was thinking he was in Seattle!” she yelled back. “And...and I did look around the garage before I got out of the elevator.” That part came out more subdued. “I’m not stupid,” she said again but softly, as if she was trying to convince herself.
Feeling like he had grit in his chest that scraped when he breathed, Noah grasped her fine-boned hand in his. Cait gave a little jerk, as if he’d startled her, but after a very still moment, she squeezed back. Holding on, he thought.
“Your hand is cold,” he said quietly.
“My hands are always cold.” It was a poor excuse for a laugh, but Noah admired the effort. “My feet, too. Lousy circulation, I guess.”
He was betrayed into imagining himself sandwiching her cold feet between his shins at night, warming them.
No. Don’t go there.
Neither of them said another word until he had to take his hand back to steer into the dark driveway leading through a tall stand of pines to her brother’s house. He was glad to see that the front porch lights were on. A floodlight over the detached garage lit up, too, presumably motion-sensitive. He drove as close as he could get to the front steps and then braked.
“Thank you for the lift,” she said, already releasing her seat belt and reaching for her purse. “And for listening.”
“I’m coming in with you.”
Door halfway open, she swiveled back to look at him. “What?”
“You heard me.”
By the time he turned off the engine and walked around, her brother stood on the porch looking down at them. “Cait.” His eyes narrowed. “Chandler.”
“You really don’t have to...” she tried.
Noah gripped her elbow and started her up the porch steps.
“Your car break down?” Colin asked.
At the top of the steps, she shook free of Noah’s hold and glared at him. “No. I’m going to have to get someone to clean it in the morning. It suffered from...I guess you could call it graffiti.”
“Shall I tell him about it?” Noah asked.
She’d gotten over being scared and was mad. “This is none of your business!”
“It happened in the city hall parking garage. While you were attending a city council meeting.” He put some extra weight on the word city. “You work for me. That makes it my business.”
Her brother’s narrow-eyed gaze moved back to his sister. “Cait?”
“Oh, fine.” She stomped past him into the house.
Colin glanced back. “You coming in?”
Surprised at the invitation, he said a firm, “Yes.” He was damned if he’d leave her alone to make light of the whole story to her brother.
Only a single lamp was on in the living room. A newspaper lay open on the hassock. He’d been waiting up for her, Noah guessed. Or for his wife?
“Is Nell home?” Cait asked.
“She’s taking a shower and getting ready for bed.” Although she’d perched on the sofa, Colin still stood, arms crossed. “Quit procrastinating.”
Her mutinous expression amused Noah despite his dark mood.
She sniffed. “You remember Blake.”
“We already established that I did,” her brother said slowly.
“Well, he’s been stalking me.” She told the story briskly, not minimizing but not revealing the fear Noah had seen. He didn’t comment, however.
Colin, he suspected, wasn’t deceived.
“And you didn’t tell me about this.... Why?”
She had a pretty mouth, but Noah wouldn’t have called it sultry until now, when her lower lip protruded. “I really didn’t think Blake would follow me.”
“That son of a bitch. If he thinks he’s going to terrorize you here in my town—”
“He’s convinced that he can talk me into going back to him,” she tried to explain.
“Is there a chance in hell of that happening?” Colin asked, the timbre of his voice roughening.
She scowled at both men. “Of course not!”
“All right,” Colin said. “He’s got to be staying somewhere local. We’ll look for him in the morning. I want to see your car.”
Cait nodded unhappily. “You’ll have to drive me to work anyway.”
“For now, it might be better if I drive you and pick you up every day.”
Noah approved.
“You’re overreacting. He painted a heart on my back windshield. It wasn’t a threat.”
“Yeah, it was.” Noah had been content to allow her brother to grill her until now, but her intransigence was beginning to annoy him. “He’s letting you know he’s in town and watching you. Given his history, that’s a threat.”
“Do you have a restraining order?” Colin asked.
“I didn’t think I needed one.”
Noah stared incredulously at her, and realized Colin was doing the same. Cait’s expression grew mutinous.
“We’ll get a restraining order first thing in the morning,” Colin said.
“Good,” Noah agreed.
Colin cast him a not-so-happy look. “Say good-night to Mayor Chandler,” he said. The momentary accord had apparently dissolved. “He’s leaving now.”
She rose and thanked him politely again, talking to their backs as Noah found himself being hustled out by Colin. On the porch, Noah balked.
“Your sister is trying to play down any threat. Don’t let her.”
The police captain’s jaw tightened, but to his credit, he also nodded. “I noticed. I can’t believe she didn’t tell me.”
“It’s ugly.” More urgency than Noah wanted to feel infused his voice. “The arrow is way bigger than the heart. It’s not piercing it—it’s stabbing. She’s more frightened than she’s letting on.”
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