She ushered them into a little waiting room painted in pale blue and with a blue flowered love seat. A coffee table held several magazines for both men and women.
“Please, have a seat.” She pointed to the love seat, and she sat in a wing-back chair that matched the love seat. She offered them a warm smile. “It’s so nice to meet you both. Melinda, I’m especially excited to get to know you better.”
Melinda didn’t respond.
The smile on Dr. Atkins’s face didn’t waver. “Mom, why don’t you relax out here while I take Melinda into my office for a private chat?”
She stood, and Ainsley prodded her daughter with her elbow to get her up. “I promise I don’t bite,” Dr. Atkins said.
A small smile crossed Melinda’s lips. “I didn’t think you would bite me.”
The two disappeared behind a door, and Ainsley blew out a deep, weary sigh. It was exhausting to worry about a loved one. Melinda was her very heart and soul, and she didn’t know what was happening to turn her sweet, loving child into a stranger.
Had the trigger for Melinda’s odd behavior been the knowledge that her mother was now dating? Something that hadn’t happened since the two of them had run from Portland? Run from Peter?
If she had to give up Hunter to fix Melinda’s mental health, then she would do that. But even thinking about that option made her heart twist with an ache she hadn’t thought possible.
In four short weeks, Hunter had already worked his way deep into her heart. She hadn’t realized how deep until this moment, when she had to contemplate telling him goodbye.
She’d had such hope that finally she was going to get to live the fairy tale of love with a good man. But there was no way she could sacrifice her daughter for her own happiness.
The minutes ticked by with agonizing slowness. What were they talking about in there? Would Melinda inadvertently say something that would bring a scrutiny to Ainsley’s life that she couldn’t afford?
Peter had always been good at keeping his abuse of Ainsley under wraps and separate from their daughter. Many nights Ainsley had suffered in silence and lied to her little girl about black eyes and split lips so Melinda wouldn’t know the truth about her father.
In any case, Peter hadn’t been a hands-on kind of father, and often several days and nights would go by without him even asking about his daughter. Even though he’d been the one who had told Melinda she was a daddy’s girl, the truth was the two hadn’t been close.
For the past three years Melinda had seemed to accept that their vagabond lifestyle was normal and they were just seeking the perfect place to call their forever home.
She hadn’t talked much about Peter, and Ainsley just assumed with the passing of time that Melinda had very few memories of her father and didn’t miss him at all.
Until this...these nighttime disturbances that had Melinda believing her father was coming for her. Once again Ainsley released a deep sigh as she stared at the closed office door.
She didn’t know how long these sessions lasted, but she did know how much they cost. Unfortunately, health care wasn’t in the budget at the moment. That was a whole different worry. She was hoping to at least be able to make enough in the near future to get Melinda some kind of health-care coverage, but that hadn’t happened yet. Still, she would work as many shifts as possible, sell whatever little she possessed to see that Melinda got the help she needed.
Finally the door reopened, and the two walked back out. Both were smiling. “Melinda, can you wait out here for a few minutes so I can talk to your mother?” Dr. Atkins asked.
Ainsley dug her phone out of her purse and handed it to Melinda. “You can play your games while I’m gone.” Melinda grabbed the phone and sat on the love seat while Ainsley followed Dr. Atkins into her office.
The inner office held a nice oversize chair with a coffee table next to it and a small desk with a computer on top and a black swivel desk chair.
“Please sit.” Dr. Atkins gestured her to the overstuffed chair. Ainsley sat and leaned forward.
“First of all, you have a charming and very bright daughter,” Dr. Atkins said.
“Thank you,” Ainsley replied.
“She’s also very stubborn in her belief that she talks to her father at night, but I gave her some things to think about and hopefully we can start working to make her see that this is a fantasy.”
“So, that’s what you believe it is?”
“I believe it’s the longing of a little girl who doesn’t have her father in her life.”
“But why now? Do you think this has something to do with the fact that I’m dating? Should I stop seeing the man?”
“I would not recommend you stop dating. We don’t want to give that kind of power to an eight-year-old girl. It’s possible it was triggered at school or whatever. What I recommend for now is that you continue to listen to her, but don’t engage in a battle with her. I’m hoping I can appeal to her intelligence.”
The psychologist smiled. “I don’t think this is a long-term issue. I’d like to see her next week at this same time, if that’s okay with you.”
“That’s fine. I feel so much better now that I’ve spoken to you,” Ainsley replied. “We’ll definitely be here next week.”
She stood as the doctor did the same. “I’m confident we can get this cleared up in just a couple of sessions.” She opened the office door, and they stepped out.
Melinda got up from the love seat and handed Ainsley back her phone. “Melinda, it was nice visiting with you,” Dr. Atkins said.
“Thank you,” the young girl replied.
Minutes later mother and daughter were back in the car and heading home. “Did you like Dr. Atkins?” Ainsley asked.
“She was nice. She didn’t believe me about Daddy, but she was still nice,” Melinda replied.
