Yuletide Protector (Love Inspired Suspense) (6 page)

“I spent all of last night trying to figure out a way to go away even for a little while. But I can’t keep up the house payment and upkeep here
and
afford to stay at a motel somewhere else. As it is, my paycheck barely covers my personal expenses, and what little is left over goes to building supplies.”

“Can’t you ask your parents for a loan?”

Daria laughed softly. “My parents live a very modest lifestyle. Right now they’re not even in the country. Where they’re staying they don’t even have a phone.”

“I see.”

“No,” she said, “I don’t think you really do. But it doesn’t matter. I’m going to go into my bedroom, find a nice comfortable pair of sweats and then go take a long, hot bubble bath in my big claw-foot tub. It’s been a long day. I think I’m due.”

Kevin’s crystal eyes stared back at her with sympathy and it shamed her. Did he believe her to be as much a failure as she felt right then? She was an accountant. She knew better than to leave herself exposed without any money in reserve for emergencies.

Daria dragged her gaze from him. She wanted to know what he was thinking as his eyes grazed the windowpane, but she was afraid to ask. Was he angry with
her for the position he seemed to be in, feeling as if his life was on hold because she refused to leave?

But instead of scolding her or making judgments, he said, “You may be more comfortable holding off on that bath until the boys have had a chance to dust the porch.”

She held his gaze for as long as she could stand it. In the end, she wasn’t as strong as Kevin. Daria finally nodded and walked to the bedroom.

Kevin was still watching her as she closed her bedroom door.
Such fortitude, such strength,
she thought. As irritating as this situation was, his steadfastness was something she admired about Kevin. It was a quality she’d hoped to find in a life partner some day in the future. If she’d met Kevin under other circumstances, she’d be thinking of the possibility that this man could be something more than her protector. He could be part of her future.

It looked as if George had destroyed her chance at that, as well.

T
he “boys” had come and gone. Kevin had left the house along with them. Scrubbed clean from her bath, Daria paced the bedroom in her slippers, sleep eluding her again. It was hard enough to handle the idea that someone had come to her house with the express purpose of trying to scare her. But knowing that Kevin felt the need to stay outside her door to protect her from that danger was unsettling.

The wind rattled through the rafters of her old house, finding the drafts and holes she’d put on her list to fix eventually. In a few short months spring would tease the air again and she’d be able to get to her to-do list. But right now the temperature outside was freezing, and the wind howled like a lone wolf in the distance. The cold wind, along with the quiet creak of the floorboards beneath her feet, only made her more restless.

After slipping into an old, comfortable terry-cloth robe, Daria pulled open the lid of the trunk at the foot of her bed and grabbed the extra blanket she kept stashed there, before heading to the kitchen. She poured the mixture of hot chocolate she’d prepared into a thermos and screwed on the lid, sealing it tight and capping it off with a cup.

There was nothing like a delicious cup of hot chocolate to keep a cold and sleep-deprived person warm. Kevin would probably collapse in the middle of roll call if he had to endure one more sleepless night. But at least he wouldn’t be as cold tonight with some hot liquid warming his insides. It was the least she could do, since she knew that with Kevin sitting in front of the house the likelihood of someone coming back tonight was nil.

Besides, Daria couldn’t stomach looking at her finances again. Her head ached from running numbers and coming up short every time. A walk in the fresh air would do her some good. Maybe even help settle her nerves so she could sleep.

It was nearly 1:00 a.m. and the temperature had dropped well below freezing. The nightly weather report warned of an added drop of ten degrees due to windchill. Snow was coming, even if it hadn’t started yet.

After she gave Kevin the blanket and hot chocolate, she’d climb into bed and try to get some rest. If sleep didn’t come soon she’d be barely coherent in the morning. Marla would throw a million and one questions filled with innuendo her way and Daria wasn’t quite prepared to deal with that another day. She’d had her fill today every time Marla had come into her office and glanced at those stupid flowers.

Her assistant had always liked George, a fact that had been evident when George had visited the office before Daria had filed for divorce. Daria had always known George’s flash and position were things he prided himself on, as well as assets that drew women to him.

Being an outgoing woman, Marla had her pick of male suitors. But it was more than just envy over the flowers this morning that had Marla gazing longingly
into Daria’s office. Daria had always suspected that all it would take would be a tiny nudge, and Marla would make a move on George.

The sour feeling that churned in her stomach wasn’t jealousy, but deep concern. While they were not close, Marla had been a good friend at work while Daria had gone through her emotional and legal trials. If George was capable of hiring someone to murder her, then no woman was safe with him. It would be easy for Marla to get caught up in a web from which she couldn’t untangle herself.

