And it was definitely thrilling to remember that woman.
It was equally thrilling to think about what might come next with Troy. But she was smart enough to realize there might be nothing more to come with him.
And should she even be thinking about opening herself up once again to a man? Blake had hurt her so badly, and her instinct was to guard her heart.
And it wasn’t just about her anymore, it was also about her children. Right now they were happy kids. Did she really want to bring in somebody else who might mess things up?
She turned over on her side and drifted off to sleep. She awakened suddenly, her heart beating frantically and all her nerves on high alert.
She sat up, still a bit groggy, but something had pulled her from her dreams. What was it? An unusually loud house noise? Her eyes adjusted to the dark and she saw nothing amiss. A glance at the clock on the nightstand let her know it was just after two.
Maybe it had just been a nightmare that had suddenly awakened her. That had to be it. She was about to relax back into her pillow when a big dark silhouette moved past her bedroom doorway.
Her stomach clenched and the taste of terror rose up in the back of her mouth. Somebody was in her house. Oh dear God, she needed to get to her children.
On shaky legs, she slid out of the bed and stood. She kept her scream of fear locked deep in the back of her throat. The last thing she wanted was to scare her children or to have a confrontation with whoever had invaded her home in the dead of night. She needed to be as quiet as possible.
What did the person want? Why was he in her house? She was relatively sure it was a male by the height and general size of the silhouette.
Any other thoughts she might have considered vanished beneath the agonizing need for her to make sure Sammy and Katie were safe. She crept to her doorway and peered out. To her right was the stairs, one set going up to the third floor and the other going down to the main level.
Where had he gone? Even though she saw nobody at the moment, her heart still crashed painfully hard against her ribs. She needed to get her children to safety, and this place was no longer safe.
She went directly across the hall to Sammy’s room. She hurried to his bedside and gave his shoulder a little shake. “Sammy, honey...wake up and be very quiet.”
He sat up. “Is it morning?” he whispered.
“No, it’s the middle of the night. We’re going to be as quiet as we can and we’re going next door to Mr. Troy’s house.” She didn’t know when she’d made the plan to get out of her home and into Troy’s, but she hoped they’d all be safe there. Or would they? Maybe it was Troy who had broken in. She immediately dismissed the idea. The silhouette she’d seen had been too tall, too bulky to be Troy’s. She had to believe they’d all be safe at his house. She just wanted to get out of here.
Thank goodness Sammy didn’t ask any questions. He immediately got out of bed and together they went into Katie’s room. She roused her daughter from sleep and together the three of them crept down the stairs.
With each step they took her legs shook and every nerve in her body screamed. What would she do if they met whoever was in the house? She had no weapon, but she’d fight him tooth and nail to assure the safety of her children.
Thankfully they encountered nobody, but that didn’t slow Eliza’s heartbeat or stanch the bitter taste of fear that rose up from the back of her throat.
She had no idea where the man might be. She didn’t even know for sure that he was still in the house, but she wasn’t taking any chances. She’d been so frantic to get to her children she hadn’t even taken time to grab her cell phone on the nightstand next to her bed.
She unlocked her front door and they all stepped outside. The night was hot, but cold chills raced up and down her spine as they left the house and hurried across the lawn to Troy’s place. With a glance back at her house, she knocked on Troy’s door.
It took several hard knocks before he opened the door. His sleepy eyes widened in surprise. “Eliza...”
“Can we come in?” Desperation made her voice higher in tone than normal.
Without a question, he opened the door and ushered them inside. The minute he locked the door behind them she breathed a shuddery sigh of utter relief. “Can you call the police? Somebody is in my house,” she said in a low tone. The last thing she wanted was to frighten Sammy and Katie.
“Done,” he replied. He looked at the children and then back at her. “Make yourself at home and I’ll go make the call.”
He disappeared into what she assumed was the kitchen as she directed her children to the oversize brown leather sofa. Within seconds the two were curled into the corners of the sofa and were sound asleep.
A fierce tremor worked through her, a tremor of relief. And with their assured safety came other thoughts. She should have grabbed a robe. All she had on was a midnight-blue silk nightgown that showed far more skin than she wanted her neighbor or the police to see. At least he’d had on a robe and a pair of long black-and-white-plaid sleep pants.
Jeez, why was she worrying about clothing when there was a man in her house in the middle of the night? What was wrong with her? Had she lost her mind?
What had the man wanted? Why was he there? Had he been there to rob her? Ha, the joke was on him. Other than her computer equipment there was nothing of any real value in the entire house. She’d even sold her wedding ring to a pawnshop when her marriage ended.
Troy walked back into the living room. “The police should be here in just a few minutes.” His voice was low and soft. “Here, take this.” He shrugged out of his robe and handed it to her.
“Thank you,” she said gratefully. She stood and quickly wrapped herself in the navy terry-cloth robe that smelled vaguely like his attractive cologne and a hint of fabric softener.
“I’m sorry about bothering you in the middle of the night, but I was terrified and just wanted to get my children to safety.” She sat back down between the two sleeping kids.
