Nate stood and set his mug on the counter. “What can I do?”
She got a soup pot out of the cabinet and handed it to him. “There are a couple of cans of chicken noodle soup in the pantry. Right in front on the middle shelf.”
They worked on dinner as Seth and Jordan finished their hot chocolate.
After dinner, Bailey set up a board game, and the four of them played one round of Chutes and Ladders before it was time for the boys to take baths and go to bed.
Seth gave Nate a hug. “I’m real glad you and Minnie are here. I wish you could live here all the time.” With a big grin, he turned and dashed up the stairs.
Jordan gave him a wordless hug and followed his brother.
Before joining her sons, Bailey turned toward Nate. “I need some time to process. I’m confused, and I feel like a horrible person.” Her voice caught.
Boy, he could relate. “If it helps, I feel the same way.”
With a little nod, she went upstairs, leaving Nate in the dining room that suddenly seemed way too cold and quiet.
He gathered the mugs and took them to the sink, where several other dishes were waiting. The least he could do was clean up the kitchen while she was gone. After that, he’d have to find a way to focus on something else. As if it were possible to stop thinking about their kiss or the mess it may have created.
His cell phone rang, the name on the caller ID surprising him. “Bailey?”
“I just looked out my bedroom window to see if it was still raining, and I think I saw someone lurking by the tree swing and watching the house.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
As soon as Bailey spotted the glowing red light along the tree line, she tried to casually close the blinds in her bedroom window, and then she quickly called Nate. If someone was watching the house—watching her—she didn’t want to tip them off to the fact that she’d noticed them.
A tap on her door made her jump. She strode across the room and opened it, allowing Nate inside. Minnie trotted through the doorway after him.
Nate scanned her from head to toe. “You okay?”
“Yeah. But if someone’s out there watching the house, how long have they been there? And what are they waiting for?” She shivered, thankful she hadn’t yet changed out of her warm clothes from earlier.
“Turn off the lights. That way, they won’t be able to see us. Then come to the window and try to show me what you saw.”
Nate waited for her by the window, then slowly lifted the blinds away from the wall on one side.
Bailey stepped up beside him and pointed. “It wasdown there, by the tire swing. A red light that seemed to glow and fade.”
She remembered the day Joe hung up that swing. The boys played on it regularly. The thought that someone might be lurking nearby made her feel sick.
They stood in silence for a while, but the red light never did reappear. She sagged against the wall and used a thumb to rub circles against her temple. “I promise I saw something, Nate.”
He let the blinds rest against the window and turned to face her. “I believe you. Most likely, whoever it was saw you looking out the window and was afraid they’d been spotted. Probably long gone by now. I’ll take Minnie and check it out.”
Her eyes widened. “But what if they didn’t leave? What if they’re still out there and see you coming?”
He led the way downstairs to the kitchen and paused at the back door. “We’ve got more rain in the forecast. If we wait until morning, we might lose any evidence that could be out there.” He pulled his phone out and then withdrew an AirPod from his pocket. “I want you to lock this door behind me and then go back upstairs. I’m going to call you and stay on the line. Let me know if you see any movement.”
“That’s a good idea.” When he called her number, she answered and pressed the phone to her ear with a nod. Now that he had it connected to his AirPod, he slid his phone back into his pocket, leaving both hands free. He held Minnie’s leash in one along with a small flashlight and gripped his gun in the other.
For the second time since he’d come to the house, she shut and locked the door behind him. “I’m going back upstairs now.”
“Good. Let me know when you’re at the window.”
She took the stairs two at a time and re-entered her room, careful to keep the light off so she could see outside. “I’m here.”
“Tell me if you see any movement at all.”
