Chapter Fifteen

Taylor checked her cell phone again. No text messages or missed calls. Good. She forced herself to slip the device back into her purse before she called home a second time. She’d called this morning not long after sitting down at her desk. Mom had assured her everything was fine at home. Everything was okay at work. Curt sat next to her, so he was fine, too. None of that mattered, because her gut told her something different. She couldn’t explain it or shake the unease that had been bouncing around inside her since she got out of bed this morning.

“Are you still with me?” Curt asked.

They hadn’t planned on meeting for lunch today. Or, at least she hadn’t planned on seeing him for lunch. He arrived at her office building at noon, a picnic lunch in hand. Now, they sat on the same park bench they’d used back in April.

She pinched his arm. “If you felt that, I’m still here.”

“Could’ve fooled me. You haven’t said a thing since we sat down, and I just asked you a question. Is something wrong?”

I hope not. “I don’t think so. But all day I’ve had this feeling like something is wrong or going to be wrong. Ever get that?”

“Once in a while, but it passes.”

He put his arm over her shoulders. Usually the gesture made her feel loved and cared for. Today, unease overpowered any other emotions.

“Did you call home?” He’d come to know her so well since moving in next door.

“This morning. I talked to Mom before she left for the library. And I haven’t gotten any calls from her or anyone else.”

Curt gently squeezed her upper arm. “Then I’m sure everything is okay. Priscilla would call if it wasn’t.”

He’s right. Mom called even if she had to pick Reese up from school because she was sick. If Mom couldn’t get through, she always left a message letting her know. “You’re right. Sorry. What did you ask me?”

“I need to get a birthday present for Reese. Do you have any suggestions?”

“Not really. She wants to take guitar lessons, so Mom bought her a child-sized guitar. And she wants a scooter, so I got that. Maybe ask her. I’m sure she’ll think of something, even if it’s just another stuffed animal. Peanut can’t have enough friends, you know.”

“I really doubt Peanut needs more friends. I’ve seen his entourage.”

“Try telling her that.”

“I did have one idea. How about tickets to see the New England Revolution play?” Curt asked, referring to the professional soccer team. “I checked the website before I left, and the next home game we could make is in July.”

His suggestion required no consideration. “She’d love that. Her soccer team went last year, but she missed it. Strep throat. To say she was disappointed would be an understatement.”

“I’ll order tickets tonight. Maybe I’ll get Peanut a friend, too, so she has a present to unwrap next week. What do you think about a zebra? I haven’t seen her with one of those.”

“I don’t think she has one of those.” Considering all the stuffed animals in Reese’s bedroom, it was difficult to know for sure. “But don’t quote me on it.”

A cell phone beeped, letting its owner know they had a message, and Taylor pulled out her phone. “Not me.”

Curt took his phone out. “It’s Peter, my realtor.” He typed back a short message and set the cell aside.

He said he had no intentions of selling the house. Is he looking for another project? His current one isn’t even close to being halfway done. Has he decided to give up on it and move on? “Plan on buying something else?”

“No. Selling.” He picked up the phone again when it beeped. After reading the message, he put it back down.

“The house too much for you?” She’d suspected the place needed more work than one person could handle alone.

“Nope… selling my condo here in the city. I see no reason to keep it.”

She’d never seen his condo in Boston, but he’d mentioned he kept it even after moving in next door. “Guess that means we’re stuck with you next door, huh?”

“Get used to it. I’m not going anywhere.”

Taylor leaned in and kissed him. “I’ll find some way of dealing with you over there.”

Another beep disturbed the quiet around them. Curt peeked at his cell phone on the bench. “It’s not mine this time.”

The sick feeling in her stomach grew as she pulled out her phone. The message wasn’t from Mom, but her coworker Mary. “Sorry. I hate to cut lunch short, but I need to get back to the office. And depending on how this problem goes, it might be a long day.”

