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If it had happened a few years ago, I could have imagined Darrel Weich going through my underwear, but he’d left me alone ever since I’d taken out a restraining order against him and paid for him to get the therapy he desperately needed. Darrel had moved on. Right? Or had he simply gotten sneakier?
I shoved the drawer shut, flinching with shock at the loud slam in the silent house. I backed away from the drawer, my hand at my mouth, wondering what to do. Someone had been in here, but I had no evidence. What would I tell the police in my official report? That my panties had been reorganized? I’d sound crazy. Nate would believe me, but how much would he actually be able to do?
I drew in a shaky breath and got dressed on autopilot, skipping the underwear. They were all going through the laundry before they touched my skin again. I backtracked to the kitchen, gnawing on my nails. If someone had been in the house, why hadn’t I noticed? Or Duke? Had they come while I’d been gone? Had Ezra somehow gotten inside? Was he messing with me? If so, why? I’d never done anything to him.
In the kitchen, I inhaled the scent of coffee and looked around for my mug. It wasn’t on the counter. I frowned. I could have sworn I’d left it there. I opened the drawer where I stored mugs and found it inside. My fingers trembled as I lifted it out. Maybe I was going crazy. I glanced from the mug to the coffee machine, uncertain what I expected to see, but everything looked normal. Perhaps I’d only thought I’d gotten the mug out earlier.
I finished making the coffee and was about to take a sip when footfalls sounded behind me. I jumped in fright. Coffee spilled down the front of my blouse, the scalding liquid burning my skin.
“Shit!” I cursed, dumping the mug on the counter only seconds before I would have dropped it to the floor.
“Oh my god!” Alice slung her handbag onto the counter, grabbed a tea towel, and ran cold water onto it.
I peeled off my blouse and she pressed the cold compress onto my skin.
“Hold this,” she said. “I’ll get ice out of the freezer. If we don’t cool it down quickly, it might burn you.”
“You scared me.” My voice sounded shrill to my own ears. “I didn’t hear you arrive.”
“I walked today.” She opened the freezer and withdrew a bag of ice cubes. “I knocked at the door, but when you didn’t answer, I let myself in.”
“Duke didn’t bark.”
She shrugged. “Duke likes me. I sneak him treats when the boss isn’t looking.”
I couldn’t bring myself to laugh.
Alice looked at me more closely as she offered me the ice. “Are you okay, Grace? You’re very pale.”
“I don’t know.” I took the ice and pressed it to the red splotch where the most coffee had landed.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Concern showed on her face. She put her hand on my upper arm and guided me out of the kitchen. “Why don’t you sit down, and I’ll find you a clean shirt?”
“Thank you.” As I settled onto an armchair, my mind wouldn’t rest. It kept zinging from the underwear drawer to the coffee mug, the missing lipstick and blouse. Seeing that silhouette outside the cottage. A flashback to Darrel Weich circling my home, refusing to leave until my supposed captors set me free to be with him, the way he was certain I wanted to be.
What on earth was going on? Because I was no longer so sure I was imagining anything. Perhaps I’d call Kennedy later and ask what she thought.
When Alice returned, she’d brought one of my favorite loose-fitting shirts, which would cover my scalded skin without hurting too much. My eyes welled with unshed tears. However crazy the day, I was so glad I had Alice. She always knew exactly what I needed.
“You’re amazing,” I told her.
“Don’t get sentimental on me.” She winked. “I’m just doing my job.”
“Speaking of.” I bit my lip, hesitating for a moment.
She straightened, hands on hips. “Yeah?”
“Would you be able to call a security company and have them install some more cameras around the house?”
“Absolutely. I’ll do that right now.” She took my wet shirt and balled it up. “Is everything okay, Grace?”
“I hope so.” But honestly, at this point, I had no idea.
21
NATE
With Tessin the back seat of my car and Grace in the front seat, driving up to Destiny Peak to spend the day skiing felt like a family road trip. It was so familiar—we made a point to go skiing at least a few times each season—and so comfortable that I had to remind myself we weren’t actually a family. Not properly. Tess might look up to Grace, but there was no official relationship between them. Grace wasn’t her stepmother, no matter how well she’d fit the role, and, in fact, Maddy might pitch a fit if she were. She’d said before that she worried Tess might see Grace as a substitute mother figure because of how much time they spent together and the fact that they shared a hobby. She didn’t want anyone taking her place. Not that they could, in Tess’s eyes, but Maddy had always been a bit insecure about Grace.
