“I’ll be fine, Mel. Go!” Lucy shooed Melody towards the door.
Upon arriving, they’d had a tearful reunion followed by some fussing over Caleb and an introduction to Grace, who was pretty as a picture. Now settled in a guest room with a playpen for Caleb to sleep in, Lucy was looking forward to some time alone. Travelling with a baby was tiring and, combined with the stress of returning home and anticipating Armand’s reaction, well, she was exhausted.
“Are you sure?” Mel gave her an assessing look. “You’ve just arrived. You shouldn’t have to babysit Grace as well. No one is expecting me at the bar…”
“Then it will be a nice surprise for everyone.” Lucy folded her arms and gave Mel a stern look. “Go and enjoy yourself. If you have another baby like you were talking about, your days of partying will be limited.”
“Well…”
She took Mel by the shoulders and gently pushed her towards the door. “If there’s a problem, I’ll call you. You gave me your cell phone number. I’m going to rest until Armand shows up. I suspect I’m going to need my wits about me then.”
“It will be fine.” Mel assured her. “He loves you, I know it.”
“We’ll see.”
“I’ll have Ryne call you as soon as Armand arrives at the Broken Antler. I can head home then and watch the kids or maybe he’ll want to come here…” She frowned and then shrugged. “We’ll work something out.”
After a bit more discussion, Melody was on her way and Lucy sank down in an armchair that was near Caleb’s makeshift bed. Grace’s room was across the hall so keeping an eye on her should be easy. It would be a quiet night, exactly what she needed.
She looked around the room, appreciating the high ceilings and natural woodwork, the muted paint colours and comfortable furnishings. Ryne and Melody had done a nice job on this place. Melody had explained they’d built some cabins on the property and rented them out to friends and family who wanted to live in the area. It was a way to help pay for the upkeep of the house and the large tract of private land.
A yawn escaped her, and she took off her glasses to rub her eyes. Maybe she’d take a nap so she was wide awake and thinking clearly when Armand arrived. The bed did look exceptionally inviting.
The sound of a helicopter overhead had her pausing and looking out the window. Armand wouldn’t have rented a chopper to bring him back to Stump River, would he? No. That would be way too expensive. It was most likely more people heading in to town for the fishing derby. Melody had mentioned the increased air traffic when they’d been talking earlier.
Setting her phone on the night table, she settled on the bed, drawing the comforter up over her. Her head sank onto the soft pillow and she sighed. Distant sounds drifted by, voices talking, car doors slamming. Mel and the others were leaving to head into town.
With a soft sigh, she drifted off to sleep.
Some time later, she woke with a start from a dream about being in a helicopter trying to catch up to the airplane Armand was in. It had seemed so real, she was sure she could still hear the sound of the chopper. How strange was that? She yawned then pushed herself up with her elbow to check on Caleb who, it turned out, was still sleeping soundly. He must have found travelling as tiring as she had!
Easing back down so her head rested on the pillow, she slowly exhaled, allowing her mind to wander. She imagined her life with Armand; their joyful reunion, the two of them creating a playroom for Caleb at the Broken Antler, maybe a swing set in the garden. Eventually they’d get their own home but living over the bar would do for now. Once they were settled, she’d sign up for her courses online, Armand would watch Caleb when she needed to study. It would work. It had to work. All that was needed was for Armand to forgive her, to want her back.
A soft sound drew her attention and she cocked her head, trying to place it. It wasn’t Caleb. Maybe Grace? Mel was trying to potty train her so maybe the little girl had woken up and wanted out of her crib.
She stood up, intending to check on the child when she heard the sound again. It wasn’t coming from the bedroom across the hall though. Head cocked, she listened carefully. It definitely sounded like footsteps, but they were overhead. Hadn’t Mel said no one would be home and the security alarm would be set, the outer gate locked? She’d not heard an alarm, so no one had broken in... or had they? Security systems could be disarmed, couldn’t they?
Quietly she moved to where Caleb was sleeping trying to think of logical explanations for the noise that didn’t involve a criminal element. Grace could have climbed out of her crib and gone exploring; Melody had said she was an imp. Or perhaps there were raccoons on the roof?
No.
Those were definitely footsteps.
“Shhh….” She made soothing sounds as she picked up Caleb and cradled him to her chest.
He sighed and snuggled closer, thankfully not waking up. Crying now would not be a good idea. She tucked her phone in her pocket, headed to the door.
The house was in semi-darkness, silent except for the occasional shuffling sound above. She tip-toed across the hall and peeked into Grace’s room. The girl was still in her bed, tiny lashes fanning over sleep flushed cheeks, one thumb tucked between her slack lips.
Not daring to leave the children alone in order to investigate the noise, she set Caleb in the bed beside Grace, and called Mel. It could be that the house always creaked and made noises like that. It wasn’t likely, but she held on to faint hope.
“Mel?” She spoke in a hushed tone crouched in the corner, hoping not to be overheard.
“Hi Lucy! Is everything okay? You sound weird.”
“I’m trying to be quiet. Everyone is gone right?”
“Yep. We’re all here and accounted for.”
“Oh.” That wasn’t the answer she’d been hoping for. Someone having stayed behind would have been much more comforting. “The reason I’m asking is that I keep hearing sounds, like footsteps coming from upstairs.”
“Upstairs? Over the guest room? That’s Daniel’s space. No one should be up there.”
“Well, maybe they shouldn’t be, but it sounds like they are. I’m sort of worried.” Worried was an understatement. She had a death grip on the phone and her heart was almost pounding out of her chest.
“Let me check the alarm app on my phone and see… Oh no!”
“What?” She held her breath, scared to know what had upset Mel and needing to know at the same time.
“I had the alarm on silent but I’m getting a notice that there’s a security breach.”
