She swallowed and did her best to ignore the flip-flop of her heart. She smiled. “I am too.” I think. No way was she going to tell him the reason she chose to stay.
Steve smiled back, then stepped out of the dig site. “I’ve got to go. I’ll call you later. Okay?”
“Sure. See you later.”
He walked toward the gated exit and Riley met Lizzie’s gaze. The woman lifted a hand in a salute and Riley shook her head. But she couldn’t help sending Lizzie a thumbs-up. She was pretty sure she heard a snicker in response. Riley clamped her lips together to hold back her smile and stuck the shovel in the dirt again.
Katie stood back, hands on her hips, and stared at her kitchen. “I’d say that’s an improvement.” She swiped an arm across her forehead, then reached for her water bottle. In six hours, she, Daniel, Charlie, Wade, Olivia, and two friends Charlie had talked into helping had completely transformed the room. Haley had come in to help with cleanup. “Impressive. You guys are amazing. I can’t thank you enough for helping put this together.”
Daniel had done more blueprint reading and offering instructions than actual physical work, and Katie had arranged it that way on purpose. She wasn’t going to let his stubbornness cause him to have a setback with his head injury.
And she was satisfied with the results. They made a good team. The stainless steel appliances gleamed under the new fluorescent light. Her new stools sat tucked under the bar, and the dining area held her most recent online purchase—the square table that would seat eight comfortably. She smoothed a hand over the stove that was still warm from its test run. “Now, I just have to learn to cook.”
Charlie shook his head. “You and Olivia are two of a kind.”
“Hey,” Olivia said, “I’ve learned how to do a few dishes.”
“That’s true. Popping a can of tuna does take some special skill.”
She punched her brother in the arm and Katie laughed. “I can do a little better than that,” Olivia said.
Katie shook her head. “So now that I have this beautiful new kitchen, dinner is on me at Cantina’s.” She looked at Daniel. “But not tonight. When all of this is over. Deal?”
“Deal.”
Daniel and Wade walked to the sunporch and Katie wondered what they were talking about. Before she could go be nosy, Olivia slipped up beside her. “It’s nice, Katie.”
“Yeah.”
“Good idea getting Daniel to help you out. It kept him in one place and didn’t give anyone a chance to get at him.”
Katie let out a short laugh. “Well, I’d like to take credit for that, but he volunteered. Said he needed something to keep his mind off of everything and I was happy to have his help. How’s Riley?”
“Lizzie said it’s been quiet. Riley’s a great kid and easy to look out for.” Olivia’s phone buzzed and she glanced at the screen. “It’s a text from Maddy.” She pressed the button to pull up the message. “She says Quinn’s had a pretty good day, even though he’s being his usual temperamental self.”
“Good, glad he’s feeling all right.”
A slight smile curved Olivia’s lips. “Yes, it sounds like it.” Another buzz. “She also says that the second set of X-rays they did are consistent with the first ones. They look good and his legs should heal well. They were broken below the knee and he’s got some serious tissue and muscle damage. He’s looking at a couple of months’ recovery, but they’re saying that when he walks again, he’ll be considered a ‘walking miracle.’”
“Cute. His birthday is eight weeks away, you know.”
“No, I didn’t.” Olivia looked up from her phone. “Are you thinking of doing something special for him?”
“Something.”
“Count Wade and me in.”
“Thanks.”
The men walked back into the kitchen. “So which room is next?” Daniel asked. “Sunroom looks great, but your den is a mess.”
“Then that’s the one we’ll tackle.”
“We?”
“Why not?”
He laughed. “Okay, I’m in.”
She saw him pull a couple of pills from his pocket and down them. “Head hurting?”
“A little.”
Now that she looked closer, she could see he was pale. “Come on, let’s get you home. Lizzie’s with Riley and will spend the night. Haley’s on duty tonight with you.”
He frowned and nodded. “All right.”
“Why the frown?”
“Nothing.” He looked at Haley. “I’m ready when you are.”
Haley nodded. “Let me just get my stuff out of the sunroom.” She disappeared around the corner.
“Wade and I are out of here too,” Olivia said. She turned to Charlie. “Will you make sure Haley and Daniel get home?”
“Of course.”
Once the door had shut on everyone, Katie drew in a deep breath and released Backdraft from her bedroom where he’d spent the majority of the day. After appeasing his indignation with an extra can of food, she headed for a hot shower.
Thirty minutes later she shut the shower off before she depleted the hot water supply, her aching muscles eased. The guys had done most of the heavy lifting, but she’d definitely done her share. As she dressed, she couldn’t stop thinking about the fire at the restaurant, the images that it evoked, the fear that it resurrected. Even now, it was like she had to come at the memory sideways instead of head on.
