With the door between her and all prying eyes, Colleen took a firm grip on the edge of the sink and a series of deep, cleansing breaths. Voices didn’t just sprout in people’s heads unless they were nuts, and Colleen knew she wasn’t nuts. The therapist had said so.
“I didn’t hear anything,” she said firmly. “There was nobody at the school.” She looked her reflection squarely in the eye. Common sense wins again.
Just for just a second her eyes flashed red.
Colleen’s heart leaped into her throat. It passed in a blink. Her eyes snapped back to their normal light violet. Eyes just like her mother’s, right down to the crazy.
“Nobody was there,” Colleen repeated fiercely. Her eyes stayed the color they were supposed to. She hauled in another long breath.
After a quick, bracing wash and face repair with the skimpy cosmetics in her purse, Colleen judged herself fit for company. She opened the bathroom door. Jeremy stood outside it like a sentry.
“Gus just got home,” he said and offered her his arm. “Don’t let him scare you. He’s loud, but he’s harmless.”
As if anything could scare her with Jeremy near. She smiled and took his arm and allowed him to escort her to the dining room.
Everything she’d heard about Annie’s husband, Gus, turned out to be no exaggeration. He was a booming, likeable, bear of a man for whom she suspected the word “overwhelming” had been coined. Also the word “Yeti,” even though there was nothing cold about either him or the wife he towered over. She was pleased to see little Shayla held her own against both their forceful personalities, and both her adoptive parents clearly doted on her. With a home environment like this, Colleen had no doubt Shayla would grow up to conquer the world.
Annie and Shayla had already set the table. Jeremy brought the last couple of dishes over. “Let’s eat,” Gus said. “Bet you must be famished, Colleen, chasing after little kids all day. How do you do it?”
“Quickly,” she said and won a chuckle from both Gus and Annie. Annie seated Shayla, and Gus seated Annie. Jeremy held out a chair for Colleen and took the one beside her.
There followed one of the weirdest dinner conversations Colleen had ever listened in on. Actually, it was more like two, with an undercurrent of a third. The primary talk, the one that happened out loud, stemmed mainly from Shayla, who chattered nonstop about her day to the delight of her beaming parents. Underneath this, Colleen’s psychic prickle picked up a second dialogue, spoken in exchanged glances, body language, and carefully-masked expressions. No one looked directly at her, except to say something polite. No one mentioned lurkers at the preschool. She wondered what Jeremy had told them while she was in the bathroom and who it was he’d called.
At least they weren’t looking at her like she was a nutcase, which was a major plus. More importantly, that menacing spied-on sensation hadn’t returned. She felt safe here, protected. Jeremy seated beside her had a lot to do with that. Lulled by all this camaraderie, she finally let herself relax.
Shayla wound down eventually and fixated on her potatoes, which allowed Gus to get a word in. He directed the word at Jeremy. “Is Wally coming over?”
“He’s not up yet. I left him a message.” That explained the phone call. Maybe.
“I’ll make him a care package,” Annie said. Her bright gaze pierced Colleen. “Has Jeremy told you about Wally?”
And there it was, that other unspoken conversation, finally out in the open. The man at her side had a man at home. Of course his friends would be concerned about his interest in her.
Colleen smiled up at Jeremy. Her expression held just the hint of an edge. “Oh yes. The first day we met, in fact. Did you tell him about me?”
He raised a brow. “Of course I did. I tell him everything.”
Are you going to tell him how you’ve been inching your chair closer to me all through dinner? Or that you’ve got your thigh practically glued to my leg?
To be fair, she hadn’t tried to move her leg, and maybe she’d done a bit of inching herself. The Stantons had to have noticed. They didn’t miss a trick. Colleen resolved to move her leg at the first opportune moment. “I’d love to meet him.”
The significant looks exchange flared up again, first between Annie and Gus, then fired off at Jeremy. Gus dove in. “Better make sure you prep her, sonny. Wally’s best if taken in small doses.”
Colleen went on smiling. “I’m tougher than I look. I’m sure I can handle him.”
