“Okay.” Her hands were shaking. “Okay, but I need a little time. Bringing all this craziness back …” Macie closed her eyes. “I need to think.”
“I understand,” Rylan responded.
Macie could tell he was disappointed. She stood and her eyes flickered over the landscape, unfocused. The air closed in around her.
Rylan touched her arm. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry about Karen. I didn’t get to tell you before.”
“No, you didn’t.” Macie stood and walked away without looking back.
Chapter 5
Rylan watched Macie stride away. Her posture was rigid and the tips of her red hair bounced. He kept his eyes on her until she passed out of sight.
Rylan leaned over his knees, breathed in deep, and straightened back up. It was done. He’d managed to get Macie to listen to him. What she would do now was anyone’s guess. She might go straight to the police, or he might never hear from her again. He hoped it was neither and that her curiosity would override her aversion.
With or without her, he was determined to find out why Karen had placed that computer in his apartment. He got to his feet and retreated down the promenade. The cloudless blue sky and perfect temperature didn’t penetrate his thoughts.
Rylan kicked a stone off the path. He’d considered many tactics to reach Macie. He knew where to find her. That wasn’t the problem. Getting her to listen. Getting her to cooperate. Those were the problems. Karen had told him more than once Macie had a stubborn streak. Macie’s initial reaction to him proved Karen hadn’t exaggerated.
At the edge of the pond, ducks quacked and entered the water. Rylan leaned against a rock and watched their progress as they left gentle ripples in their wake. A turtle ambled through the grass at the edge of the bank. The serenity brought a moment’s respite to him before recollection, doubt, and worry swept it away again.
Rylan had wanted to get in touch with Macie for so long, but he’d stayed away, knowing he was a painful reminder of Karen’s death. He wished it weren’t so, but wishing didn’t change it. Finding the computer gave him the impetus to contact her.
When Karen first introduced them, he’d been shocked to feel an instant attraction to Macie. She was so very like Karen, but more. More everything. Her hair was a deeper red, her body more lush, and her laugh more vibrant. Where Karen was pastel, Macie was technicolor.
He liked Karen. He truly did. But it was clear they weren’t meant to be. They were both trying—too hard—to make it work between them.
Rylan pondered his options at the time, but what was the etiquette for moving from one sister to another? Before he’d even considered taking any action at all, Karen was dead and it was a moot point.
All this time, he still hadn’t met anyone who captured his interest as Macie had. He’d see a redhead in the crowd and hurry his pace, but it was never her. His fixation served only to tell him that his interest in Macie hadn’t waned and not just any redhead would do. It had to be Macie, with her sweet smelling skin and a hint of curl in her hair.
He dated other women, but none seemed quite right. Somehow, he knew Macie was the perfect fit.
~ * ~ * ~
Macie stepped off the curb then jumped back as a car accelerated through the yellow. Crazy drivers.
Rylan had Karen’s laptop. He’d had it all this time. She wasn’t sure about his story, but if he’d had it all along, why tell her now?
If she chose to believe Rylan, that left Karen placing the laptop in the chest as the only plausible explanation. Why would she do that? Why would she hide her own laptop? The only reason Macie could think of was to protect something on it. Something that Karen planned to retrieve later. That was one more strike against the random intruder theory.
Pedestrians filled the crosswalk and Macie jostled along with the bustling mass. She moved out of the stream, stopping in front of a jewelry display window.
If Karen had been concerned, wouldn’t she have shared that concern with Macie? They told each other everything, even the silly minutia of their lives. They’d always been like that.
Macie wished Karen had trusted her. Maybe it wasn’t a matter of trust. If her sister had been cautious enough to stash her laptop, she might have thought telling Macie would put her at risk. That made the most sense. Karen was a protector—always standing up for those she cared about.
Macie jerked away from the window, her heart aching.
Chapter 6
Macie’s steps slowed as she trudged toward Rylan’s door. She didn’t want to see Rylan, but she had to know, and that had gotten her on the phone to set up a meeting. She knocked twice and laced her fingers in front of her.