***

The new development in a case kept her mind busy and pushed everything else into the background, at least until she left the city and started home. Unfortunately, no distractions kept her occupied during her commute. Not even any traffic required her attention as she made the routine trip back. Most nights she considered having the road mostly to herself a perk of working late. Tonight she could’ve used the distraction her fellow drivers provided.

Mom’s home, and Reese is in bed sleeping. She pulled onto her street. If they were anywhere else, Mom would’ve called. When she walked in the door, Mom would probably be watching television or reading a book. Reese would be tucked in upstairs, Stripes mixed in with the various stuffed animals cluttering her bed.

Taylor passed Curt’s house. No lights showed, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t working. His office was located at the back of the house. Before leaving her after lunch, he mentioned writing tonight. With two more chapters to finish before he started his revisions, he hoped to get them in before his cousin’s wedding this weekend.

Light spilled out of all the windows downstairs, indicating Mom was up and about. And like whenever Taylor worked late, Mom had left the light at the front door on.

The scent of peanut butter and chocolate welcomed her inside. Judging by the aroma, Mom and Reese had spent some time baking after school. Whatever they’d made was probably for tomorrow’s end of school year party.

End of the school year already. Taylor shook her head in denial. How could Reese already be done with the first grade? Wasn’t it just the other day she’d been changing her diapers and helping her learn to walk? Now, she could ride a bike and read bedtime stories to herself. Before Taylor realized it, Reese would be asking to borrow the car for a date.

“Really late tonight.” Mom walked into the hall. She’d changed for bed, but the reading glasses perched on her nose said she hadn’t been asleep.

Taylor pulled out her hair elastic and undid the tight braid. “Tell me about it. We got some new leads at lunch, and they took longer than I hoped to look into.” Around three she’d sent Mom a text, letting her know she’d be on the later side tonight. She hadn’t thought she would be this late.

“We saved some dinner for you.”

“Any chance you saved whatever smells so good, too?” She found the idea of something sweet much more appealing.

“Reese put aside a few cookies. The rest are for tomorrow’s party at school.”

“Great. Are you heading up to bed?” She started down toward the kitchen, her nose following the scent of chocolate.

“Not just yet. I’ll sit with you while you eat.”

The hair on the back of her neck lifted. Occasionally, when she got home after Reese went to bed they’d sit and chat while she ate, but not usually this late.

“Is there something we need to talk about?”

Mom removed her glasses and left them on the table before putting a covered plate into the microwave.

“Mom?” She was keeping something from her.

Still silent, she brought over two glasses of iced tea. “Eliza came over today.”

Anger and annoyance joined the apprehension churning inside her. “When? Was Reese home?”

“This afternoon. Right before Reese got off the bus.” Mom sat down and fingered her eyeglasses.

“Why didn’t you call me?”

“Your message said you were working on something important and would be late. I didn’t want to bother you.”

Even if Mom had called, there wouldn’t have been anything she could do. Without a time machine, she couldn’t do a damn thing about it now either. “What did she want this time? Money?” After all this time, none of them needed her back in their lives… especially Reese.

“No. At least, she never asked me for any. She didn’t say a whole lot to me except she wants to get to know Reese.”

Mental red flags sprang up. Hell no. Not happening in this lifetime.

“Most of the visit she spent with Reese. They played a board game. Don’t worry, I stayed in the room with them. She helped us make the cookies for the school party. She left before dinner.”

After more than six years, Eliza wanted to get involved in Reese’s life? Taylor wasn’t buying it. Her sister had another reason for coming around again today.

“What did they talk about?” Taylor asked, needing to get to the bottom of this.

“School mostly. Her birthday next weekend. And Reese talked a lot about the weekend she spent in Newport with you and Curt.”

“Anything else?”

The microwave beeped again, reminding them the food was done. This time Taylor didn’t ignore it. She removed the dish of pasta but left it on the counter, her appetite long gone.

“Reese talked about Jamie’s birthday party this Saturday.”

