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The days were getting warmer, and I didn’t even have to use the heater tonight. I just soaked in the evening sunset from the deck.
Of course, thoughts of Noah invaded my mind. He was only two houses down. Crazy. It was hard to believe I’d managed to push thoughts of him away for the past eight years. Now it was like the dam had broken and all I could do was think about him.
Why was he staying the whole summer? He was helping his parents, but was there another reason? What if he’d started dating someone?
I dismissed the idea. He’d grabbed my hand twice: first at the hospital, then outside of his house when Clint had approached. Ever since, I’d thought about how good his hand felt in mine. Once, we’d been comfortable connecting like that. Now it felt awkward and also tingly and exciting.
I didn’t know how long I was out there, but suddenly I was tired. I stood, ready to head to bed. It had been a long day, and I hadn’t been sleeping well. I looked at the clock. It was almost ten o’clock. Was I old for going to bed so early? Who cared? After working long nursing shifts over the years, I had decided not to make a big deal out of when I went to bed. Self-care was too important.
I snuggled beneath the covers. Being back in Refuge Falls was the best thing for me. I was finally able to relax and be grateful that I was away from the past.
But was I really? Noah’s face came into my mind again.
No. I didn’t want to think about him or dream about him.
I pulled up my app for white noise. It didn’t matter if I was at the hospital or anywhere else; with white noise running in the background, I could fall asleep quickly. Turning on my side, I pressed a pillow lightly over the top half of my face. I liked feeling protected.
For a while, I tried to regulate my breathing, and relax. I thought about clouds and did a counting exercise. I tossed and turned, trying and failing to keep my thoughts from drifting back to Noah.
Then I heard it—the sound of a door opening. I sat up in bed. Something jostled, like someone had stumbled into it, and then I heard a curse.
Fear pressed against my heart. “Who’s there?” I called out, jumping out of bed and rummaging beneath it. I’d found a shotgun the other day while going through my grandparents’ things. Of course, it wasn’t loaded, but my grandmother had always told us that just pumping a shotgun would scare someone away. I had brought it into the bedroom, just in case.
My hands were shaking when I pulled it out. I wished I had paid better attention when Grandma and Grandpa had taken us out shooting.
I heard something else fall over, and I threw the door back. “Who’s there?” All the documentaries I’d watched said that people attacking you or breaking into your house didn’t like it when they were disrupted. They would usually flee.
I heard more stumbling, and I rushed out into the living room. The front door was hanging open, swinging like I’d just missed the intruder.
“Who is here?” I demanded. A quick look around showed me that no one was hiding in the room. Cocking the gun, I stepped outside. “Show yourself!”
No one was in sight. Only darkness surrounded me.
I ducked back inside. My heart jumped wildly in my chest. As much as I didn’t want to ask for help, I didn’t have a choice. Hurrying to my bedroom, I grabbed my phone and tapped on the text thread that McCrae had started with me.
My house has been broken into again. What should I do?
Chapter Fifteen
Noah
I pulled up to Ella’s house, adrenaline surging through every part of me. What was going on? Was it that stupid Clint? Her ex-husband? I hadn’t sat McCrae or Damon down and found out any details. They’d been tight-lipped. They should be, since this was their job, but it still bothered me. Even if Ella wasn’t my girlfriend, she was family.
I got out of my Jeep, sure I was doing the right thing. McCrae was ahead of me, and I caught up to him as he knocked on the door.
Ella answered, looking confused when she saw me right behind him. “Why is he here?”
McCrae threw his hands up. “We were playing poker together.”
She frowned. “That doesn’t mean you had to tell him.”
McCrae pointed at me. “He guessed. And then he decided to follow me.”
I took the hint. “It’s my fault.”
She looked uncertain, but she shook herself and explained, “It happened roughly half an hour ago. I was lying in bed when I heard someone in the house. I grabbed Grandma and Grandpa’sshotgun—it wasn’t loaded—then moved to the front door and pumping it while calling out.”
I couldn’t help noticing how cute she looked in her pink polka-dot pajamas. Her hair was tied back, and she had thrown a blanket over her shoulders. I wanted to pull her into my arms, though I knew she’d never let me.
