by D. R. Grady
Chapter 11
When the sound came a second time, Macy finally rolled out of bed. She groped her way across the room and found the door, which she yanked open. Tiredness and aching muscles did not predispose her to dealing with this problem in an appropriate manner. She really hoped Nick had also heard the sound and was as she stalked down the hall, attending to the problem.
Not that she was sure there was a problem. But something had awakened her, and darned if she could go back to dreaming while not certain what had interrupted her beauty sleep. After living with Starla, Macy had begun to see the benefits of beauty sleep.
She trudged down the stairs, muttering under her breath. Please don’t let one of the kids be transferring Filbert. Who else would be prowling at this time of night? What time was it by the way? As she paced through the kitchen, Macy squinted at the clock on the stove.
Two a.m.? What?
This time her mumblings turned to words not appropriate for children’s ears. Thinking about fire, brimstone, and baseball bats, Macy stomped to the closed door of Nick’s office. If he’d gotten up to work and made all that racket, she was roasting him. They had sleepwalkers in this house.
She slammed open the door at the same time she flicked on the light. A hand to her hip, she tapped a foot. “This had better be good,” she said in a deadly serious voice.
Only the figure that turned to stare at her wore a stocking cap over his features and he clutched a sheaf of papers in his gloved hands. Even though he held papers and didn’t appear intent on harming anyone she still saw red. If he was here to hurt one of the kids... Macy screamed and raced at him, knocking into him with enough force her brothers would have been proud.
The man stumbled and dropped the papers. He brought his hand up to stop the freefall and Macy started blasting him.
“Who are you and what are you doing in this house? I’m calling the police. I’d better never see you here again, or I’ll rip your face off,” she chased him, empty-handed out of the room and out the open door to the deck.
Still seething she turned and slammed into Nick. That started her grumblings again, so she almost didn’t hear him. “The police will pick him up at the end of the driveway. What did you think you were doing?”
She jerked her head back and stared at him. “What do you mean what was I doing? That idiot was in your office, woke me up, and apparently tried to steal something. He might have tried to hurt the kids.”
“Why did you take him on?” Nick’s voice held a deadly quality she’d never heard before.
“I heard a noise. So I got up to investigate. That’s what people do when they hear strange things in the night.”
Nick rolled his eyes. “You acted like the dumb heroine who goes into the basement when she knows there’s a serial killer on the loose.”
“I thought it was you in your office.” She narrowed her eyes at him. Now that she thought about it, the noise could have been one of the kids sleepwalking, too.
“Oh, so I was going to get blasted. I see.” He shook his head. “I’m not allowed to work in the middle of the night?”
“I don’t care if you work. You just have to be quiet enough about it to not rile up your sleepwalking children.”
The doorbell rang, which was probably good, because Macy realized they’d just delved into the stupidest conversation she’d ever participated in.
“I’ll get that,” he said and shoved a hand through his disarrayed curls. Oh goodness, the man looked like he’d just enjoyed a tumble-fest with some woman.
Who was not her. She scowled at him. So it was a good thing he turned his back on her to answer the door. Try to explain that one, Beckman, she thought to herself. No way. I’m mad at you because I really want to kiss you and you look like you were groping some other woman, even though I’m sure you were probably sound asleep, alone, in your bed. It sounded ludicrous even in her head.
Goodness, she obviously needed more sleep and maybe a sedative or two. Because her thoughts were plain ridiculous. The man had a right to work in his office in his own house whenever he wanted.
The police questioned them both, and Macy received the impression they thought she was the dumb heroine Nick had called her earlier. She’d reacted, not thought about the situation. The people sleeping in the house were hers, whether she liked it or not, and she hadn’t been about to allow some intruder to hurt them.
“Nothing was taken?” the police officer in charge asked Nick, again.
“No. Apparently Macy made him drop what he’d intended to take,” Nick said and splayed a hand to indicate the fallen papers on the floor.
She could see they were some sort of computer rendered drawings for a building.
“Any reason why someone would break into your house for those particular plans?”
Nick wiped a hand over his face before he answered. “Yes, they’re part of a bid I’m working on. It will be a really lucrative contract if I win.”
“Likely one of your competitors?” the other officer asked. Both had pads out and were busy scribbling notes.
“Yes. Who knows how many people were asked to enter bids. And I don’t think it was limited to only those who received invitations.” Nick nodded and looked like he was about to fall asleep during the questioning.
Macy bit her lip. Should she make coffee?
If she did, it’d keep her up the rest of the night. Then she’d be cranky in the morning. A cranky Macy was not a pleasant one, so she decided to forgo the coffee. Nick was a big boy. If he needed a liquid stimulant, he could crack open a soda. They had plenty of cans in the fridge.
The police finished up their questions and soon left. Macy was glad to see them go. Nick wobbled a bit and she steered him toward the stairs. The man was the limit. “You know, I’m not sure how you survived all these years as a single parent.”
