Alone and Afraid (Rocky Mountain Home Series Book 1) (6 page)

Chase knew Brooke shouldn’t eat hard foods
, and since he saw no Jell-O, cottage cheese, or pudding in her refrigerator, he knew they’d have to make a trip to the grocery store.  While shopping, Brooke picked out a loaf of bread and some butter as well as ice cream and whipped cream.  She only picked out things she knew she would be able to swallow easily.  But she wrote on her tablet for Chase to get whatever he felt like eating.  Since he’d be staying at her house, she didn’t want him to suffer by eating Jell-O and cottage cheese.

He did pick up a few thin
gs and insisted on paying when they reached the cashier.  Between the crutches and her throat, Brooke didn’t feel like arguing.

“On the way home, I’ll stop at my place and grab a few things,” Chase told Brooke.

She, again, wrote in the tablet.  This time she told him to remember dog food and Digger’s food and water bowls, because he would be staying with them at her house.  She owed Digger.  He helped save her.

Chase smiled and agreed, “Digger will love your house
, and believe it or don’t, he does have manners.”

This brought a big smile to Brooke’s lips. She remembered her first impression of Digger when he dug up her back yard.

Chase asked her if she’d like to come in while he packed, but she refused.  She did, however, lock the car doors as Chase went inside his home.  He left Digger out front to guard Brooke.

It only took him less than fifteen
-minutes to get all he needed, and he placed his bags in the trunk of Brooke’s car.  He then called Digger to get in the back seat and lay down, which he did.

Chase unloaded everything from the car and carried it inside.  After he made four trips, Brooke’s trunk was finally empty.  He then took his duffle bags and placed them in the guest room.  When he finished
, he found Brooke in the kitchen.

“Are you getting hungry yet?”  He asked her.

Brooke held up a cup of Jell-O and smiled.

“I see you are.  I’ll make me a sandwich and join you,” He told Brooke.

While Brooke ate her Jell-O, she wondered how awkward the time spent with Chase would be since she didn’t speak.  She was tired of constantly writing in her tablet but she had no choice until tomorrow.  Hopefully then she’d be heard when she tried to talk.

“I think after lunch, if it’s ok with you, I’ll tape some plastic bags to your foot so you can soak in the tub.  After you get into the tub and sit down, you can hang your foot over the side of the tub to prevent
it from getting too wet.  Then, when you’re finished, I’ll replace your bandages.  Does that sound like a plan?”  Chase asked.

Brooke smiled and nodded, she really wanted a nice long bath and Chase was so thoughtful to suggest a plan that would give her what she wanted and needed.  She was so grateful and showed him how much
by leaning over and kissing his check.

Chase took a chance and cupped Brooke’s face in his hands
, and kissed her lips.  He intended it to be just a soft kiss, but Brooke had other ideas, as she deepened the kiss.  Finally, Chase pulled back and searched Brooke’s face for any regrets.  He saw none. 

He smiled and said,
“I better get you ready for that bath before things get out of hand here.  I wouldn’t want to be accused of taking advantage of you while you’re handicapped.”

Brooke knew Chase teased her, but what he said about their passion was true.  It wouldn’t be a good idea if things got out of hand, especially at this stage of their relationship.  But she already missed having his lips on hers.

She knew she had been daydreaming when Chase asked, “Are you ready?  I have all I need to cover your foot.”

Brooke wrote in her tablet and asked Chase if he
’d get her a spoon full of honey first.  She wanted to be able to speak as soon as possible, and if that meant taking spoonfuls of honey every hour, then so be it.

Chase did as Brooke asked, and after she
swallowed the honey, he started covering her foot with plastic bags.  He also ran her bath, and then left her to manage on her own.  Thoughts of her naked in the tub were almost too much for him.  He felt such desire for Brooke but he knew he’d scare her if he moved too fast.  So he stepped back and decided to take it slow.  He’d let her make the next move.

Brooke did as Chase suggested and hung her leg over the side of the tub and found it wonderful that she was able to lay in the bath and relax.  This was just what she needed.

When the water turned cold, Brooke decided it was time to get out.  After she dried off, she hobbled to her bed where she had clean clothes laid out.  As she dressed, she felt better and she realized that she also felt safer with Chase in the house.