Rylan’s door swung open and he leaned on the jamb. Macie moved past him, brushing against his arm. Her skin tingled with awareness where they touched. Rylan stepped back away from her, and the prick of disappointment she experienced was disconcerting.
“I’m sorry,” Macie said. The meeting was awkward enough without adding anything else into the mix. This wasn’t normal. It wasn’t a social occasion. She needed to keep that at the front of her mind.
Rylan gestured for her to come inside.
Macie hesitated before stepping further into the foyer. “I’ve been thinking about what Karen might have used as a password. She was pretty conscious of security. I don’t think it will be something simple.”
Rylan shut the door. “You’re probably right.”
Expansive windows let in the light and the river views. The spacious room was sparsely furnished with light wood pieces that were modern in design. A large, overstuffed couch took up an entire wall.
The laptop sat on the dining table, powered up. Macie approached it as if it were a viper. “She might have used something we’ll never get, like the first letters of a poem.”
“Would you ever stop trying?” Rylan challenged.
“No. Never.” If Karen’s laptop could tell them anything, Macie would never give up.
“If necessary, at some point we can take it to an expert.” Rylan reached for Macie’s jacket, but she tossed it over the arm of the couch.
Macie slid in the chair in front of the computer. “Yes.” She placed her hands on the keyboard, hesitating, before she tried a few entries.
Rylan joined her at the table with paper and pen. “We should probably make note of what we try.”
“Yeah. Okay,” Macie agreed. “I tried Franklin and Maple, streets where we grew up.”
“Did you try them both together?”
Macie typed carefully, first one combination then the other. She shook her head. “I tried Muffy, our cat, and Toodles, the dog.”
“You named your dog Toodles?” Rylan cracked a smile.
“Toy poodle.” Macie loved that dog so, from her soft curling fur to the affectionate licks she dispensed.
“What kind of cat?” Rylan asked.
“What kind?” Macie thought back. “Muffy was a Siamese cat. A black one.”
Rylan jotted down combinations of the animals’ names and breeds, and Macie entered them without any response from the computer beyond the wrong password message.
“Childhood friends?” Rylan suggested.
“That’s an endless list.” Macie took the pen and wrote down a half dozen names.
“Schools? Cars?” Rylan grasped for any idea.
Macie added more entries to the paper and tossed the pen down. She tried various combinations without success. Macie added words and tested them for over an hour before slapping her hand on the table.
“Aaarggh. This is so frustrating. It could be anything. It could be completely random.” Macie stood and paced the room.
“Hey, it’s okay. Just relax. We haven’t been at this that long.” Rylan reached for her shoulder but let his hand drop away without touching her
“We shared a lot but we never shared stuff like this. Why would we? I never needed to know her computer password.” Macie tried to tamp down her frustration. It wasn’t helping that Rylan wa
s so close. When he leaned over her, she smelled the soap on his skin. She felt the heat radiating off of him. She refused to acknowledge the tingle of awareness that sensitized her skin.
Rylan sat on the arm of the sofa. “Tell me about the cat.”
“You’re trying to distract me.” Macie stretched her neck from side to side.
“Yeah. Still. Tell me about the cat,” Rylan persisted. He flipped on the side table lamp.
“Muffy? Sleek and black as night. Her fur was smooth and silky. I loved to pet her. She was so regal. Those eyes. She looked at you with disdain. She was like a queen. In fact … wait a minute.” Macie hastened toward the table.
“What?” Rylan jerked to his feet.
“Her name wasn’t Muffy. It was something else. Karen called her something else but we shortened it.” Macie sat, her fingers poised over the keyboard.
“The cat was Karen’s?” Rylan moved to look over Macie’s shoulder.
“Yeah, more than it was mine. She chose a cat. I chose a dog.” Macie rubbed her temples. “Muffington. That was it. Muffington the Third.” Macie entered a few combinations and whooped when the screen revealed the desktop.
