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“Probably Ezra turning on a light in the cottage,” I said more calmly than I felt.
We moved to the window and peered into the dark. Ezra’s cottage was indeed lit from within, but he wasn’t inside. Instead, his silhouette was perfectly framed in front of the window beside the door.
“He’s probably smoking,” I said.
“There’s no cigarette.” Nate echoed a thought I hadn’t wanted to acknowledge. “I’m going out there to talk to him.”
“Don’t.” I grabbed his arm. He tried to pull away. “I’m a big girl. I can deal with my own problems.”
He jerked his head toward the window. “He needs to realize he’s scaring you.”
I huffed. “All he’s doing is standing outside a cottage he’s renting. He has every right to be there. I’m just too jumpy.”
Nate’s lips pressed together mutinously, but he stopped trying to tug free. “Fine, but the minute he puts so much as a toe out of line, he’s going to hear about it.”
I smoothed my hand up his back, pleased he’d conceded even if I secretly liked his protectiveness. I didn’t want any scenes tonight. I just wanted to watch TV and go to bed. “Come on.” I took his hand and pulled him back to the sofa. Duke hadn’t budged, which comforted me. The dog was quick to bark when he thought something was wrong. I was being overly sensitive, that was all.
I started the show again and settled back. A few minutes later, my phone buzzed.
“Who’s messaging you at this time of night?” Nate asked.
I checked the screen. “It’s Desdemona.”
As I read what my aunt had written, a chill descended over me.
Desdemona:I sense forces shifting in the cosmos. Prepare for change.
I wanted to laugh it off. Perhaps at another time, I would have. But right now? I couldn’t. Because I had a feeling she was right, and that scared me.
20
GRACE
Dukeand I wandered along the pavement. I kept my steps short and slow so I wouldn’t slip, and he stayed firmly on the concrete, not daring to step off onto the frosty grass. It had been dark when we ventured out, but now the sky was dark gray, and daylight was beginning to creep up on us. At the front door, I kicked off my shoes and removed my gloves before finagling the key into the lock with partially numb fingers. As the warmth from the central heating system greeted us, I let out a sigh of relief.
“It’s a cold one, hey, Dukie?”
He galloped inside, for once not wanting to delay returning from his walk. I disconnected his leash, and he took off, probably heading for one of his beds. I hadn’t lit the fire, since I wouldn’t be able to relax and enjoy it until after a day of work.
I tracked Duke down in the living room and took the little booties off his feet. He sniffed them curiously, as if he had no idea where they’d come from, and I couldn’t help smiling. He was such a cutie.
I left him where he was and turned on the shower. Steam billowed around me as the water heated up, and my skin prickled with pins and needles as I got under the stream. I lingered in the water until feeling had returned to my fingers and toes and I felt warm all the way through, then toweled dry quickly before I had time to get chilly again. I wrapped myself in a fluffy robe and started coffee brewing before going to my bedroom to find clothes.
As I opened my underwear drawer, I noticed that my panties weren’t arranged the way they usually were. My heart rattled uncomfortably. I rubbed my chest and glanced around, my skin crawling as though someone was watching from the window, but there was no sign that anybody had been in here. I looked back at the drawer. It was definitely wrong. Usually, I kept the panties I wore most often near the top so I could grab them easily in the mornings. Today, a selection of my sexier lingerie was arranged above the others. The sight of the silky thongs and barely-there lace panties turned my stomach.
Someone had been in my room.
They’d touched my underwear. Sorted through them.
Or had I rearranged them?
No. I shook my head. I wouldn’t have done that. Not without good reason. I’d only have brought out my fancy panties for a date or if I needed a pick-me-up.
When had this happened?
I wracked my mind, trying to recall when I’d last opened this drawer. Yesterday morning, perhaps. I hadn’t done any laundry since then. That meant that sometime between yesterday morning and now, somebody had been in my bedroom and put their intrusive fingers all over my personal belongings.
I shuddered. Who would do that?
