“Okay,” she agreed, and allowed him to usher her inside.
“All’s been quiet,” Beverly said as they walked in.
“Good. I’m going to show Mariah around,” Jack said to his receptionist. A dozen women had applied for the job and the best decision Jack had ever made was hiring Beverly. She was efficient and loyal and told him he reminded her of her son.
“I’ve got three examining rooms,” he said as he led Mariah into the inner sanctum of the office. “But this is what I’m most proud of.” He opened a door that led to the operating room. “All the equipment is state-of-the-art.”
She gazed around the room with its steel table and overhead lights. “It looks like a real operating room, I mean one for people.”
He smiled. “Most of my clients think their pets are little furry people.” He led her through the operating room into his main office.
It was a pleasant room painted in pale yellow with an oak desk, a matching bookshelf and pictures of animals that some of his smallest clients had drawn for him.
“I spend a lot of time in here,” he said, watching her as she went from picture to picture, a smile of delight on her features.
“It’s a nice room, so cheerful and bright,” she replied.
He took her by the arm and led her to the window and pointed at the small ranch house directly behind the clinic. “That’s my place. It’s small. It was always meant to be a temporary home, but so far I haven’t made the move to a bigger place.”
The smell of her made him half dizzy, a smell of exotic flowers in bloom, a sweet feminine scent that aroused him. She turned away from the window and into his arms. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she didn’t move away.
“I know a great big farmhouse that’s going to be on the market soon,” she said.
He heard the slight breathlessness in her voice and he wanted her next breath to be with his mouth against hers. He leaned forward and took her lips with his, pleased when she opened her mouth to him.
The ache that rose up inside him nearly took him to his knees as their tongues battled and he wrapped her in his arms. She fit perfectly, her breasts against his chest and her lean hips jutting forward into his groin.
He wanted her here and now. He wanted to take her clothes off, taste her skin and lay her back over the desk and make love to her until nightfall.
It was she who broke the kiss, taking a half step back from him, her eyes glowing darkly. “I think we’d better stop,” she said, her voice shaky and thin. “You have a client who’s arriving anytime.”
“Ah, I hate it when nasty reality intrudes on my fantasy.”
She tilted her head to one side in the fashion he found so charming. “I’m just an ordinary woman trying to deal with real life, not a fantasy.”
“Okay, if you say so,” he replied, and reluctantly dropped his arms from around her. “But I have to indulge myself just a little before you go.”
Once again her eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
“For almost an entire year I sat behind you in English. Every time you’d turn your head, I’d watch the sun play in your hair and my fingers would itch and burn with the need to reach out and touch it. May I?” He pointed to the clasp at the nape of her neck.
The pulse at the base of her throat throbbed and he wanted nothing more than to press his lips there and feel the pounding of her blood.
Instead he reached behind her and removed the clasp from her hair. The dark strands spilled free and into his hands. Just as he’d imagined all those years ago, it was silky to the touch. “I’ve waited almost sixteen years to do that,” he said as he handed her back her clasp.
She took the clasp and quickly refastened it in her hair. “I don’t quite know what to say.”
He smiled. “You don’t have to say anything. I was just a nerdy kid half-crazy for the girl who sat in front of me.”
“But you aren’t that nerdy kid anymore and I’m not the same girl I was then,” she reminded him as she took another step away.
“You’re right,” he agreed. “But the minute you and Kelsey rushed in here carrying Tiny, I wanted to know you better, to see how life had treated you and if you were happy. I still want to know you better.” He grinned. “So, when can we get together again? I still owe Kelsey a home-cooked meal at my place.”
“How about Sunday afternoon?” she said.
“Perfect, just name the time.”
“Around one? You don’t have to walk me out,” she said as she headed toward the door.
“I’ll call you,” he replied, and with a nod she was gone.
Jack moved to his desk and sat, his head filled with her. As he thought of the kiss they’d shared, his blood pounded inside his veins.
