Chapter 18 #2
“They were here for an hour or two.” He pointed to the motion-detection lights around her flower bed and on the potting shed.
“But I may have slowed down their project when Lucas gave me a hand wiring a few things. I figured it was just as well he worked with me on this so he’d be able to wire his own house one day. ”
“You know how to do wiring?” She studied the security cameras trained on the backyard.
A pile of unused fresh-cut lumber remained neatly stacked behind the garage along with some flattened cardboard boxes from a cordless drill, a saw and the security components.
“I only needed to run electricity to a few places.” He raised one arm and showed her how the camera followed the movement.
In addition, two big floodlights turned on even though it wasn’t dark outside yet.
“It’s deceptive because they call the system ‘wireless’ since it uses cellular coverage to send information to your phone and to the home security monitoring company.
But you still have to run some wires to power the electrical mechanisms.”
“Who sees the footage on all the cameras?” How comfortable would she feel in her backyard knowing her every movement was recorded?
Although, the bigger concern was how clearly this system broadcast his intention to leave town.
There would be no last-minute change of heart.
No declaration that he realized he wanted to spend more time with her or that she meant too much to him for him to be without her.
Remy was leaving and taking his daughter with him.
She’d foolishly let herself hope for so much more.
“You can send feeds wherever you want. Check the footage on your secured website or access them from your phone.” Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew his phone and called up the video feed.
“The monitoring service, of course, has access to the cameras, but they wouldn’t actively watch any of them.
They’d pull up the recordings only if there was a break-in and you needed evidence to prosecute someone.
Or if the police wanted a clue how to find the intruder. ”
“Cool.” She tried to smile and be excited about what he’d done, but her heart kept telling her this was all wrong. “I can’t believe you went to so much trouble on your last full day in town.”
She’d started this day with very different hopes for how it might turn out.
She’d told him about a fishing spot nearby before she left the house that morning and pictured him visiting it.
Pictured him making himself at home in Heartache or remembering some of his love for nature, which she’d seen in his old photographs.
Instead, he’d been leaving her with one final parting gift to keep her safe.
“I’ve been planning this all week.” He pulled her to sit down beside him on the outdoor sofa on her back deck. “So even when you were trying to convince me to fish, I knew how I’d be spending today. I only just finished up and I worked from the second your car pulled out of the driveway.”
“Perfect timing.” Heart aching, she kissed his cheek. It tasted like clean male sweat. In spite of the empty ache in her chest, she wanted to drag him inside and undress him, to use her last hours with him to make him see how good they could be together.
But if it hadn’t worked yet, why did she think she stood any chance of swaying him now when he already had one of his suitcases in the trunk of Sarah’s car?
“I hope you like it.” He reached toward her purse, which she’d set on the deck, and pulled out her phone. “Do you mind if I set you up with the feeds and then we can figure out what do about dinner?”
She drew in a deep breath and nodded, telling herself to put on a brave face. “That’d be great. In fact, I’ll go look and see what I have in the fridge while you do that.”
They could still have a nice dinner at least. And she knew he’d take her out if she wanted to go.
Mack and Nina had been looking at properties all over town for a prospective restaurant they wanted to open, and she’d hoped they could make the rounds after dinner and see where they were.
Right to the bitter end, Erin kept hoping something about Heartache would make Remy want to stay.
Even if it wasn’t her.
She stared, unseeing, into the refrigerator, hoping for inspiration. A miracle to make this day turn out differently.
Until an alarm bell blared so loudly she jumped a foot off the ground.
Confused, it took her a second to realize something had tripped the new security system.
Was someone in her house? Fear spiked. Her heart clamored so fiercely she thought it would pound right out of her chest. She saw Remy racing around the front of the house, picking up a two-by-four off the stack of lumber along the way.
“Remy!” Skidding across the kitchen floor, she ran for the front door. What if some neighborhood kid had wandered close to the house? Would that have set off the alarm?
And would Remy be able to think clearly enough to assess a threat?
“Wait!” she screamed over the alarm peeling its high, electronic screech.
A man’s shout drew her to the open garage.
