Red Red Rose (6 page)

“I’m
sure they worry about you being in that house alone with everything going on.”
Elise reminded me a lot of my mom.

“It’s
been a while.” My parents lived in Everett. It was about an hour drive south;
one I didn’t make nearly often enough since opening up the shop. They came up
regularly, and Mom called every day to check in; something she’d only started
doing in recent months. I was sure it had everything to do with the girls being
killed by that sick freak out there. “I talk to Mom on the phone every day. She
and Dad are thinking of coming up next weekend. It’s just hard when I don’t get
much time off.”

“I
know you and Em turned your spare room into an office, so if your parents need
a place to stay when they come, they’re welcome here.” It was so like Elise to
be thinking of others even when she was amidst her own personal nightmare. Maybe
it was better for them when they had visitors around, the way it was easier for
me to distract myself when I was at the shop. The quiet was no one’s friend
when so many dark thoughts and unanswered questions were always waiting to
descend on the mind.

“I’ll
let them know. I’m sure they would prefer it to the pull out couch we have in
the office. Have you heard whether or not James will be able to come home?”

“Yes,”
it was the first time since Elise had answered the door that her eyes showed
any hint of light. “He was able to get emergency leave. When we talked to him
yesterday, he wasn’t sure how soon he would be able to get on a flight home, or
how long they’d give him, but he should be home soon. At least for a short
time. I just hope he doesn’t have to go back before they find our baby girl,”
she trailed off. Her husband took her hand in his to comfort her, but I could
see he needed comfort as much as she did. It would only truly come when Emily
was brought home.

My
visit wasn’t a long one, and I didn’t leave feeling any better than when I’d
arrived, but I was relieved to know James would be home with them soon. I assured
them again that I would pass along their offer to my parents and be in touch.

The
day’s activities had completely taken my mind off of my conversation the night
before with Nathan, so when I returned home the last thing I was worrying about
was his impending arrival. Which is why, when I sat down in front of the TV
with a bowl of black beans and rice– one of those quick fixing kinds from a
box– I was caught off guard by a knock at the door. I’d promptly changed into a
pair of sweatpants and a Western t-shirt after walking in my door. I hadn’t
even bothered with make-up today, and my hair was pulled back into a sloppy
bun. All of this was probably the cause of Nathan’s deep frown when I answered
the door and found him in a slick suit on my porch with a garish bouquet of
flowers in his hand.

I
was tempted to slam the door in his face, but he opened his mouth and managed
to piss me off before I could.

“I’ll
wait while you change.” That was it. In his mind it was a foregone conclusion
that we were going to dinner.

Arrogant,
self-entitled prick.

“Nathan,
I’m seriously not in the mood to deal with you tonight. At all. So please save
us both the fight and turn around and go home.”

“Not
until you hear me out.” He shoved his way inside and I wanted to bang my head
against the door. I’d wasted almost six months on him and this was where it got
me. I closed the door and followed him to the kitchen where he grabbed a vase
from one of my cabinets and filled it with water for the flowers. After he
placed them in the vase, I swiftly grabbed them up and carried them to the
trash, where I tossed them, and then fixed my glare on him.

He
blew out a frustrated sigh. “Nora, that was an expensive bouquet. You’re
behaving like a child.”

“No,
I’m behaving like a girl who caught her boyfriend cheating on her and now won’t
leave her alone.”

“Nora,
I know it looked bad.” That was one word for the image that would forever be
burned into my mind; him bending her over his couch, going at her from behind.
In fact, I don’t think
bad
quite covered it. “But it was nothing. A
mistake. It shouldn’t have happened, but it doesn’t mean I don’t still love you.”

I
let out an incredulous snort of laughter. “You’re unbelievable, Nathan. That
you can actually say that word to me . . . how did I ever fall for your
bullshit?” Emily had been on to him from the beginning, warning me that he was
no good. The fact that she– queen of no good– saw what I didn’t, should have
been enough for me. At least she’d been a good friend and spared me the  
I
told you so.

He
took a step closer and put his hand on my shoulder. “We were good together.
Still could be. Just come to dinner with me. Let me treat you, then we can come
back here and I can continue to make it up to you all night.” He actually had
the gall to smirk at me. Asshole not only thought he was going to get laid
tonight, but he thought his sexual prowess would be enough to completely make
me forget that he was a cheating bastard and that I’d walked in on the proof of
that. Well it wasn’t. Not even close. I shoved his hands away and put much
needed distance between us before I punched him.