“So, what happened?” He eased down in the recliner chair across from her.
“I was sleeping and something awakened me. I thought it might have been some sort of a house noise. I sat up and waited to see if I’d hear it again...” The back of her throat began to squeeze tight and a new chill swept through her. “And then a man walked past my bedroom doorway.”
Troy leaned forward, his features radiating a hint of alarm. “Did you recognize the man?”
“No, it was too dark. All I saw was a silhouette. Whoever it was, he was tall and a little bit thick in the body. And all I could think about was Sammy and Katie and getting them out of there.” Before she could say anything more, there was a knock on the door.
“That will be the police,” Troy said, and got up to answer. “It must be a slow night for them and they must have been in the area to get here so quickly.”
She jumped up off the sofa and hurried after him. Two police officers stood in the large foyer. She quickly told them about the man in her house and that the front door of her home was unlocked.
They left immediately with the promise that they’d be back after they’d checked things out. “Why don’t we move the kids into one of my guest rooms?” Troy suggested when the officers had left. “You all might as well stay here for the rest of the night.”
“Oh, I can’t impose any more than I already have on you,” she protested. But the idea of not having to go back inside her house in the dark was definitely appealing.
“Nonsense, it’s no trouble at all. Can they sleep together in the same bed?”
“Actually I would prefer it that way.” Sammy would be disoriented when he woke up in a strange bed in an unknown place, but he could always depend on his older sister to navigate the way for him.
If the circumstances were different she’d put Sammy in bed with her, so she could be there for him in t
he morning when he woke up in a strange place. However, there was no way she intended to go to bed now. At the moment she felt as if she might never, ever sleep again.
They walked back into the living room. “If you don’t mind getting Sammy, I can carry Katie,” she said, giving in to his generous offer.
He picked up the sleeping boy in his arms while she got Katie. “What are we doing, Mommy?” Katie asked sleepily.
“We’re spending the night with Mr. Troy.”
“Oh, that’s fun. Did you tell him we like him?” she asked.
“Yes, honey,” Eliza replied. “I told him.”
“That’s good.” Katie closed her eyes and fell back asleep.
Eliza followed Troy up the stairs to an attractive bedroom decorated in shades of blue. With Sammy still in his arms, he managed to pull down the spread and place the sleeping boy on light blue sheets. Eliza did the same with Katie and breathed a sigh of relief that she wasn’t going to have to rouse the children from their sleep again for the rest of the night.
“You can use this room,” he said, and stepped across the hall and turned on the light to reveal another guest room, this one decorated in cheerful shades of yellow.
“Thank you, this is very nice of you,” she replied.
It wasn’t until she was following Troy back down the stairs that she processed the fact that when he’d given her his robe, it had left him bare-chested. She’d been so into her own head she hadn’t noticed it until now.
Just what she needed...to be caught in the middle of the night with a half-naked man who had unexpectedly kissed her only hours before while she waited for the police to tell her if somebody was still in her house. It was all so surreal.
He returned to the recliner while she sat on the edge of the sofa to wait for the police officers to return from her house.
“Would you like something to drink?” he asked. “I imagine you could use a good stiff one right about now.”
“That does sound good, but the last thing I want is for alcohol to be on my breath when the police come back.”
A knock sounded at the door. “Speaking of...” Troy jumped up to answer.
Seconds later he returned with the two officers behind him. Eliza stood. “Did you find anyone?”
“We did a thorough search of the house and didn’t find anyone inside,” the officer with the name badge identifying him as Doug Wilkins said.
“We need to get some information from you,” Officer Gary Dickenson added. He motioned her to sit and then pulled a pad and pen from his pocket.
He asked her some general questions and then asked her exactly what had happened. She explained about something awakening her and then seeing the silhouette pass by her bedroom door.
“So you were asleep right before you saw this figure,” Officer Wilkins said.
“No, I was wide-awake,” she countered.
“But is it possible you were still groggy and the figure might have been part of a dream?” he asked.
“No, that isn’t what happened. I was wide-awake when I saw him.” Tension began to coil in her stomach. Didn’t they believe her?
“We need to have you return to the house with us to see if anything has been stolen,” Officer Dickenson said.
She looked at Troy. “Go ahead,” he said, and offered her an assuring smile. “I’ll stay here with the kids.”
“Do you have any idea who might have come into your house? An ex-husband or boyfriend?” Officer Wilkins asked as they stepped out Troy’s front door. “Is there anyone who might have a key?”
“No, my ex-husband is dead and there is no boyfriend.” She pulled Troy’s robe more tightly around her despite the warmth of the night. “Nobody has a key to the house except me.”
Her house rose up in front of her, suddenly alien and spooky-looking in the moonlight. Would she ever feel safe there again?
“There is somebody who has had a problem with me,” she said suddenly when they reached her front porch. “His name is Leon Whitaker. I backed out of making a web page for him and he’s been harassing me by text and email ever since.”
