As he finished up, he saw that it was pitch-black outside and quite late. He’d been working on the locks and windows for several hours now. He wanted to ask questions about who was after her but she was completely out cold and softly snoring on the couch. He didn’t have the heart to wake her.
Instead, he grabbed another crocheted throw after checking the gun she had lying out on the coffee table. He wanted to verify it was unloaded in case she happened to wake up and was distraught still. Sitting in the recliner, he tucked his pistol in the side holster instead of the back of his waistband and draped the throw across his chest. Closing his eyes, he smiled softly thinking of how the Lord works in mysterious ways and felt blessed to have a chance to help the woman after he’d let her slip through his fingers once.
7
Sienna awoke to sunlight streaming in through a transom window above her front door. That was one thing she loved about her house, all the windows and light it had. She loved her cottage and the view. It refreshed her and relaxed her. Joel had always hated- wait!…
She sat up abruptly hearing a soft snore nearby. Alarmed, she glanced over to see a large handsome blond man sleeping fully dressed in her recliner. The pale pink crochet throw blanket over his chest was simply adorable against his skin.
The previous day’s events came rushing back, along with her temper now that she’d had a good night’s rest. She slowly got to her feet and tiptoed over towards the chair and kicked the footrest down hard, locking it into position and bringing Harper directly into an upright position. He came flying out of the chair, completely out of sorts, and glared down at her, making her grin mischievously.
“Paybacks and good morning,” she said simply and stepped away to walk off into the galley kitchen. She asked him over her shoulder, “Coffee, Harper?” and left him standing there watching her. She had a crick in her neck, as well as probably looked awful from sleeping on the loveseat. Spotting the bright, brushed metal deadbolts on the Dutch door, she walked back to look at Harper.
“You were busy last night, weren’t you?”
“Very. We have a lot to talk about today.”
“I agree. Thank you for coming out here on such short notice,” she said gratefully and went back to making the coffee, returning moments later with two large cups. “I appreciate it a lot and can’t tell you how badly I needed the sleep.”
“You don’t have to tell me, I saw it firsthand. I’m sorry I scared you.”
“You gave me quite a shock, I’ll admit it. Again, thank you for staying though.”
“It’s my job now,” he shrugged.
An uncomfortable silence stretched between them. They’d not discussed money nor duties as of yet, but he’d taken on the job already, throwing himself into it by staying with her and replacing all the locks. “Hungry?” she said awkwardly.
“You don’t have to feed me.”
“Well I plan on eating something and thought you might like to too,” she said with a heavy sigh. “Look, I would feed anyone that came to my house. My mom always fed people, saying that it makes them happy and amicable. So, I’m asking again- would you like to eat something?”
“Are you saying I’m not happy or amicable?”
“I’m saying that you obviously need to eat something. You’re very grumpy in the mornings.”
“Getting woken up abruptly can do that to a man or employee,” he smarted off.
“So can getting terrorized in your own home,” Sienna saw he had the good graces to flinch as the jab hit home. “I know you meant well, but I don’t recommend doing that ever again. It was a good thing I didn’t mace you or something worse.”
They stood there looking at each other, at an impasse. Sienna found herself in a remarkably fresh state of mind and likened it up to getting a decent night’s rest. She felt alive, recharged and apparently attracted to the man standing in front of her.
Harper Etan was better looking than she’d remembered. He was tall but she hadn’t realized it since she’d worn high heels that day. She had thought they were about the same height, but now saw she came only to his chin. Sandy blond hair only accentuated the shadow of growth on his chin from where he’d not shaved, making his eyes even more appealing. Sienna had a thing for eyes and this man made her stomach clench in ways she’d not felt in a long, long time.
“Can we start again since I seem to have bungled it twice now?” she heard him ask gently and found herself gazing up at him, star-struck, as she saw he was genuine. That was what she loved about eyes, you could tell a person’s true nature and they revealed so much.
“I’d like that very much,” she admitted truthfully. “Having you here has already made me feel a bit safer.” Sienna flushed as she saw him smile in response. Ugh, did he have to possess such beautiful eyes? She felt practically vapid or wimpy, like some fainting damsel from a cartoon by just looking at him. Mercy, that was not her style. She ran a corporation and there was no time for foolishness like this in her life again. She’d tried it once and look where it got her! Shaking her head, she looked away from him and cleared her throat.
“Good, now that we are on the same page- what do you want to know from me? How exactly do you plan to keep me safe?” she asked bluntly, turning away from him. She needed to keep from looking at him, he was simply too handsome for his own good and she didn’t need distractions right now. She needed to focus on growing her new line, coming up with ideas and the gala she was hosting in two months.
Ignoring the confused look on his face, she again walked away from him into the kitchen. She quickly made up two plates of fresh fruit and toast, returning to the small breakfast nook just off the living room and kitchen.
Sitting down, she saw his head was bowed momentarily and smiled. Nice… Harper was Christian too. She was a believer but struggled to find time in her schedule to get to services. A long time ago, she vowed to keep her communication up with God – even if she couldn’t do it in a church. God was everywhere and He didn’t insist she be at a specific location at a specific time, or so she assumed. As he looked up at her, she glanced away, fighting the attraction.
