he called into the dark house as he crept into the foyer, wishing he had his gun for self-defense. He made a quick sweep of each room, knowing he needed to get Chelsea inside…like an hour ago.
Empty. No Noble, but more important, no Brady.
He hurried back outside to the old truck where Chelsea huddled, shaking with near-convulsive tremors.
“Okay, sweetheart, let’s get you inside.” He scooped her in his arms, and she looped a limp arm around his neck. He carried her across the yard and into the house, where he laid her on the living room couch.
She turned her head slowly, teeth chattering, and frowned as she studied the dark room. “Wh-where’s M-Mr. Noble?”
“That,” Jake said, taking a throw from a nearby recliner and wrapping it around her, “is a good question. Short answer—not here. Any ideas where he could be?”
Chelsea furrowed her brow and clutched the decorative blanket around her. “N-no.” She sank back in the cushions of the sofa and closed her eyes. “H-he’s retired. M-Mom said that s-since his wife died last s-summer, he never g-goes anywhere. H-he’s like a hermit.”
“He lives alone?” Jake found another blanket, one of the recent marketing gimmicks, that had sleeves, piled in the seat of the recliner and pulled it around his shoulders like a robe. Moving to the sofa, he pulled Chelsea onto his lap and included her in the circle of the sleeved wrap. She snuggled in as if to nap, and he jostled her. “Hey, I know you’re tired, but you need to stay awake. I’m going to get you something warm to drink and some clothes to put on in a second.”
His gaze landed on the fireplace where three small logs were stacked, and he decided lighting a fire was a good next step. “Hey, do you see any matches or a lighter around here? I’m going start a fire.”
He reached under the shade of a lamp beside the couch and twisted the switch. Nothing happened.
He tried again. Nada.
Frowning, he glanced to the DVD player across the room, to a digital clock beside the recliner and to the cordless phone charging station on the end table beside the sofa. The display screen on each device was dark. He huffed his frustration. “I think the power is out. That’s why it’s so dark in here. And unless he has a corded landline or cell phone lying around somewhere, we have no phone either. The cordless is useless without a working base.”
He chafed Chelsea’s icy legs and rubbed her fingers, praying she didn’t have frostbite. Even though she’d been significantly underdressed for the conditions, her saving grace might be that the temperature had been near freezing and not subzero.
“S-Sadie,” Chelsea croaked.
“What?”
“H-his dog. I h-hear her.”
Jake nodded. “She’s in her pen out back. I’ll bring her in when I get some more wood for the fire.”
Chelsea shook her head, scowling. “No. N-now. It’s freezing out th-there!”
Jake arched an eyebrow and flashed her a lopsided grin. “All right, I’ll get her. Do you know if she bites?”
“Sadie’s a s-sweetheart.” She shuddered again, but he noticed a healthier color was already returning to her cheeks. She licked her pinkening lips, and his libido kicked hard. Her lush mouth tempted him to forget he was raised to be a gentleman and steal a taste. Now might not be the right time, but later…
Squelching the spike of arousal that spun through him, Jake shifted her off his lap and gave her the sleeved blanket as he pushed off the couch. “I’ll be right back.”
Before venturing outside, Jake checked the front closet and found a heavy camouflage hunting jacket, which he commandeered, along with a fleece sweater, which he took for Chelsea. He tossed her the sweater as he passed the sofa on the way to the back door. “Put this on, and I’ll check the bedrooms for more clothes when I get back with the dog.”
“Aye-aye, C-Captain,” she returned, the corner of her mouth twitching in a teasing grin. Her good humor and alertness boded well for her recovery, and Jake drew a deep breath of relief as he headed outside.
Sadie paced and barked at the gate of her pen as he crossed the yard.
“Hi, Sadie,” he said in a soothing, friendly tone. “Good girl. Where’s your person? I bet you’re cold, huh?” He let the dog smell his hand through the fence, and Sadie wagged her tail as she wiggled excitedly waiting for him to open the gate. “Let’s go inside. Okay, girl? Good dog.” Judging Sadie not to be a bite threat, he opened the gate.
Sadie charged out…and tore across the yard toward the stables, barking.
A tingle raced down Jake’s spine. Had the dog seen something he missed?
“Sadie! Here, girl. Sadie!” Blowing into his cold hands, he headed at a trot across the lawn toward the stable. “Sadie?”
The dog appeared in the door of the stable for a moment, as if to say, Are you coming?
Jake jogged to the stable, approaching the open door cautiously. “Hello? Mr. Noble, are you there?”
No answer. Hearing only the agitated nickering of horses, the whip of wind and Sadie’s dog tags tinkling as she paced, Jake moved into the shadowed stable. His gaze assessed every dark corner and egress as he crept inside. “Hello?”
Sadie appeared from one of the horse stalls and gave an uneasy whine.
Apprehension pooled in Jake’s gut. He eased around the half wall of the stall and peered inside.
An elderly man lay on his back, staring sightlessly at the rafters. A bullet hole marred his forehead.
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