Kit turned to me, eyes wide and said, “The door is unlocked.”
I must have had a confused look on my face, because Kit repeated what she had said before. I blinked trying to process her words. Then I repeated what she’d said.
“The door is unlocked?”
“Yes, and I’m sure I locked it,” Kit said in a whisper. The look of anxious worry and alertness washed over her face.
“Let me go in first,” I said. I fully expected Kit to argue with me about not needing me to protect her, but she stepped aside, let me push the door open, and I led the way inside.
When we got into the foyer, the lights were dim in both the front room and office, but I could hear something in the kitchen. I pointed to the kitchen and Kit nodded. She pulled her cell phone out of her jacket, ready to call the police if we needed help.
We slowly crept down the hallway, pressing against the wall so that whoever was in the kitchen couldn’t see us. I took a deep breath and called out as I stepped into the kitchen.
“Who’s there?”
A man, in his mid-sixties, stood in the kitchen by the back door. “Hey,” I said putting my hand out. “Stay calm.”
The man froze; his eyes fixed on me. Kit was right behind me, and she managed to squeak out, “Leave or we’ll call the police. We don’t want any trouble.”
“That’s not what the doorbell camera said. Looked like you two were about to get into all kinds of trouble,” a familiar voice said from the dining room door. I looked over and saw a tanned, smiling Rita.
“This is Harold, my travel buddy,” Rita said. She turned to the man who was still frozen in the kitchen. “Harold, this is my niece Kit and one of our renters, William.”
Harold relaxed and said, “Oh, nice to meet you, Kit. I’ve heard so much about you.” Harold crossed the kitchen and puthis hand out. I shook his hand and then he stood patiently and waited for Kit to do the same. Kit’s cheeks were pink with embarrassment from Rita teasing us about the front porch.
“Happy New Year, Kit,” Rita said, putting her arms out. Kit moved around me and Harold to give Rita a big hug.
“I’m so glad to see you,” Kit said, her voice muffled as she hugged Rita. Kit stepped back and said, “I’m just surprised. I thought you said your flight was tomorrow?”
“Well, they told us we needed to either leave early or risk being stuck there for several days after the storm, so we decided not to risk it. Not that the resort wasn’t lovely, but I have to work doubles and the nurses who covered me over Christmas would kill me if I didn’t come into work,” Rita said with a sigh. “And if there is one group of people you don’t want to piss off, it’s a group of ER nurses.”
Harold and I exchanged a look. I made a mental note not to make any nurses angry, including Rita.
“I should be getting home,” Harold said. “Nice to meet you all.” Rita followed Harold down the hallway to the front door to say goodbye.
We were alone in the kitchen. I waited to see how Kit would react. She turned to me and laughed. “Wow, that went from potentially scary to just a touch awkward.”
I felt the corners of my mouth push down in a smile. I nodded and shoved my hand in my pocket. I felt anxious because I wasn’t sure what to do next. I took a deep breath.
Kit looked down and ran her hand along the kitchen island and sighed. “Well, I guess I’m going to head to bed. I probably won’t be up for an early morning run.” Her eyes shifted up and met mine. I so badly wanted to close the distance between us, but I could tell that she was on edge. She said softly, “But maybe I'll be up for a night run tomorrow.” I felt my heart thud in mychest. Just the way her long dark lashes fanned as she looked down was more than I could take at that moment.
Rita cleared her throat as she came into the kitchen. “Well, kids. I’m probably going to hit the sack,” she announced, walking through the kitchen to the back stairs. Kit followed Rita. When she got to the bottom stair, Kit turned and said, “Happy New Year, William.”
The next morning when I woke up, I immediately thought of Kit. I wished we had spent the night together. Before I could give it too much thought, my phone buzzed. I rubbed my hand across my face and sat up. I exhaled a deep sigh. It was Meredith. It would be nice to see a friend calling on New Year’s Day, if I thought she was just calling to wish me a Happy New Year, but I knew it was about work. I had been dodging calls from Meredith all week.
“Hey,” I said, my voice still deep from sleep. My mouth was dry. I put my feet on the floor and rubbed my eyes as I waited.
“Hey?” Meredith’s voice said thick with annoyance. “Hey? You were M.I.A. at the company Christmas party in New York, which I told everyone was because you were in Atlanta, but guess what, you weren’t at the New Year’s Eve soiree in Atlanta last night? I thought you were working out of the Atlanta office? Where are you?”
I went to my kitchen sink and filled up my one coffee mug with water. “Happy New Year to you, too.”
“Don’t be cute with me, William. I’m pissed.”
“Why? And how do you even know that I wasn’t at Braithway’s Atlanta party last night?” I asked. I could feel a post-drinking-dehydration headache coming on. I went into my bathroom to get some Advil.
“Because I was there, William.” Meredith didn’t hide her annoyance. “And guess what—I had a front row seat to Charles licking Braithway’s ass. It was awful. He was totally anglingfor your promotion, William. Why would you miss such an important opportunity to spend time with Braithway and the board?”
“You just have to trust that I’m doing exactly what Braithway asked me to do,” I said after taking two Advil. I walked back out and leaned against the kitchenette counter.