“Prayers are welcomed here, you don’t have to do it silently unless you want to,” she offered and set the plate down.
“Thank you. Now, tell me why you need a bodyguard.”
“Of course,” she agreed, picking up her fork. “You cut right to the chase, don’t you? I like that- straight to business.” She took a few bites and realized the food was tasteless as she thought about Joel and how to explain her own hunches about her ex.
Before she knew it, she was pouring out everything to him. The insults, the control he tried to maintain over her, how she felt like he was stalking her now. She told Harper everything and didn’t realize how much internal strife she had bottled inside of her until he handed her a tissue again like he had last night. Touching her face, she felt her cheeks were wet and felt mortified. She was not a crybaby yet she’d done just that twice in the last twenty-four hours.
“I feel so stupid crying like this. I’m angry and hate feeling threatened,” she lashed out.
“Crying is an emotional release when you are overwhelmed. It’s natural.”
“I feel like he still has control over me then, by making me feel like this.”
“Exactly, and that is why you’ve hired me. You are taking back control from a monster in sheep’s clothing. It’s a brave thing and not easy sometimes.”
“I don’t feel brave. I’m feeling pretty wretched right now.” Harper nodded and got up to refill their coffee. He looked right at home in the small kitchen and operated the Keurig with practiced ease. She could very nearly picture him with a tiny cherry apron around his waist and a giggle slipped past her lips. In the very next breath, she wondered what he would look like with only the apron and rubbed her eyes to get the image out of her mind. What was wrong with her?
“Bravery,” Harper began, handing her the fresh cup of coffee, “Is doing something you know is right
but isn’t easy. If you’ve seen him and he is contacting the people you do business with, then yes – he is stalking you. Insulting or degrading you is another way people try to maintain control. It’s a form of abuse.”
“I know,” she whispered, staring at the steam coming off the top of the dark liquid. She remembered how she had once felt and the strength it had taken to free herself from that private torture.
“So now, we know his game and how he plays it- it’s time to plan on drawing him out so he makes a mistake that the police can lock him up for. We want the police involved as much as possible. It makes it public and keeps it impersonal. You want to remove emotion from it and consider it all business transactions. If he sees he isn’t bothering you, then it will enrage him. Controlling people can’t stand it when there is failure.”
“That sounds just like Joel honestly.”
“If he is that much of a control freak, I would bet that there is either a bug in your house or the fact that he is watching it closely- which means that he knows I’m here and stayed the night. I’ll run a bug detector over the house to be sure, but Joel is probably foaming at the mouth right now,” Harper told her with a grin. “I doubt he’s bugged the house because he won’t have the tech for it, but if he is watching the house- we should give him a show. Shall we work in the yard together cleaning up the mess he’s made? It would look best if you are smiling and showing that you are unphased.”
“You are going to try to make him think I’ve moved on,” she breathed, feeling warmth flow into her limbs and color her cheeks. “You are going to pretend to be …”
“We’ll play that I am the new boyfriend. He won’t recognize me and frankly he doesn’t have to see anything else other than us talking in public. It will be safe, I promise. Now, I need more information from you on routes you take to work, places you visit and locations so I can make sure you are safe.”
Sienna and Harper talked for hours over coffee. It fascinated her to see how his mind worked and what he had planned. The man was uncanny in his accurate description of Joel and what his reaction would be. Joel would be fuming if he thought he’d been replaced. He’d been controlling of everything before and was still trying to wrest control of the majority share of her company. Harper announced that he’d carried a change of clothing with him and toiletries, just in case, but had no intention of leaving her alone. Apparently he thought Joel could be potentially dangerous to her and she was glad to have Harper there.
Walking into her bedroom, she set the lock on her door to change clothes as Harper waited in the living room. Her room was a lot like the rest of her house, classically cottage, with a wrought iron bed and wicker pieces that made the floral bursts of color stand out. She loved the theme and it seemed to fit her style internally instead of the look she portrayed externally. On the outside, she was a chic business woman that was the epitome of sleek elegance.
Opening her dresser drawers, she grinned at her true self: a bluejeaned and t-shirt kinda girl. Her jeans were faded and worn, the button-fly Levi’s were perfect on her. She tossed on a t-shirt and pulled a sweatshirt over it since the weather was so cool outside. The idea was to clean up the debris and be seen by Joel – he would disapprove of her outfit immensely since he’d gotten rid of her jeans the moment he’d moved in before.
There were so many signs that they were wrong together and she’d ignored them. He’d pressured her for so long yet she’d remained true to her faith, insisting that they have separate rooms because she was saving herself for marriage. He’d mocked her and she had taken to praying silently to avoid it. If she’d had any inkling before, she would have never put herself in such a situation. She was lucky she wasn’t attacked by him during her sleep when she was vulnerable.
Harper watched Sienna walk out into the living room where he waited. He was feeling pretty grungy but if he was going to be working in the yard to bait his adversary, then there was no reason to shower just yet. Besides, they still had to talk arrangements. He didn’t feel comfortable leaving her alone for a moment, much less overnight. Joel Fischers sounded like he was a loose cannon waiting to go off. He sure didn’t want to taunt the man and leave Sienna unguarded.