“I’ll bet you could,” Annie said with her own smile and significant subtext-laden look for Jeremy. “Wally likes folks who can go toe-to-toe with him. If you can handle a herd of rambunctious preschoolers day after day, I’m sure you can take on anything.”
“Combat training,” Colleen agreed. “You got that right. Besides, I was raised in a commune. Real counterculture stuff. Alternative lifestyles don’t shake me.”
The ball’s in your court, she thought at Jeremy.
Backed into a corner, he responded with a shrug. “Okay. Maybe we can work something out. It’ll have to be after dark, though, because of his schedule. And brief. Wallace takes a bit of getting used to.”
“Yeah,” Shayla chimed in. “He says ‘suck’ all the time. And ‘son of a bitch.’ What’s a bitch? Does her son go to school?”
“Shayla!” Annie scolded. “What did we talk about? You don’t use words like that. Those are Wally words.” She half glared at Jeremy. “You need to have a serious talk with that man regarding appropriate behavior around little kids.”
“I did. He said it’s an uncle’s duty to teach kids dirty words.”
“No, that’s a mom’s job.” Annie patted Shayla’s hair. “Honey, when you’re old enough, your dad and I will teach you all the dirty words you need to know. That’s what we’re here for. For now, though, you need to stick to little girl words. We don’t want you upsetting your teachers again.”
“Foop, no,” Gus said. “Are we done? Then let’s get these figging plates cleared off the fooping table.” He waggled his eyebrows, and Shayla giggled.
“You’re a bad influence,” Annie said. “She’s better off with Wally. How about it, Jeremy? You and Wally want a kid? I’ll let you have her cheap.”
Jeremy shook his head with a grin. “It wouldn’t work. He’d keep her up all night.”
Something flashed through his eyes, almost too quick to catch. Colleen had observed him with Shayla enough to hold no doubts about his love for children. Did he want to adopt? Was his partner the holdup?
Stays up nights, swears, not fond of children. Sounds like a prince.
“How did you two meet?” she asked Jeremy.
His look grew guarded. “I used to have a night job, too. Wallace came in a lot. He was my favorite customer, in fact. The first time I saw him, well…” He blushed. He actually blushed. God, he was so adorable. “You know.”
Sadly, she did know. She realized, with a sharp little pang, she’d known the moment she looked into his irresistible storm-cloud eyes. This could be the man she’d been looking for, this beautiful, sweet scarecrow in love with another man.
She forced her voice to lightness. “Is he hot?”
Jeremy laughed. “That’s exactly what he said when I told him about you.”
Gus groaned. “Two of a kind. I knew it. God help us all.”
Great. I’m a female version of a foul-mouthed gay night owl. “What kind of job did you do before? You know, the night work.”
“Um…” Jeremy sent a beseeching look at Gus and Annie. No help there. “I was in customer service.”
Before she could get him to elaborate, a snatch of music went off. It sounded like the opening to Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way.” Jeremy drew his cell phone from his pocket and checked the display. “It’s Wallace,” he said. He didn’t look at Colleen. “Would you excuse me?”
“Sure,” Annie said brightly. “Who wants dessert? I’ve got coffee cake.”
Jeremy went into the other room, out of eavesdropp
ing range. Gus and Shayla cleared the table, and then Gus herded Shayla off to her room. Annie brewed coffee and cut them both generous slices of cake. Colleen smelled an interrogation coming on.
Annie didn’t disappoint. “You and Jeremy really seem to click.”
“He’s really nice. He works at the hospital?”
“Mm-hmm. Gus brought him in as a teen counselor. We met him when he hooked up with Wally. Wally’s an old friend of ours. Jeremy’s been good for him.”
Aha. The mother lion baring her claws in defense of her cubs. “I’ll be blunt, Dr. Stanton. I like him a lot. Who wouldn’t? That doesn’t make me a poacher. Jeremy’s not leading me on. Even before he told me about Wallace, I just had a feeling. I’d like to be his friend. It won’t go beyond that.”
“It better not, for your own safety. Wally can be such a jealous prick. I’d hate to see you get caught in the crossfire just because Jeremy was being his usual friendly self.”
