Beef Stolen-Off (22 page)

When she walked into the kitchen, the pounding grew louder. Remembering how Lola had opened the windows to allow the ghosts to float out to wherever the hell ghosts
go, Jordan ran to the back door and flung it open, gasping when the night air took her breath away.

“Be gone,” she said, just as Lola had at the séance. Then her eye caught a slight movement down at the dock, and all her bravado disappeared. She wrapped her arms across her chest to stop the shaking.

Stepping out onto the back porch, she stared down toward the water. Under the glow of the perfectly round full moon, the dock was outlined as if it were decorated with Christmas lights. She let out a whimper and sucked in a gigantic gulp of air when she realized what had caught her attention was only a white sheet of paper or something blowing around in front of the dock.

Laughing out loud, more in relief than anything else, she concluded the knocking noise must be Sandy’s grandfather’s boat hitting the side of the dock in the gusting winds. She turned and walked back inside, wrapping her arms around herself to keep out the chill. She was just about to close the door behind her when the pounding returned.

She twirled around, hoping to catch Danny and Victor and read them the riot act for scaring the bejesus out of her, but she froze as the realization hit hard. It wasn’t the boat rocking against the dock making the noise.

The pounding was coming from the middle of the lake.

Jordan ran back into the house and locked the door behind her. With shaking hands, she quickly turned off the kitchen light, so no one could see inside. Sliding down to the floor out of sight, she took several calming breaths, trying to slow her racing heart. For a long time she sat there, wondering what to do next.

The good news was that the racket in the middle of the night definitely was not the work of lonely spirits waiting to enter the netherworld. She had no idea what it really was, but that didn’t matter. Now she could look her friend in the eye and tell her with confidence the house wasn’t haunted.

So why was she still acting like there was a boogeyman out there?

Finally brave enough to stand, she peered out the window at the calm water. When the pounding started again,
she quickly slumped to the floor before remembering that whatever was making all that noise was too far away to hurt her.

She’d share her discovery with Sandy in the morning, and after lunch maybe they could take that tour around the lake Sandy had been promising and see for themselves if there was anything bobbing in the water.

On the other hand, she hadn’t really discovered anything except that the sound was coming from the lake, and she wasn’t even sure about that. Sandy would never believe there was something out there in the water banging into a floating object at the same time every week.

Who would? Jordan shook her head, knowing the only way her friend would ever feel comfortable living in her grandfather’s house was if they could pinpoint the exact cause of the noise. According to Sandy, the pounding only occurred at night, and only on Fridays. After thinking of a zillion reasons why she should go back to bed and discuss it with her friend in the morning, Jordan decided, terrified or not, she couldn’t wait. She would walk down to the dock and see for herself while it was happening.

Slowly, she stood up again and leaned against the door. She remembered Sandy going to the kitchen for a flashlight earlier when Ray had to run out to the car to get the cards. Rummaging through the drawers, she finally found it and checked to make sure it actually worked. After retrieving her coat from the hall closet, she opened the back door and walked out onto the porch.

The cool night air slapped her in the face, and she breathed in deeply. She could smell the unmistakable odor of rotting leaves and fish. Looking down at the dock, she was relieved to see nothing had changed during the time she’d huddled on the kitchen floor. She had no idea what
she’d expected to be different and scolded herself for being so fearful.

Giving herself a quick pep talk, she summoned up the courage to start down the porch steps and made her way to the dock. Halfway there, the pounding stopped, and she came close to hauling her butt back to the house. Knowing this was the only way to help her friend, she forced her feet to keep moving forward.

Close to the dock, she pointed the flashlight beam across the wooden structure, slowly surveying the area. Just as Sandy had said, there was a boat suspended above the water on a lift and a Jet Ski in the next stall, also above the water.

When the pounding started up again, Jordan jerked around and flashed the light toward the center of the water. Lake Texoma was huge, with limited visibility across its expanse, but she was able to determine the noise was coming from the other side of the cove to her left. Though she could see all the way to the shoreline under the glow of the moon, her first glance didn’t pick up anything clanging together in the water.

Disappointed, she made another scan of the area. She had to find out something—anything—so Sandy could live out here without the fear of unwanted houseguests.

Making a spur-of-the-moment decision she knew she would probably live to regret—assuming she did live—she turned the switch on the wooden column separating the boat from the Jet Ski. With a loud cranking sound, the lift holding the Jet Ski began to descend. When it was low enough, she jumped on before common sense had time to veto what the crazy side of her brain was already planning to do.

She thought back to her adolescent years when her family
and their friends used to camp on Lake Amarillo in the Texas summer heat. Someone always brought Jet Skis, and she remembered how the keys would be stored in the front compartment. She wondered if Sandy’s grandfather had done the same. With adrenaline racing through her body, she opened the box below the steering column. A wave of disappointment, mixed with a flurry of relief, surged through her.

There was no key.

Leaning back, she closed her eyes. What was she thinking? Even if she could get it started, she’d freeze out there with the chilly water spray soaking her. Despite her jeans and jacket, the cold would be unbearable. And what if the Jet Ski stalled in the middle of the lake? Or worse, what if there really was something out there waiting for her?

She snorted, thinking Victor wasn’t the only melodramatic one at the Empire Apartments. What did she think was out there—the Loch Ness monster?

