Rising Heat (66 page)

I finally decided to go to bed, but before I left my office, I jotted down a few notes to remind me of what I wanted to do tomorrow. I also needed to start working on Hawk’s new website, which I planned on roughing out tomorrow after I finished my tasks for my paying clients.

*

The following morning dawned clear, bright, and warmer than I expected this late in the year. I wondered how Hawk was faring out there. I hoped he wasn’t too cold. In my pajamas, I made the rounds. I looked out my bedroom window, scanning the woods in my line of sight. It was just now beginning to glow with the shafts of early morning sunlight. Mist rose from the ground in several places, but I saw no sign or indication of him out there. I quickly headed downstairs and repeated the process.

If he was out there, he had not lit a fire, or at least I didn’t see any lingering hint of wood smoke in the air. I walked down the hallway past my office and to the back door. After unlocking the deadbolt and regular lock, I opened the door a mere inch or two and sniffed at the air. No, no hint of wood smoke. My eyes wandered down the path that led through the back yard and into the tree line. Had my visitor been around last night? Had Hawk caught him already? I had no idea—

I heard the ring tone of my cell phone that I always left charging in my office at night. The whistling sound of the Clint Eastwood movie
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
You probably thought I would have a pop ring tone didn’t you, maybe by Taylor Swift or Katy Perry? No, give me a movie soundtrack any day.

I quickly moved back to my office and picked up my cell phone. I glanced at the screen. There was no name identifying the caller, but I recognized the number. Hawk.

“Hello?” I said, a little nervous. After all, considering what we had done the previous evening just before he left…

“I’m back at my office now. I was on your property last night until just before dawn. Didn’t see any signs of anyone lingering around.”

I blew out a breath. “That’s a relief.”

“I’ll be in my office today. I want to eliminate a few possibilities, including your neighbors. Anyone you know from Boston who has a grudge against you? Someone who’s not happy with the way a relationship ended?”

Grudge? Against me? I searched my mind. “I had a boyfriend, but we broke up quite a while ago.”

“How long ago?”

“It’s been about six months now.”

“What’s his name?”

“You really think he could be—?”

“Like I said, Tracy, I’m eliminating possibilities. What’s his name?”

“Jeremy… Jeremy Atkinson.”

“Why’d you break up?”

I scowled at the wall. “He was becoming a little more controlling than I cared for. You know, possessive, like telling me when I could hang out, how to spend my money, what I could or couldn’t do, you know the routine.”

“And how did it all end?”

“Badly.”

“Was he physically abusive?”

“No, Hawk, he wasn’t. He never laid a hand on me, never threatened me.” I shook my head. “I just wasn’t interested in that kind of a relationship. I told him so and broke up with him.”

“Do you think he still has a thing for you?”

I made a noise in my throat. “It’s doubtful. I had a strong feeling that he was seeing another woman, perhaps even more. I’m sure he moved on to greener pastures once I broke up with him.”

“But he was angry.”

“Well, sure,” I said. It couldn’t possibly be Jeremy, could it? “He wasn’t living permanently with me or anything, but he did have stuff over at my place because he typically stayed over on the weekends.”

Hawk didn’t say anything for several moments. “And what did Jeremy Atkinson do for a living?”

“He bounced from job to job,” I said. That sounded pretty lame now, but at the time I really believed Jeremy when he said he was merely exploring his options and didn’t want to settle on anything permanently until he found ‘his calling’. Now I realized how ridiculous that was, and even more so for me to have believed it.

“Have you heard from him since you broke up?”

“Not a peep. I don’t think he even knows that I’ve left Boston.”

“If he did know, do you think he’d be able to find you? How many of your friends from Boston know where you live now?”

I was a little embarrassed to admit it. “Hawk, I don’t really have any friends. I mean, at least not that I socialize with. Working from home doesn’t give me a chance to get out and meet people, you know? I don’t drink, so I don’t even visit the bar scenes.”

I paused, but he remained silent. I answered the question. “Actually, the only people who know I moved here are my mother, my sister and her husband, and they live in Montana.” I thought. “And the locals. A few mentioned that they know I took over this property from my grandma. You know, just people from the supermarket, the post office, no lingering curiosity.”