Grabbing her jacket, Daria decided she wouldn’t think about it now. Marla was a big girl and Daria neither had nor wanted control of the men her assistant chose to date. Daria had her own life and problems to deal with. Including the man camped out in front of her house.

Throwing open the front door, she stepped outside into the bitter cold, clutching the blanket in her arms as she moved down the stairs. The icy breeze shocked her skin and bit through the threads of her jacket. The trees lining the street creaked in protest against the wind and cold. A lone dog barked on the next block, and Daria practically jumped out of her skin.

Quickening her step, Daria hurried down the driveway to where Kevin was parked at the curb, expecting to find him sitting fitfully asleep in the front of his truck.

The truck was empty.

“Kevin?” she called out in a heavy whisper. A chill rocketed through her as she swung around, searching the darkness with widened eyes.

At the heavy bark of the dog on the next block, she twisted her body yet again, her arms nearly dropping the blanket and thermos in her hands. From inside Mrs.
Hildebrand’s house, Spot came to life, adding in what sounded like a round-robin between the two animals. In the distance, another dog added to the chorus.

“What are you doing out here?”

Even knowing the sound of Kevin’s voice, Daria still yelped. He had to have been walking on air, because she hadn’t heard his approach. She’d been distracted by the dogs and her own rampant imagination.

Clutching the blanket and the thermos to her chest, she said, “Don’t sneak up on me like that! You nearly gave me a heart attack.”

“What are you doing out of the house this time of night? It could be dangerous. For a minute, I thought you were a prowler.”

“I’m sorry,” she said.

Kevin appeared oblivious to her annoyance. He waved the flashlight he gripped in his hands back and forth through the yard, sometimes looking at her, sometimes seeming to look through her, as if she weren’t even there.

She cleared her throat. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

He glanced at her then and his gaze held. “You didn’t,” he said quietly. “I heard the dogs barking and thought I’d check the yard. You must have come out the front door while I was in the backyard.”

“I can open the front door easily enough from the inside. It’s only from the outside that I have a hard time.”

“Are you okay?”

Taken aback by the sudden concern in his voice, Daria shrugged and said, “I’m fine. I was just having trouble sleeping. The house has a lot of drafts and the wind gets pretty loud at night.”

Kevin went back to panning the surrounding yards
with his flashlight. “Do the dogs always make this much noise?”

“Sometimes. We don’t get a lot of stray dogs in this part of the city, but there are cats, and that’s pretty much all Spot needs to see outside to start barking.”

Kevin turned to her with a weak smile and flicked off the flashlight. “And once one starts, they all join in.” His eyes were glassy from being hit with the cold wind. But the black jacket with the Providence PD emblem on it looked bulky and warm.

The mist from Kevin’s breath escaped his mouth as he spoke, then evaporated instantly. The collar of his jacket was flipped up to protect his neck from the biting wind. Even with the jacket, he had to be cold, adding to the guilt Daria felt, but he didn’t let on any discomfort.

“Tonight is a little more frigid than it’s been in the last few days so I brought you a blanket and hot chocolate.” She thrust the blanket and thermos out to him.

“If you insist on freezing yourself out here like this, it’s the least I can do,” she added when all he did was stare at her.

“You made me hot chocolate?”

“Yes. It’s not homemade or anything. Just instant with a little bit of the half-and-half I bought the other day.”

Kevin let out a slow sigh and reached for the carafe. “Oh, man, I think I love you.”

Daria blinked, and then laughed. “No wonder Mrs. Hildebrand made you cookies. If you go around saying things like that to sweet-talk women, you’ll be fattened up before Christmas.”

“No, really. This is great. The coffee I got earlier is long gone. This should keep me warm tonight.”

“Well, the blanket should keep you a little more com
fortable. It’s not electric or anything but it is wool. It kept me warm many nights when I didn’t have any heat. Oh, here. Take it,” she said as she shoved the blanket into his arms.

Kevin’s smile was so bright it had her heart beating rampantly. It was only a blanket and some hot chocolate, after all. But he was grinning at her as if she’d given him the grand prize at a carnival.

Her arms were now empty. She crossed them in front of her chest to give them something to do. “It’s just, I won’t be able to sleep at all tonight if I think you’re freezing out here. I don’t know why. It’s your decision to be here like this. Not mine.”

He adjusted the blanket in his arms and repositioned the flashlight. A slow smile played at the corner of his lips as he gazed down at her.

“What are you smiling about?”

Kevin lifted his shoulder in a slight shrug. “Nothing. It was just a really nice thing for you to do, giving me a blanket. And the hot chocolate, too. Thanks.”