“What do you mean by harassing?” Officer Wilkins asked.
“He tells me he’s going to ruin my business and destroy my life...things like that. I just thought he was a nuisance, but maybe he’s more dangerous than I thought.”
“Does he know where you live?” Officer Dickenson opened the front door and ushered her inside.
“I don’t think so. I met him at a coffee shop when we initially talked about the project.” A new shiver worked up her spine. Was it possible that he had followed her home from that meeting? Did he know where she lived and now intended to terrorize her in person rather than by email and text? How dangerous was the man?
“Let’s look around and see if anything has been stolen and then we’ll take down any information you have about this Whitaker fellow,” Officer Dickenson said.
It didn’t take long for her to confirm to the officers that nothing had been stolen. She didn’t have much information to give them about Leon, only his name and phone number. She didn’t know his home address.
She grabbed her purse from the kitchen table and then locked the front door behind all of them as they left to return to Troy’s.
“And you’re sure the front door was locked when you and the children went to leave the house?” Officer Wilkins asked.
“Positive, why?” Once again, tension wound tight in her stomach.
“We could find no point of entry for somebody to get inside. All your doors and windows were locked up tight and showed no evidence of any tampering, and there appears to be no sign of an intruder being inside,” Officer Dickenson said. “Are you positively sure you weren’t asleep?”
They didn’t believe her. “I was awake,” she replied firmly. She could swear she was awake when she’d seen the figure go past her doorway.
They reached Troy’s porch and she turned back to look at the two officers. “I’m sorry that I bothered you. Thank you for your prompt response.”
“Don’t apologize. This is our job,” Officer Wilkins replied. “Don’t hesitate to call if anything else comes up,” he added.
She returned to the living room to find Troy seated in the recliner. He stood at the sight of her. “Everything all right?”
“Not really,” she said honestly. She sat on the sofa and he sank back down in the recliner. “There was no point of entry found and nothing had been stolen.”
“Thank goodness for that,” he replied.
“They didn’t believe me, Troy. They think I’m just a foolish, hysterical woman who dreamed I saw somebody and overreacted.”
She shook her head and released a deep sigh of frustration. “All the doors and windows were locked. I don’t know, maybe I really was still asleep. Maybe it was just a strange cast of the moon or the remnants of a dream that made me believe I saw a figure pass my bedroom doorway.”
She’d been so sure of what she’d seen until the police had told her there was no sign of any point of entry. Had she been asleep? If she hadn’t been, then a man had somehow gotten into her house in the dark of night. How had he gotten in? What had he been doing there?
And more importantly, what had he wanted and would he be back?
* * *
TROY DIDN’T KNOW Eliza very well, but even a stranger would be able to see the stress that tightened her delicate features and the residue of fear that darkened her eyes. “Pick your poison,” he said, and stood. “I’ve got scotch and whiskey and both red and white wine.”
“Normally I’d say a glass of white wine, but I think tonight calls for a little something stronger. A scotch on the rocks?”
“Ah, a woman after my own heart. I’ll be right back.” He left the living room and entered his kitchen. His liquor was kept in a cabinet next to the sink and he ben
t down and grabbed the bottle of scotch.
There had been a time two and a half years ago when scotch had become too much of a familiar friend to him. He’d tried to drown his bad memories and pain in nights of boozing. But when he realized there was no peace, no forgiveness in the bottom of a bottle, he’d stopped the bad habit. He only drank occasionally now.
As he worked to make the drinks, he tried to ignore the slow burn in the pit of his belly. It was a burn ignited by the vision of Eliza with her gorgeous hair loose around her shoulders and wearing his robe. She’d looked sexy in her nightgown, but something about his robe around her was even sexier. He’d never been jealous of a robe before.
With the drinks in hand, he returned to the living room. He handed one to her and carried the second one back to the recliner.
“I need to apologize once again for disrupting your night,” she said.
She appeared so charmingly earnest. “Please stop,” he replied. “Besides, this is what good neighbors do for each other.”
It had to be well after three in the morning, but he was wide-awake and she didn’t look a bit sleepy either. He took a drink and then asked, “Tell me about your marriage...about what happened to it.”
Jeez, what was he doing? Why did he want to know everything he could learn about her? Why did he want to know about her past and about what made her laugh and what made her cry? She wasn’t a woman to be toyed with, especially since she had two small children.
These things shot through his head in the blink of an eye, and then were overridden by a saner voice reminding him that he’d just asked her a simple question. He hadn’t suggested they jump into his bed together.
Besides, talking about that might help take her mind off the scare she’d just had. He was actually doing her a favor.
She took a drink and then released a deep sigh. “I met Blake at a friend’s birthday party. He was attractive and funny and he spent the next six weeks sweeping me off my feet and within three months we were married.” A frown danced between her neatly shaped eyebrows. “I probably wouldn’t have married him so quickly if I hadn’t been grieving over my parents’ deaths. They were killed in a car accident two months before I met Blake.”
Desperate Intentions (HQR Intrigue) Page 5