“What was it?” Rylan asked.
“Muffington3.” Macie jumped out of the chair, bouncing with excitement. She threw her arms around Rylan.
Rylan caught Macie and kissed her. Her breasts flattened against his chest as her lips parted, allowing his tongue to slide inside. His palms gripped her round bottom and pulled her closer. An unnerving sizzle settled in her belly.
Macie shivered, her whole body vibrating with pleasure. Suddenly, Rylan’s arms released her and an embarrassed flush colored her skin.
“I—” Macie bit her lip.
Rylan held up a finger. “You don’t have to say anything. I’m sorry that got of hand. We were both excited. About the computer, I mean.”
“Yes. Right.” Macie couldn’t meet his eyes.
Rylan took a step back. “We should look at what’s on the machine.”
Macie scanned the desktop and started opening files. She cursed her body’s betrayal. Why did it have to be him? She wasn’t appreciating fate’s cruel joke.
Rylan touched Macie’s arm. “I don’t think Karen would be mad.”
“What? What do you mean?” Macie wanted to pretend she didn’t know what he alluded to. It was more comfortable—much more comfortable than admitting to the sexual chemistry between them.
“About us,” Rylan stated.
“There is no us,” Macie corrected.
“There could be.” Rylan let the possibility hang in the air.
Macie waved her hand as if to sweep his words away. “No.”
“Macie, I know you feel it, too. It’s not just about working toward a goal. It’s something more and you know it.”
“Rylan, you know we can’t go there.” Macie held up her palm as if physically pushed away the prospect.
“Why not? If Karen had lived, we would have been broken up ages ago. There would be no reason.”
Macie couldn’t dismiss the complications so easily. “I don’t date my sister’s old boyfriends.” It wasn’t as simple as that, but it was reason enough.
“Boyfriend overstates what we had and you know it. We dated. For a few weeks. We didn’t even …” He trailed off, shaking his head.
“You didn’t even what?” Macie asked.
“We never slept together.” His foot rubbed the deep pile of the area rug.
“Never?” While Karen shared with Macie, she never went into intimate details. Macie wasn’t sure she wanted Rylan to remove any of the barriers between them.
“No. We liked each other. A lot. I’m not going to deny it. We talked about it. We hoped the attraction would grow, but it didn’t.”
“You kissed her.” Macie knew it was true without asking, but she wanted to hear him admit it.
“Yes, I kissed her,” Rylan confirmed.
Macie turned away. She didn’t know how to resolve her confusion.
“Macie, I know Karen is between us, but it doesn’t have to be that way.” His fingers gripped the back of the dining chair until his knuckles turned white.
“Rylan—” The rejection was in her voice.
“Think about it. Don’t shut out the possibility. You know something is there. I haven’t found that so often that I’m willing to throw it away without even seeing where it might go.”
Macie nodded.
~ * ~ * ~
Macie glanced at the clock. The minutes passed with agonizing slowness. She couldn’t focus her mind on anything except the idea of Karen’s computer. She and Rylan looked for hours but found nothing unusual.
When her agitation finally got the best of her, Macie poked her head into her boss’s office. “Sir? I’m not feeling well. I need to go home early.”
He frowned. “All right. I hope to see you in the morning.”
Macie didn’t offer any further explanation, just grabbed her things and left. It wasn’t long before she was back in her apartment, debating a shower. She paced the living room, grimy and out of sorts.
Macie pulled her phone from her purse and saw a white paper inside her bag. For a moment, she thought it was one of the receipts she habitually stuffed inside, but the paper was thicker and neatly folded.
Her forehead creased as she picked it up and opened it. Handwritten block letters in black pen stood out starkly against the bleached white paper.
Nothing will bring your sister back.
Don’t make the same mistake.