“I
don’t want you to treat me to anything. You can’t make it up to me. Not this. I
don’t want you to touch me ever again. I don’t want any more gaudy bouquets or
roses left on my porch with pathetic apology notes. I don’t want anything from
you except you out of my house and my life.”

“Okay,
you don’t want flowers. Got it, but I don’t know what roses and apology notes
you’re talking about, Nora.”

I
squeezed my eyes shut briefly and mentally reminded myself that murder, even
when deserved, was still a crime. “Just stop, Nathan. Who else would leave a
dozen roses on my doorstep with a note that says ‘
I’m sorry’
?”

A
deep crease marred his brow. “I don’t know, but it wasn’t me. I wouldn’t send a
dozen roses. I’d send ten dozen.”

That
was actually probably true. The awful bouquet he’d showed up with tonight
proved he didn’t do anything small. Was he compensating? Yes he was.

“Whatever.
I don’t care if it was you or not. We’re over. We’ve been over for a month now
and no matter how many times you call or show up at my house or try to ply me
with gifts, that’s not going to change.”

“Fine.
You need more time to work through your anger. I understand, but I’m not giving
up on you, Nora. I’m not giving up on us. We’re perfect together, and I know
you’ll see that again too.”

He
strode confidently toward the door.

“Don’t
count on it,” I called after him as he let himself out. As soon as he was gone,
I went and locked the outer door behind him and then locked myself inside and
returned to my now lukewarm dinner.

Criminal
Minds was on. Who needed any other man when you had Derek Morgan?

I
blinked my eyes open in the darkness. I waited for them to adjust while I
wondered what woke me. The house was quiet and I couldn’t remember having a bad
dream. I lay in my bed, listening intently for any sounds of the wind outside
or rain pelting my windows. It wasn’t uncommon for a wind and rainstorm to
strike in the middle of the night and drag me from sleep, but there wasn’t even
the slightest breeze to be heard out there.

I
closed my eyes and burrowed deeper into my cozy nest beneath warm sheets and a heavy
down comforter, prepared to return to sleep, when the neighbor’s German
Shepherd, Shepley or Shep for short, started barking. A second later there was
a thud at the back of my house. I jerked upright in bed, immediately searching
out my cell phone on my nightstand. I grabbed it, turning on the screen light
before shoving back the covers. Then Shepley’s barking grew louder until it
sounded like he was right outside my bedroom window.

I
heard my neighbor, Clint, yelling for his dog. I went to the window and looked
out cautiously. As soon as I shined the light out the window, giant paws
slammed against the glass and Shepley’s face was there, startling the crap out
of me. I quickly found my slippers and ran through the house, throwing open the
front door.

“Shep!”
I yelled and the dog came bounding around the front of the house and right to
me. I scanned my yard, but didn’t see anything else moving around, not even a
squirrel. “What are you doing over here boy?” I grabbed his collar and rubbed
behind his ears. Clint came running up my drive, a flashlight in hand,
illuminating my yard.

“I’m
so sorry,” he was almost out of breath when he reached us. Clint, his wife and
their two kids lived in the house behind mine and he’d had to go around the
long way. His property was separated from mine by a six-foot, wooden fence. One
it seemed Shepley had managed to get through or over. “He woke me up whining so
I let him out to go to the bathroom and he immediately took off for your house.
He’s never gone over the fence before. I don’t know what came over him.”

“It’s
alright. Maybe there was a coon or something.” I handed Shep off to Clint. I
could see his frown even in the dark.

“I
don’t think it was a coon. He’s never taken off like that before. Do you mind
if I take a look around back? I won’t feel right leaving you here if there
could be a prowler lurking around.”

“Oh,
uh sure. That would actually make me feel a lot better.” I followed Clint and
Shep around the side of the house, passing by my bedroom window, to the back,
Clint constantly scanning with the beam from his flashlight. There was nothing
to see until we reached the back corner between the house and garage. The
garbage and recycling bins were always pulled up against the garage except when
we had to put them out. Both were knocked on their sides, garbage and
recyclables spilled out into the yard. That would have been the thud I heard. I
couldn’t imagine Shepley knocking them both over, but he might’ve if he was
chasing a cat or something and running fast enough.