It had been Thanksgiving Day three years ago when a bomb had gone off in the two-story apartment building. An evicted tenant hadn’t taken it so well and had returned with vicious intent. Katie had been a part of the bomb squad. Paul, her brother, had been the arson investigator. She’d arrived at the scene just as the last ambulance was pulling away. A family of five had perished in the fire. Scores of others had been wounded. And she and Paul had gone in—
She gritted her teeth and forced the memories away. This was her downtime, her off-work time. She should put it to good use. She spent the next few hours unpacking boxes with dishes and setting her kitchen up. By the time she finished, the memories were safely tucked away and she had a new resolve to learn to cook. Later.
She glanced at the clock. 11:00. Wow, she hadn’t noticed the passing hours and she was starving. In spite of the late hour, she microwaved some leftover Chinese and carried it into the sunroom where she settled into her favorite chair and curled her feet beneath her. Backdraft joined her and she gave him a piece of shrimp which he proceeded to devour.
She picked up the remote and aimed it at the television. Then stopped. She’d caught a flicker of something outside the sunroom. A whisper of light and motion. A change in the shadows. Trees surrounded her at the back of the house. The passing car lights on the road at the bottom of the hill flickered through the trees, but that was all she could see of civilization from her sunroom. Which was one of the selling features of the house for her. She set her plate on the end table, flipped the lamp off, and plunged herself into darkness.
[18]
11:00 PM
Daniel stood at the window overlooking the pool. He couldn’t sleep and frankly wondered if he would ever be able to get more than four hours without being knocked unconscious by a concussion or narcotics. The dreams haunted him tonight, but he refused to let them set him back. He knew they were due to the circumstances he now found himself in. Once the mystery of who wanted to kill him was solved and he was no longer a target, the dreams would lessen in intensity once again. He hoped.
So. What to do? He reviewed the incidents of the last few days, silently flipping through the events in chronological order. Trying to figure out who could be behind them. The most obvious choices were Lee Kendall or Tim Shepherd, the real estate developer. Truthfully, he had trouble picturing either person having the skills to do what had been done. Lee was a rather small man with a slight build. He’d have had to take Armstrong by surprise in order to get the best of him. Armstrong shouldn’t have had any trouble defending himself against Lee. Th
en again, he’d seen stranger things. Tim Shepherd was a larger man, easily two hundred pounds or more. However, he wouldn’t dirty his hands by taking on Armstrong himself. Daniel wouldn’t put it past the man to hire someone.
He closed his eyes against the never-ending headache and thought about praying. Would God listen to him? Yes, he would. Daniel knew without a doubt that as soon as he could lay aside the anger in his heart, the betrayal he felt, God would welcome him back with open arms. Actually, he knew God would welcome him any way he wanted to come back. With anger, with betrayal, with whatever he had. God was big enough to deal with it. So why couldn’t he just let him? “Why did they have to die, God? Why did you do that to my family? To Riley?” He whispered the words and waited to feel . . . something. When nothing earth—or soul—shattering happened, he sighed.
“You okay?”
He spun to find Haley in the door of the sunroom. “Yeah.”
“Can’t sleep though, huh?”
“Nope.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“Not really.” Not with her anyway. She was nice enough, pleasant company, but she wasn’t Katie. The person he seemed to find himself more willing to open up to. More willing to talk with about what went on in his mind. “Tell me about Katie.”
She lifted a brow and he turned back to the peaceful scene of his pool. “What do you want to know?”
Daniel had to admit he liked to hear Haley talk, simply for her accent. He smiled. He liked to hear Katie talk because he was interested in what she had to say. “Anything. Is she seeing anyone?”
“No, not that she’s shared with us. An’ besides, if she were, she wouldn’t be kissin’ you in the car.”
He blinked. “You saw that, huh?”
“I did.”
He lifted a shoulder in a slight shrug. “I like her. I’m . . . attracted to her.”
“Hmm. Yes, I can tell.”
He glanced at the clock and wondered if Katie were sleeping or if she was finding it as hard to relax as he was. Fatigue dragged at him, but every time he closed his eyes, he saw things he’d rather forget. “She’s not like anyone I’ve ever met before.” He kept his voice low and his gaze on the clear aqua water. It was heated. He could work off some of his restlessness. Try to wear himself out to the point that he passed out from sheer exhaustion. But then his defenses would be down and he couldn’t afford that right now.
“She’s definitely one of a kind. And . . . she likes you too.”
“I know,” he said. Haley laughed. A light sound that brightened the room and made him smile. “What about you?” he asked and turned to face her.
“Me?”
“Anyone special in your life?”
And just like that, the sunshine vanished and the storm clouds moved in. “No,” she said. “No one a’tall.” Her cool, clipped words effectively shut him out. “But I’ll tell you this about Katie. She’s had it rough the last few years.”
“I gathered that.”
“She’ll tell you when she’s ready.”
“I figured that too.”
Haley’s chill evaporated. “You’re a smooth one, aren’t you? You know when to be patient.” She nodded as though answering the question for herself. “You’ll do all right with her then.”
“She doesn’t open up easily.”
“No. She’ll have to trust you first.”
He nodded. “I’m okay with that.”
“Good.” She shook her head. “I don’t know what God was doing when he put us all together.”
“What do you mean?”