She returned to the living room and saw that Chase had laid out everything he needed to change her bandages.  Would she ever be able to repay him for his thoughtfulness?  She thought back to when they first met in her back
-yard and how she acted like such a witch toward him and Digger.  She regretted her actions ever since that day.  If it weren’t for Chase and Digger, she wouldn’t still be here.

Thoughts of Digger made her look around for the dog, but
she didn’t see him.  He was probably outside and she prayed he hadn’t dug up anything else horrible as he did before.

“There you are.  I bet you are all relaxed and feeling great after your bath, right?”  Chase said.

Brooke just smiled and put her damaged foot up on the coffee table.  Chase took this as a hint that he needed to get busy.  As he tended to Brooke’s foot, his thoughts ran to the kiss they shared.  He hoped it wouldn’t be the last kiss they shared.

Digger w
andered out from the guest room and Brooke smiled.  She never thought he’d be in the house napping.  He walked up next to where Brooke sat on the sofa and let her pet him for a minute.  Suddenly he growled and ran down the hall.  Digger barked from Brooke’s room and Chase said, “Stay here.  I’m going outside to see what all the commotion’s about,” Chase said, as he pulled a gun from behind his back.

Brooke shuddered.  She didn’t know Chase owned a gun, but admitted to herself that she felt safer knowing
he did.

She heard Chase yell at someone and a few minutes went by before Chase pushed someone inside and said, “I caught this guy peeping in your bedroom windows.  I think the sheriff will have some questions for this one,” Chase spoke as he retrieved his cell phone and made the call to the sheriff’s office.  He didn’t notice how white Brooke’s face became as he pushed the subject down in the kitchen chair.

Oh no,
Brooke thought,
He’s found me, but how did he get here?  How long has he been here?  Was he the man that attacked me?
  She glanced at his hands but he wore gloves.  She saw the look of hate he held on his face and it terrified her.  She wanted to scream, but knew nothing would be heard.

Brooke knew the sheriff was tired of coming out to her home.  He looked at her as if he blamed her for all the bad that happened in his town.  She wished she could speak because she
had some words that would shock him.

“So, who do we have here?”
the sheriff asked.

If Brooke
could talk, she would have answered that question.  It was David. She wrote his name on her tablet for Chase when he asked her if she knew this man.  She saw the look on Chase’s face after he read what she wrote.  But she felt no compassion for David.  He deserved whatever Chase dished out to him.

She knew David got the message when Chase glared at him.  David kept his mouth shut.  But now that the sheriff was here, David had no choice but to answer the sheriff’s questions.

“I haven’t done anything wrong.  You have no right to keep me here.  I just wanted to make sure that this is where Brooke lived,” David said hatefully.

Chase stood up
and towered over David and said, “Why do you care where she lives.  You mean nothing to her. In fact, you are not even supposed to be in this state.  Isn’t that true?”

David squirmed in the chair he sat in.  He wasn’t such a bully now, Brooke thought to herself.  She wrote in her tablet again and Chase came over to see what she had to say.  As he leaned down to read, he kissed the top of Brooke’s head, which made David jump out of his chair.

“Sit down, and stay down,” the sheriff said as he pushed David back into the chair.

“Take those gloves off,” Chase ordered.

“I don’t have to listen to you,” David said belligerently.

The sheriff laughed as he told David, “You do have to listen to me.  Take the gloves off, now.”

Reluctantly, David removed one glove at a time.  He had some scratches on his hands, but they looked nothing like fingernail scratches.  So it looked like he wasn’t the one who tried to strangle Brooke.

“Well,
you just got lucky.  I can’t charge you with attempted murder, but I can charge you with trespassing and being a peeping tom.  And if that’s not bad enough, I’m sure when the DA in Utah gets my call, he will provoke your bond and you’ll be locked away until your trial.  Stand up,” the sheriff demanded, as he handcuffed David’s hands behind his back.

“See what you’ve done?  You’ve ruined my life, you Bitch.  I
f you would’ve kept your mouth shut, none of this would be happening to me,” David spat out, just before Chase grabbed him by the throat and said, “She hasn’t done anything to you.  You did it to yourself.  She wasn’t even the person who turned you in. You’re lucky I don’t break your neck right here and now,” Chase said as he released his hold on David.