Clint
was staring at them as well. “I’m not sure if Shep did this or not. He
might’ve.” Clint helped me to stand them back up and pick up the larger things
that had been dumped. We continued into the back yard, but didn’t spot anything
unusual. Clint scanned all of the trees and bushes with his light, but the fact
that Shep seemed calm, told me there wasn’t anything or anyone else in my yard
but us.

Clint
walked over to the back door on the house and gave the handle a rattle while I
waited, arms wrapped around my middle, Shep at my side. Then Clint turned to
me. “You leave it unlocked?”

“What?
No.” I walked over and he showed me that it was indeed unlocked. “I always keep
that door locked.” I thought back over the night, trying to remember if I
checked it before bed. “I came out here earlier today to take recycling out.
It’s been a long day; I can’t say for sure if I checked the back door when I
went to bed.”

“Do
you have a security system?”

“No,
I haven’t talked to the landlord about having one put in.”

He
pulled the door open. “If there was someone in your back yard, and he found the
door unlocked, he might have slipped inside when Shep came over the fence. I’ll
check it out with you just to make sure you won’t be locking yourself inside
with someone in there.”

I
nodded and then Clint and Shep entered the house first. Again, I was reassured
when Shep didn’t immediately begin barking. Clint hit the light at the back of
the house and then switched off his Maglite. He kept it in his hand though. It
would make a decent weapon if he had to use it for one, but a thorough search
of the house turned up nothing out of the ordinary. After locking up the back
door, I walked Clint and Shep out the front.

“Sorry
for all the trouble. It was probably nothing but a stray animal.” We stepped
out onto my porch.

“It
might have been, but I feel better having checked it out. Make sure to lock up
behind us, and you might consider giving your landlord a ring about the security
system. You can’t be too careful, especially not with the goings on lately.
Have the police turned up any new leads on Emily?”

I
gave my head a weak shake. “No, but they were here this morning and I think
they’re finally taking her case seriously. I just hope it’s not too late now
that they’re actually looking for her.”

He
gave a solemn nod. “Well, like I said, lock up and if you need anything, Trina
and I are right back there.” He jerked his head toward their house. I thanked
him and said goodnight and watched him and Shep disappear down the drive,
before shutting and locking the outer door. I was turning to head back inside
when movement on the street out front drew my attention. There was a dark
figure walking down the street. I looked and Shepley and Clint had already
turned the corner of my drive in the opposite direction. The man was moving at
a quick pace toward a truck parked down at the end of the street. I watched him
climb up in it and pull away.

The
truck was big and dark, not one I recognized, but he could have easily been
visiting one of my neighbors. Or he could have been snooping around my house before
Shep chased him off. With that thought, I hurried inside, shutting and locking
the door and engaging the dead bolt.

Could
that have been what happened to Em? She came home that night and caught a
would-be burglar by surprise. There were just too many possible scenarios, and
all of them were playing on my fears tonight. It was a while before I was able
to fall back asleep. I kept waiting to hear someone moving around outside. I
never did and eventually I drifted off, but my alarm sounded much too early. On
Sundays the shop opened at seven instead of six, but after the night before,
the extra hour of sleep didn’t do much for me. My feet were dragging as I got ready
for the day.

The
cover of darkness still hung over the city when I pulled my car up in front of
the shop and let myself in, locking the door behind me. I went through the shop
flipping on lights and turning up the heat before getting things up and running.
Reggie showed up just before seven with the order from the bakery, and by the
time we hit the open signs and unlocked the door for business, the smell of
coffee and fresh cinnamon rolls filled the shop.

By
early afternoon we were out of the cinnamon rolls. Reggie commented that the
same thing had happened yesterday. They were a weekend special and it seemed
that each weekend I added another dozen to our order and we still sold out
before the day’s end. Considering the things were giant, gooey and slathered in
a mountain of rich, sweet, cream cheese frosting, it was no wonder that they
disappeared so quickly.

Sundays
we saw a lot of families coming in and college students cramming for their
Monday exams, or finishing up the papers they put off all weekend. That was one
of the biggest draws of this location when Em and I were in the planning
stages. We remembered what it was like when we were those students looking for
somewhere near campus with a pleasant atmosphere and a steady flow of caffeine.