Big surprise there. She’d been talking about her friend’s upcoming party since she opened the invitation.

“You don’t believe Eliza?” Mom’s question sounded more like a statement.

“Do you?”

She slumped in her chair. “I want to. But no. I don’t either.”

Taylor rolled the information around, trying to pick out a clue or two. Nothing pointed to Eliza’s real reason for visiting again. Maybe she’d missed a hint or detail.

“How did she get here?” Public transportation in town was nonexistent. She didn’t know where Eliza called home these days, but she didn’t think it was within walking distance.

“Her boyfriend dropped her off, and came back later. He never came inside.” Mom actually rolled her eyes when she answered. If they weren’t discussing such a serious topic, Taylor would’ve laughed.

“Great.” They both knew they type of men Eliza spent her time with. “Can you describe the car?” Maybe the boyfriend had Eliza scouting out homes they could break into.

“An older car with four doors. It was a dark color. Either black or blue. The emblem was missing from the front.”

“Was the front passenger side door a different color?” She’d kept an eye out for the car she’d seen driving by weeks ago, but so far hadn’t seen it again.

“Funny you say that. The passenger door was white.”

Yep, sounded like Eliza and her boyfriend were scouting the neighborhood. Tomorrow she’d call the town police and give them a heads-up. It might not stop her sister, but there wasn’t much else she could do.

***

The end. Curt typed the words and rubbed his eyes. Done. He’d finished with more than enough time to do revisions before sending the manuscript off to his editor. More importantly, he’d finished before his and Taylor’s trip to Newport for Gray’s wedding, meaning he could enjoy himself without the stress of knowing what awaited him at home.

Rolling back his office chair he stretched his arms over his head, and his stomach rumbled. After leaving Taylor at her office, he met with Peter briefly and came straight home. His ass had been in his chair ever since. He’d only left it for bathroom breaks and to refill his water bottle. It had to be late. He’d turned the desk light on a long time ago.

Midnight. He checked his watch to confirm what the clock on his laptop said. Even later than he thought. Tomorrow, he’d pay for sitting in one place for so long. He saved the manuscript to a thumb drive before shutting down the computer, something he did every time he wrote. He’d learned the hard way the importance of not only backing up his computer once a month on an external hard drive, but also saving his story on a secondary device every time he added to it or made changes. Of course, since he’d started using the thumb drive he’d never needed it.

In an attempt to avoid distractions, he left his cell phone in his bedroom. His laptop in bed for the night, he stopped there first before heading down to raid the kitchen. With his mind no longer engaged, his stomach demanded he feed it, making sleep impossible.

A quick peek at the screen showed he’d received two messages: one from his mother regarding the wedding this weekend, and one from Taylor telling him she’d just gotten home and good night. She sent him a similar message whenever she worked late, at his request. While she’d never take any unnecessary risks, she worked in a field that required she carry a firearm every day. If Curt didn’t see her, he at least liked to know she was home safe and sound.

He checked the time on Taylor’s message. Ten o’clock. She’d expected a late night after the message from her coworker this afternoon, and she’d been right.

Had her subconscious been right, too? He hoped she would call him if something was wrong at home. She knew how much he’d come to care for both Priscilla and Reese. They’d come to be family to him. If they needed anything, he’d be there for them the same way he would for his own family. Tomorrow he’d make sure she knew that.

His refrigerator offered him few choices. An almost empty gallon of milk and some sliced turkey were the only two things inside. Between renovations and the book, shopping had taken a back seat this week. With the weekend a day away, a trip to the grocery store didn’t seem worth it. He wouldn’t be around to eat anyway. Tomorrow, when Taylor got home, they’d leave for Newport and three nights alone. He’d enjoyed their last trip down with Reese, but he was looking forward to having Taylor all to himself. Except for the wedding ceremony and reception Saturday, there’d be no distractions or responsibilities for either of them. And he planned to take full advantage of that.