Seeing her casually dressed in jeans, cemented his opinion that Harper couldn’t leave her alone. Sienna looked so approachable and inviting with a shy smile on her face. The look she gave innocently made him clench his hands into fists to prevent him from walking over there, scooping her into his arms and kissing his new boss. Her jeans were form fitting and while he thought her dress had looked pretty on her, the way she filled out the Levi’s was heady. The button-fly on the front of her pants immediately sparked his imagination and he shut his eyes to count to ten.
“Ready for the show?” Harper said lightly and grimaced as his voice came out in a squeak. Great, I sound like a boy in puberty, he thought. Clearing his throat, he nodded. “Let’s pretend to be friendly with each other. Let’s exchange jokes so we are talking and laughing. We don’t want it to look fake, it’s got to be real – okay? If you see his car or him, don’t freeze up – Instead I want you to wave at him. Got it?”
“Wave at Joel?” she parroted in disbelief.
“Yes. Wave, smile, whatever you have to do to let him know you see him. Then we’ll light the fuse…trust me on this.”
“I do trust you; you’re here-right?”
“Right, and I have seen this kind of creep before.”
“Okay, lead on maestro,” she acknowledged quietly. “This is your show and I’ll be the puppet.” They walked out the front door to her cottage with trash bags in hand to clean up the mess Joel had made of her landscaping. At the last moment as they were walking out the door, she felt Harper take hold of her hand. Glancing at him, he nodded and smiled.
“Go with it,” he said through his teeth and watched as a type of serene look came over her face. The woman could have been an actress. She smiled up at him and he could have honestly believed it was for him, and him alone. Her pale green eyes sparkled and her smile revealed that she had a little dimple faintly in one of her cheeks, just begging to be kissed. The cool sunshine and breeze off the ocean made him feel like this place was heaven. He understood the appeal of the cottage and it made him frustrated that someone had taken the time to destroy the foliage around the house.
“He tore up my favorite plants,” Harper heard Sienna say quietly as she pointed and identified each bush. Butterfly bushes brought butterflies to the yard and she loved watching them. The peonies and hydrangeas had been her favorite cuttings; she always kept a vase full in the spring and summer on the tables about the house. They had all been ravaged by someone, presumably Joel Fischers. The thick stalks had been either ripped from the ground or trampled horrifically. Grabbing his trash bag, he knelt down and began picking up the broken stems.
“If it was springtime we’d work on planting some more for you,” Harper said gently and smiled up at her. “Jokes, remember? You want to look unfazed. Why did the chicken cross the road?” Sienna knelt down and began picking up debris as well, shoving it in the trash bag forcefully.
“Don’t let him have the pleasure of seeing you upset,” he reminded her. “Knock- knock?”
“Who’s there?”
“Etch.”
“Etch who?” she said, rolling her eyes at him. “This is silly.”
“Bless you my friend! Get it? Etch who?” he chuckled and heard her giggle too. He watched her out of the corner of his eye and saw her smiling at him. Harper sat back on his knees and put his hands on his thighs. “Now it’s your turn,” he prompted. “See if you can stump me, I’m the knock-knock aficionado.”
“Knock-knock.”
“Who’s there?”
“Tank,” she said firmly and went back to picking up the greenery.
“Tank who? Oh,” Harper said quickly, his smile fading. He reached out to take her hand in his. It wasn’t an act for Joel’s sake, but for his own. “Sienna, you don’t have to thank me but…
knock-knock?”
“Who’s there?” she smiled shyly at him and looked pointedly at where he held her hand. She wasn’t pulling back but instead, squeezed his hand appreciatively.
“Cereal.”
“Cereal who?” she grinned, rolling her eyes at him.
“Cereal pleasure to have met you,” he admitted and brought her hand up to kiss her knuckles. Just then, before she could say anything he saw her eyes glance over his shoulder and her face paled. They both jumped to their feet at the same time. Sienna’s face had a false, bright, overemphatic smile on it that didn’t reach her eyes. She waved diligently as he’d instructed and Harper put his arm around Sienna’s waist intimately. He smiled down at her stunned facade.
“Keep waving and smile at me,” he instructed, kissing her cheek. He could smell the faint scent of perfume on her and breathed deeply. Harper heard her soft intake of breath and tires squeal, causing him to glance away from her mystified expression to see if they were in danger. He knew he’d crossed a line and immediately released her.
“Sorry about that, but I wanted him to believe what he was seeing.”
“No, I think he understood perfectly.”
“Sienna, I can finish this up for you,” he offered. When he’d kissed her cheek, her soft skin was cold under his lips and he knew she was chilled. “I would like to get a few things and stay here for a few days to see if he returns.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” she stammered, looking extremely skittish.
“Then I’ll need to make arrangements for you to stay elsewhere if you want privacy. I don’t think Joel Fischers is going to be a guy to quickly run away. He will try a second, third or fourth to see if I am around. He may try to confront you the moment you are alone.”
“He lived here once but I am not comfortable with having another man, a stranger, staying with me – even if I’ve hired you.”
“May I suggest a hotel then?”
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