the house, locking the door behind her. Her plan to catch her neighbors as they traveled to work instead of visiting them at their house had worked out perfectly. That was the last person she needed to make contact with.

Since none of her neighbors had received pebbles, she was positive they were from Rachel. She only had to figure out what Rachel was trying to tell her and if Stoddard was holding her sister close by, where was she? How had she gotten away from her kidnapper to give her a sign that she was still alive?

The house phone rang. Erikka walked over and picked up the cordless receiver from the end table before she realized that she wasn't at her home or at the office. Not wanting to hang up on the person, she said, "Hello, Parker residence."

"Uh, is Chuck there?" said a feminine voice.

"No, I'm sorry. Can I take a message?" She turned around looking for a pen and paper. Not finding one, she took her phone out of her pocket and opened a note.

"Yeah, tell him I've been back in town two days and he hasn't come to see me," said the woman.

"Can you give me your name and phone number and I'll have him call you back." She kept the bite out of her voice. The woman was rather rude.

"It's Samantha. He knows how to contact me." Samantha paused. "Who is this?"

"Chuck's girlfriend," she said staring a hole in the couch.

Samantha laughed. "That's hilarious. Okay, whatever you want to call yourself. Have Chuck call me."

Erikka disconnected the call when the phone rang again. Chuck really needed to get a phone that showed names and not only phone numbers of incoming calls. It rang again. Normally, she ignored his landline, because if Chuck needed to talk with her, he used her cell. He had an answering service for his personal calls at home. But, Samantha irritated her by laughing, so she answered the next call. "Hello, Parker residence."

"Erikka? It's Gracie."

"Oh, hey," she said.

"I was just going to leave a message for Chuck." Gracie softened her voice. "I didn't want to bother him at work."

Of course, she didn't. Erikka stepped over and sat on the couch. "Do you want me to give him a message?"

"No, that's okay."

What was it about women calling Chuck? Have all the unanswered calls during the day while Chuck had been at work from women wanting to leave him messages?

Erikka rolled her eyes. "How about I hang up, and you can call again, and I won't answer, that way you can leave a message."

"No, don't be silly. I'll call him after work. It wasn't important anyway." A shuffling noise came over the phone. "While I'm talking to you, how are you?"

"I'm fine."

"You're not, but I understand. Chuck mentioned how there's hope that your sister is in St. John's. That sounds like a positive thing," said Gracie.

Erikka's jaw ached, and she unclenched her teeth. When had Chuck talked with Gracie since Sunday? Besides at work, he'd been with her constantly.

"I have hope that we'll find her soon," she said. "Look, I don't mean to cut this short, but I was in the middle of something. I'll tell Chuck you called or you call him. It doesn't matter. Bye."

She disconnected the call and raised the phone above her head, wanting to throw it against the wall. Like all the other times, she should've let it go to voicemail. Her better mood at being productive all day went south.

She hated being jealous when finding her sister was more important. To get her back on track, she used her cell phone to call Lieutenant Gomez and left a message letting him know that out of all her neighbors, only her mailbox was the one that had two rocks left inside. Maybe now he'd take her seriously and not think she was grasping at signs that had no valid proof.

An hour later, the rumble of a motorcycle vibrated Chuck's house. She walked out of the laundry room with a stack of clean clothes and carried them up to the bedroom. Try as she might, she couldn't shake being upset at Chuck and all his women.

"Erikka?" shouted Chuck.

She shut the dresser drawer. "Up here."

The thunk of boot steps clambered up the stairs and stopped. She turned around and flipped her hand in a non-committal wave by her shoulder. "I was putting away our clothes."

Her stomach fluttered at the sight of him. How could it be possible after a day's work, he looked even better than when he'd left her early this morning?

"Do you still want to go talk to your neighbors?" He stepped over to her and kissed her.

His mouth stayed on her, and he nudged her bottom lip, wanting inside her mouth and she pursed her lips. He pulled back. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I watched the street all day and was able to run out and flag each of the neighbors down as they passed your house. None of them had any rocks in their mailbox." She stepped around him and walked to the door before she stopped again. "I already left a message with the lieutenant, so everything I wanted to do today is done."