Brooke was surprised Chase cont
rolled himself as much as he did.  She shivered as the sheriff walked David in front of her as he took him out of her house.  She prayed she would never set eyes on him again.

Chase sat next to Brooke and asked, “Are you alright?  I hope you don’t let that ass’s words get to you.  He’s a bully
, and even though you haven’t told me, I think you’ve found that out before.”

Brooke started
writing again.  She wrote, yes, she knew that after he hit her and left her lying on the floor of her apartment.  She also wrote that that was the last time she saw David until today.

Chase wiped the lone tear that fell down Brooke’s face.  He knew how strong she was then.  She’d been through so much, but held it together, when most people would fall apart.  He reached over and pulled her closer to him
, holding her tightly.

Brooke felt safe in Chase’s arms.  She snuggled as close as possible, until his phone rang.  He got up to answer and after just a few words, hung the phone up.  “That was my friend at the forensic lab in Denver.  He was doing me  favor by checking the broken glass from your back door and the broken lock off the shed, but apparently the person wore gloves.
”

“Hopefully, they find something from the nail clippings I sent them,”
he continued.

He looked at Brooke and saw she had trouble swallowing.  Her throat was still raw.

“I’m getting you some water, and honey, and then I think we should sit on the porch and enjoy the sun for as long as it is light out,” Chase told her.

While they sat outside
, they watched Digger play in the front yard.  He tried to catch a squirrel but had no luck and finally he gave up.  He climbed up on the porch and plopped down at their feet.  But he didn’t lay there long before he jumped up and started barking.

Chase looked around and saw Mrs. Drake
, as she walked up the road.  The new Mrs. Drake, as he and Brooke called her, and she wasn’t alone.  There was a tall man who walked beside her. 

“Hello, neighbors, I see you keep having excitement over here and wondered if there’s anything we could do to help,
” Mrs. Drake said as she glared at Brooke.

Chase was puzzled by the look the woman sent Brooke’s way, but decided to answer her question and send them on their way quickly.  He got bad vibes from the woman and knew Brooke wanted to keep her life private.

“Just a peeping tom, nothing too criminal,” Chase replied.  He noticed the gloves on the hands of the man he assumed was Mr. Drake, and curiosity got the better of him, “Isn’t it a little hot to be wearing gloves?”

The man acted as though Chase hit him.  His face turned re
d and Chase saw that he wished he hadn’t accompanied Mrs. Drake on her walk.

“Oh, this is my husband, Mr. Drake.  He
was doing some yard work, when I grabbed him to come with me.  He just forgot to take them off.  Well, if there’s nothing we can do, we’ll get back to work on the yard.  Enjoy the sun,” she said, as she turned around and they both walked briskly off.

Brooke tugged on Chase’s
shirtsleeve as soon as the couple was out of sight.  When he looked over at her, she signed for her writing tablet.  Chase quickly went inside and grabbed it for her.  He wasn’t prepared for what she wrote down.

Brooke remembered where she saw Mrs. Drake before.  And now that she saw Mr. Drake, she remembered him also.  Mrs. Drake was the woman who spent the night in the motel room next to Brooke’s on the night before Brooke arrived at her cottage.  And
Mr. Drake was the man in the room next to that woman who now called herself Mrs. Drake.

Brooke also wrote that on that night, Mr. Drake was supposedly asleep with his wife when the sheriff of the town woke him up.  If he had a wife, then who was the woman pretending to be his wife now?  And what happened to the woman who shared his motel room?
If they lied about whom they were, then did that mean they lied about the screams she heard that night?

“I think we need to go inside and make another call to the sheriff,” Chase said. 

When they entered Brooke’s cottage, Chase called Digger inside and locked the front door.  He placed the call and talked briefly to the sheriff who seemed less concerned than Chase and Brooke regarding the couple next door.  He hung up the phone and remembered he needed to double check the lock on the back door, but before he reached it, it burst open and there stood Mr. Drake with a gun pointed at Chase’s chest.

In that instant
, Brooke saw the scratches on Mr. Drake’s hands.  The scratches her own nails made when he tried to strangle her.

Digger growled and ran toward the man who stood in the doorway, but was stopped when the man pulled the trigger
, after he changed his aim from Chase to the dog.

Brooke screamed but nothing came out but a moan.