“How do you know she didn’t believe you?”
“’Cause of the questions she asked me.” Melinda frowned. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Can we stop for ice cream on the way home?”
“I think I can make that happen,” Ainsley replied.
The rest of the evening passed peacefully. Even though it was early, once Melinda was in bed Ainsley took a long hot shower, changed into her nightgown and then got into bed.
She held her cell phone in her hand, and after several moments of thinking about it, she punched in Hunter’s phone number.
He answered on the first ring. “I was just thinking about you,” he said.
His deep voice smoothed all the rough edges inside her. “And what were you thinking?”
“Since I didn’t get into the café for lunch today, I was just thinking how much I missed seeing you and wondering if we’re going to get together tomorrow night?”
“I’d love to get together tomorrow night,” she replied.
“I was afraid you might not want to see me again.”
“I was afraid about that, too. But we had our first appointment with Dr. Atkins today, and she assured me that it was okay for us to continue to date despite Melinda’s current attitude toward you.”
“That’s good to hear.” There was obvious relief in his voice. “I’m hoping Melinda will warm up to me as time goes on.”
“We stopped on the way home to get ice cream, and I told her that no matter what her father said to her at night, she knows the difference between right and wrong and good behavior and bad. I told her I expected her to act appropriately.”
“Did she listen to you?”
“I believe she did. Time will tell. So, what are the plans for tomorrow evening?” She cuddled down in the blanket, happy that she was ending the night with a phone call with the man who was quickly winning her heart.
“Whatever we do together, I’ll be happy,” he said.
“Why don’t we go to your house and hang out watching
television and eating popcorn,” she suggested.
“That sounds good to me,” he replied. “But I think I’ll order pizza for us to eat before I break out the popcorn.”
“How about you let me get the pizza, Hunter?”
“That’s not necessary, Ainsley.”
“I know it’s not necessary, but it isn’t always necessary for you to pay every time we get together.”
“I’m an old-fashioned kind of guy. I like taking care of the woman I’m dating. I’ll let you know if and when it becomes a problem, deal?”
She hesitated a moment. “Deal,” she finally replied.
They spoke a few more minutes and then hung up. Ainsley plugged her phone into the charger and then settled in to sleep. She was falling fast for Hunter Churchill. He was everything she’d ever wanted in her life.
She loved his patience and his kind heart. She adored his smile and the sound of his deep, rumbling laughter. She absolutely loved the sound of her name falling from his lips. She just wished it was her real name.
The closer she got to him, the more she worried about the lies she’d told him. Could she go the rest of her life living the lie? As she drifted to sleep, she had no answer.
PETER HAD BEEN busy since he’d learned the location of his ex-wife. He’d bought himself a farm fifteen minutes from Dusty Gulch. It was a simple three-bedroom house, nothing like what he was accustomed to, but it was completely isolated and perfect for what he had in mind.
He now stood in front of the bank of computer monitors that showed him images of Colette’s little apartment. Both Melinda and Colette were asleep, so there would be no more activity happening tonight.
He’d been enjoying having conversations with Melinda after he knew Colette was in her own bedroom at night. It had been particularly fun to watch her misbehave at his command.
Having the cameras and microphones installed there had been fairly easy. All he’d needed was to find somebody who could give him access to the café attic.
He’d found that person in Ted Johnson, the janitor/maintenance man who worked at night at the café. Ted was sixty-three years old and worked hard to earn just a little bit more than minimum wage.
When Peter offered the man ten thousand dollars for two nights of access to the attic and not telling a soul about it, Ted had jumped at the opportunity.
The two nights had allowed Peter to set up the electronics he needed to watch and listen into the tiny two-bedroom apartment where his angel and his bitch of an ex-wife were staying.
He now stretched with his arms overhead and then left the bedroom. He locked the door behind him and then looked into the master bedroom, where Sheila Turrel was sprawled across the bed.
Sheila was the perfect woman he needed for now. He’d gone trolling for somebody just like her at a dive bar in Dusty Gulch called the Wrecking Ball.
The thirty-six-year-old woman was thin as a rail and not pretty, but she was also a heavy drinker and a heroin user, which made her very attractive to him.
As long as he kept her hooked up, she would be the best alibi he could have if for some reason he came under suspicion.
She stayed nodded out most of the time and had no idea when he was home and when he wasn’t, but she would swear he’d been with her if anyone from law enforcement asked. Although he found her a weak, disgusting waste of a human being, he needed her right now to assure his own safety.
He continued walking down the hallway and into the kitchen. He flipped on the light against the darkness of night and then opened the back door and stepped out on the back porch.
The smell struck him first. It was an odor of musk and filth, of urine and feces. Grunts and rustling filled the otherwise silent night.
He didn’t have to see the pigs to know they were there. When he’d bought the farm, he’d paid extra for the herd of pigs the farmer owned.
According to what he’d read, there were far too many pigs in the small pen where they were kept and Peter was making sure they all stayed nice and hungry.