There was no question that his initial interest in her had been to assuage an old crush that had roared back to life at the sight of her. But each moment that he spent with her created a new desire for her, a desire that was very much that of a grown man and not a hormonally charged teenager.
His cell phone rang and as he looked at the clock on his desk, a sense of déjà vu swept through him. Exactly two thirty.
“Hello?” he answered.
No reply, although he could tell it wasn’t a dead line, could sense somebody’s presence on the other end. “Hello?” he repeated.
Still no answer. He pressed the receiver closer to his ear, a sick dread twisting in his stomach. The pregnant silence continued. Finally he spoke again. “Rebecca?” he said softly.
There was an audible click and the caller hung up.
The caller ID read ANONYMOUS and as he closed his phone, a sense of disaster filled him. If it was Rebecca reaching out to him once again, then he could be sure that destruction and chaos would be right behind her.
Maybe it wasn’t her, he thought. Maybe it was a wrong number or some strange glitch in the cell phone system. But he knew better.
Two thirty had always been phone time for him and Rebecca. She got out of her nursing classes at two and by two thirty was home and would call him at his office. He’d schedule his clients so that unless an emergency came up, he was free from two thirty to three to talk with his wife.
He leaned back in the chair and rubbed a hand across his eyes as a deep weariness filled him. He should have known better than to believe the madness was finally behind him.
As a buzzer sounded softly from the intercom, he stood up to go to his next appointment, but he couldn’t quite shake the feeling of impending doom.
Chapter 13
Mariah was reluctant to drive home after lunch, since she’d just have to turn around and come back to get Kelsey from the pool. She had two hours to kill and decided to check out some of the stores in town.
Maybe she’d buy a new outfit to wear to Jack’s on Sunday. A shiver of delight filtered through her as she thought of the kiss they had shared. Hot and hungry, his lips had taken command of hers and her visceral response had been both surprising and immediate.
She pulled into a parking space in front of the store called Chic Boutique and cut the engine. She was going to sleep with Jack. The minute he’d kissed her, she’d known that before she left Plains Point, she was going to be in his bed.
The realization of her own intentions shot an eager anticipation through her, but also a curious sense of rightness.
Oh, she had no illusions about any kind of long-term relationship with him. This trip to Plains Point was temporary and Jack’s place in her life could only be the same.
Maybe he was supposed to be a transitional man. Kelsey was old enough now that Mariah felt as if it was time to come into her own. It was time for her to decide what she wanted from life, whether she wanted to spend the rest of her life alone or whether she would like to share it with somebody special.
Recognizing that she was overanalyzing, she got out of the car and headed for the store, looking forward to losing herself in the simple pleasure of shopping.
With a chatty saleslady and racks of c
ool clothes, it was easy to spend almost two hours. She tried on dozens of things and finally settled on a pretty pastel-colored floral skirt and a blouse in buttercup yellow. It would be perfect for a Sunday dinner.
She paid for her purchase, then headed for the pool to pick up Kelsey. Kelsey wasn’t waiting out front as she usually was, but a glance at Mariah’s watch let her know she was a little bit early.
Instead of going directly to the pool area, she walked to the gazebo where Clay Matheson had once made her young heart sing. She stood in the center of the structure, the memories from that night so long ago dancing in her head. That night the air had smelled of the roses that were planted around the gazebo.
She and Clay had been so focused on each other. Had they not noticed somebody lurking in the shadows of the night, watching them as they shared a kiss, listening as they spoke their words of love? Had that person then followed her as she left, silently stalking her until she was in those trees alone and vulnerable?
An icy chill walked up her spine and she quickly left the gazebo and hurried toward the pool. The sounds of laughter and splashing water filled the air, along with the scent of chlorine and hot pavement.
