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After a quick mental countdown, she ran through the family room and into the kitchen. She slammed the back door shut and locked it. Threw the bolt.
“Elisa?”
The scream escaped before she could stop it. She alsojumped and fell into the door. When she spun around she saw Harris standing there in his boxers.
“Were you outside?” he asked.
What the hell?The pounding in her temples made it difficult to concentrate.
He stood there with his hands on his hips, looking confused and sleepy. His hair was pushed up on one side. “What’s going on?”
She had no idea. “The door was open.”
“Not possible.” He shook his head. “I locked it.”
She was about to make a snide comment about how it must suck for him to be accused of not taking care of the house when the scent hit her. Floral and strong. Cloying, really. Too strong for a candle and definitely not food. “Do you smell that?”
“No, I...” He made a face. “Is that new shampoo?”
Not shampoo. More like a strong bath gel or perfume. Feminine and unfamiliar. “Not mine.”
He frowned. “Meaning?”
Someone had been in the house, but it was too scary to admit that out loud. “I’m not sure.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Two days later Elisa pretended to enjoy some family time. Nathan ran around the backyard while Harris and Josh investigated alarm systems on their cell phones. When she’d said, “We need an alarm,” she meant one installed by a reputable company. Not one put together with the help of the one man she wanted to keep out of her house.
She planned to schedule with a company as soon as possible. Harris seemed to think some sort of makeshift, do-it-yourself kit made more sense. She’d humor him then overrule him. She knew she’d be able to convince him to see things her way. It’s not as if she had to fake being scared. With the window, the break-in, and her potential killer of a brother-in-law she spent most of her days terrified and on edge.
But she wouldn’t need to have a fit or demand Harris listen to her. They’d talk later, after everyone left. After she sat there on the picnic table bound up in a jacket, sipping her tea and acting like she didn’t spend every minute obsessing over Josh’s love life and all the mishaps and strange occurrences that had happened over the last couple of weeks.
When Nathan grabbed onto a tree limb and started climbing, she bit her tongue. She had a propensity for hovering. Harris believed Nathan needed to fail at things, fall, get a little roughed up and learn. She wanted Nathan wrapped in plastic and protected at all times, which she knew was unrealistic and not even a little good for him.
She already felt judged and persecuted. She didn’t need to add another reason for anyone in this family to question her sanity or her parenting, so she tried to not notice. It scared her that she was getting so good at pretending.
She glanced around and noticed Rachel had gone inside. Smart woman. Being away from the men and the alarm talk sounded like a good choice. “Anyone need anything?”
“Nope,” Josh said.
Harris didn’t even raise his head from his phone. “We’re good.”
She made one last try. “Nathan?”
“Later!”
Elisa almost shouted when she saw Nathan gripping the tree bark and pulling one leg up the tree trunk. He couldn’t get far but those palms would hurt later. If he didn’t look so happy she might have told him to come down. She just didn’t have the energy to disappoint one more person in this household.
She stepped into the kitchen, expecting to see Rachel, but she wasn’t there. Elisa was about to call out when she heard one of the cats meowing. Not the friendly welcoming kind. This was the noise Buzz made to punish humans and demand food.
“Probably got locked in a closet by accident again.” She smiled, knowing the retaliation would be steep. Thingsknocked off counters. Those tiny mouse toys scattered everywhere. Nighttime prowling.
She headed for the stairs but stopped when she realized the sound came from the hallway to Harris’s office. One turn and she could see Buzz sitting in the doorway.
“Get lost.”
Rachel’s voice. Then she pushed Buzz away with the side of her foot. Didn’t touch him, but scared him off. He ran toward Elisa and she picked him up. Petted him. He seemed out of sorts... or as much as she could tell with a cat. Both of theirs enjoyed roaming around the house and were usually fine with visitors, but not today.