The
shop was painted in rich, warm colors and a collection of artwork from local
artists was displayed on the walls. We had couches, and comfy chairs and
traditional seating and even stools at the bar tops in the windows. We played
music, but we kept it low enough so as not to distract from those who were
studying, working or carrying on conversations. It had the feel Em and I had desired
and worked hard to achieve. We’d talked about opening up the nook for open mic
nights or acoustic concerts on some nights, but hadn’t done more than talk
about it before she went missing.

Reggie
cleared his throat and gave me a slight bump with his hip, pulling me away from
my thoughts of Em, and calling my attention to Shaw shoving his way in the
door. “You’re up girly. Don’t let me down,” he whispered.

One
look.

One
damn look where our eyes met and my body was thrown into anarchy, my heart
rebelling against its cage, my thoughts scattered until there was nothing but
incoherent, romantic blather going on up there, and I don’t even know what the
hell was happening in my stomach. If I had just eaten Chinese food, I would
have been suspicious. I imagined what I was experiencing was similar to being
on speed or some other amphetamine.

Here’s
to hoping his insides are as pretty as his outsides and this rush doesn’t come
with a major crash.

 I
didn’t even wait for him to reach the counter. “Let me guess . . . large boring
cup of black coffee?”

The
smile that split his full lips stirred the fluttery feeling in my stomach. “Do
you give all of your customers this much grief over their drink orders?”

“Nope.
Only you,” I grinned back. “One boring coffee coming right up.”

“I’ll
get it,” Reggie piped up, doing nothing to hide his scheming grin and leaving
me nothing to do but stand there and make conversation with Shaw.

“Can
I interest you in an orange muffin, or perhaps almond poppy seed?”

“No
cinnamon roll?”

“Sorry,
you have to get here earlier if you want to get your hands on one of those.”

“I
see,” his grin never faded. “Then I’ll take one of the apple streusel muffins.”

“Respectable
choice.” I grabbed the muffin from the case and handed it over the counter to
him. His fingers brushed my hand when he took it. They were rough, but I didn’t
mind in the least. Rough hands meant he wasn’t afraid to use them. I could only
imagine how they would feel against the rest of me. The way his eyes studied my
face so intently had me shifting uncomfortably.

“Did
you sleep well last night?” he asked softly.

My
brow tugged into a frown. “What?”

“You
look exhausted, like you didn’t get a good night’s sleep.” He held my gaze and I
wondered what else he could read on my face.

“Reggie,
how long does it take to pour a cup of coffee?” I called without looking away
from Shaw’s intense eyes.

“Got
it.” Reggie’s arm reached out, the cup of hot coffee in his hand. Shaw accepted
it, but his eyes remained locked on me. I was unsure of what I was seeing in
them. I wished I could pull off that mysterious smolder. Is that even a real
thing? A smolder? Who the hell smolders? I’ll tell you who. This guy. This
impossibly impossible man who was looking at me like he wanted to take me away
and make everything else in the world disappear but the two of us.

Something
in his expression softened. “I didn’t mean to pry into your personal life. I
just think you work too hard.”

“I
had a day off yesterday,” I informed him.

“Doesn’t
look like it was a very restful day for you.”

I
breathed out and let my shoulders sag as I leaned against the counter. “You
know the missing girl, Emily Raynes?”

“She’s
your friend, isn’t she?” I wasn’t surprised that he knew. Everyone around town
was talking about Em and speculating about what happened to her.

“Yes.
I had a visit from the police yesterday about her case, and then I went to see
her parents. Add to that an unwanted visit from my ex, and a possible prowler
in my neighborhood, or maybe just a raccoon, and no, it wasn’t a very restful
day off.”

“You
need a vacation.”

“Maybe
so, but not until I know what happened to Em.”

He
leaned in just a fraction, but it was enough that I caught the scent of
whatever soap or cologne he used, and an underlying smell that I suspected was
uniquely his. I inhaled softly, breathing in and thinking it was possibly my
new favorite smell after the cinnamon rolls.

“You
need a man in your bed to take your mind off of things and handle those
unwanted visits and prowlers or possible raccoons.”

I
swallowed and wanted to ask,
“Are you offering?”
But I didn’t. Instead I
just met his stare. “How do you know I don’t already have one?”

“You
had one, at least a decent one, and you wouldn’t come to work with dark circles
under your eyes and tension in your shoulders. I wager it’s from stress, and
any decent man would know how to relieve that stress. Also, your friend told me
you were single the other day. Remember?”