A five-foot-high fence surrounded the pool and Mariah peeked over the top to look for her daughter. She spied Kelsey immediately. Seated at an umbrella table surrounded by half a dozen boys and girls, Kelsey had thrown back her head and Mariah could hear the sound of her laughter.
A swell of intense love filled Mariah’s heart. Was there anything as wonderful as the sound of your child’s laughter? She wished a lifetime of laughter for Kelsey.
As she watched her daughter, a sudden, inexplicable fear gripped her, the fear that somehow Kelsey would discover the truth about her conception, that all the lies Mariah had told to protect her daughter would be turned into a weapon that would destroy their loving relationship.
She thought of the person she’d seen in the shadows of the trees in front of the house and the creepy feeling she’d gotten of being watched and a presentiment of her life exploding apart nearly brought her to her knees.
What she wanted to do more than anything else was pack up their bags and leave Plains Point tonight, right now. The panic seared up the back of her throat and she feared she was going to throw up.
At that moment Kelsey saw her and waved. Her bright smile instantly dispelled the attack that had seized Mariah. As Kelsey gathered up her things to leave, Mariah calmed and by the time Kelsey joined her at the car, she felt almost normal again.
Kelsey kept up a steady stream of chatter as they drove home. “Katie wants me to sleep over tomorrow night at her house. Can I?”
“Only if I talk to Katie’s mother. You’d have to come home fairly early on Sunday because we have a lunch date. Jack has invited us to his place around one so he can cook a meal for you.”
“That’s cool, but didn’t he say he wasn’t much of a cook?”
Mariah smiled and turned into the long driveway of their house. “My guess is it will either be takeout or something very easy like burgers.” Her smile fell as she pulled in front of the house.
“Oh my God,” Kelsey exclaimed. “What’s that?”
Spray-painted across the front door, bold red letters read GO HOME. Mariah stared at the letters. The paint had run and the impression was of dripping blood, making the whole thing that much more horrifying.
Kelsey started to open her car door, but Mariah reached across and grabbed her arm. “Don’t get out.” She released Kelsey and fumbled in her purse for her cell phone. “I’m calling Clay.”
She punched in the number for the sheriff’s department and connected to her old friend, who promised to be out in the next fifteen minutes.
Kelsey stared at her with big eyes. “Do you think somebody is inside the house?”
“I don’t know, but we’re not about to take a chance. We’ll just sit tight until Clay gets here to check things out.”
Kelsey looked back at the house. “Why would somebody do that to us? That’s so creepy.”
“I don’t know, honey. I can’t imagine.” Mariah thought of those moments at the pool, when she’d been nearly overwhelmed by a sense of foreboding.
GO HOME.
Who would want her to leave? Who had wanted to deliver the message that she wasn’t welcome in this town? And why do it this way? It was so ugly.
She was somewhat relieved when Clay showed up. He got out of his car, a deep frown etched across his forehead as he hitched up his pants with his thumbs.
“Looks like somebody isn’t happy with you,” he said as he gazed at the house. “You been inside to see if there’s any other damage?”
Mariah shook her head. “We waited for you.”
“Smart thinking. I’ll just go in and check things out.”
Mariah handed him her house key and watched as he climbed the porch, then pulled his gun with one hand as he unlocked the door with the other.
The gun made it all that much more real. Kelsey moved closer to her side and Mariah put her arm around her daughter’s shoulder, wanting to comfort her even though Mariah had little comfort to give. She couldn’t offer her daughter warmth, for there was nothing but coldness inside Mariah.
Who? Who would do such a thing? Joel. Had he been more upset than he’d let on when he’d left that morning? Was it possible he decided to give her a little payback for some imagined slight?
Clay appeared in the doorway, his gun once again in his holster. “You can come in. Everything looks fine.”
Mariah and Kelsey climbed the porch stairs and once inside, Kelsey ran up the stairs to her bedroom to check on Tiny, while Clay and Mariah went to the kitchen.
