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“I’ll still be here.” Harris pulled Nathan closer and kissed his hair. “Listen to your mom.”
That got Nathan moving. He filled the cats’ bowls, managing to spill very little. Then, after calling for the cats in a high-pitched voice and greeting them, he slid across the hardwood floor and headed for the stairs.
Elisa ignored all of it because she knew Nathan’s performance was meant for Harris. Without Harris being there the morning included a lot more whining about wanting to play with his remote-controlled truck.
Harris watched it all then turned back to her as soon as Nathan left the room. “You were saying.”
Of course Harris picked that moment to be very engaged in what she had to say. “When?”
Harris laughed. “Nice try, but I’ve learned how to mentally bookmark where we are in an adult conversation before Nathan cuts in. So, the incident before the kitchen... go.”
There was no avoiding this topic now. Elisa didn’t try. She put her hands on the edge of the breakfast bar and braced for Harris’s grumpiness. “One night, maybe a week ago, I don’t remember, I woke up and the hall window was open upstairs. No screen. No storm window.”
“No.” He shook his head. “We changed out all the screens, including that one.”
“Yeah, I thought so, too. But since I had to go find the storm window—it was propped up against the house by the basement window well—and reinstall it, I can assure you I’m right.”
“Maybe it fell.”
“On the opposite side of the house?”
His eyes narrowed. “So, what are you saying?”
She was trying hardnotto say it and get him all riled up because she didn’t have a lot of extra time this morning. “Someone was in the house that night, too. I think.”
“Wait.” He shoved his mug to the side. “You thought someone was in the house, upstairs when we were sleeping, and you didn’t wake me.”
He sounded pissed. Any other time, if her world didn’t feel shaken up and spun around, if Josh wasn’t giving her a hundred new reasons every week not to trust him, she would have told Harris. She wouldn’t have thought twice about it. She wasn’t a martyr, but nothing ran normally these days. Telling him anything ran the risk of him worrying about her even more.
“At the time I didn’t know what was happening.” She still didn’t, but didn’t add that. “So, I looked around the house and everything seemed fine.”
He shot her ayou’ve got to be kiddinglook. “Elisa.”
She winced. “I know. Next time.”
“What the hell?” He stood up. “There better not be a next time.”
It sounded like his anger was directed at the issue of safety, which she could handle. “That’s why I’m happy you called about an alarm. I was going to do it, and you beat me to it.”
“I’m furious you didn’t wake me or tell me at any time since that night. What were you thinking?”
Or not...“I wasn’t.”
“What if something had happened to you or Nathan?”
“I know. You’re right.” He was . . . and he wasn’t. “I promise we’ll talk more about this when Nathan isn’t hanging around.”
“I still don’t understand what’s going on. You could have walked in on someone—”
“Harris, it’s okay.” She came around the counter to stand in front of him. With her hand on his chest, she flexed her fingers, caressing and soothing him. “Nothing happened.”
“That’s not my point.” The grumbly sound to his voice eased a bit as he covered her hand with his. “But I’m thinking we need the cameras.”
Now he’d flip into super-protector mode. She appreciated it and loved him for it, but she didn’t want to live on display. “You mean outside, right?”
“The idea of someone getting inside this house makes me—”
More caressing. She’d learned that marital trick years ago. “You’re handling it.”
