What She Did

by Barb Han

  With Zach’s recent reunion with a former girlfriend, Jillian Major, it was down to Nate and Jordon, the youngest brother, as the only bachelors left in the family.

  “We haven’t announced anything yet...” Zach glanced down at his phone. The wallpaper was a picture of Jillian touching her stomach.

  “Are you telling me...?” Nate couldn’t believe his ears. Stunned didn’t begin to describe his feelings.

  “We’re having a baby.” The love in Zach’s eyes convinced Nate becoming a father was the logical next step for his cousin.

  “It feels like you two just got back together.”

  Zach nodded and smiled. “I guess when you know, you know.”

  Nate had never experienced such a lightning bolt, but he’d heard tell of it from some of his siblings. They’d explained it was like a jolt out of nowhere and a sense of knowing they were in deep.

  That annoying voice in the back of his head said he’d been hit with something when he’d met Chelsea, but that was ridiculous. He didn’t even know her. Jillian and Zach had grown up across the street from each other. They had history.

  Then again, that explanation didn’t exactly hold water because a couple of his brothers had met and fallen for the loves of their lives without knowing each other before.

  “Congratulations, man. I couldn’t be happier for you and Jillian.” Nate gave his cousin another hug then stepped back.

  “Where are you headed?” Zach asked when Nate didn’t return to his chair.

  “Grab a few hours of shut-eye before work starts. Keep me posted on Reggie, will you?”

  Zach nodded. “Keep the part about the baby between you and me for now. She wants to surprise everyone by inviting them to a barbecue. She doesn’t want a lot of formality. Just family and a few close friends out at the lake house we’re building.” Zach’s face softened some of the hard worry lines when he spoke about his fiancée.

  “You can count on me,” Nate said.

  Besides, Zach wasn’t the only one with a secret.

  * * *

  CHELSEA FIGURED THE Dumpster behind the restaurant would be full by the end of the day. She needed about five more of them to properly clean this place out.

  Work was good and she enjoyed the feeling of progress on her new restaurant. She’d also been careful to lock the door behind her so there were no surprises this time. The contractor who could knock out the walls where glass would be installed was due tomorrow bright and early.

  She blew on her cold fingers to warm them. It must’ve been hovering around freezing outside and she refused to turn on the thermostat until she got closer to opening day. It was imperative to keep expenses down so she could have a successful grand opening. Starting out in a financial hole was not the way to kick off a business.

  Soon enough, the place would be ready and the doors would open. Money would flow, or at least she hoped it would. Excitement came in the form of tingly sensations in her stomach. She was so ready for life to take a positive turn and for her to get back on track after being shoved off on the first go-round. She’d never expected a second chance and had no plans to waste the gift she’d been given.

  Travis had been a temporary setback. She wouldn’t allow him to rattle her the same way he had yesterday. For one, the element of surprise was no longer on his side. She’d let her guard down temporarily. No more. She would be ready if he popped up again. And she planned to buy pepper spray in case he brought a bad attitude with him when he showed.

  During the multiple trips she’d taken to the Dumpster in the last few minutes, she’d checked both ways before exiting the building, like a young kid crossing the street for the first time. Luckily, there’d been no signs of Travis.

  Chelsea locked the back door and walked into what would become her finished kitchen. A knock sounded at the front door. Her heart skipped a beat. The metal door hid the figure on the other side.

  She considered not opening it.

  Skylar was at school. Her mother was probably at the grocery store by now. Chelsea wasn’t expecting a delivery. But then experience had taught her that didn’t mean there wasn’t one waiting on the other side of that door.

  Taking in a sharp breath, Chelsea marched toward the door. The metal needed to go. She’d make a note to replace it with glass ASAP.

  Another knock sounded, stopping her in her tracks.

  “Chelsea.” The familiar voice brought a wave of calmness over her. Nate Kent.

  She couldn’t get to the door fast enough.

  “Come on in.” She held it open.

  “Sorry to interrupt.” He glanced around as he stepped inside.

  She closed and locked the door behind him.

  “It’s taking shape in here,” Nate said.

  “I still have a lot to do and not much time, but everything’s on schedule so far.” She couldn’t afford to give up a day if she wanted to stick to her timetable.

  Chelsea took an emotional hit seeing Nate again. She’d thought about the kiss they’d shared far too often for her own good last night.

  Seriously, it was just a kiss. There was no need to get all weak-kneed just thinking about how impossibly soft his lips were for a face of such hard angles or how much better coffee tasted on them.

  “There’s coffee over there if you’d like a cup.” She forced her gaze away from his mouth.

  “You already have water?” he asked.

  “I brought some with me.” Nate looked just as good as he did last night. In fact, he looked almost exactly the same as he did last night.

  “I don’t mind a cup.” He glanced around.

  She pointed to the corner next to the new fire-brick oven where she’d set up a small folding table and put coffee supplies on it.

  “Water won’t be turned on for three more weeks. I bring in a jug to make coffee.” She had a couple of foam cups, too.

  Nate poured a cup and took a sip. “It’s good.”

  “It’s the blend I plan to serve.” His approval sent a burst of pride rushing through her.