“It looks like kids’ work,” Clay said. “Maybe your daughter has pissed off some girl? Gone after somebody’s boyfriend?”
Mariah shook her head. “Kelsey’s not like that. She doesn’t even date.”
“That doesn’t mean she hasn’t made somebody nervous. She’s a gorgeous kid. I’m sure all the girls are feeling the heat of competition.” He leaned back in the chair and eyed her curiously. “Unless you’ve managed to piss somebody off since you’ve been in town.”
“Joel Clarkson and I had a little tiff this morning,” she admitted.
Clay straightened. “About what?”
“He showed up to do some work for me with a hangover. He was surly, we had some unpleasant words and so I sent him home. I don’t think he was happy about losing a day’s pay.”
Once again Clay frowned. “This just doesn’t feel like something Joel would do. Oh, he’s an alcoholic and can’t hold a real job, but I’ve never known him to do something malicious or mean.”
“The only other person who might be anxious for me to go back to Chicago is your wife,” Mariah said.
Clay’s face reddened. “Jeez, Mariah. I gotta tell you, this isn’t Sherri’s style. Sherri’s in-your-face, not something like this. I still think this feels like a kid. I’ll check around with some of the teenagers and I’ll talk to Joel, but I don’t think you need to be worried too much about this. It’s a pain in the ass and it’s going to take a couple of coats of paint to cover, but I don’t want you losing sleep over this.”
“Easy for you to say,” she said, and offered him a small smile.
He got up from the table. “I’ll do my best to find out who’s responsible, but to be honest, I doubt I’ll have any answers for you.”
“I understand. I just appreciate you getting out here so fast for the second time.” She walked with him to the front door. “I feel like I’m suddenly a high-maintenance newcomer in town.”
“Don’t be silly.” He offered her a warm smile, one reminiscent of the boy he’d once been. “High maintenance is old Mrs. Silvers on Main Street. She calls every couple of days to make me come out to her house and get the aliens out of her attic.”
“I’m relatively certain I don’t have aliens in the attic,” she said with a small laugh. “You’ll call me if you find out an
ything?”
“Of course.”
The minute Clay had left, Mariah went upstairs to Kelsey’s room. The girl was on the bed, Tiny lying next to her. “You okay?” Mariah walked over and sat on the edge of the mattress.
“Yeah, just kind of creeped out.”
“It’s just a little spray paint,” Mariah said. “Anybody giving you trouble? Any of the kids you’ve met?”
Kelsey sat up. “You think one of the kids I’ve been hanging around with did it?”
“Honey, I’m not sure what to think. Clay seemed to believe it might be the work of a teenager. He thinks maybe one of the girls in town is threatened by you. You know you’re far prettier than any of the girls here.”
Kelsey grinned. “You wouldn’t be the slightest bit prejudiced, would you?”
“Who, me?” Mariah gave her a mock look of innocence. “Look, don’t worry about it. It was just a bit of spray paint, nothing to be scared about. All it means is that tomorrow you and I have dates with a couple of paintbrushes.”
“I can live with that,” Kelsey agreed.
Mariah got up from the bed. “Why don’t you come on downstairs and I’ll fix us some supper? I’ve got a frozen pizza that has our name on it. I’ll even throw together a salad to go with it.”
“Okay.” Kelsey picked up Tiny and together mother, daughter and pooch went downstairs. When they reached the kitchen, Kelsey sat at the table while Mariah pulled the pizza from the freezer.
“You know that boy I told you about? Ryan Kent? The one who told me his dad hated Grandpa?” she said.
Mariah set the oven temperature, then turned to look at her. “What about him?”
“He wasn’t at the pool today. You don’t think he spray-painted the house, do you?”
“I don’t know. Has he been mean to you?”
“No, not at all.” Kelsey stared down at the table, looking miserable. “I hope he didn’t do it,” she said, a note of desperation in her voice.
Mariah stared at her daughter. “You like him?”
Broken Pieces Page 12