The most important thing he’d learned about pigs was that sixteen of them could completely eat a human body in eight minutes. There were currently twenty-five pigs in the pen.
This pen of hungry pigs was perfect for tying up any loose ends. Right now there were two—Ted and Sheila.
Ultimately the pigs were his ex-wife’s fate.
Colette had wanted to disappear from his life. Now he was going to make sure she disappeared from life altogether. He drew in the nasty scent of the pigs.
Yes, it all smelled bad...but it also smelled of sweet revenge.
“THE PIZZA SMELLS delicious,” Ainsley said as she walked into Hunter’s kitchen.
“Half pepperoni and half mushroom and green pepper,” he replied as he got out two plates and napkins.
Ainsley sat at the table. She was touched that he had remembered the kind of pizza she liked. It meant he paid attention, and that made her feel very special.
“Beer or soda?” he asked.
“Soda is fine for me.”
Within minutes they were both seated at the table and enjoying the pizza. “It was another fairly quiet day for me, which is just the way I like my days,” he said between bites.
“My day started with me having to deny service to Ben Wilkins. He came in highly intoxicated. He was loud and belligerent, so I told him he needed to leave,” she said.
“Did he comply?” Hunter asked. His green eyes darkened as he held her gaze.
“He screamed and cursed at me, and then Big Ed escorted him out of the building,” she replied.
“Big Ed should have called me. You should never have to endure that kind of abuse.”
“Down, tiger,” she replied with a laugh, although she was secretly thrilled by the protective light that shone from his beautiful eyes.
“I don’t like anyone talking disrespectfully to you,” he replied.
She laughed once again. “It’s a hazard of working in food service.”
“Then you should get hazard pay.”
She grinned at him. He looked amazingly handsome tonight in a pair of jeans and a forest green shirt that did wonderful things to his eyes.
She’d never dreamed it could be so easy, that a relationship could feel so warm and comfortable. She’d never believed she was worthy of a man like Hunter. He made her feel so many ways she hadn’t felt before...witty and funny, smart and beautiful. Whenever she was with him, she felt protected and safe.
She wished she had met him years ago. She wished she had met him instead of Peter. But then she wouldn’t have Melinda, and she would never, ever wish her beautiful daughter away.
Once the pizza was eaten, they moved to the sofa, where he pulled her close to his side. She relaxed into him, loving the feel of his nearness and the scent of him that stirred her on so many levels.
He turned on a movie they both had wanted to see, but she was more focused on him than the action taking place on his television. As they cuddled together, she stroked her hand back and forth across his broad chest.
It didn’t take long for her to sense a growing tension in him. His heartbeat accelerated beneath her touch and his breathing became quickened.
“Being this close to you does terrible things to me, Ainsley,” he whispered into her ear.
She raised her head to look at him. “Like what terrible things?”
“You make me think about kissing you until we’re both positively breathless. You make me try to imagine what it would be like if I swept you up in my arms, carried you into my bed and made sweet love with you.”
Her breath half caught in the back of her throat. “Why, Deputy Churchill, are you trying to seduce me again?”
“I definitely am. How am I doing?” His eyes glittered with the burn of desire.
“You are doing wonderfully well. I’m
just wondering why you aren’t following your words with actions?”
His lips immediately captured hers in a kiss that seared her right to the bottom of her feet. She was ready to take the next step with Hunter. She was ready to be completely vulnerable and make love with him.
When he finally lifted his lips from hers, she smiled. “Ah, that was good for a beginning, but what happened to the part where you sweep me into your arms and carry me to your bed?”
His eyes widened and then blazed with a passion that only confirmed to her that this was right. It was obvious he wanted her and oh, how she wanted him.
He stood and then picked her up into his arms and walked down the hallway. When he reached his bedroom door, Zeus tried to follow them in.
“Sorry, buddy. This is a party of two.” He closed the door to shut the dog out, and then he walked across the room and gently deposited her onto the bed.
He stepped back and gazed at her for a long moment. “I must say, you look amazing in my bed.”
“It will be a better picture when you join me here.”
He grinned and leaped onto the bed. Her laughter was stolen by another one of his toe-curling kisses. Their tongues swirled together in a heated dance of sensuality.
His hands moved up the back of her blouse, his palms hot against her bare skin. She wanted his hands touching her bare skin everywhere...and she wanted to touch his.
As the kiss ended, she pushed away and sat up and then began unfastening the buttons on her blouse. He sat up as well and watched her. When she was finished with the last button, he reached out and pushed the garment off her shoulders, leaving her clad from the waist up in only her lacy bra. The blouse fell to the bed behind them.
He then grabbed the bottom of his shirt and pulled it off over his head. His bare chest was gorgeous. It was smooth, and his muscles were sculpted and perfect.
They came back together for more kissing and touching, and within minutes her bra went the way of her blouse. Finally, he kicked off his shoes, took off his socks and then shucked his jeans. He looked completely hot clad only in a pair of black boxers.
Stalker In the Shadows Page 6