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“Your message said you were working on something important and would be late. I didn’t want to bother you.”
Even if Mom had called, there wouldn’t have been anything she could do. Without a time machine, she couldn’t do a damn thing about it now either. “What did she want this time? Money?” After all this time, none of them needed her back in their lives… especially Reese.
“No. At least, she never asked me for any. She didn’t say a whole lot to me except she wants to get to know Reese.”
Mental red flags sprang up. Hell no. Not happening in this lifetime.
“Most of the visit she spent with Reese. They played a board game. Don’t worry, I stayed in the room with them. She helped us make the cookies for the school party. She left before dinner.”
After more than six years, Eliza wanted to get involved in Reese’s life? Taylor wasn’t buying it. Her sister had another reason for coming around again today.
“What did they talk about?” Taylor asked, needing to get to the bottom of this.
“School mostly. Her birthday next weekend. And Reese talked a lot about the weekend she spent in Newport with you and Curt.”
“Anything else?”
The microwave beeped again, reminding them the food was done. This time Taylor didn’t ignore it. She removed the dish of pasta but left it on the counter, her appetite long gone.
“Reese talked about Jamie’s birthday party this Saturday.”
Big surprise there. She’d been talking about her friend’s upcoming party since she opened the invitation.
“You don’t believe Eliza?” Mom’s question sounded more like a statement.
“Do you?”
She slumped in her chair. “I want to. But no. I don’t either.”
Taylor rolled the information around, trying to pick out a clue or two. Nothing pointed to Eliza’s real reason for visiting again. Maybe she’d missed a hint or detail.
“How did she get here?” Public transportation in town was nonexistent. She didn’t know where Eliza called home these days, but she didn’t think it was within walking distance.
“Her boyfriend dropped her off, and came back later. He never came inside.” Mom actually rolled her eyes when she answered. If they weren’t discussing such a serious topic, Taylor would’ve laughed.
“Great.” They both knew they type of men Eliza spent her time with. “Can you describe the car?” Maybe the boyfriend had Eliza scouting out homes they could break into.
“An older car with four doors. It was a dark color. Either black or blue. The emblem was missing from the front.”
“Was the front passenger side door a different color?” She’d kept an eye out for the car she’d seen driving by weeks ago, but so far hadn’t seen it again.
“Funny you say that. The passenger door was white.”
Yep, sounded like Eliza and her boyfriend were scouting the neighborhood. Tomorrow she’d call the town police and give them a heads-up. It might not stop her sister, but there wasn’t much else she could do.
***
The end. Curt typed the words and rubbed his eyes. Done. He’d finished with more than enough time to do revisions before sending the manuscript off to his editor. More importantly, he’d finished before his and Taylor’s trip to Newport for Gray’s wedding, meaning he could enjoy himself without the stress of knowing what awaited him at home.
Rolling back his office chair he stretched his arms over his head, and his stomach rumbled. After leaving Taylor at her office, he met with Peter briefly and came straight home. His ass had been in his chair ever since. He’d only left it for bathroom breaks and to refill his water bottle. It had to be late. He’d turned the desk light on a long time ago.
Midnight. He checked his watch to confirm what the clock on his laptop said. Even later than he thought. Tomorrow, he’d pay for sitting in one place for so long. He saved the manuscript to a thumb drive before shutting down the computer, something he did every time he wrote. He’d learned the hard way the importance of not only backing up his computer once a month on an external hard drive, but also saving his story on a secondary device every time he added to it or made changes. Of course, since he’d started using the thumb drive he’d never needed it.
In an attempt to avoid distractions, he left his cell phone in his bedroom. His laptop in bed for the night, he stopped there first before heading down to raid the kitchen. With his mind no longer engaged, his stomach demanded he feed it, making sleep impossible.
A quick peek at the screen showed he’d received two messages: one from his mother regarding the wedding this weekend, and one from Taylor telling him she’d just gotten home and good night. She sent him a similar message whenever she worked late, at his request. While she’d never take any unnecessary risks, she worked in a field that required she carry a firearm every day. If Curt didn’t see her, he at least liked to know she was home safe and sound.
He checked the time on Taylor’s message. Ten o’clock. She’d expected a late night after the message from her coworker this afternoon, and she’d been right.
