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CHAPTER8
Alexa
* * *
For the next week,Luke and I spent most of our time with Leif, taking long walks along the beach, and spending our evenings on the patio, enjoying the last warmth of the summer. It was cooler along the coast, so we didn’t suffer too much from the hot days, and I kept the window open at night so I could hear the sound of the surf in the distance.
It was calming, and I loved to smell the salt air.
Police had done some canvasing of the neighborhood to see if anyone’s Ring camera caught the prowler who had scaled the wall around our property, but so far, there was nothing solid to identify who it was. Police wondered if the man didn’t have a boat somewhere and escaped that way. There were literally dozens of small piers and boat launch areas along the coast near the beach house that someone could moor their boat, and then escape if they wanted to.
Some of the houses had security cameras pointed towards the beach, but none observed a boat taking off around the time of the prowler, so we had no luck on that side either. Whoever it was, they escaped being caught and that left me with an uneasy feeling that we were not safe, even with all the security surrounding us.
I should have realized that security had worked exactly the way it was supposed to. The prowler was detected by the security system, and Gord had been alerted and had gone to chase him down. I hoped it was just a local break-in artist who was looking for valuables and not Blaine or Eric hoping to get revenge, but I didn’t know for sure.
As long as there was a possibility it had been either of them — or someone they hired to do the job — I would feel uncertain and unsafe.
I didn’t want to reveal my fears to Luke, because he had done everything in his power to protect us, and it was costing a lot of money to keep security at the level it was at, with monitoring of the property, the patrol of the area by a guard in a vehicle, a guard on duty at all times. But it was worth it.
One day, I hoped we could end it but until Eric and Blaine were either in jail or dead, I feared it wouldn’t.
* * *
I wentinto the office and found Luke sitting at his desk, his back to the door. He was wearing a crisp white shirt and tie but was still wearing his boxer briefs. He had ear buds in and was conducting a Zoom meeting with John and some other people — one of them a very beautiful woman with dark hair and eyes. They were all smiling and laughing at something, so I popped out of the office, feeling bad that I interrupted a business meeting.
I went into the living room and tried to enjoy some alone time while Leif was sleeping, grabbing the iPad and reading some headlines while Luke was in his meeting. I had grown used to having him around me all the time, and had forgotten that he was still a businessman, still had to conduct his business at least part-time, and that he wasn’t mine 24/7. About an hour later, he emerged from the office and removed the earbuds.
“Hey,” he said and plopped down beside me on the sofa. “Leif still asleep? That’s long for him.”
“He was fussy in the night, so I guess he’s making up for lost sleep.” I turned to him. “Sorry about popping into the office like that while you were in the middle of a Zoom meeting. I forgot you have a real life outside of being a new dad.”
“No problem, he said and leaned over to kiss me. “I didn’t even notice and I’m sure my colleagues didn’t either. The camera is zoomed in on me, so they must not have seen you come in. They wouldn’t be upset even if they did. They know the score.”
“Do they?”
“They do,” I said. “I told them before the meeting that I might be called away at any time by a crying baby and to be prepared just in case. They understand, and if they don’t, too bad for them.”
Luke smiled and folded his arms like that was that.
I leaned over and kissed him back. “You’re a great dad to do this, you know.”
Luke sighed wistfully. “I wish I’d had a dad who was willing to stay home with me when I was a baby and look after me along with my mom, but it just wasn’t done back in the day. Parental leave was just not a thing. So glad that’s different.”
He peered at my iPad and at the crossword I was doing. “How’s the crossword?”
For the next half hour while Leif still slept without waking, we did the crossword together. Luke got up and made us both a fresh cup of coffee and then, when the crossword was done, we did the Wordle.
Almost two hours after Leif went down for his nap, a faint cry came over the baby monitor, signalling that he was waking up.
“That’s Leif,” Luke said and jumped up. “I’ll go get him.”
“I can do it,” I said, getting up as well. I checked my watch. “You should go and either get fully dressed or go for a run.”
“No, I got this,” Luke said and shook his head. “I want some baby daddy time.”
I smiled and watched Luke leave for the second floor and Leif’s bedroom.
While Luke changed Leif, I went to the kitchen and cleaned up a bit, deciding on what we’d have for lunch. Outside, the sun was shining through a break in the clouds, and it looked like a really nice day was brewing. A walk along the beach with Leif in a stroller would be a nice way to spend the afternoon.
I heard Luke talking to Leif while I organized the pantry and listened as Leif snuffled and cried.
That didn’t sound like his usual bubbly baby talk. In fact, Leif sounded all stuffed up.
A small bit of concern filled me that he was sick, but I tried to damp that down by reminding myself that babies got a lot of colds. Leif had already taken his first vaccines, and we’d been lucky that he hadn’t been sick yet. I knew it would happen eventually, but still was worried.