  “I met up with Zach last night to grab a bite after we left your place. Ran into someone unexpected. Are you aware that Mrs. Barstock’s son is in town?” he asked.

  “Um, no. Wow. I thought he’d moved out west somewhere. He wasn’t invited to the reading of her will, so I guess I figured he didn’t come around anymore.” Chelsea was shocked to hear the news.

  “He’s driving a car with Louisiana plates,” Nate mentioned.

  “There’s another surprise.” She could’ve sworn the attorney had said Reggie had disappeared out west. “He doesn’t have a right to the property or business. My great-aunt was clear about that and her lawyer assured me that I was the sole inheritor. Her will is iron-clad.”

  “How well did you know your great-aunt?”

  “I didn’t. This whole inheritance came out of the blue for me.” She motioned to the fold-up chairs tucked underneath the table with the coffee. She needed to sit after hearing this news. The ground had shifted just a little. “According to her lawyer, Aunt Maddie had me tracked down after she fell and broke her hip. She knew her son would throw her money away and she wanted it to go to someone who would know what to do with it. She hit a bull’s-eye there.”

  “Looks like she made the best choice.”

  Nate’s compliment made her smile. “Thank you.” She looked Nate in the eyes. “What did he want?”

  “He didn’t say. Tried to convince us that he was just driving through town in the middle of the night on his way home.”

  And then it dawned on her.

  “The rock in my window. You think Reggie was trying to scare me?” She smacked her flat palm on the table.

  “Or make a threat. Zach is trying to get more information out of him while he finds out if there’s a clear print from the scene.” Nate took another sip of
coffee. A little liquid spot remained on his bottom lip.

  Chelsea was transfixed by it.

  “When will he know for sure?” This sure changed things. Her initial reaction last night was that Travis had to have been involved with the rock throwing. Was it even possible he’d made his presence known then disappeared when he hadn’t gotten what he’d wanted? Part of her hoped so. She never wanted to have to deal with him again for the rest of her life, and she had been clear about that.

  If he came back and had a job and could show that he was responsible and ready to be a father, she’d consider allowing him to be part of Skylar’s life. Anything less than that and Travis was just blowing hot air by talking to Chelsea. She wouldn’t allow him around her daughter without a court order.

  “Did Reggie seem upset?” she asked.

  “You could say that. Have you ever met him?” Nate asked.

  “No. I don’t remember meeting my great-aunt, either, but my mother says I did when I was a kid.” Chelsea ran her finger along the rim of her cup. “Her lawyer said she asked him to track me down. He apparently hired a PI to gain information about me. I guess Aunt Maddie was satisfied with what she saw. I did used to own and run a successful small business. Maybe that’s why she thought I’d know what to do with her home and space.

  “She must’ve also learned that the business’s failure wasn’t exactly my fault. I didn’t mismanage the money. The business folding didn’t have anything to do with me.” Except, that part wasn’t exactly truthful. Her business had failed because she’d trusted someone she shouldn’t have. That part was very much on her.

  “You must’ve made quite an impression.” Nate focused on her finger rimming her cup and it sent a sensual shiver up his arm.

  Chelsea’s cell buzzed. Her heart skipped a beat as she jumped up and stalked toward the sound. She tracked it to where she’d left it on top of what would be a cabinet once it was hung.

  “Hi, Mom,” she answered with a glance toward Nate.

  “Someone’s in the house,” her mother said.

  Chapter Nine

  “What do you mean? Like, now?” Chelsea’s voice raised an octave as a look of panic washed over her.

  Nate got to his feet and was by her side. She tilted the phone, giving him access so they could both listen.

  “The back door stood wide open when I got here and I heard a noise upstairs, so I got out of there,” Linda said.

  “Thank heavens you’re not still inside. Where are you now?” Chelsea asked.

  “I’m in my car. I turned right around and walked out the door, got in my car and locked the doors.” Linda sounded like a schoolkid who’d just shown her prize drawing to the class. “I figured this was the best place for me to call you.”

  “Stay where you are. I’m on my way,” Chelsea said. “And don’t hang up.”

  “I’ll drive.” Nate was already guiding Chelsea to the metal door leading outside, his hand at the curve of her back. It felt a little too natural for it to be there, a little too right. This close, he could smell her unique scent, a mix of wildflowers and dark roast coffee. It was fast becoming his favorite combination.

  His truck was parked out front next to her pickup. He paused long enough for her to lock the door to her restaurant.

  Chelsea rushed to the passenger side of his truck while he made a beeline for the driver’s side. Normally, he’d open the door for her, but that courtesy would waste time and Linda had sounded scared.

  The ride to her place on Sycamore took eight minutes, a record for cutting across town.

  “We’re almost home, Mom. Hold on a few more minutes for me, okay?” Chelsea shot a worried look at Nate.

  On instinct, he reached out and touched her hand to comfort her. Those annoying jolts of electricity didn’t seem to know when to let up because a few blasted his hand and vibrated up his arm.

  Nate withdrew his hand and returned it to the steering wheel where his grip remained white-knuckled for the rest of the block. He pulled up next to Linda’s parked sedan, essentially blocking her from the house. If someone charged out the front door, they’d have to get through Nate first.