“I think the lack of sleep is catching up with me,” Nick said to his chest. His head bobbed with each step and Macy directed him toward his room. She didn’t wait to see if he climbed into bed. Instead, she heard the thunk as he landed. No more sounds came from his room so she nodded and went to her own after peeking in on the kids. Once she assured herself they were all fine she headed to her own room.
She climbed back into her bed and wondered if Nick would remember any of the night’s occurrences.
***
“Macy, I’m sure I heard a scream last night.”
“You did,” Macy replied, and flipped the French toast. She turned in time to catch the jug of milk Savannah nearly dropped. “Got it,” she said absently and placed the milk on the island.
Starla hoisted herself into the chair beside Savannah and matched her big sister’s stare. Macy blinked at the sight of two sets of blue eyes staring at her.
“What?”
“Why did you scream?” Savannah’s voice was calm, but she sounded no nonsense, like she wasn’t budging until she got the answers she wanted.
“Because I surprised an intruder in your dad’s office last night and he startled me, so I screamed,” she said with a shrug and dished up the first slices of toast. She set them in front of the two girls. Neither appeared to notice the offering. Both continued to stare at her like she’d eventually give them the meaning of life.
Macy cocked her head and stared back, one eyebrow raised.
Savannah dropped her gaze and listlessly reached for a slice of the toast. Starla swung her legs and kicked the backside of the island. “Were you hurt?”
“No,” Macy answered with a firm shake of her head.
“Did anyone else get up with you?” Savannah’s voice almost sounded like she cared. That surprised Macy.
“Yes. Your dad heard me scream and came running. The police picked the intruder up at the end of the road. He’s in jail and your dad is planning to update the security system.”
“Oh, well that’s good then,” Starla stated and accepted a slice of toast. Obviously the conversation was concluded to be satisfactory because she
dug into breakfast.
The boys entered the kitchen, followed by Nick. Who was fresh shaven and showered, apparently. His hair was slicked back, and still dripped moisture. Macy started to salivate.
She swallowed, because the man barely knew she was alive, and thought she was too stupid to live. Not great odds for a woman who wanted to jump the man’s bones and knock his socks off.
“Good morning,” he mumbled.
“Morning,” she replied and trying to appear busy, Macy dipped more bread in the egg mixture. She managed to transfer the dripping bread to the electric skillet without major mishaps, which was nice.
“Macy said someone broke into your office last night,” Savannah said, staring at her father. Her voice definitely sounded accusatory.
Nick’s eyes went wide. “You told them?”
“They heard me scream,” she said and sent him a what-was-I-supposed-to-do shrug.
Bryce and Brandt, in the middle of claiming the remaining stools at the island paused. “I didn’t hear screams,” Brandt said with a frown. Macy was sure that bothered him. He liked shrieks and cries.
“I didn’t hear anything,” Bryce claimed and took a plate from the stack. He helped himself to the finished slices of toast and like Starla lost interest in the conversation in lieu of food. Macy watched as he poured syrup over the bread and cut into it.
Yep, he’d zoned out of the conversation. She glanced at Starla, who snitched another slice of toast, her little feet, clad in her new flip flops, swinging. Macy thought the little girl even quietly hummed to herself.
“I did,” Savannah challenged and her gaze shot between her and Nick.
“We took care of it,” Macy said. She frowned at Savannah. “I’m not sure why you’re making such a big deal out of it.”
“Whoever it was didn’t take anything?”
“Nope,” Nick said and he sounded a little more human. Macy saw he had a full mug of coffee in front of him. For such a brilliant mind, it did seem to take his brain time to engage. “It’s all taken care of. I got a call from the police this morning.”
She slid a plate in front of him, scooped the sausages out of the frying pan, and added them to the plate. All the links disappeared by the time she had flipped and transferred the second batch of toast. Good thing she wasn’t that hungry this morning, she decided.
“You know, between Philippe and you guys never leaving me any food, I’ve lost close to ten pounds since I started here,” she said to the island occupants at large.
Five sets of eyes shot to her, raked her up and down and two links of sausage reappeared on the plate. “Thanks,” Macy said, and took them before they vanished again.
“You’ve lost weight?” Nick asked around a mouthful of breakfast.
“Yes,” she answered dryly. Not that she expected him to notice these things, but it wouldn’t hurt her ego if he noticed she was female.
“We’ve got to learn to share,” Nick said and stared the boys down, she noticed.
That made sense. Neither Starla nor Savannah ate much, but Brandt, especially, was eating more than normal. “I thought we were sharing,” Brandt said around another slice of toast.
Nick shook his head. “Macy makes plenty, but if she’s not getting enough, that’s not fair.”
“We’ll share, Dad,” Savannah said, in a tone that indicated he cool the conversation.
“I’d appreciate if you would,” Macy said. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d actually been full, such had her rations been cut.
She glanced at the clock. “Okay, you guys need to load your dishes in the dishwasher. The bus will be here in two minutes.”
Groans circulated around the table, which she ignored. But she did point to the dishwasher. The kids each deposited their dirty dishes inside and tromped into the mudroom for their backpacks. Macy accompanied them.
“Have a good day,” she said as she helped make adjustments here and there.