“I’ll keep my distance, and keep my head down.” She sighed. “It won’t be easy. How badly did I drool tonight?”
Annie chuckled. “You barely dribbled. By the way, you call me ‘Annie,’ hon. Anybody says ‘Dr. Stanton’ and Gus and I both look around. ‘Annie’ saves wear on the neck.”
“Thanks. Thanks for not ripping me a new one.”
“Honey, I can spot sincerity when it sits at my table. Besides, you’ve got Shayla and Jeremy in your corner. That counts for a lot.” She flicked a glance toward the other room. “I may need to have a talk with that boy. You weren’t the only one drooling.”
Annie poured coffee and got them seated at the table. The coffee cake sat barely touched while they settled in for serious girl talk and giggles. Colleen didn’t even register Jeremy’s presence until he was fully in the kitchen. He eyed them both suspiciously.
“Is it safe in here? I smell estrogen overload.”
“Scaredy-cat. Pour yourself a cup and set your butt down.” Annie patted the seat of the chair beside her. “Colleen’s been telling me what a perfect little angel Shayla is. Help me set her straight.”
“I should be going. I’ve got group tomorrow.” He turned to Colleen. “I’ll give you a lift home.”
“Great. I mean, thanks.” Okay, that definitely popped out way too fast. She could tell by the height of Annie’s raised eyebrows. “Thanks for having me over tonight, and on such short notice.”
“It was our pleasure. You take care of yourself, honey. And you, Jeremy, you take care of her.”
Jeremy draped his arm around her shoulders so naturally it felt as if he’d been doing it for years. “Absolutely.”
Colleen caught the look that passed between them, and the faint emphasis on Annie’s words, even without her prickle’s squawk. She wondered again at the content of their subvocal conversation. Had the whole evening been some kind of ploy to keep her safe? From what? She’d never mentioned seeing, or hearing, anybody.
By now she’d put the whole thing down to some kind of auditory hallucination. They got weirdoes at the preschool just often enough to stoke the paranoia fires. Tomorrow morning she’d call the police and give them the heads-up about a possible lurker, just to stay on the safe side.
“Drive safe,” Annie said. “Say howdy to Wally for us.” She winked at Colleen and brushed her finger at the side of her mouth, as if flicking off imaginary drool.
Chapter 3
The second she stepped outside the Stanton home, Colleen’s anxiety returned with a vengeance. She peered at the empty, rain-washed streets. It must have poured while they’d been at dinner. Intent on picking up unspoken exchanges, she’d never even noticed.
She did notice how Jeremy also scanned the streets. Like herself, he’d gone on the alert. He ushered her into his car and took one last look around before he got in. Colleen strapped in and locked the door.
She let two blocks fall away behind them before she spoke. “Somebody was watching at the school, weren’t they? I did see somebody across the street. Did you? Is that why you invited me to dinner tonight?”
His jaw tightened. He glanced her way. Truth and evasion warred in his eyes. He looked back at the road. “Yes.” He paused before adding, “To everything.”
“They followed us, didn’t they? All the way to the Stantons’.”
This time he didn’t answer. His grip on the wheel said it all.
“You told them, right?” she persisted. “Did they call the police?”
“They’ve taken precautions.”
“That’s not good enough. They should call the police.”
“What for?”
She gaped at him. “‘What for?’ For Shayla. Her face was all over the news last year, after her family got killed. There are screwy people out there, and they get screwy ideas. Someone could be trying to snatch her, God only knows why. They need protection now.”
Again he hesitated, as if weighing options. Finally he answered. “I don’t think he was after Shayla. This is going to sound nutty, but bear with me. Back at the school, did you hear anything, like a voice in your head?”
“How did you—?” She bit her lip. “No. I didn’t. I couldn’t have. Things like that don’t happen.”
Jeremy wet his lips. “I want to stay with you tonight. You shouldn’t be left alone.”
Of all the times to get propositioned, and by this man to boot. “That’s nice of you, but I’ll be fine. I’ve got a dead bolt and pepper spray.”
“It won’t be enough. You need protection.”
“I’ve got protection.” She swallowed. “And you’ve got a boyfriend.”
