AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Then that’s where they’ll be,” Duncan said. “Atticus doesn’t miss a trick.”
Duncan pulled the Hummer under the portico, but he left it running, and then he started grabbing her bags from the back seat.
She found the keys under the mat and unlocked the door, while he carried in her boxes.
“You look like you’re about to fall over,” he said.
“I don’t think I’m far from it,” she said. “I’ve been driving for a couple of weeks, and there hasn’t been a lot of time for sleep. But now that I’m home…I might sleep for days.”
She opened the refrigerator and stared long enough he thought she might have fallen asleep standing up. But when he looked over her shoulder he saw it had been stocked with enough food to last her a week.
“He thought of everything,” she said, and to his complete and utter horror, her eyes filled with tears.
“Oh, no,” he said, panic washing over him. “Don’t do that.”
“I’m just tired,” she said, blinking her eyes rapidly. “And the gesture was so sweet.”
“That would’ve been my mother’s doing,” he said. “She doesn’t miss much either. And Atticus would have let her know you’d be here.”
He closed the refrigerator door and put his hands on her shoulders. “You’re all set here,” he said, pushing her gently out of the kitchen and through the house until they reached the master bedroom.
He flipped on the light and had to admit, his mother didn’t miss much. Anne O’Hara knew every person who stepped foot on O’Hara property, and Atticus would have told her about Hattie coming to stay and any pertinent information. Maybe he needed to pay a visit to his mother.
There were fresh flowers in the vase, the bed was turned back with bedding that reminded him of clouds, and there was an electric fireplace against the wall she could flip on with a switch if she ever got cold. If the curtains were open, she’d see a view of the lake, and the other door led to the bathroom.
“Oh, that’s nice,” she said.
“Remember how I told you to take the advice of locals?” he asked.
“Mmm,” she said.
“My advice is to go to bed and stay there for a while.”
“Good advice,” she said.
He heard the rain hitting the roof a little harder than it had before, so he gave her a gentle shove toward the bed and watched her fall face first onto it. He shook his head and pulled the covers up over her, and then he headed to the bathroom to turn on the light so she wouldn’t wake up in complete darkness.
When he was standing at the door to her room with his hand on the light switch, she rolled and managed to open her eyes a crack.
“Duncan,” she said. “Thank you for your help. I think you saved my life today.”
“Get some sleep,” he said. “I’ll be back in a couple of days.”
“What for?” she asked, starting to sound grumpy from lack of sleep.
His mouth twitched in amusement. “Because I want to paint you,” he said.
“Uh-huh,” she mumbled. “A little of this and a little of that. Recognized your work from a show in New York.”
He couldn’t help himself from asking. “Did you like it?”
“Beautiful,” she whispered. “But you can’t paint me. He’ll find me.”
And with that, she drifted off to sleep.
ChapterSeven
He’ll find me.
