7. Chapter Seven
ANNA
The next few days were equally as pleasant as the first. Anna and Elsa fell into an easy routine. Almost too easy, in fact. Nothing in her life had ever gone that smoothly; there was always some problem that had to be dealt with, some obstacle that had to be overcome.
She knew it couldn’t last. It wasn’t a question of if something would go wrong, but when.
Her duties were easily accomplished. Elsa was pleasant and easy to get along with and seemed happy to have someone to talk to. The older woman was eager to share her vast knowledge of the area and the people who lived there. Her new employer, as it turned out, was a bit of a busybody.
Anna didn’t mind. Gossip had been the primary pastime among the women in her family when she was growing up, and it was a good way to obtain information since the men rarely shared anything with them. Chatter was more subjective than polite conversation but often more accurate too.
That was how Anna learned about Elsa’s next-door neighbors—the Callaghans. Mrs. Campbell had known the father, Kieran, since he was a young boy. Apparently, Kieran’s father had been one of the first Navy SEALs when the program was launched, and each of his seven sons, including Kieran, had followed in his footsteps.
Anna wasn’t sure if having a former Navy SEAL next door was comforting or intimidating. Probably a little bit of both.
According to Elsa, Kieran and his wife, Faith, had six children, the oldest of whom was close to thirty and had been in the service for the last ten years.
Anna wondered if the man she’d seen that first day was the oldest son. He looked to be about the right age, and the younger kids certainly seemed happy to see him. He didn’t look like any serviceman she’d ever seen, but, as she knew very well, looks could be deceiving.
She hadn’t seen him since. She peered through the kitchen window again as she rinsed the lunch dishes and put them into the dishwasher, as if doing so would magically conjure him again. It didn’t. All was quiet. The kids were probably in school and the parents off to work. Elsa had said Kieran owned a health club in town, and the mother did interior design for some fancy resort nearby.
Was the coppery-haired mystery man there now? Was he alone? And why was she so anxious to see him again?
The front door closed, breaking Anna from her musings and setting her instantly on alert. She hadn’t heard the doorbell, nor had she heard anyone knock. Mrs. Campbell was in the sunroom, reading the paper, and Anna was certain the door had been locked. She’d locked it herself after she went up to the street to get the mail.
“Where are you?” an irritated male voice called out from the living room. “We’re going to be late.”
Anna grabbed a knife and concealed it in a dish towel, then walked on silent feet into the next room. The man who’d apparently let himself in was around fiftyish or so, wearing a suit and looking at his watch. He looked unpleasant, but not dangerous. Except possibly for his overpowering cologne.
“Excuse me,” Anna said. “Can I help you?”
He turned and narrowed his eyes. “Who are you?”
When she opened her mouth to reply, he shook his head and put his hand up to stop her. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter.”
He huffed with impatience and walked toward the master suite.
“Hey,” she said as she crossed the room to stop him.
He reached the door first. Ignoring Anna completely, he knocked once, and without waiting for an answer, he opened the door and stuck his head in. “Grandmother, we need to go.”
Ah, so this was the grandson who wanted to put Elsa in a home. Anna felt a stab of pity for the older woman. The man wasn’t just unpleasant. He was rude and obnoxious too.
“Can I help you?” Anna asked again, this time with a sharper edge to her voice.
“Yes. You can tell me where my grandmother is and why she isn’t ready to go. I’m on a tight schedule.”
Mrs. Campbell chose that moment to enter the room, the newspaper folded in her lap, her motorized chair emitting a quiet hum. “Edward! Stop being so rude.”
The man looked at Mrs. Campbell, taking in her fleecy matching pants and top, and scowled. “Why aren’t you ready? You can’t meet with the director in that, and we have a one o’clock to discuss the financial obligations. Which reminds me, have you signed those power of attorney papers I left for you?”
“No, I have not. And I told you to cancel that meeting,” Elsa said. “Didn’t you get my voice mail?”
“We are not canceling,” Edward said, ignoring her question. “Do you know how many strings I had to pull to get you in there?”
“That’s on you. I told you not to. If you think it’s so wonderful, you go.”
“You’re being unreasonable. Willow Haven is a very exclusive facility.”
Willow Haven. The facility run by the woman with a stone heart and face to match.
“It’s an old folks’ home.”
“Assisted living facility,” he corrected. “And the wait list is over three years long.”
“That’s good news for the next person on the list then.”
Edward sighed. “Grandmother, we’ve been over this. You know what the doctor said. You need round-the-clock care.”
“And I have it.”
Edward’s eyes swung to Anna briefly, his gaze far more assessing than it had been earlier. “Where did she come from? I didn’t hire her.”