“He’ll be there, too. I’ve already talked to him.” He flashed her a wan echo of his usual broad grin. “Relax. I’m not coming on to you. I just think it’s better if someone else is there. Wallace agrees with me. I’ll sleep on the couch or the floor or something. Just until we get this resolved.”
“Oh.” Concern for a friend. Of course. “Okay.”
“You sound disappointed.”
“Well, yeah. You’re the sweetest guy I’ve met in months. Not to mention hot.”
He laughed. “I’ll tell Wallace you said that.”
Colleen didn’t really want to talk about Wallace right now. She had more pressing concerns. “If they’re not after Shayla, then why me? Who is it? Do you know?”
“Not specifically. We’ve run up against his kind before. If it’s any consolation, you were probably picked at random.”
“Gee, I feel so special now. Wait. You’ve done this before?”
“Wallace has. I try to stay out of it.” He took one hand off the wheel to squeeze hers. “This time I just couldn’t.”
She squeezed back. “Thanks.”
He took his hand away. When she looked up, they were pulling into her street. “How did you know where I live?”
“When I told Wallace about you, the first thing he did was Google your name. We found your address and phone number on the ’Net.” He shrugged apologetically. “He’s a nosy bastard. What else can I say?”
“What does he do for a living again?”
“He keeps people safe. If we’re lucky, this’ll all be over by morning. Which apartment are you in? That wasn’t listed.”
Colleen had him circle the block to the building’s rear parking lot. The long, two-story, brick building looked solid and safe. She couldn’t say the same for the double row of parked cars, or the six-foot-high hedge row that ringed the lot. How many watchers could peer unseen through the hedges? How many crazies could crouch down between a couple of parked SUVs? She’d never thought to ask herself that before.
As Jeremy pulled into a visitor’s slot, Colleen swept her nervous gaze around the lot. She stared at her old Ford with its familiar dent over the right rear bumper. She never checked the back seat when she got in. She’d be doing that from now on.
A second’s worth of blur at the far end of the building caught her eye. She squeaked. “What?” Jeremy demanded.
“I thought I sa
w something. Over there.”
“It’s okay. It’s Wallace. I spotted him when we drove up.”
“You did? I didn’t see anybody.”
“I know what to look for.”
He had her stay in the car while he gave the parking lot the once-over. They did a team sprint to the outside entrance. Colleen led the way up the stairs and unlocked her apartment door with shaking fingers. The two of them peered inside, Jeremy behind her, his hands on her shoulders.
“It doesn’t look like anyone’s been in here,” Colleen said.
Jeremy nodded, as if he’d expected that. “Can I have a look at your bedroom?”
“Sure.” She guided him through the small apartment. It didn’t amount to much—a living room and adjoining kitchen, a bedroom and a bath, all kept neat and sparkling with everything in its place. A frilly yellow tablecloth, her five-year-old TV, paintings and knickknacks picked up at yard sales. Living alone as she did, she didn’t require much. Still, seeing Jeremy in her bedroom, she couldn’t help wishing her narrow single bed was at least a bit wider, and longer.
Stepping around the bed, Jeremy went to the window to study the street below. The room didn’t offer much of a view, just a line of row homes. No alleys for stalkers to lurk in. “There’s no way to climb up,” she pointed out. “Not even Spider-Man could get in here.”
“He won’t try to get in.” Jeremy shut the blinds. “Have you invited anyone in recently? Male or female, doesn’t make a difference.”
“Just my friends. Heidi, Suzette, Norelle and her boyfriend Nathan. I’ve known them all for years.”
“No boyfriends? No dates?”
“Not for a while. My last real relationship happened years ago, and it didn’t end well. It kind of soured me on serious dating. You’re the first man I’ve had in here in months.” She blushed furiously. “God, that sounds pathetic.”
“No, it sounds cautious. That’s good. Like you said, there are a lot of screwy people out there.” He turned from the window, ducking to avoid the overhead light. Higher ceiling, bigger bed. So many things she needed.
Cunningham, Pat - Legacy [Sequel to Belonging] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 3