Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Asoft noise sent me from my dreams into panicked awareness. I looked around the dark room, disoriented as I groped for a lamp that wasn’t there. I spotted someone at the foot of the bed and nearly shrieked before remembering where I was.
“Rob?”
He turned and crossed to the bed on silent feet. The mattress dipped from his weight as he sat on the edge.
“I’m so sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to wake you. I got a call about a gunshot. Trevor’s on his way, but...”
Any sort of sleepiness evaporated as I struggled to sit upright, trapped on one side by Rob and the other by the solid weight of my cat.
“Oh no. You don’t think...”
“I’m sure it’s probably just some teenagers riding around targeting mailboxes, but I need to check. Go back to sleep, Livie. It will be fine.”
I gave him a look that made him laugh and rub the back of his head.
“Rob Hansen, if you think I can just ‘go back to sleep’ knowing you’re going out there to track down someone with a gun, you don’t know me very well.”
He silenced my complaint with a soft kiss that deepened, nearly distracting me. I pulled away.
“Nice try, but I’m still mad. Can I make you some coffee for the road?”
I flailed a bit as I attempted to scoot out from under the covers that had me pinned. Millie made a grumpy sound and rose, stretching. Rob smiled and stood, freeing me.
“Now I won’t turn something like that down. It’s not every day a beautiful woman is in my bed offering to make me coffee. I need to rush, or I’d take you up on that.”
“It better not be every day,” I grumbled, swinging my legs to the floor. “And who are these beautiful women?”
“Just you. Only you.”
He held out a hand and pulled me to my feet, his lips drawn to mine like a magnet. My cheeks flushed as he pulled away.
“I thought you were in a rush.”
“I am, but dang it if you’re not a distracting sight first thing in the morning.”
“What time is it?” I asked, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.
“Just after four. I have to go. I’ll call you later, okay? Please make yourself at home. I’ve got a few things in the fridge and some tea in the cupboard for you.”
He grabbed his heavy-duty belt from its hanger near the door and headed down the hall. I sighed and tried to put my hair in order. It was likely standing up in all sorts of odd places. I made it to the living room as he opened the front door.
“Rob?”
He turned, his eyes catching the light in a way that made my knees buckle.
“Yes?”
“Be careful out there.”
“Always.”
The door snicked shut, leaving me and my cat alone in his house. I surveyed the room and frowned. It felt odd, somehow, like I was trespassing. I ran a finger over the knobby tweed fabric on the couch and turned to see Millie watching me from the hallway.
“Hungry?”
“I could eat,” she said with a kitty shrug, heading for the kitchen.
My stomach rumbled, reminding me that I’d skipped dinner the night before. After everything that happened, food was the furthest thing from my mind. A cookie at Ruthie’s didn’t quite count as a balanced meal.
I grabbed a can of food out of the bag on the counter and dug a little to find her favorite bowl.
“All the comforts of home,” I said as I dished up her food.
My voice sounded strained. I looked around the aged but immaculate kitchen and heaved a sigh.
This would take some getting used to. An avocado green refrigerator sat in the corner.
I opened it, marveling at how something this old still worked, and spotted a few sad leftover containers inside and a pack of eggs.
I checked the expiration date on the cardboard and shrugged.
Still good for two more days. It took me a while to figure out where Rob kept his pans, dishes, and silverware, and the feeling of being a trespasser never quite left as I scrambled my eggs.
A wooden roll-top container on the counter revealed a half loaf of bread, and I smiled.
“My mom had one of these when I was a kid,” I said as I popped a piece into the toaster. “I wonder if you can still buy them.”
Millie was scouring the bottom of her bowl for any stray bits of meat and had no comment. I smiled to myself and went through the cupboards again, looking for a teapot. I came up empty.
“Well, it’s either a pot of water on the stove or the microwave,” I said, glancing around the kitchen. “I’m pretty sure if I use a microwave to heat the water, Emma will wake from a sound sleep just to yell at me.”
A chuckle went through me as I poured water into the pan. I wouldn’t risk it. Another scavenger hunt turned up a battered set of coffee mugs, their designs long eroded away.
I buttered my toast, scooped the eggs onto my plate, and headed for the Formica dinette that sat just off the kitchen. Patio doors led into the backyard, cast in darkness.
Millie followed me and perched on the table, eyeing my eggs. I forked a tiny portion to the side before adding my salt and pepper. She’d trained me well on the whole pepper thing after suffering through a bout of the cutest sneezes ever.
“Well, what are we going to do today?” I asked as I ate my breakfast. “We can’t open the store.”
Millie tilted her head to the side.
“Well, I figured we’d put our investigative caps on and find the culprit.”
“But...”
The eggs went down hard as I thought about that.
“We’ve investigated murders before. This is just an attempted murder,” Millie said, as she continued to eye the small pile of eggs I’d saved for her.
“True. But it was an explosion, not a cold case. This feels more serious somehow. Dangerous.”
