Some Day Somebody (40 page)

Carrie loosened her grip and walked to the back corner of the house. “Can you smell that?” she asked, sniffing the area.

Sam did the same but shook his head. “I don’t smell anything.”

“I smell cigarette smoke,” she explained.
“Marlboro.”

“Sorry babe, I don’t smell it,” he told her again.

“It’s here,” she insisted. “He stood right here and smoked. You have a flashlight?”

He took out his penlight key chain, a Christmas gift from Nick, and used it to illuminate the area where they stood.

“There!” Carrie said, after a few moments of searching. She bent down to pick up a butt that was still smoldering. She straightened up and held the butt under the light for a closer look. “Marlboro Reds,” she told him. “That’s the only kind my dad ever smoked. I’d recognize that smell anywhere.”

Sam uttered a low curse. “I’ll never doubt you again, babe. I can’t believe you could smell that. In this cold, I can barely smell anything.”

“It’s just the opposite for me. Smells get sharper when it’s cold.  But he’s gone now,” Carrie said, pulling on his arm. “Come on, the kids will be worried.”

As soon as they hit the porch, the door opened for them.

“Did you see anything?” Grant and Nick asked.

Sam held up the cigarette butt and related the story of Carrie’s expert sense of smell.

Nick stood up. “Someone really was out there?”

“Yep, we just don’t know who or why.” Sam adjusted the blind in the living room window and pulled Carrie into her room to speak in private. “Are you all right?”

She walked over to the bed and tugged nervously on the blanket to smooth it. “I’m exhausted, Sam. I’d love to take a long soak in the tub and hit the sack.” She picked up the radio he’d given her and walked back over to the door. Pausing, she heard her kids talking in low tones, and motioned Sam over to listen.

“It’s true,” Grant said. “Nobody else could tell if I’d been smoking but Mom always knew, even hours later. She’s got an unbelievable sense of smell.”

“Yeah,” Gretchen agreed. “We can’t get away with anything. She always catches us.”

“I swear, it’s like she has eyes in the back of her head, or something,” Lauren added.

Carrie tapped the side of her head and grinned. “Secret Parental Superpowers,” she whispered.

Sam gave a low chuckle. “All teenagers think they invented sneaking around behind their parents’ backs. If only they knew we did it first.”

“And that’s why we know what to watch for,” she added.

He placed his hands on her shoulders and gazed seriously at her. “I don’t want to leave you alone. Nick and I could bunk down here. You’re couch looks comfortable enough.”

“Nope, we’ll be fine. Go on
now,
you take your boy home.”

Sam groaned on his way out to the living area. “Come on Nick, it’s time to go.”

Gretchen’s eyes grew wide with panic as she turned to Sam. “You’re leaving us here...alone...with no phone? What if that
stalker
comes back for Mom when you aren’t around?”

Sam raised his hands. “I offered for Nick and me to stay. I could sleep on the—”

“We are
not
inconveniencing you boys anymore tonight. Besides, we’ve got Sam’s two way radios,” Carrie cut in.

“There you go, that’s as good as a telephone,” Grant said, sounding impressed.

Carrie followed Sam and Nick out to the porch. “I don’t know how to thank you for everything you’ve done for us today.”

“It makes me feel good that I could help.”

She managed a tired smile as she perused the area. “I don’t think he’ll be back tonight. Don’t ask me how I know, it’s just a feeling.”

“Yeah, well. Don’t turn that radio off until morning. As soon as I get home, I’ll switch mine on.”

Carrie placed one hand on Sam’s chest then took hold of his coat and drew him closer. She gave him a feather-light kiss on the lips, held it for a few seconds, before placing her hand gently on his face. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning. And call me later.” She held up the radio.

“Yes, ma’am, I will.” Sam backed slowly off the porch and waited until she closed and locked the door. He met Nick in her driveway, slinging his arm loosely around his son’s shoulder as they began the walk home. “It’s been a strange day, Nick. Good, but strange.”

“Things are about to change for us, huh, Dad?”

“It’s possible. We’ll see how it all turns out. What do you think of Carrie and her bunch?”

“They’re okay,” he said. “They’re fun to be around.
Except they talk funny.”

Sam grinned, knowing that was a brilliant review for a seventeen year old kid who didn’t volunteer much information. “Yeah, well, if you ask them, they’ll say it’s us that talk funny. Carrie’s always calling me a big Redneck. Did they talk about their dad or the divorce? Are they mad at their mom?”

“Grant says she should have done it years ago. They’re all real proud of Carrie. And the twins...” He shrugged. “They just don’t want to move.”