“The four of us. Katie, me, Maddy, and Olivia. We all were rather broken when we met. Together, we’ve made a good team. We’ve helped each other heal and grow.”
“In what way?”
“Once we came to trust one another and started talking, it was better than any expensive therapist.” She gave him a tight smile. “But enough o’ that.” She pulled her weapon from her holster. “I’m going to check the perimeter.”
“And I’m going to try to sleep.” Try being the operative word.
Haley slipped out of the house and Daniel waited until he heard the chime of the alarm and the snick of the lock before he headed to his bedroom.
Riley stared at herself on the screen of her phone. She was just a little box in the corner. Steve’s face took up most of the space. “So what did you want to talk about?”
“I don’t know. I really enjoyed seeing you today and we didn’t get to talk long enough. I thought FaceTiming would be a good idea.”
Riley yawned. “It’s really late.”
“I know, but I couldn’t talk any earlier. I was studying with the guys.”
“Is that what you call it?”
He grinned, a sheepish smile that revealed two deep dimples in each cheek. Her stomach flipped and she relished his laughter. “Of course.”
“Who won?”
He blinked. “What?”
“Who won? The Panthers or the Cowboys?” His jaw dropped. Now it was Riley’s turn to laugh. “Why does that shock you so bad? I know how much you love the Panthers. You never miss a game.”
“Well . . .” He cleared his throat. “We might have had it playing in the background.”
“Sure.”
“And the Panthers won.”
“Ah.” Another yawn overtook her.
“I’ll let you go. You obviously need to go to sleep. We’re still on for pizza, right?”
“Sure.”
“See you tomorrow?”
“If you come by the site.”
“I’ll do my best. Bye.”
“Bye, Steve.”
Riley disconnected the call. A slight smile wanted to curve her lips, but did she dare let it? Did she want to get her heart entangled with Steve right before she went to college? She’d be eighteen on Christmas Day. She was graduating in May and planned to go to college and major in education. She already spoke Spanish like a native and looked forward to returning to the country her parents had loved and ministered in. So . . . romance? Her heart wanted to do it, to throw caution to the wind and just have fun. After all, she had her whole life ahead of her to be serious and do ministry, right? Why shouldn’t she just be a normal teen for a season?
Something to think about.
Then again, she’d never been “normal.” Her mother had often shaken her head over Riley’s maturity and wondered where it had come from. “You don’t think like a fifteen-year-old.”
Riley figured it was just the way God made her, and she couldn’t explain it either. So would she be trying to be someone else if she flirted a little? All of her friends were dating someone. And she had no one. At least not until Steve started showing some interest.
She snuggled down against the pillow and sighed. “Brain, you can shut off now,” she murmured. “I’m done for the day.”
She heard a footstep outside her bedroom door and sat up. When the footsteps retreated, she figured it was her uncle just checking on her. She slipped out from beneath the covers and went to her door. When she opened it, she caught a glimpse of his back as he disappeared into the den area. She heard the door open, then shut. She hurried into the den to find Haley, hands on her hips, frown on her lips. “Where’s he going?”
“To see Katie.”
“At this time of night?”
“Yep.”
“And is anyone going with him?”
“No, he said he didn’t want anyone, that he needed to be alone a bit.”
Riley stomped her foot, anger flaring. Then hurt. “Fine. Let him be alone then. I’m going to bed.”
“He’ll be okay, Riley.” Haley’s soft voice stopped her, but she didn’t turn. “He’s a big boy. He can take care of himself. Plus, he has us whether he likes it or not.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I checked his car for him and he has a tracking device on it that I can read.”
She turned. She couldn’t let the woman keep talking to
her back. “I have a tracking device too. As long as he has his phone on him, I know where he is. But really, what good is a tracking device if someone runs him off the road and puts a bullet in him before anyone else can get to him?”
“You hang around with your uncle’s military buddies quite a bit, don’t you?”
“A bit. Not lately because of all that’s going on, but yes, they’re here on a regular basis.”
“I can tell.” Haley sighed. “Seriously, though. Your uncle is not our usual client. He’s smart, he’s trained, and he’s got a natural instinct when it comes to self-preservation. He could actually hire himself out as a bodyguard if you think about it. He has all the requirements. He’ll be all right.”
Riley refused to let her shoulders slump. “Those are the right words, Haley, but you and I know he’s not invincible.”
“Trust him.”
“What?”
“Trust him that he knows what he’s doing and that he loves you enough not to do anything stupid.”
Riley looked at the door. “That’s the problem. In my opinion, he just did.”
Katie quick-stepped through her house. The front porch light was off. The inside lights were off. She might be able to manage getting outside without being seen. Especially if the possible intruder was still at the back of her house. She opened the front door and slipped out onto the porch. She armed her alarm system, then shut and locked the door behind her and hurried down the dark steps. She slid behind the large pine tree next to the porch railing and waited.
Listened.
She wasn’t sure how much time passed, but she stayed there for what seemed like endless minutes. Five? Seven? Ten? At least. She’d learned early on, one of the most important factors with any job she took was that patience almost always paid off.
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