Hawk said nothing for several moments. “Okay, Tracy, I’ll just do a quick background check on Jeremy, see what he’s been up to lately. I doubt he’s the one who’s been sending you the notes though.”

“I feel the same way. So, what should I do now?”

“Take care of your business. Try to focus on your work. Keep your doors locked and your windows shut and locked, which shouldn’t be too much of a problem since it’s growing cooler. But if you notice anybody lurking around your property today, call me or the police. I’ve notified Detective Cutter that I’ve taken your case. I’ll be in the office most of the day, but I’ll stop by later this afternoon or this evening to let you know what I found out. I’ll call before I come over.”

“Okay, thank you, Hawk. I appreciate it.”

“One more thing, Tracy.”

I swallowed. Was he going to mention what we did in my living room? Was he going to say he was sorry, that we shouldn’t have done it or that he’d crossed a line? Did I want him to? What he said was not what I expected.

“Tomorrow, I want to take you to the shooting range. Show you how to load and shoot the Ruger—”

“Hawk, I—”

“No arguments. I don’t care if you like guns or not. You’re going to learn how to use one. Whether you decide to use it is up to you. But I’ll be blunt. I’m trying to find out who’s doing this and I’ll do my best to protect you, but I can’t be with you all the time. You understand what I’m saying?”

I did. He was telling me that there was a chance that I would be in danger. “I understand,” I said. My voice sounded soft. Frightened.

“We can talk about this when I come over later.” With that, the call disconnected.

I tried to do as he said. I fixed myself a simple breakfast; oatmeal and toast. Then I carried my cup of coffee to my office, sat down at my computer and checked my e-mails before sending a couple of notes to clients, giving them an update on my progress with their website development. Then, I got to work.

Several times, I found myself pausing in my work and thinking back to last evening. Hawk’s hard and muscular body. His cock and the way it felt so thoroughly smooth on the surface, hard as a rock underneath. When I found my thoughts venturing in that direction, I had to literally shake my head and refocus. Geez. If I kept that up, I’d be taking a cold shower.

About midmorning, I got up from my desk and went upstairs to my bedroom to change into something a little warmer. It seemed cooler today. Damn. Glancing out my bedroom window, I saw clouds building to the east. For some reason I thought ‘cloudy with a chance of meatballs’. I laughed. That had been one of my favorite books as a child.

And then I saw something that brightened my spirits even more. A young deer hesitantly emerged from the tree line, glanced around, and then began grazing on the now dormant front lawn.

That’s another thing that I loved out here. The wildlife. Any time I saw a chipmunk, a squirrel, a raccoon, a deer, or the myriad of birds that made their homes in the nearby trees, the sight made me smile. I loved being out here in nature. The sunrises were always gorgeous, the sunsets dramatic. Sometimes, late at night, I’d walk outside and look up at the millions of stars blanketing the sky. You never saw things like this living in downtown Boston.

I realized something else. If anyone was lurking around, that deer wouldn’t be so comfortable nibbling on the grass, its tail twitching with pleasure. I felt a great surge of relief flow through me. Stepping away from the window, I quickly changed into some warmer clothes and then headed back downstairs to my office, reinvigorated.

Maybe whoever left those notes had grown tired of tormenting me. Maybe whoever it was had moved on to someone else. After all, it was a small town. I had no doubt that small-town gossip had already spread the news that the granddaughter of Margaret Wexler had inherited her house. That the Nervous Nellie from Boston had hired the Native American private investigator with the questionable reputation whose office was over the quilt shop. While no one knew why I had obtained the services of a private investigator, I supposed that rumors would spread like wildfire.

Perhaps my secret admirer knew Hawk. Maybe he had a reputation of sometimes operating on the fringes of the law. Maybe he had decided that messing with Hawk wasn’t worth the thrill he got out of tormenting me. At least that’s what I hoped.

I got back to work and managed to complete the rough layouts of two websites, including navigation trees. One was relatively basic. The second client was a physician whose website would be more detailed.

Before I knew it, shadows were gathering in my office. I was rather surprised that I had actually gotten so much work done. Pleased, I saved my files and got up and stretched. My stomach rumbled. I hadn’t eaten much in the last day or two.