“She feels guilty for asking them to, but this is much closer to her work.” He saw his son’s grin. “Okay, I’ll admit it’s convenient as hell for me.” He gave his son a playful shove. “Give your old man a break, will you kid?”

Nick laughed. “Merry Christmas, Dad.”

“Merry Christmas, Son.” The two walked into their home and closed the door against the chill of the cold, winter night.

***

The truck’s beefed-up engine started on the first crank. He waited a few seconds before throwing it into drive and hitting the highway.
Damn, but that was close.
He’d high-tailed it to his truck, parked two streets over, to avoid getting caught. How the hell did she know he was there? How was she able to pinpoint the exact spot he’d been standing?

He stared at the dimly lit roadway, allowing himself to latch on to what he wanted to believe.
We’re connected...Bound by some invisible tether shared by two people who are meant to be together.

His truck hit an icy patch on the road and he fought to keep from skidding off into the ditch. Once he’d cleared the danger, he stared soberly at his image in the rearview.

“Pay attention, buddy. All you need is to get caught in Kenton, three parishes and sixty miles from where you’re supposed to be tonight.”

***

Carrie soaked in the tub long enough to let the tension ease from her body. Later, she emerged from her bathroom, dressed in her warmest pajamas, thick robe, and terry cloth slippers. She roamed the house and checked first on Grant sleeping on his futon.

The second bedroom remained empty, the sheets and blankets still neatly spread over the mattress. Gretchen’s room...everything placed just so...not a speck of dust anywhere on the bedroom set from the McAllister family. She definitely owed them a visit.

The third bedroom, Lauren’s room, looked like a closet had exploded. Both twins sound asleep, sprawled out on the second McAllister donation. Carrie smiled to herself, knowing she’d hear complaining in the morning. Lauren would be stuck picking up her room with no help from her sister. Gretchen was good at making messes for everyone else to clean. Throughout their entire oh-so-dramatic lives, they’d fussed about having to share
everything
. Yet, here they were, sharing a space when they didn’t have to.

Carrie walked into her bedroom and closed the door before crawling under the covers. She picked up the two-way radio, pressed the call button once like Sam showed her. Within seconds, she heard Sam’s voice coming through the transmitter.

“Everything okay over there
?...
over.”

She smiled, knowing he must have been waiting for her call. “Everything’s fine. My kids are with me, and that makes all the difference in the world.
Over.”

“I know it does, Babe, and I’m praying they make Kenton their home. It was a good day, wasn’t it?
Over.”

“It was,” she agreed, and waited. “Oh...I forgot...Over.”

“Are they asleep?
Over.”

“Yeah, we worked them pretty hard today.
Over.”

“Yeah, Nick went right to bed too. I hurried up with my shower, and I’ve been waiting for your call. I swear you’ve got me walking around here like I’m a teenager again.
Over.”

Carrie smiled to herself. “Yeah, but I bet you weren’t the one waiting on phone calls back then. Guys never waited on calls.” She waited.
“Oh...over,
dammit
!”
She heard Sam lose it on the other end and had to laugh too. “This takes some getting used to, doesn’t it?”

“Over?”
Sam added, with a distinct chuckle.

“Yeah...bite me, Langley...over.”

“It does at that...over,” he said, laughing even harder.

“Hey, if you’re
gonna
make fun of my radio skills maybe I won’t invite you to come shopping with me tomorrow...
over,
” she added.

“Love to. And I’d never make fun of the woman I love...over.”

She paused, wondering if what she felt for this man was love.
Possibly.
Even if it was, she sure as hell wouldn’t proclaim it for the first time over a
friggin
walkie-talkie. She jumped as Sam’s voice cut in on her thoughts.

“You there...over?”

“I’m here. Just thinking how sweet you are...over.”

“Thanks, Babe. Get some sleep okay?
Over.”

“I will. Come meet me for breakfast at eight?
Over.”

“I’ll be there. Goodnight, Baby...`cause I know how much you love it when I call you that.”

She paused. “I do. I definitely do...and, uh, how do we end this?
Over.”

“Love you a lot...Over and out.”

“Over and out.”

Carrie placed the radio on her nightstand and stared at it until her vision blurred. She sniffed several times, trying to hold back what she couldn’t. She finally gave in and cried, letting the tears cleanse her of the emotional stress of the day. Letting it ease the tightness caused by fear and anxiousness of so many unknowns.

Had she really expected her children to pull up roots and relocate to a place where they knew a handful of people? Yes, she had. Should she expect that after tonight? Gretchen had come out and said the word...stalker.