I glanced toward the door as if I could summon Rob back.
I didn’t like the idea of him out there investigating gunshots.
My stomach twisted as I realized that this would be my life for as long as Rob worked as a police officer.
He would run to danger, not from it. Risking his life every single day because he loved this town.
And I would have to wait, praying for his safe return.
“Olivia?” Millie asked, her green eyes dark with concern.
“It just felt more real suddenly. Sitting here in Rob’s house. Waiting for him to come back. Worrying that he won’t. I don’t know why I never really thought about that before.”
She bypassed the remains of my breakfast and came to snuggle on my lap, her warmth a solid comfort as she purred.
“I know, Olivia. It’s not easy. But he’s a good police officer and an even better man. He’s not foolhardy.”
“You really like him, too, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. He knows exactly how to pet a cat. Those people are rare.”
There was something so simple about her logic, but it touched me deeply. She was right.
Men like Rob were rare. I still didn’t know how I’d ended up so lucky. I shook off my gloom forcibly and nodded.
“Right. Investigation. We need to figure out who wants Jackson Moorehead dead. I need to go back to the shop now that it’s empty and go through it.
Maybe we’ll find a clue in there. I know Rob’s worried about the building’s integrity, but it should be okay to peek around a little. We’ll be careful.”
“That’s more like it,” Millie said. “Now, about those eggs...”
The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon as I opened the front door and headed out. A woman stood near the bushes on the line between Rob’s property and hers, watching me. My footsteps stilled.
“Oh, it’s you. I was wondering who was here when the Chief left. I heard his pickup leave about two hours ago, and it’s not like him to leave the lights on.”
I let out a breath and headed for the hedge, trying to see who was talking in the dark. As I got closer, I recognized the face. Tammy? Tamara? I’d seen her during one of my shopping trips to Fannings, but we’d never been introduced.
“I’m sorry to worry you,” I said, sticking my hand over the neatly trimmed foliage. “Olivia Sutton.”
“You’re that lady who owns the bookstore. Dang shame about that. I heard it was a terrorist attack. Told my husband they’ll probably hit the water reservoir next. We’ve got our tub filled. You should do the same. You moving in with the Chief?”
It took me a moment to sort through her rapid-fire way of speaking.
“No. This is just temporary until the bookstore is cleared for me to return.”
“I see. You know, he’s been single for a long, long time. Ever since what’s-her-name left. A man needs a good woman around. A house ain’t a home with just a bachelor in it. If you want him, I’d jump on that in a heartbeat. A lot of women in this town would give their eyeteeth to catch his eye.”
I swallowed hard and forced a pleasant smile onto my face. Rob never spoke of his prior relationships, and I never felt right prying. He knew all about my past, thanks to Paul’s eventful visit to Timber Falls after our divorce was finalized.
“Yes, well, nice to meet you... Tammy?”
She beamed and nodded.
“That’s right. Tammy Weathers. My husband’s name is Walter. Well, with any luck, we’ll be able to welcome you to the neighborhood soon enough. You have a good day, you hear?”
She shuffled off, and I shook my head as I headed to the car, Millie trailing behind me. That had not been the reception I’d expected from meeting Rob’s neighbors. I boosted Millie into the passenger seat and turned on the engine, blasting the defroster. A faint rime of frost covered my window.
I shivered as I waited for the heat to kick in. Millie chirped, head-butting me out of my thoughts.
“I hope when the time comes Rob will move in with us.”
I stroked her fur as a soft smile came to my face. We hadn’t discussed our futures yet, but it was clear it was trending in that direction. After spending the night here, I couldn’t argue with Millie’s wishes.
“Well, I’ll definitely make sure you get a vote,” I said as the frost faded. “Ready to head to the shop?”
“Let’s go!”
Seeing the boarded-up window of my shop as I parked in my usual spot neatly popped the good mood I’d attempted to foster on the way over from Rob’s.
The scorch marks on the pavement next to me still had a faint, acrid smell.
I realized that if my favorite spot hadn’t been taken, I would have lost my vehicle as well.
“Crazy how things work, isn’t it?”
Millie stared at the front of the shop, her eyes serious.
“Yes. Crazy.”
“Well, let’s go in and see if we can find something interesting. I need to clean up, too. I hope the fire marshal is done with their investigation. I probably shouldn’t move anything, huh?”
She continued to stare into the store, as if she could see through the plywood. For all I knew, maybe she could.
“Millie?”
She pawed at the window, not speaking, and my heart rate jumped. She didn’t do this often, but when she did, I paid attention. I reached for her and slid out of the driver’s seat.
“What is it?”
“I don’t know. But I hear something. I think it’s coming from the alley.”
A jolt of fear went through me as I bundled her close to my chest. Should I call Rob? No, he was busy. Déjà vu struck as I slowly walked toward the alley. This was where it had all begun, so many months ago, when I’d first arrived in Timber Falls. I just hoped that this time I wouldn’t find a body.