Fear stabbed Macie’s heart and her breath hitched. Her questions had come to someone’s attention. Maybe they even knew about Karen’s computer. How could they know? How could anyone know? Her eyes traced the letters of the note again and her shoulder blades itched. The little that she and Rylan had done was making someone nervous.
On the heels of that came the realization that someone had been close enough to harm her. She had no idea when the note had been left. Macie wasn’t in the habit of leaving her purse unattended.
Had someone unzipped it while she was in the copy room at work? Had someone followed her on the train?
Macie’s sense of unease grew until she placed the note in a plastic bag and put it out of sight.
~ * ~ * ~
The next morning, Macie searched the area around her desk at work, looking for any sign someone had been there, but she saw nothing awry. She poked her head over the wall into the next office cube. “Good morning, Susan. Did you see anyone at my desk yesterday?”
“I haven’t finished my coffee, so I’m feeling fuzzy. Let me think.”
Sympathy rose within Macie as she studied Susan’s bleary eyes and pale skin. “Late night?”
“You have no idea.” Susan rubbed her forehead with her fingertips. “My boss was in meetings most of the day yesterday. My hand still aches from taking notes. Why do you ask?”
“Something’s missing from my desk,” Macie said. It was the first excuse she thought of that made sense.
Susan straightened her seat. “Stolen?”
“Oh, no. Borrowed, I think. My three-hole punch,” Macie said.
“You can borrow mine if you need it,” Susan offered.
“Thanks. I don’t need it right now, I’m just wondering how it wandered off.”
Macie hadn’t thought it would be easy, but she was still disappointed. There wouldn’t have been many opportunities for someone to get into her purse. Thinking of the note caused a little shiver of fear.
For now, she’d hang onto it. She’d hand it over to the police along with the laptop if, or when, they found something of interest.
Chapter 7
Macie raised her hand to knock, but the door opened before she had the chance. Rylan stood there in a rumpled blue shirt, looking tired and scruffy. He hadn’t shaved and his hair spiked up in places as if he’d been running his fingers through it.
She followed him inside. “Have you found anything?”
&nb
sp; “Not exactly, but I discovered something odd. There are files in a hidden folder.” Rylan pointed at the computer.
“What was in them?” Macie asked.
Rylan rubbed the back of his neck with jerky fingers. “I don’t know yet. They’re password protected.”
Macie sighed. “That again?” She hung her purse on the back of a chair.
Rylan rolled up he sleeves and sat at the computer. “We got through before. We’ll get through again. I already tried everything we tried before on the list.”
“How many files are there?” Her mind shuffled through the possibilities.
“Seven.” Rylan pointed to the screen with his finger
Macie moved so she could view the computer. “I think Karen would have made it easy so she could remember with that many files.”
Rylan’s hands were poised over the keyboard. “Okay, so like the days of the week?”
“Maybe. That isn’t a bad idea.” Macie followed his fingers as he typed, watching the play of the tendons under the skin.
Rylan tried to open the files to no avail.
“Colors of the rainbow?” Macie suggested. She smelled his aftershave—a distracting mix of spicy musk that made her want to move closer.
“Good old Roy G. Biv, huh? Okay.” Again, he wasn’t successful.
Macie tapped her fingers on the table. “Seven deadly sins?”
“So … sloth, lust, greed, envy, pride. What else?” Rylan prompted.
“Wrath and gluttony.” Ugh. Macie didn’t want to think of how many applied to her, though right now, lust seemed to be her biggest problem.
Rylan’s fingers flew over the keys. “No go.”
“Seven wonders of the world?” Macie tapped her forehead, bidding inspiration to strike.
Rylan laughed. “Who knew there were so many things grouped by seven?”
“We might not even be on the right track.” Macie’s hand clenched in momentary frustration.
“Maybe not,” Rylan agreed.
“Seven dwarfs?” Macie proposed. Karen’s interests had been so varied, nothing jumped out to Macie.
Wish of the Heart (Fountain of Love) (Contemporary Romantic Suspense): Fountain of Love Page 3