Sliding off the seat and jumping back on the dock, she flipped the switch to raise the ski back up, taking one final look across the water. On her way back to the house, Jordan resigned herself to the fact she might never discover the source of the pounding. She just hoped the screeching of the pulleys elevating the Jet Ski hadn’t awakened Sandy. Then she realized that the chance of that happening with Sandy happily in la-la land, thanks to the sleeping pill, was about as unlikely as a toddler refusing candy.

As soon as she entered the house, Jordan went straight to the master bedroom to make sure Sandy was okay. Seeing her friend sound asleep and totally oblivious to her close encounter with the Lake Texoma Creature, Jordan began to relax. They’d have a good laugh about all of it in the morning.

Back in the kitchen, she fixed a cup of hot chocolate, wishing they hadn’t polished off the Baileys earlier. Craving a Ho Ho after all her excitement, she accepted that the warm mug of chocolate would have to do. Still shivering from being outside in the cool air, she kept her coat on as she stood by the sink and sipped the drink.

Even with her insides finally warmed from the cocoa, she was still too wound up to sleep. She decided to dig out the romance novel she’d borrowed from Lola. Maybe a little escape from reality with a Highland warrior would settle her nerves. Plopping down on the couch, she opened the book.

Though she tried to concentrate, halfway through the first chapter, she was still thinking about Sandy and the lake house. What a great place this was, now that it no longer gave her the creeps. Situated in an isolated cove, it had everything you needed for fun—the boat for fishing, the Jet Ski for playing on the water, and even bike trails around the cove for exercise.

Holy cow, Jordan!
Can’t you just sit here and enjoy the stupid book?

Why’d she have to go and start thinking again? Why couldn’t she just let it go, knowing things happen for a reason? Maybe if Sandy stayed in town and wasn’t reminded of her grandfather at every turn, her grief over his death might not be so traumatic. Maybe this was all for the better.

That was bull and Jordan knew it. Sandy loved this place and might never get over it if she didn’t do everything in her power to keep it in the family. Losing her grandfather’s legacy was something she would regret for the rest of her life.

Rats!

Jordan laid the book on the end table and bounced up
from the couch. Why did she have to go and think about the bike trail right at this minute? Why couldn’t she just give it a rest?

With the little voice in her head reminding her that she was an idiot, she went to the garage door and turned on the light. She spotted the bikes tucked in the far corner and secretly hoped the tires were flat. A closer look verified that the gods were not with her on this one. Both bikes were in pristine condition. Staring at them, she knew what she had to do even though every brain cell in her head screamed for her to go back to the romance novel and the great-looking Scottish guy in a kilt on the cover.

Choosing the newer-looking bicycle, she guided it out the side door of the garage and into the cool night air. She wrapped her scarf around her mouth and nose, thinking, for once, Lucas Santana had done her a favor by giving it to her.

As Jordan made her way to the bicycle trail Sandy had pointed out earlier, her eyes darted from side to side. She’d lived in Texas all her life and knew the critters came out at night to play.

And to hunt.

Peddling at a medium pace and wondering what if anything she would find on the other side of the cove, Jordan breathed in the wonderful aroma of country night air. The path was wide and the moon provided just enough light. Further from the water now, the fish odor wasn’t as strong. Even though the leaves had already fallen from the trees, the earthy smell of wet vegetation reminded her of midnight hayrides back in Amarillo with everyone bundled up in heavy blankets.

Times like these made her miss living closer to her family, but not enough to entice her to actually move home.
She had no desire to live her life with the constant meddling of overprotective brothers.

The loud chirping of the crickets along with the sporadic call of a hoot owl worked like a Ho Ho, calming her nerves and strengthening her determination to resolve this noise thing once and for all. More than likely, she’d find a farmer with sleep issues on the other side of the cove using this time for handyman chores or something equally innocuous.

Or was that wishful thinking?

When she lifted her face to the sky, enjoying the way the wind blew her hair and tickled her ears, her scarf slipped down around her neck. Touching the silky brownish red fabric, she decided Santana must’ve spent a small fortune on it. She could still picture the anger on Bella’s face when the old man had blurted out that he’d bought it because of Jordan’s red hair and bedroom eyes.

Bedroom eyes, my butt!
Neither her eyes nor the rest of her would ever be anywhere near Santana’s bedroom. Once again Jordan wondered why a woman who looked like Bella stayed with a man like Lucas Santana.

Was she hoping to get her hands on his money? Lucas had never mentioned any family. Maybe Bella was biding her time, waiting to recoup the losses of basically wasting her twenties to play nursemaid to a pervert like Lucas all these years.

Bella had mentioned she’d been twenty-four when Lucas had nearly lost his leg. She’d been his nurse at the hospital, and when he was discharged, he’d insisted he would make it worth her while if she’d come home and take care of him. Worth her while must’ve cost him a pretty penny, and now, some ten years later, Jordan wondered if
Bella still thought the benefits of life with Lucas outweighed the sacrifices.

Or maybe Bella really did love the old guy. Santana’s wife had still been alive when Bella moved in. She had probably turned a blind eye to her husband’s outrageous behavior back then just as Bella did now. She’d bet money on it, convinced she would never truly understand the rules of attraction.

Her attention was diverted as an armadillo crossed the bike trail ahead followed by four younger ones. She braked and watched as the little animals hurried to catch up with their mama. Knowing armadillos always gave birth to four identical babies of the same sex, Jordan wondered if these were girls or boys. Another oddity she didn’t understand.

When they were safely across the trail, she began pedaling and nearly crashed as the pounding started up again. But it wasn’t a soft sound muffled by the lake now. This was a loud and unmistakable thump every few seconds.

And whatever it was, it was right around the bend.