by Rebecca Deel
“We crossed paths.” He nodded at the clipboard. “Do you have what you need?”
“I do. The contractor was a great help. I should be able to open in a month or so. Depends on whether I can get the interior ready in time.” A job for Trent she might have to farm out to the contractor.
She sighed. With Trent gone for an unknown stretch, she’d use the time to start clearing the house.
“My teammates and I will pitch in, Darcy. We can wield paint brushes as well as guns.” He paused a moment, his gaze on her face. “You look tired. Are you finished here for now?”
Guess she hadn’t hidden the fatigue. “I can’t do anything else tonight. I’m meeting the contractor tomorrow. He and his crew will start in the morning.”
“Have you eaten dinner?”
She shook her head. “I planned to eat with Trent.” Darcy hadn’t paid attention to the food choices near the motel or eaten anything since that morning. Probably explained why she felt like curling up on the floor and taking a nap.
“There’s a great hamburger place not far from here. Come eat dinner with me. I’d love to hear about your store and your plans for the house.”
Darcy studied him a moment. “Have you been inside the place?”
“Nope, but I’ve heard rumors around town. You have a lot of work ahead of you if half of what’s being said is true.”
“Whatever the grapevine is saying isn’t as bad as the reality. Thanks for keeping my secret. I didn’t want Trent distracted while he’s deployed.”
“Thought that might be the case. So, may I treat you to the best hamburger and fries around?”
The knot in her stomach loosened. No one would ever know it, but she hated eating alone in a strange place. Stupid problem. It’s why she had taken most of her meals in her hotel suite when she traveled. “I’d like that. I haven’t eaten for a while.”
His eyes narrowed. “How long?”
She shrugged, not wanting to admit it had been almost twelve hours. Trent would have had a fit if he knew.
“Too long, then. Where is your car?”
“Right outside the door.”
“Drive to the motel and park your car. I’ll follow you and take you to Burger Heaven. It’s the most popular restaurant in town.”
She smiled. “Sounds like Heaven to me.”
Rio laughed. “Come on. If you ask nicely, I’ll spring for a milkshake, too.”
“Deal.” She could do nice for the price of a shake. A strawberry delight was calling her name. Darcy grabbed her purse from the corner and turned off the lights. Rio waited for her to lock up and opened the driver’s door of her car.
“I’ll be right behind you.” He climbed into the SUV parked two spaces over and cranked the engine.
She backed into the town square and drove five blocks to the motel. Not exactly the Ritz, she mused. But it was clean. Her room had two double beds covered in autumn-colored bedspreads. The two chairs in the room were standard issue with minimal cushioning, the material gold. A double sink. Small bathroom. Her lips curved. Definitely not the standard she was used to, but it wasn’t a dump, either. She flinched. Unlike her new house.
At the motel, Rio parked next to her car and came around to open his passenger door for her. Grateful the SUV had running boards, she stepped up and settled into the leather seat. Oh, man. The leather smelled great and the thick padding felt good to her joints.
When he climbed behind the steering wheel, Darcy took the opportunity to study his profile from the corner of her eye. Yep, this guy was seriously good looking. More than that, Rio Kincaid was nice. From what little time she’d spent in conversation with him, he seemed to have a good sense of humor. Hard to beat that combination.
A couple minutes later, he turned into a crowded parking lot.
“Wow. You weren’t kidding about this place being popular.” Every space but three were filled with cars, trucks, and SUVs.
“The burgers here taste like my grandmother used to make, and the fries rival those of the major fast food chains.”
Burger Heaven was competition of sorts. No hamburgers and fries in her restaurant. She hoped Otter Creek would like more food choices. She needed her idea to work. Who knew reinventing herself would test her self-confidence?
Walking into the bustling burger joint, Rio’s hand settled at the small of her back, his touch light. Many people greeted him as they made their way to the counter to order. Amusement curved her lips as more than one pair of female eyes followed the Fortress operative’s progress across the floor.
After placing her order, she found a table at the back corner of the restaurant. Figuring Rio was like her brother, Darcy left the seat against the wall for him. Unlike law enforcement and military, she liked having her back to the crowd.
Rio placed a filled tray on the table and slid onto the bench across from her. “Cheeseburger with fries, soft drink, and strawberry shake, as promised.”
Darcy eyed the food remaining on the tray. He’d ordered twice as much food as she had. “Do you eat like that all the time?”
His laughter caused heads all over the restaurant to turn in their direction.
“Sorry,” she murmured. “I didn’t mean to imply you eat too much. You don’t have an ounce of fat on you.” And she really needed to shut up. She basically admitted she’d been ogling him. She’d been spending way too much time in the company of her piano. How pathetic was that?
Darcy sighed and unwrapped her hamburger. Maybe if she kept her mouth filled she wouldn’t make any more social gaffes. In the end, she needn’t have worried. Rio was popular in Otter Creek and several people stopped by the booth to chat for a minute. He took the time to introduce her to each one. By the time the stream of visitors slowed to a trickle, she’d polished off her meal and finished the strawberry milkshake.
As Rio swallowed the last bite of his meal, he gathered the trash. “Sorry about that.”