“The cops are already on the way,” Remy was telling someone.
Her legs couldn’t run fast enough, a bad feeling in her gut.
Patrick, her ex-boyfriend, stood in her garage. Cowered in her garage, really. He held up an old lawn chair in front of himself as protection from Remy, who wielded the two-by-four like a bat.
There was a tiny, fleeting moment of pleasure to see Patrick scared out of his mind.
He’d deceived her, his wife and—most importantly—his own children.
She could never forgive him for that. But, coming to her senses, she also knew he didn’t deserve to be on the terrifying end of Remy Weldon’s very real demons.
“Remy.” She spoke loud enough to be heard over the alarm. “Please disconnect the alarm. I know this man.”
“What?” He turned slightly her way but didn’t put down the weapon.
“Please relax. This is someone I know.” She placed a hand on his shoulder, her fingers soothing the cold tension in his muscles.
Slowly, Remy lowered the board. Nodded. Seemed to come to his senses. When he yanked his phone out of his pocket and deactivated the alarm, she took her first deep breath in long, frightening minutes.
“Erin, who the hell is this maniac?” Patrick squeaked in an octave he probably hadn’t touched since eighth grade. He kept his hold on the lawn chair, the fraying yellow netting trailing along his T-shirt.
“I don’t owe you explanations, Patrick, but you certainly owe me one.” She’d told him in no uncertain terms she never wanted to see him again. “What the hell are you doing here? I made it very clear what I think of you.”
Remy glanced up, no doubt hearing the frustration in her voice, but he remained calm. “I should call the security people to let them know it’s a false alarm. Should I wait, or will you be all right?” Remy’s gaze flicked to Patrick and back to her.
“I’ll be fine,” she assured him. “He’s obnoxious and unwelcome, but he’s not dangerous. And he’s definitely about to leave, but thank you.”
Remy nodded, not going far. He stood in the driveway near her car as he made his phone calls.
“Erin.” Patrick’s voice had returned to semi-normal. He set the chair down. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I came all the way here hoping to win you back. I saw you on that television show and it felt like—I don’t know—fate or something. I needed to try one more time.”
“You don’t get it.” She leaned on the riding lawn mower, still not fully recovered from the fear of seeing Remy take off after an intruder. “I will never want to be with a man who lies to me or cheats on his wife. Even if you promised never to lie or cheat again, I would never trust you.”
“Erin—”
“Nope. Listen. I would also never be with a man who didn’t do everything he could to be there for his kids.
” She ticked off this second all-important point on her fingers, thinking how much better a father Remy was—even when he wasn’t at his best. “You missed birthday parties to fly around the country and be with your mistress. It doesn’t matter that it was me.
That disgusts me.” It hurt to think she’d been a part of that.
To picture some disappointed child’s face—even one she’d never met—and imagine it was her fault his father hadn’t been there for a baseball game or a party or some other part of his young life.
“I did put you first,” Patrick said. “You have to know that you are special to me, so much so I risked my family.” He stepped around a croquette set to move closer until Erin arched an eyebrow.
He stepped back. “That’s half the reason I figured I had a shot if I came down here in person.
I knew that was important to you. I don’t see how you could think I’d ever put you second when I gave up everything for you. ”
His face was so earnest. He truly didn’t understand.
And she truly did not want him. She’d been so determined to find a man who loved her above all else, she’d fallen for a guy who said all the right things and made himself available whenever she was free.
She knew now that wasn’t what she wanted.
Sure, she wanted to be important in a man’s life.
But she needed an equal partner. Someone who could bolster her when she needed it, and someone who could lean on her, too. Patrick wasn’t half the man Remy was.
“Surprising as it may seem, Patrick, I actually would never want to win out over a child for first place in any man’s heart.”
“Okay.” He nodded slowly, his neatly combed hair out of place, his T-shirt stained from the rusty leg of the old lawn chair he’d used as a shield. “I’m going. But can I ask you a question first?”
“I can’t promise I’ll answer.” She was letting time slip away. Time she could be spending with Remy. They had a lot to sort out.