house. He tried to block the flood of images that flipped through his mind. What were the chances of her fending off an attacker before the police arrived?
The emergency vehicle whizzed down the road, passing Mr. Taylor’s street. Kyle felt the rush of adrenaline shoot through his heart. It wasn’t her. It wasn’t her.
Slowing down at the third turn, he swung a sharp left and began searching for the house. Thirty-three…thirty-five…He stopped two houses short of her father’s one-story brick house and pulled his rented Mazda against the curb.
Please, God. Let her be okay.
He steadied his breathing. Half a dozen people stood talking on the front lawn, but the street lamp didn’t cast enough light to clearly make out who they were. One or two officers and a couple of neighbors? Squinting in the darkness through the windshield, he caught a glimpse of Lindsey’s pink dress and let out a sigh of relief.
Thank you, Lord.
He got out of the car and approached the scene slowly. The last thing he needed was to be marked as a possible suspect.
One of the officers stepped toward him and held out an arm. “I’m going to have to ask you to stop right there, sir.”
Kyle froze in his tracks, holding his hands away from his sides. “I’m a friend of Lindsey—”
“It’s all right, Officer.” Lindsey came up beside the uniformed man. “This is Kyle Walker. I was talking to him on my cell when the attempted break-in occurred.”
The officer nodded and moved aside.
Kyle pulled her into his arms, overwhelmed with relief. Once again, his reaction to her caught him off guard, just as it had when he’d first seen her at the wedding.
He’d felt more like a college sophomore than a thirty-three-year-old. She’d been the reason he hadn’t been able to fall asleep at the hotel, and he’d decided to take a chance and call her despite the late hour. Lucky thing he did.
The problem was, he hadn’t planned on this distraction. Not this weekend. He needed to focus on his upcoming meeting with one of his biggest clients.
But no matter how busy things were, Lindsey’s situation wasn’t something he could dismiss. And neither was Lindsey.
Taking a step back, he shoved his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. “You okay?”
“Yeah. The guy scared me to death, but he never made it inside the house.”
“You didn’t try to play superhero, did you?” Kyle asked, looking her straight in the eye.
“Are you kidding?” She cocked her head and met his gaze. “I was heading for the front door before I hung up the phone with you. Unfortunately, I didn’t make a very graceful exit,” she said, a tinge of mischief in her voice.
“What do you mean?” His interest was piqued.
“I smashed into my father’s ten-gallon fish tank on my way out of the kitchen and knocked it over. Made enough noise to wake the dead.”
“Did you hurt yourself?”
“No, but apparently the crash scared away the would-be thief.”
“And the fish?”
She hesitated briefly. “Dumped them in the toilet.”
He shook his head in disbelief. “Wait a minute. You did what?”
She shrugged, giving him one of her wide smiles. “What can I say? They’re freshwater African cichlids from Malawi. My father loves them.”
Kyle didn’t try to stifle his laugh. “But you stuck them in the toilet?”
“I know. It was a crazy, stupid reflex. They probably won’t make it, but what else was I supposed to do?”
Two policemen stepped out of the house and took the steps leading down to the front yard. The tallest officer approached Lindsey, his fists planted solidly on his hips. “We’re finished inside, Miss Taylor. Were you planning to spend the night here?”
“No, sir. Like I said, I’d just dropped by to feed my father’s cat. Do you think it’s safe to leave the house empty?”
“I’d board up the back window. That seems to be the only vulnerable place.”
“I’ll help you,” Kyle offered. “Is there an alarm system in place?”
Lindsey nodded. “Yes, I had it turned off while I was inside.”
“More than likely the guy isn’t coming back tonight,” the officer continued, “but you still need to alert the security company that the door was damaged. And make sure you turn the alarm back on when you leave.”
She stood beside Kyle as the four officers made their way to their squad cars and the lingering neighbors trekked across the lawn toward their houses.
A balding man with bifocals and slippers stopped on the sidewalk and then turned to address Lindsey. “I’ll be back with the tank water in a couple minutes, Miss Taylor.”
Lindsey waved her thanks. “I appreciate it, Mr. Vasquez.”
“Tank water?” Kyle folded his arms across his chest.
“I can’t exactly leave the fish floating in the toilet all night.” She grinned and her eyes sparkled in the yellow light of the street lamp. “He’s getting a plastic bag filled with water from his tank so he can bring the fish back to his house.”
“That’s a good idea,” he admitted.
“Why don’t you come inside. I’ll let you help me board up the window as long as you promise not to laugh at the ten gallons of water I dumped on my father’s floor.”
His brow furrowed. “What kind of deal is that?”
“One completely to my advantage.”
Kyle resisted the urge to push back a curl that had fallen from her pinned-up hair and now brushed against her cheek. If only she didn’t look so appealing in her silly ruffled dress and bare feet. But instead of giving in to his impulse, he followed her up the front stairs.
His shoes squished as he stepped onto the soggy carpet. “I never would have imagined ten gallons of water could make such a mess.”
“Tell me about it.” She shook her head and maneuvered around the shattered fish tank into the living room. “I’ll have to send for someone to dry out the carpet tomorrow.”
Except for the fish tank and a pile of glass beneath the broken windowpane in the back door, the house was spotless.
Kyle took in the details of the room. While everything was neatly kept, nothing looked new. Half a dozen framed photos on a file cabinet, a few healthy plants and a worn leather lounge chair and matching couch from another era, flanked by heavy wooden side tables. Even the television looked at least twenty years old.
He