“Why were they asking you medical questions? Are you a doctor?”
He shook his head. “Medic. Ready to go?”
“Thank you for bringing me here, Rio. This was fun.”
“I wish I’d had the chance to learn more about your shop and the house.”
She laughed softly. “Don’t worry. If Trent’s gone for long, you’ll learn more than you want about both.” She paused, her foot on the running board of his vehicle. “Would you like to see the house? Mrs. Watson assured me the electricity was on.”
“You have a key?”
“There’s an extra under the welcome mat.”
Rio scowled. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
“Afraid not. After I sign the papers tomorrow, there won’t be a key there.”
“Good. I’d love to see the place.”
“Hope your medical insurance is up to date. You’ll be taking your life in your hands stepping inside.”
“Now you’ve stirred my curiosity.” He rounded the hood and slid behind the wheel. Within a couple minutes, they were driving down Piedmont.
Rio parked in the driveway. “Beautiful place. Good bones.”
“I heard that from the real estate agent.” She didn’t know if she believed either of them. Darcy reached for the door handle.
“Wait.” The medic wrapped his long fingers around her arm, his gaze fixed on the front window of the house.
“What is it?” She turned. What did he see? At first she saw only darkness through the glass. Seconds later, a small circle of light appeared, sweeping from one side of the window to the other.
Her hand tightened on the handle. Someone was inside her house.
CHAPTER FOUR
Rio unlatched his seatbelt. “Wait here.”
A small hand grasped his, grip surprisingly strong. “Where are you going?”
“To have a chat with whoever is in your house.”
“He could have a gun.”
He turned, eyebrow raised. “So do I.”
“Right. What was I thinking?”
Amused at her sarcasm, he tapped the end of her nose. “I’ll be fine. It’s probably kids looking around. This place has quite a reputation in town. It’s supposed to be haunted, you know.”
She grimaced. “Great. So not only do I have mountains of debris to toss, I’ll have to evict the current resident. Is ghost busting part of your muscle service?”
“There’s an extra fee for that.”
“Free meals for a month once my store is open if you’ll get rid of Casper.”
“Deal.” It would give him more opportunities to spend time with the intriguing Darcy St. Claire. Definitely not a hardship. “I’ll return in a bit.”
He slid to the driveway and closed his door with a quiet snick. He’d already disabled the dome light when he purchased the vehicle so the intruder wouldn’t be alerted by an odd light shining through the window.
Rio considered drawing his weapon, decided against it. Staying in the shadows, he stepped to the side of the picture frame window. He frowned. What was blocking his view? Aggravated that he couldn’t see into the house from his position, he went to his next option.
In silence, he climbed the stairs to the porch. As he approached the front door to try the knob, he stepped on a board that gave a loud creak. Inside the house, something crashed.
A quick check of the knob revealed the door was locked. The intruder must have come in from the back door or maybe a window not in view of the street. Rio leaped off the porch, dashed around the side of the house and almost plowed into a fence. He vaulted over the gate. In the backyard, nothing moved.
Was the intruder still in the house? That creak had been loud enough to alert anyone in the place of his presence. A short distance away, something metal crashed. A man shouted, dogs howled and barked.
He ran to the back fence, scrambled over it, and raced down the street in the direction of the ruckus, leaping over the metal trashcan resting on its side. Seconds later, an engine cranked. Tires squealed and a vehicle sped away. Before Rio covered the remaining distance to the intersection so he could catch a glimpse of the vehicle or driver, his quarry was gone.
He retraced his steps to the Victorian house and hopped the fence into the backyard again. Sounded like the intruder had made good on his escape, but he’d have to check in the house to be sure. He started toward the back of the house, paused. Rio didn’t want to leave Darcy in the SUV by herself longer than he already had. Otter Creek was a safe place to live, but there were questionable people anywhere, as evidenced by the escape artist. Trent had left Darcy in his care. He didn’t take that responsibility lightly.
He jogged across the yard, cleared the gate, and circled to the front of the house. Darcy stood beside his SUV, worry clear on her face. Should have known she wouldn’t wait inside the vehicle. He supposed he should be grateful she hadn’t followed him into the backyard or down the street in pursuit of the nighttime disturbance.
Her gaze skimmed over him. Checking for injuries? “Did you see anyone?”
“Nope. I think the intruder got away, though.”
“Is that the racket I heard?”
“That’s my guess. I want to check the house. Do you want to wait out here?”
She just stared at him.
A small smile curved his lips. “That’s what I figured. Anything I should know before we go inside?”
“If we breathe wrong or brush a pile, we’ll be buried alive.”
“Comforting thought.” He walked with her to the porch and pulled up the mat. He unlocked the door. “Light switch?”
“To the right of the door. Do yourself a favor and slide your hand along the wall.”
He blinked. Huh. “That bad?”
“Just wait until you see.”
This ought to be good. Had to admit, he looked forward to seeing the place. Rio opened the door and found the switch. A second later, light blazed in the living room. At least he thought it was the living room.