“No, you didn’t. I did.”
“From what agency?”
“That’s none of your concern.”
“Of course it’s my concern. Who else is going to look out for your best interests?” He waved a hand in Anna’s direction. “A perfect stranger? Or your own flesh and blood?”
Based on what Anna had seen, the answer to that seemed pretty clear.
“I am perfectly able to look out for myself, thank you. It is my legs that have weakened, not my mind.”
“You’re ninety-seven years old.”
Mrs. Campbell narrowed her eyes and pointed an arthritic finger in Edward’s direction. “Don’t take that tone with me, boy. As long as I am in command of my faculties, I am in command of my life, not you.”
Anna wanted to cheer, but this wasn’t her battle, and Elsa seemed to be doing just fine. She did, however, move closer to Elsa in a silent show of support.
“Now, Grandmother—” Edward said with exaggerated patience.
“Don’t talk to me like I’m a witless child. Focus on getting your own affairs in order and stop worrying about mine. Anna, dear, get the door, please, and make sure it doesn’t hit him on the backside on the way out.”
Edward’s face turned red. “Keep pushing me, Grandmother, and one of these days, I might not be there when you need me.”
When Edward stomped out, Mrs. Campbell murmured, “That’ll be the day.”
After Anna closed and locked the door behind him, Mrs. Campbell said, “I’m sorry about that. Eddie is, well, he’s …”
“Disrespectful? Insolent? Contemptuous?” Anna offered.
Mrs. Campbell smiled. “I do so enjoy your proficiency with adjectives, dear. I was going to say, he’s always been something of a disappointment. He gets that from his mother. Odious woman. I never understood what my son saw in her, but there it is.”
Later that afternoon, there was a knock at the door. Anna saw two people—a man and a woman—through the side panels. Her heart started to beat faster when she saw the flash of coppery bronze.
She opened the door and tried not to gasp. The man she’d seen at a distance was breathtaking up close. Silky-looking hair that kissed broad shoulders. Gold hoops and diamond studs in his ears. Bronzed skin and piercing gray eyes. And so much taller than he’d appeared at a distance.
“Hi,” the woman beside him said in a velvety voice, breaking the spell. “I’m Faith Callaghan, and this is my son Matt. We live next door. We came to see Mrs. Campbell. Is this a good time?”
Anna forced her eyes away from the example of masculine perfection and turned to the woman. She had the same radiant hair and unusual eyes and didn’t look anywhere near old enough to be the gorgeous man’s mother. Older sister was a stretch.
“Yes, of course,” Anna said, stepping back. “Please come in.”
“We brought stew and homemade bread,” the woman said.
Only then did Anna notice that the man was holding a covered Crock-Pot with a brown paper bag atop it. His bare hands were big with long, capable-looking fingers.
Stop drooling over the neighbor. Aloud, she said, “That’s very kind of you,” and held out her hands for the pot. “I can take that. Please, take off your coats and have a seat. I’ll let Mrs. Campbell know you’re here.”
“It’s heavy,” the bronzed god said, retaining his hold on the offering as well as his devastating smile. And, yep, his teeth were as perfect as the rest of him. “Would you like me to put it in the kitchen?”
Anna reined in her hormones and did a reality check. This was more than a social visit. If the people around here looked out for one another as much as Mrs. Campbell had claimed, the neighbors probably noticed her presence and felt compelled to check on Elsa and ensure all was well. Anna didn’t take offense. She was the outsider and the unknown.
“Thanks. I’ll let her know you’re here.”
“I’m sorry,” the woman said. “I didn’t catch your name.”
Yep. Nosy. But concerned for their elderly neighbor, which wasn’t a bad thing. When talking about them earlier, Elsa had said how they often checked on her and how helpful they’d been when something needed to be done.
“Anna.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Anna.”
“Nice to meet you as well.” Anna excused herself and went to inform Mrs. Campbell about her guests, then offered to make tea and coffee. Her plan was to stay out of the way but remain near enough in case she was needed.
Every time she went into the living room, she felt their gazes. Assessing. Curious. Especially the guy’s. As if she was some puzzle he was trying to solve.
No mystery here, she wanted to tell him, but that would be a lie.
He had some mystery of his own going on though. In the service? He sure didn’t look like it with that longish hair and those piercings. Maybe he had been out for a while. He did have a quiet intensity about him. Beneath the rich playboy style and the bright smile was a man who had seen and done things.
She knew because it was impossible to grow up and survive in her world without being able to recognize the posers from the predators. Despite Mrs. Campbell’s obvious affection for him, the man was definitely a predator.