Chapter 22 Paige
PAIGE
The blankets tangle in my legs, and I kick them off. I roll onto my side and stare at the open door that leads to the hallway. There’s no noise coming from Noah’s room, and a mother’s fear grips me like an icy clamp around my heart.
He’s just sleeping, I tell myself, as I slip out of bed and pad to his room.
A nightlight casts an orange glow over the cot bed and the small bundle lying there.
He’s on his back with the covers thrown off and one arm over his head.
I lean right over until I detect the rise and fall of his chest and feel his breath on my cheek.
Only then does the fear melt from my heart.
He’s a good guy, but I knew that already from our time together. I buried that memory a long time ago, but seeing him again and spending time with him has cracked open a fissure in my heart.
My thoughts are jolted by a noise outside. I roll onto my back and strain to hear. My bedroom is on the side of the house next to my work shed, and it sounded like a stack of pots falling over.
It must be the raccoons getting into everything.
I sit up and strain my ears to listen. There’s another noise—the slow creep of footsteps. My heart leaps into my throat, and I switch on the bedroom light.
Footsteps hurry down the driveway.
With a racing heart, I grab the baseball bat I keep by the bed and race to the front door. I fling it open and jog down the steps, my bare feet slapping against the concrete.
A car screeches away, and I race to the end of the driveway. It turns onto the next road before I can catch it. If I chase after it, I could catch the license plate. I glance back at the house and the wide-open door. I can’t leave Noah.
I walk back to the house and check the shed. A stack of pots rolls onto the ground, but nothing else is damaged. I must have scared them off when I switched on the light.
Who would come prowling around in the dark?
I clutch my chest, thinking about all the people I’ve pissed off in this town. The list is long, and Rowena Evans is at the top of it. But she lives down the road; she wouldn’t be speeding off in a car.
The cool night air makes me shiver, and I wrap my arms around myself. I’m in nothing but an oversized t-shirt that barely covers my underwear with a baseball bat.
Inside, I put the chain across the door and check on Noah. He’s rolled onto his side and is still sleeping soundly. I check the back door and every window in the house to make sure they’re secure. Then I drag my comforter into Noah’s room and fold myself into the armchair by his bed.
I pull the comforter around me, but I already know I won’t sleep. My heart pounds in my chest, and my hand trembles as I hold my phone.
My hand hovers over Ryan’s number. I long to hear his voice, if only to calm me down. I wish I’d agreed to have him here. I could have found a makeshift ramp from somewhere.
There’s no point in calling Hudson. He’s out of town on a job, and he’ll only worry about me.
I could call Avery, but she’s dealing with her own difficult pregnancy, and the last thing she needs is any stress.
Dropping my phone by the chair, my gaze goes to Noah. His mouth is dropped open, and his chest rises rhythmically in the sleep of the innocent.
“Just you and me, buddy,” I whisper. But for the first time, it sounds hollow.