“Go see who’s leaving,” Louise urged.
Zona went around the side of the house and peered over the fence. There went the PT Cruiser. Her pulse settled back down.
She returned to the patio. “It’s okay. She’s gone.”
“Good. At least we know she’s all right.”
Maybe Zona should still go over there. “I think I’ll make some snickerdoodles,” she decided. “Then I’ll stop by and casually ask if everything is okay.”
And Alec James would certainly buy her concern after their latest encounters. This was a stupid idea.
“But don’t take them over if that man’s by himself,” Louise cautioned. “It’s not safe.”
“I don’t think he’s going to pull me in off the front porch,” Zona said.
She got to work baking cookies, but by the time she had the first cookie sheet out of the oven she was feeling hesitant. What possible excuse could she have for showing up at the neighbor’s door now that all was calm?
Olive branch, she decided, and put them on a paper plate.
Her heart was pounding when she walked across her lawn to his. The PT Cruiser was still gone. For all she knew, the pretty redhead had left for good. The only way she’d find out would be to ask. A scene fromRear Windowflashed through her mind, Grace Kelly snooping in the killer’s apartment.
“Ridiculous,” she muttered. Her mother’s overactive imagination was turning viral and grabbing ahold of her, too.
She rang the doorbell. Nobody answered. She waited for what felt like an excruciatingly long time, but was probably only a few seconds, before telling herself to go home.
She had turned to leave when the door opened. Alec James stood in the doorway in dark jeans and a snug-fitting T-shirt, five-o’clock shadow shading his chin. And there was the power line buzz.
She gulped and held out the plate. “I think we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot.”
He took it and raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”
“Time to bury the hatchet?” Why on earth had she said that? Her face flamed.
He sighed heavily, then gave her a half smile and the buzz got stronger. “It should probably be me bringing you something. Sorry I was a jerk the other day. I’ve been under a lot of pressure.”
Like a volcano about to erupt? Her nerves began to start tap-dancing as she geared up to ask about the screaming she’d heard earlier.
“Did that fence barrier come?”
“Not yet.”
“I’ll help you with it if you want,” he offered. “It’s the least I can do after the way I acted.”
It threw her and she had to remind herself that she hadn’t come over for a neighborly chat. She was supposed to be finding out what was going on in the troubled house of Alec James.
“That’s okay. I can handle it,” she said.
Now what?She couldn’t exactly say,By the way, what’s going on over here?
Inspiration hit. “Feel free to share those,” she said, pointing to the plate.
The half smile went away. “With who?”
“With... anyone. I thought I’d seen another car out front, but maybe I was wrong.” She was on the verge of babbling,and she knew she was blushing. She could feel the heat of it on her cheeks. She finished with a lame, “Good night,” then bolted off, running back across his lawn and half tripping over a sprinkler head from his in-ground sprinkler system.
“You okay?” he called.
“I’m fine,” she called back and raced for her front door.