His eyes never left hers and Daria didn’t know what to say to him. He was wearing her down, getting her used to having him around. And that wasn’t good at all. Although she had to admit that she’d been glad Kevin was there when she’d seen that bird on her door, she had to remind herself why Kevin was really there. It had nothing to do with her, he just wanted to catch George. When the danger left, he would, too. She couldn’t let herself get attached, no matter how hard it was to remember to keep her distance when he smiled at her like that.

She cleared her throat, amazed that the words she was about to say were harder to say than she’d rehearsed in the house. “Then you should note for the record that
I think you’ve made your point and that staying here like this is ridiculous. You’re insane if you think you can possibly keep up for very long working all day and staying up all night watching my house. This is my problem. Not yours.”

“You’re worried about me?”

“Don’t change the subject.”

“I thought I was the subject a few seconds ago. You’re worried about how I’m holding up? Well, I’ll tell you. It’s not easy. But I know it’s the right thing to do. Your ex-husband is quiet now, but the next time he makes a move, he’s coming after you. And since I’m a police officer in this city, that makes it very much my problem, too.”

She trembled with a gust of wind and she pulled her robe tighter. “This whole thing is insane.”

“I can’t really argue with that. But your decision to stay really leaves me no choice.”

A fingernail of irritation scraped up her spine. Not at Kevin, but at her own predicament. “I’ve already told you I can’t go.”

His expression softened to something warm and caring and did loads to disintegrate her frustration.

“Yes, you did. I know it took a lot for you to admit that to me earlier. I’m glad you did. At least I know you understand the potential danger you’re in right now, and you’re not just being stubborn.”

Surprised, she cocked her head. “Is that what you thought?”

“Initially, yes. A lot of women are in this situation.”

“I’m not stupid, Kevin. I’d get out of danger if I could. I just feel stuck. I’m surprised you didn’t know this already.”

“About the money? No. I checked out the basics on you, but despite what most people think, the police can’t check your bank account without a warrant. There was no justification to check yours.”

Shifting in place to keep the cold from making her shudder, she said, “How basic? Do you have my SAT scores and elementary school records on file?”

He smiled. “You did really well in math. It’s no wonder you went into accounting.”

Her mouth dropped open.

“I’m kidding,” he said with a chuckle.

She couldn’t help laughing, too, but the seriousness of her situation soon took over.

“It wasn’t your fault,” she finally said. “You’re not responsible.”

He made a small grunt as if he was uncomfortable with her perceptiveness. “That’s not the way I see it. And whether it is my fault or not, it is my responsibility. That’s why I became a cop.”

Daria sighed softly. “Good night, Kevin,” she said and turned away from him.

He wouldn’t sleep tonight because he was a man on a mission. She wouldn’t sleep tonight either, but for an entirely different reason. And that reason would be the man, not the cop, staring at her window.

The next morning Daria fried an extra egg and slapped it on a toasted bagel with a few slices of bacon. She wasn’t trying to impress Kevin, she told herself. She’d cooked for men before. Well, okay, it was only her father and her ex, but that counted, didn’t it? It was only a stupid breakfast sandwich. And it wasn’t like she was going out of her way to make it, either. She was making one for herself, too.

Frost had grown on the windowpane overnight, stretching crystal fingers that made it hard to look out the window, but she knew Kevin would still be there.

Slipping her feet into her boots, Daria wrapped the sandwich in wax paper and tossed it into a brown bag. She’d bring the sandwich out to Kevin and then start her truck to warm it up before leaving.

She stepped outside using the front door even though she’d have to come back in this way and lock the door from the inside before she left for work. Still, if she could possibly avoid the back door for a little bit longer, she would.

It was irrational. Daria knew she’d get over it in time, but for right now, it felt too raw.

Kevin rolled down the window as she approached.

“Good morning, sunshine,” he said with a smile that instantly warmed her insides despite the frosty morning.

Feeling flattered, Daria smiled stupidly and held out the bag with the sandwich. As she did, she saw the plate of muffins on the seat next to him and her spirits fell. Hilda had beaten her to the punch.

Suddenly annoyed, she huffed, and pulled back her hand.

Kevin just gave her a sleepy grin. “What’s that? Did you make something for me?”

“I thought you might be hungry, but I guess you’re all set.”

“No way. I can smell what’s in that bag and it smells great.”

Kevin reached his arm out through the open window to grab the bag. Daria tossed it to him. “If you keep eating all the baked goodies Mrs. Hildebrand gives you, you’re going to get crumbs all over your seats.”

A slow smile crept into the corner of his mouth. “Climb in. We can eat our breakfast together.”

“I can’t. I have to finish getting ready for work. But if you want to warm up in the house while you’re eating, you’re free to do so.”