“Mel, I have a bad feeling about this.” She stared up at the ceiling, still hearing faint creaks as whoever was up there moved about.
“Me, too. I’m going to go find Ryne. Where are you?”
“In Grace’s room with Caleb. I’m going to see if I can move the dresser in front of the door if it doesn’t make too much noise.”
“Good idea. We’ll be home as soon as possible.”
The call ended and she set about moving the dresser, which thankfully slid silently across the polished wooden floors. There wasn’t much else in the room that could be added to the barricade and nothing that looked remotely like a defensive weapon.
Swallowing hard, she hunkered down near the children.
Ryne watched the activity at the Broken Antler with vague amusement. Melody, Olivia and Cassie had dragged Tessa on to the dance floor and they were now lost in the crowd that was gyrating to the music. Daniel’s songs seemed to be a success if the number of people surrounding the stage was any indication. His gaze drifted to Becky and Emily, the pack’s two teenage girls. They were also enjoying the music and fangirling over the band members if one looked their way. Technically they were too young to be in the Broken Antler, but he was keeping a close eye on them as was their father, Levi. Near the back of the room, Marco was talking on his phone, no doubt checking on his son, Angelo, who was having a sleepover with a friend from pre-school. Bryan was behind the bar, serving drinks. Yep, everyone was accounted for.
He took another drink and checked the time, then headed towards the door. Armand should be arriving in town soon. The man was probably driving like a maniac to get back here. He’d meet him in the parking lot before he barged into the bar and made a spectacle of himself searching for Lucy. Well, Armand probably wouldn’t do that in reality, but the mental image it created had him chuckling.
Sure enough, as soon as he stepped outside, Armand’s truck pulled into a parking space near the rear of the building and Armand hopped out almost before the engine had quit running.
“You made good time.” He approached the truck, the light from the street lamp barely reaching that distant corner of the lot yet still bright enough to allow him to see his friend. Armand looked tired, his hair sticking out in what he referred to as his ‘wild man’ look.
“I drove as quickly as I dared. The front-end alignment of the truck has probably suffered for it though. I think I hit every pothole on the road.”
“Call Ben on Monday; he’ll schedule in your truck and we’ll see what needs to be fixed.”
Armand grunted, his attention on more important matters. “Où est Lucy? Upstairs in my rooms?” He began to walk towards the door, but Ryne held out a hand to stop him.
“Nope. I wasn’t sure how long it would take you to get back and figured she could hide out at my place until you got here.”
“Bonne idée. People here will be shocked to see her again.”
“Shocked is putting it mildly. The rumour mill will be in overdrive.”
Armand groaned, no doubt thinking of all the questions they would have to fend off.
“Don’t worry, we’ll have a day or two to come up with a plausible story…if we’re lucky.” Ryne pulled his keys from his pocket. “Follow me back to the house. I’ll disarm the front gate so you can get in.”
His hand had just touched the door, when an alarm sounded on his phone. “What the…?”
Armand turned, his attention also caught by the sound. “What’s that?”
“My home alarm signal. It must have a malfunction.” He quickly opened the app and began to check the settings and video feed from the surveillance cameras just as Melody came running outside.
“Ryne?” She looked around, spotted him and ran to his side. “Lucy just called. She’s sure someone’s in the house. She can hear someone walking around in Daniel’s rooms!”
“Damn!” He shoved his phone in his pocket and yanked open the door of his truck. “Come on, everyone in!”
Armand and Melody climbed into the vehicle and he sped out of the parking lot, gravel spewing. Thankfully, there was no traffic because he wasn’t in the mood to follow speed limits. The thought of an intruder in the house with his child had him breaking out in a cold sweat.
“Lucy’s barricaded herself and the children in Grace’s bedroom.” Melody spoke, one arm braced against the dashboard from her position squeezed in between him and Armand.
“You should have installed a panic room,” Armand muttered. His features were tight in the dim light of the truck cab.
“Wouldn’t have done much good in a case like this,” Ryne shook his head, forcing himself to think calmly, logically. Panicking wouldn’t help anyone. “As a guest, Lucy wouldn’t have known how to access it.” He turned the wheel as they took a corner, tires squealing. Only a few more miles to go but the trip seemed to be taking forever. His imagination was creating scenarios he didn’t want to deal with. “Send Lucy a text. Ask her if she can hear anything.”
“Okay.” Melody tapped away at her phone and a minute later read back the reply. “She said she can still hear someone walking around upstairs.”
“Tell her we are almost there.” Armand leaned forward as if it would help the vehicle to go faster.
“Whoever broke in must think no one is home. It’s not often we’re all gone. I should have left more lights on, made the place look lived in.” Melody worried her lip, blaming herself.
“If Lucy and the children stay quiet, they should be okay.” Armand nodded as he spoke, perhaps trying to convince himself.
“And the fact the intruder went to Daniel’s room must mean he’s looking for something specific. A thief would have searched the lower rooms first, looking for things to pawn.” Ryne slowed and turned into the driveway. “The gate’s still closed. How the hell did an intruder get in?”
He opened the entrance using the remote in the truck, then gunned the engine as soon as there was a big enough gap to get through. The length of the twisting driveway was travelled in record time and, just short of the clearing the house was situated on, he slammed on the breaks. “I’ll go in the front.”
“I’ll take the back.” Armand nodded already shoving open the door and jumping from the truck.
Melody scooted over to exit as well but Ryne caught her by the arm. “No. You stay here and let Lucy know we’re going in. Then get on the phone and tell the rest of the pack what’s happening in case anyone heads home early. Tell them no matter what, no one goes in until I give the all clear.”
“Okay. Be careful.” She nodded, her face pale. “Make sure our baby is safe.”
He gave her a hard, reassuring kiss then melted into the darkness of the night.