Behind Closed Doors (14 page)

And what would have happened if Jim hadn’t appeared when he did? That was simple. He could have stripped her of every inch of her clothing and taken her against the wall.

He gripped his hair in frustration. He didn’t like this—this out of control feeling. Women were trouble. They took and took until you couldn’t give any more, and then they tossed you aside like yesterday’s garbage.

But as those thoughts played on repeat in his mind, he knew they weren’t always true. He could see how different Elizabeth was from Carol. Knew that they were cut from totally different cloth, but even if he dismissed his worries over getting hurt again, there was still her past. Her husband had only been gone for seven months and she had a lot on her plate right now.

She had baggage and so did he, plain and simple. The two of them were not a good idea.

As if knowing his thoughts, the door to Jan’s apartment opened and Elizabeth appeared. “Hey,” she said shyly.

He took a deep breath. “Hey.” He tried for a friendly smile, but he wasn’t sure he pulled it off.

“We saw your friend leave.”

“Yeah, he’s sending a couple of guys over tomorrow morning to start the installation. There’s a lot to be done so it might take a couple of days.”

She nodded. “Jan has a spare room. She said I could stay there until everything’s ready. I thought—well, this way you wouldn’t have to sleep on the couch.”

He pushed himself off the wall. “Yeah. Yeah. That’s a good idea.”

Looking anywhere but at him, she said, “I’ll just—get some of my things then.”

She turned to go, but he reached out to stop her. “I . . . I just wanted to say that I’m sorry about Carol yesterday. I don’t know what’s gotten into her.”

“It’s okay,” she said.

“No, it’s not.”

She nodded, and he stepped back. Her body brushed by him on the way up the stairs. He wanted to stop her again, but he didn’t. This was for the best. If he didn’t gain some perspective soon, good or bad, rational or not, he was going to do something he’d regret.

Jan waited downstairs for Elizabeth who was upstairs returning a call to her friend Stephanie.

She’d been staying with Jan for the last two days since the alarm installation was taking longer than expected. Windows weren’t cooperating, and bushes and trees had to be trimmed. There was even some problem in the attic. Every delay seemed to put Chris more on edge. He’d taken to only going into work in the mornings and bringing a stack of paperwork home with him every afternoon.

In some ways, Jan was glad for the delay, even with the way Chris was acting. It had been a long time since she’d had someone living with her, and she’d missed the companionship. Elizabeth was a gem, the ideal roommate. And she was perfect for Chris. He was just being stubborn as usual and refused to see it.

Or maybe he does. Maybe that’s the problem
.

When her telephone rang, Jan smiled when she saw the caller ID.

“Hello. How are you? How’s my boy?”

Jan laughed. “I’m well. And your boy? Well let’s just say he’s being kept on his toes.”

“It’s his new assistant, isn’t it?”

“You know about Elizabeth?”

“So that’s her name.” Mary chuckled. “I knew there was someone who’d piqued his interest, but he wasn’t all that forthcoming with details.”

“He’s in denial.”

“Obviously. What’s she like?”

“She’s perfect for him. Very sweet, but with a little bit of spunk too.”

“I’ve got an idea,” Mary said. “Gage has a pre-season game in Cinncy next Sunday. He’s getting us all tickets, and I’m sure one more won’t be a problem. It’s an early game, and we were planning on having everyone over for a barbecue after. Do you think she’d come? I’d love to meet her.”

“Just leave it to me,” Jan said. “I’ll make sure she’s there.”

“No,” Chris said. “Absolutely not.”

“You want to leave her here alone for the whole day? After what happened? Alarm system or not?”

Jan was one of the best women he knew, but right now he wanted to strangle her. She couldn’t be serious. “You want me to invite Elizabeth to come to Gage’s game? With my whole family?” He was just barely holding on to his sanity.

“Yes,” Jan said as if it made all the sense in the world. “Your mom and I have already talked about it, and she’s having Gage get an extra ticket.”

He groaned. Between the conversation he’d had with his mother last weekend and whatever Jan had told her, he was in for twenty questions. And that was just from his mom. There was no telling what he’d get from his brothers.

He knew if he showed up with her what conclusions his family would jump to in their minds. They would want to know everything about her, and she was not big on sharing. Not that he could blame her, given her history.

He rubbed his hand roughly over his head in frustration. With the struggle he’d had just keeping his distance, this was possibly the worst thing that could happen. He wanted to avoid thinking of Elizabeth that way, from remembering what it was like to hold her in his arms and feel her lips against his. Pushing them together on a family outing was the last thing he needed.

But he wasn’t stupid. If Jan and his mother had already talked about it, it was a done deal. One way or another she would be joining them. He knew Jan was only being courteous, giving him the opportunity to extend the invitation. “Okay, fine. I’ll ask her.”

Jan gave him a hug. “See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

He snorted, but hugged her back.