I had to see what was in my freezer. Something nukable for sure. I hadn’t done much cooking or baking since I arrived. Maybe next weekend.

What I liked to do, not just because I was lazy, but because it was so hard to cook for just one person, was to spend one day a week cooking up a few entrées. I would then portion those entrées into serving sizes, put them in plastic containers, and then pop them into the freezer. In the morning, I would decide what I wanted for dinner and simply take the container out of the freezer to thaw out on the counter. Then all I had to do was make myself a salad or vegetable and dinner was served.

I had started cooking that way after I booted Jeremy out of my life. It was so easy to go out and grab fast food when I lived in Boston or to keep my freezer filled with pizzas and other frozen goodies. Reason number one for my thickening waistline. I have to admit, after my relationship with Jeremy, I did go through a bout of mild depression. Not because I missed Jeremy, but because I yearned for a good man in my life.

Maybe I was one of those women who would never have a husband or a family. While I was certainly young enough that I wasn’t
that
concerned about it, it did cross my mind once in a while. Besides, I didn’t have time for a boyfriend in my life right now, or romantic entanglements, or the drama that often came with relationships. I was too busy. At the same time, I realized that it was becoming increasingly easy to isolate myself.

Now that I moved from Boston to Seneca, I wondered if my penchant for solitude would get even worse. Would I turn into a hermit? Would I become that crazy old lady up the road who lived alone? Would I become the butt of jokes or an easy target for kids playing pranks on Halloween?

Had I allowed myself to become easy prey for a stalker?

I shook my head, forcefully redirecting my thoughts. Enough! So back to Hawk I went. Of course.

I growled at myself. I was a grown woman, not a schoolgirl swept off her feet by her first crush. Or was I? So Hawk and I had shared a special moment, or at least I thought so. It didn’t mean he had to offer a marriage proposal, did it?

Bite my tongue. What the hell was I thinking? A man like Hawk didn’t seem to be the kind to settle down. Well, maybe he would someday, but a guy with his looks, his charisma? He would probably play the field, sow his wild oats with willing partners for at least several more years.

He hadn’t exactly sown many wild oats with me, but if the opportunity arose — pun intended — would I turn him away? Based on the way he had made me feel last night, I seriously doubted it. I didn’t want him to think I was easy. I don’t think he thought that I was, but what did I know?

Why fight the sexual attraction? Would it cause a problem down the line? I had no idea. But maybe I ought to just play it cool for a while anyway. I had sought out Hawk to do a job, not to have sex with me.

Besides, I was still recovering from the breakup with Jeremy. Not recovering in the literal sense of the word, but I think I had learned a lot. I learned that I couldn’t always accept things at face value. Unfortunately, sometimes you had to live with a guy before his true colors shone through. Was Hawk the same way? Handsome and buff on the outside, but carrying baggage of his own inside? Baggage that no glossy or shiny exterior could hide once you got to know him?

I knew I was feeling vulnerable. Loath as I am to admit it, as I consider myself to be self-reliant, it was nice to feel the sense of protection Hawk offered. And if anyone could protect anybody, I had a feeling it would be Hawk. He was physically intimidating, no doubt about it, but he also seemed supremely sensible and confident. Not quite arrogant, but sure of himself.

Like my dad used to say, if you could do it, it wasn’t bragging. Add the mystique of him being a Native American and I was more than a little enthralled. I had never met anyone quite like Hawk. I had thought Jeremy handsome and charismatic, and yes, even a little bit of a bad boy too. He drank, sometimes to excess, he smoked, and he told me that in his younger days he had experimented with a number of drugs. I had believed him when he said he was no longer involved in all that, but as time had passed and his behavior grew a little more possessive, a little more erratic, I had to wonder.

At any rate, I didn’t go outside until later in the afternoon. I decided that I needed to go out and check my mail, not that I was expecting anything, but mostly to prove to myself that I wasn’t afraid to venture past my front porch. Hawk hadn’t seen anything last night, and I hadn’t noticed anything so far today and I hoped that mercy would continue. I didn’t want anybody to have that kind of power over me; the power to make me afraid to step out of my own house.