  “Call Zach,” he said to Chelsea as he grabbed his pistol from underneath the bench seat. “Get your mother in my truck and lock the doors. Anything happens, I want the two of you to get out of here.”

  Chelsea started to argue but he was already dashing around the back of the house and out of earshot. He hoped she would be smart enough to listen even though he got the feeling she wasn’t used to stepping aside and letting someone else take charge.

  In this case, she’d be crazy to follow him, and she didn’t strike him as someone who would take an unnecessary risk.

  Nate slowed at the kitchen door, his pistol pointed in the direction he walked. He had the butt of it secured in his grip and his finger hovered over the trigger. A bullet waited in the chamber.

  There were two known possibilities. Reggie had most likely been released by now. Zach hadn’t had a reason to keep the man locked up. He could’ve decided to take matters into his own hands. He’d grown up in this house and something of his might still be here. It was possible that he’d returned to take it back. Or, he wanted Chelsea out.

  The other known quantity was her ex. He could be looking for their daughter, trying to catch Chelsea unaware. That possibility sat a little sour in Nate’s gut. It wasn’t his place to interfere with a family, but there was no way he’d stand aside and allow a man to intimidate his ex.

  A burst of anger shot through him that he had no business allowing. Rational thought took over. Nate reasoned that Skylar’s father wouldn’t likely break in while no one was home. What would he have to gain?

  Nate crossed the kitchen, careful not to step too hard on the wood floors. An ill-timed creak could end this day very badly.

  The kitchen was eat-in. He made his way around the table with four chairs. A vase of fresh flowers on the kitchen table brightened up the place. Nate had a feeling that Chelsea could make any space feel like home in a matter of minutes. There was something warm about her that made him want to talk to her and tell her all his secrets. The feeling was foreign as hell. Nate wasn’t a chatterbox. And he didn’t do talking, much less about emotions. He’d never been this much inside his own head in his life.

  He made his way through the door separating the kitchen from the living room. There was a guest room off the living room. He’d noticed the layout yesterday morning. It was habit to memorize a house’s layout in case he ever had to come back for an emergency.

  The door had been open and the bed pushed to one side. There were boxes stacked in that room in random order, too.

  A siren wailed in the distance. Backup was on its way. Nate blew out a sigh of relief. He continued through the downstairs before checking the closet underneath the stairwell with the crawl space. He was familiar with that area, too, of course. The minute he opened the door, a cold gust of wind blasted him. Damn.

  The sirens stopped right outside. Within a few seconds, a voice sounded from the kitchen. “I’m coming in.”

  It was Zach.

  “I’m in the downstairs hallway,” Nate shouted. Zach had taught his cousin the protocol for hot situations long ago. Combine Zach’s advice with Nate’s volunteer firefighter training and he’d been told that he was handy to have around in an emergency.

  A few seconds later, Zach was beside him.

  “The bedroom hasn’t been cleared and neither has the upstairs. The crawl space that I boarded up has been busted through,” Nate informed his cousin.

  “Okay. Good work. Are you ready to clear the rest of the house?” Zach would want to ensure no one was hiding in one of those rooms.

  “Let’s do it.” Nate wouldn’t be able to sleep without knowing the place was clear.

  Side by side, they cleared each room. Nate checked the att
ic, just to make sure no one was hiding there. There were no basements in Texas to worry about, so once they cleared the upstairs, it was safe.

  Nate followed his cousin outside to deliver the news to Chelsea and her mother. He let Zach take the lead.

  “The place is clear. My deputy is on the way to see if he can lift prints off the door and the closet with the crawl space,” Zach said.

  Chelsea’s gaze bounced from Zach to Nate. The terrified look in her eyes was a gut punch.

  Zach briefed her as the same deputy from last night showed up.

  “I’m sorry we didn’t get a print yesterday. Maybe we’ll get lucky this time,” Deputy Long said before rounding the corner and getting to work.

  “When he’s finished, I’d like you to take a walk through the residence to see if anything’s missing,” Zach said to Chelsea.

  “Half of our stuff is still in boxes.” Chelsea sounded exacerbated. “How would I know?”

  * * *

  HAVING A SAFE home was important. Having the restaurant open on time was important. Having her sanity was important.

  Chelsea saw her schedule blowing up before her eyes. It was shaping up to be a long day, and she couldn’t afford to lose a day of progress at the restaurant.

  The deputy finished his work quickly and a locksmith put a dead bolt on the back door as well as a new one on the front. It didn’t hurt to ensure that Chelsea and her mother were the only key holders.

  By lunch, Chelsea hadn’t made it back to the restaurant. Nate had the closet patched up again in no time. Chelsea paid the locksmith from money she needed for the restaurant. She’d set the funds aside to buy tile floors. She’d have to go with painted concrete instead, a minor adjustment, but she was proud of herself for coming up with a contingency plan.

  Reggie Barstock might be long gone. Zach had said the man had been released before the sun came up this morning. Chelsea guessed he could be responsible for the break-in. According to the sheriff, the lock had been jimmied. Chelsea had no idea what that entailed, except that it meant her new home had been easy to breach.