When she ushered them through the door, silence descended like a gift onto the house. She breathed in the quiet before turning to face Nick. Macy doubted he’d let last night go by without further comment.
He raised a brow when she reentered the kitchen.
“So, what really happened last night?”
***
Nick noticed Macy frown. “What?” She didn’t sound alarmed by his question. That probably boded well. Because the thoughts that passed through his sleep deprived mind last night had not been welcome. Or rational.
“You heard a noise?”
“Yes.”
“So you got up to investigate?” Why had she gotten up to investigate might have been a better question.
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you wake me?”
“I told you, I thought it was you who woke me. Otherwise I figured the noise came from one of your sleepwalkers.” She eyed him suspiciously.
“What?” Yeah, he was definitely becoming paranoid.
“You don’t sleepwalk do you?”
“Not as far as I know.” It was his turn to frown. No one had ever told him they’d encountered him in strange places at night, but then he’d been the only adult in the house for five plus years.
“Great. So there’s a possibility I might encounter you at night, too?” She stared at him like he’d just piled an additional weight to her stress level.
Not exactly the type of behavior a woman seeking a kiss would display. Why did he have to have this fondness or weakness, or whatever his malady was for blondes?
Why couldn’t he be attracted to redheads? Or brunettes? Why did they always have to be blonde?
Macy wiped down the island and stared at him.
“What?” He finally asked.
“Nothing,” she said and kept scrubbing.
“Something’s bothering you. Tell me.”
“Well, isn’t it strange that someone broke into your office for your bid?”
He frowned, not certain how to answer, because he couldn’t figure out what she wanted to know.
She tried again. “How many other architects are planning to enter bids on this project?”
Nick knew the answer to that question. “At least ten that I know of.”
“Then why did someone break into your house? Why you?”
“Could be they just started here.” Nick glanced at his watch. “I’d better let some of them know about the break-in attempt.”
“Aren’t you worried?” Macy stared at him with something like angst in her eyes. He was used to angst, since Savannah lived here.
“No.”
“Why not?” She huffed out a breath and looked like she wanted to swat him with the dishrag.
“Because I won the bid with this company last year. This new project is to expand on my design from last year. Besides, the police took care of everything.”
***
Nick finally escaped to his office and he ran a finger between his polo shirt collar and his neck. Macy had fired so many questions at him, he’d been fearful of missing his first appointment of the day. Now as he seated himself, he wondered about some of her questioning.
Maybe she had a point. Together they figured out that his designs would be the premium plans to steal, since he won the bid last year. In that light, he wasn’t surprised about the fact he’d been hit first.
What bothered him was that the guy had actually dropped the plans and fled. Why? He’d seen Macy last night. True, she hadn’t been wearing much in the way of clothing, but she wasn’t that daunting. Of course, she had shrieked. Like a warrior woman intent on protecting her own.
Nick took a moment to call the police, but the guy wouldn’t have known that. He could have simply knocked Macy over and kept going. Then he’d have had the plans, and gotten away. Maybe the guy hadn’t expected Macy to interfere. Nick hadn’t seen her in action.
Too bad. If he’d been more awake, Nick suspected he would have enjoyed the show.
With a sigh, Nick picked up the phone. He’
d better warn some of his colleagues about the break-in. And he’d better do so soon, because he had a client coming in thirty minutes.
Hopefully, he would be able to concentrate on his work today. He’d noticed a definite drop in productivity since Macy had come on board. No matter what he did he couldn’t seem to lock her out of his mind. The woman popped into his thoughts at really inappropriate times.
Why did she have to buy him new underwear? Too bad she hadn’t asked to see him in them.
With a groan, Nick realized his current thoughts weren’t a good indication that he’d be able to concentrate today either.
***
Thunder rolled across the horizon again, cracked, and lightning lit up the sky enough that Macy saw her door creak open. She rolled over and wasn’t surprised when Starla dashed across the room and dove into her bed.
“Macy, it’s thundering,” Starla informed her as another ominous crack rumbled overhead. More lightning revealed another body, this one Brandt, who brandished a plastic sword and fought his way to Macy’s bed.
“Yes, it is,” she agreed and watched with interest as Brandt slashed and plunged with his sword before he hit the side of the mattress. He promptly dropped the weapon and crawled on top.
“Macy, it’s lightning. I think I got the wizards making the storm,” he informed her.
“I see,” she said, trying to keep her amusement to herself. Brandt crawled under the covers.
The next crash brought Bryce. She blinked as he meandered into the room. Wow. He’d come out of his own little world long enough to know they were experiencing a severe thunderstorm and had come to her instead of his dad.
Bryce climbed into the bed, hogged the covers and poked his siblings. He didn’t say anything. Macy decided to keep silent too.
She was sorely afraid that if she did open her mouth to say anything, she might laugh. Having three kids, ones who previously had not liked her, in her bed, was sweet, funny, and a little sad.
Their mother should be sharing in this experience with them. But then she forfeited her right when she decided her own interests and dreams were more important than her children.
Soon the shifting shadows revealed Savannah. She said, “Macy, are the other kids here?” She sounded worried and little scared.