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And if she were honest, she’d admit she wanted to unbutton her own nightgown, shuck it off, and show Lucas how much she wanted to act out all those scenes in the books she’d been reading. But she wouldn’t admit it. She didn’t want it to be real. It had been well over a year since she’d ended her last relationship. Wasn’t as if she didn’t want another, but not with a guy so wrong for her, a guy leaving in a few days’ time. She wasn’t the kind of girl to hook up with somebody for a booty call. She had never wanted the complication of being that girl, even if a little piece inside her wished she were. So maybe reading any erotic romance wasn’t a good idea with Lucas next door, distracting her from what was about to go down in her life.
Stupid, Addy. You can’t afford to be distracted with threat looming on the horizon. Get a grip, sister.
Addy snapped the cover closed.
Setting the book on the nightstand, she slid out of bed, not bothering to shove her bare feet into the fuzzy slippers sitting by the rocking chair. Maybe some chamomile tea would help her nod off.
Silently, she tiptoed past Aunt Flora’s room, where the flicker of the TV cast shadows on the wood floor, and down the creaking stairway to the kitchen. Five minutes later the kettle chirped, and then with a steaming cup of tea in hand, Addy tucked her toes beneath her nightgown hem at the kitchen table. Moonlight streamed through the café curtains above the breakfast nook, casting a quiet glow. Silence, offset by the settling house, blanketed Addy in calmness.
Just what she needed.
Blessed peace.
Then heard whap, whap, whish coming from the side yard.
Rising she peered over the curtains but couldn’t see. Climbing on the chair, she could just see over the black smudge of bushes Michael standing in his driveway tossing the basketball at the basket affixed to the detached garage.
She should ignore him. Even if it was near midnight on a school night.
None of her business. Never before had she cared about the kids next door, so why was she sliding the dead bolt and slipping out the back door?
Without her pepper spray.
The night was crisp and the stars winked at her above. She crossed her arms, tucking her hands over her breasts so they didn’t pucker against the thin cotton night gown. She glanced around, surveying the perimeter, but the night was calm and nonthreatening. Her inner safety alarm was silent.
“Michael?”
The boy turned, wiping tears from his cheeks. “Yeah?”
“What are you doing out here so late?” She shifted on her bare feet because the concrete pavers were ice cold.
“Shooting hoops.” He turned and bounced the ball once, twice, and then sent it arcing in the air. The accommodating swish had her lifting her brows. He might not be good at football, but he could hit a basket.
“It’s after midnight.”
“I know.”
She didn’t know what else to say. Pretty obvious he wasn’t getting the message. “It’s too late for basketball. People are trying to sleep.”
Two bounces and a swish later, he turned to her, taking in her long-sleeved gown and her chattering teeth. “Did I keep you awake?”
No, images of your uncle naked kept me awake.
“Uh, not really, but you have school tomorrow, and you shouldn’t be out here unsupervised.”
Michael tucked the ball under his arm, his mouth downturned. “Yeah, because I’m a baby, right? I needed a nanny. A babysitter. Gotta make sure I don’t shit my diaper and spill my milk.”
“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
His answer was to turn and resume his relentless bounce and shoot rhythm, blocking her out. Pretending she wasn’t there.
“Michael.”
He missed the shot. Lurching toward the bouncing ball, he snagged it and turned to her with a sour frown. “What?”
“You need to go to bed.” She used her pissed off tone.
His eyes narrowed, and she could tell he struggled with what to say.