Two hours later, he knocked on Elizabeth’s door. The men from the alarm company were finally finished, the alarms in place, but for some reason, the idea of her back in her own apartment sent a rush of fear through his gut. She’d stayed with Jan while the workmen were here, and only came into work when Jan left to do her volunteer work. Everyone had agreed it wasn’t good for anyone to be here alone until all the alarms were installed.

He’d like to say his fear had to do with her intruder, but he’d be lying. At work, there were always ways to occupy himself, to stay focused on things other than his attraction to her. He’d made sure not to repeat his mistakes, so avoiding her was out of the question. Instead, he tried to act as though everything were normal and just ignore the elephant in the room. Here, however, there wasn’t the buffer of work between them. Once the door closed, they would be alone. It was the reason he decided to remain out in the hall when he knocked on her door.

“Who is it?” she asked through the closed door.

“It’s Chris. Can I . . . Can I talk to you for a minute?”

When she opened her door, his best-laid plans almost went out the window, and he scrambled to calm his body down. She was wearing another one of her oversized dress shirt, yoga pant combos. He could see a hint of what lie beneath and his hands tingled, wanting first-hand knowledge of what their weight felt like against his palms.

“Hi.” Her voice was all it took, and he knew he needed to get this over with before he went with his instincts.

He clenched his fists, willing his feet to remain where they were. “My brother has a game in Cincinnati next weekend. He’s getting tickets for everyone, and I was wondering if you’d like to go.”

“Game?” she said, clearly confused.

He’d told her nothing of his family, really. “Football. My brother plays for Tennessee.”

It took her a moment, but then her face lit up. “Football? As in NFL football?”

“Yeah. He’s their starting quarterback.”

“I love football.” She smiled.

He shifted trying to make himself more comfortable. “You do?”

“Yes! I haven’t been to a game since college, though.”

“Oh. Well you’ll love it, then. Gage always gets us really good seats.”

“You could sit me in the nosebleeds, and I wouldn’t care!”

Her joy was infections and unfortunately, it didn’t help his current situation. “So I’ll let you know when we’re leaving next week. It’s an early game and about an hour’s drive.”

“Just tell me when and I’m there.” She was beaming.

Ever since Chris had asked her to go to the football game, she’d felt like she was floating. She’d always loved football, but it was one of those things that she’d put on the backburner when she’d married Jared. The first time she’d watched a game after their marriage, Jared had forbade her from watching football in the house. It just wasn’t appropriate for a woman like her to watch a sport like football and yell like the rest of the fans, not even in front of the television in her own home.

Things were different now. Jared wasn’t here to stop her, and Chris didn’t seem to mind. He’d invited her after all. Plus, she was hoping this meant maybe she’d get some more time with him. Though he tried to be subtle about it, she knew he’d been careful not to be alone with her if he could help it.

At first, she’d considered that maybe he was regretting kissing her, but that didn’t make sense. He’d kissed her twice. The first time had been wonderful, but the second—the second had been along the lines of feeling the earth move.

She’d spent the last week contemplating what exactly she should do about Chris and his reactions. After meeting his ex, she had a feeling she knew.

He was scared.

As big and tough as Chris was, she seemed to frighten him. And after seeing Carol, she could understand. She was obviously a user.

Now all she had to do was figure out what to do about it.

Just as she was shutting the computer down, her phone rang. “Daniels Custom Builders.” She had stopped introducing herself as part of her hello after the call she’d received from Abigail. It wasn’t a huge buffer, but every little bit helped.

A male voice she didn’t recognize said, “Yes I’m looking for Elizabeth Marshall. I was told I could reach her at this number.”

She swallowed nervously. “May I ask who’s calling?”

“My name is Detective Robert Stephens from the Springfield Police Department.”

“Oh. Yes. Hello, Detective. I’m Elizabeth Marshall.”

“Hello, Ms. Marshall. Is this a good time?” the detective asked.

Chris was suddenly standing in his doorway.

“Sure. How can I help you?”

“I just wanted let you know that the test results are in. Both the blood and the tissue are bovine. That’s cow to you and me,” he said with a little chuckle, trying to lighten the mood, no doubt. “Have you had anymore incidences since this happened?”

“No, sir. Nothing new.”

“Great. I want you to know I’m following up on the information you gave in your statements, and I’ll get back to you if I have any follow-up questions. I’d also like to give you my direct number. If anything else happens, call me. Someone went to a lot of trouble to scare you. Hopefully that’s all this is, but I don’t want to take chances.”

After she’d given him her number, he said, “There’s a note in the report that there was no sign of a security system in place. I would highly suggest you look into that, ma’am.”

“It’s already done.”

“Good, good. I’ll let you go, then. Have a nice weekend, Ms. Marshall.”

“Thank you. You too, Detective.”

Immediately after she hung up Chris said, “What was it?”

“Cow.”

He nodded. “Makes sense. There are plenty of farms around here. Easy access.” She just stared blankly ahead. “Anything else?”