Rio’s mouth dropped. Good grief. Mountains of clutter littered the room. He couldn’t see the floor at all. “How did you walk around in here today?”
“There’s a path.” She stepped into the entryway beside him. “Whoa. There was a path through here.”
Not anymore. “Avalanche?”
“I guess so.” She frowned. “Could the intruder have caused it?”
“Maybe. It’s also possible some of the stacks shifted and caused the implosion. Holy cow, Darcy. You need a bulldozer in here.”
“Tell me something I don’t know. The rest of the house is the same way. Rio, should we call the police?”
“We need the incident on record.” He eyed the mess in front of him. “Would you know if anything was missing?”
“Not a chance.”
“Didn’t think so.” Rio pulled out his cell phone and called Nick Santana, his unit leader’s brother-in-law. “It’s Rio. I want to report a break in. Are you on duty or Rod?”
“I drew the lucky straw for third shift this month. You at home?”
He gave the Victorian’s address.
“What are you doing there? The house is empty.”
“Not even close, buddy. I’m here with the new owner of the place. We noticed a light going across a darkened window. The intruder escaped out the back.”
“Huh. I’ll be there in a few minutes. Don’t touch anything.”
Rio had to smile. If he touched a million things, Nick would never know. He slid his phone into his pocket. “A detective will arrive soon to take a look.”
“Good luck with that,” Darcy said, disgust evident in her voice.
“Can’t wait to see his face when he gets a look at this.” He bent over and started clearing a path.
“Should we be doing that? The detective won’t want us to mess with the crime scene, right?”
“Nick has to have a way into the place and I don’t want you falling.”
Darcy grabbed a handful of magazines and started a new stack. “I must have been insane to buy this place,” she muttered.
“What caught your interest about the house?” When she didn’t answer right away, Rio glanced over his shoulder. “Darcy?”
“You’ll laugh.”
“Try me.”
“You even crack a smile and I’ll withdraw my offer of free food. Understood?”
“Got it. Tell me your reasoning. It can’t have anything to do with the beauty of the place. It’s an ugly duckling.”
“I want to turn it into a swan, Rio. This place sheltered a family once. It deserves a second chance, a chance to be reinvented.”
He straightened and turned, hands full of women’s magazines. “That’s how you see yourself, isn’t it? You’re reinventing yourself as something other than a concert pianist.”
The tense stance of her body dissipated. She hadn’t anticipated his understanding where she was coming from. From what Rio had seen, Trent didn’t get it. Every time her brother looked at her, Rio saw the questions and reservation in his eyes. That had to hurt, as if her only remaining family didn’t believe in her.
“I can’t sit at home and do nothing. I’ve been working since I was ten years old.”
“Good for you.” Rio admired her grit and determination. Many people would have given up after such a devastating diagnosis.
“You don’t think it’s stupid?”
His thoughts shifted to his cousin, Mason. “No, I don’t.” Maybe someone would give his cousin a second chance once he was released from prison. “It’s going to be an expensive rehab. Did you get a good deal on the place?”
“The price was a lot lower than I anticipated.”
“Good thing. You could have a yard sale every weekend for months to recoup some of the costs.”
She slanted him an amused glance. “As opposed to the bulldozer you suggested a minute ago?”
“What will you do with all this?”
“Donate the clothes to charity, for starters. Is there a bookstore in town?”
“The owner is a friend
of mine. Why?”
“I don’t suppose the bookstore has any use for used books.”
“Actually, Del has a used book section. If she can’t sell them, she’ll donate them to the library or one of the retirement homes.”
Relief flooded Darcy’s face. “I’d love to talk to her about the books.”
“I’ll arrange for you to meet her. You’ll like her. She’s married to my unit commander, Josh Cahill.”
A car door slammed.
“Sounds like Nick’s here.” He strode to the door.
Nick Santana, one of three Otter Creek detectives, crossed the threshold and came to a dead stop, whistled. “I can’t believe this.”
“It’s like this all over the house,” Darcy said. She held out her hand. “Darcy St. Claire. I own this monstrosity.”
“Nick Santana. You are one brave woman to attempt bringing this place back to life.” The dark-haired man with medium build turned to Rio. “Good to see you, Rio.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I doubt I’ll find much. Tell me what happened.”
Rio took him through the events after he parked in the driveway, ending with, “I didn’t get a look at the vehicle or the driver.”
“Not much to go on. Do you know how the intruder got into the house?”
“Front door was locked. I didn’t want to leave Darcy alone any longer, so I didn’t check the back door or windows.”
“You should look at the downstairs bathroom window,” Darcy said.
Both men turned their attention her direction. “Why?” Rio asked.
“Someone was in here this afternoon while I was going through the place and shoved a wall of stuff on me. There was also a muddy footprint in the bathroom.”
Rio frowned. “You should have told me about the intruder. As for the footprint, it hasn’t rained in a week. There’s no telling how long the print has been there.”
“Let’s take a look. Ms. St. Claire, lead the way.”
“Please, it’s Darcy.” She walked between the stacks with Rio at her back and Nick bringing up the rear. As they went from room to room, she turned on lights, revealing more piles of stuff every place they passed.