She walked out of the room and said over her shoulder when she was out of sight. "I'll make you something to eat."

"Hey." He followed her. "Why don't I call Vavoom's—"

"No, thanks." She strolled into the kitchen and opened the fridge. "I took some ground hamburger out of the freezer this morning. I'll fry it up and add it to a box of macaroni and cheese you have in the cabinet."

"Did you check the expiration date on that box?"

She glanced at him to see if he was teasing. Seeing his straight face, she pulled the box down and read the back. It was inedible. Six months expired. "Really, Chuck?"

He leaned against the kitchen island and rubbed the top of his head. "I think it's been in there since Gracie and Clara brought some groceries over to the house when they thought I'd starve during one of our searches."

"Of course, they did," she mumbled. "Order from Vavoom's if you want."

"Erikka?"

She whirled around and held out her arms. "What do you want me to say? Go ahead and invite all the women in your life over for dinner. Throw a party. Don't mind me. I'm just going to go upstairs and think of another way to try and find my sister."

He snagged her wrist, bringing her around and in front of him. "Tone it down, love."

She opened her mouth to tell him exactly what he could do with his advice, and he shook his head stopping her. She boiled.

"Does this have to do with Gracie again?" he asked.

"Gracie. Samantha. Cassandra. If you need more names, I'm sure they're all on your voicemail, because they all want to talk with you." She glared.

His neck straightened. "Cassandra?"

She blew out her breath. "The woman at the gym you were flirting with."

"Ah." He brought up her hand and kissed her knuckles. "I'm not going to apologize for my past."

She pulled on her arm, but he refused to let her go. "You're free to do whatever you want."

"Bullshit." He let go of her arm and grabbed her hips, pulling her tight against him. "Feel that?"

The hardness at the front of his jeans pressed against her. Her nipples hardened as a shock of arousal swept through her. "Damn you," she mumbled.

"Hear me out." He held on to her. "I'm forty-five damn years old. I've got a past that includes other women and things that'd have a lady like you walking out the door if you knew about them."

"So, I'm finding out..."

"That's all in the past." He exhaled. "I have not been with, talked to, or seen any other woman, but you, since we first had sex and I don't plan to because I see a future with you, and I'm not going to fuck that up. I'm also not going to let you go because you're trying to figure out our relationship by yourself when I'm at work, and I have no say in the matter. I've got my own plans for us, but we can't go forward until we find your sister. I'm not going to lay that on your shoulders. What I can do is answer any question you have for me if you can ask it without getting in a snit before I come home."

Snit? She stared into his eyes. The intense way he'd gazed at her through his talk, and now those same eyes softened, she felt like a fool, jumping to conclusions. Being jealous wasn't something she normally experienced. The emotion made her sick to her stomach.

He'd never once asked her about her past boyfriends or her sexual experience. From day one, he'd trusted her and never judged. Her vision blurred. "I'm cranky."

He wrapped his arms around her and palmed her head, holding her to his chest. "I think once this is over and life calms down for you, you'll be able to see a lot more in front of your face than you see now. I'm falling in love with you."

She squeezed her eyes closed. His admission hurt. He deserved so much more than what she could give him at the moment. She could barely look after herself. If he weren't around, she wouldn't even remember to eat. Something she knew she had to do to keep up her strength and think clearly.

"How about you call Vavoom's and talk to Gracie, since she wants to speak with you, and I'll go wash my face and come out in a better mood?" She pulled back and looked up at him.

"Burger, steak, or salad?" He kissed the tip of her nose.

"Burger." She kissed him quickly and left him in the kitchen while she escaped to try and gather control over her emotions.

He was falling in love with her. She climbed the stairs. He wasn't the only one feeling love, she had it bad. But if she failed to find her sister, what good would she be to Chuck? He deserved someone who had their life pulled together and were free to be happy.