Black Creek Burning (The Black Creek Series, Book 1) (22 page)

She felt the color drain from her face as he stepped forward to take her arm. She
pulled back.

"I thought you knew." Dave turned to look at Nathan. "Didn't you tell her we're looking
at putting these together?"

She turned and stormed out, speed-walking to the stairs.

She paced back and forth in front of his truck. She could see Nathan from the corner
of her eye walking with that damned swagger toward her.

"Take me home, Nathan. I want you to take me home."

He unlocked her door and opened it. They drove slowly in silence for the first half
of the way to her house. "Do you think it's a coincidence someone would have an unsolved
case of arson to their home and then have a random, disturbed vandal after them?"

"What I think is that you didn't tell me. Do you think I didn't try to put all of
this together? There are no similarities. You didn't tell me," she repeated and clutched
her bag closer.

She opened the door before he came to a complete stop in her drive.

Nathan reached over her and shut it before she could step out.

He looked out his windshield as he spoke.

"I don't know why I didn't tell you other than I couldn't stand the look on your face
at your party when you talked to your parents' friends or when you look in your empty
family room. I have a need to protect you. I can try to do it without smothering you,
but you're going to have to deal with it."

He pulled the latch on her door and pushed it open for her.

She sat with her eyes closed before slowly getting out and walking to her porch.

* * *

She cut back butterfly bushes with a vengeance. Brie was angry with Nathan for not
being open with her. She was angry with herself for turning off like she always did.
She wasn't cut out for relationships, but he knew that and he stuck anyway. Mostly,
she was angry that he was making her feel things she'd never felt before. She had
gotten along just fine on her own until now.

The fragrance of the early blooming tulips helped her focus. She closed her eyes and
took two slow breaths in through her nose and out through her mouth. She'd worked
late, long after dark. The brilliant moonlight was better than anywhere inside. She
hauled the cut butterfly bush branches and stalks from a set of autumn joy sedums
in her double wheelbarrow out to her truck and tossed them in the back. She would
stop at the clean landfill spot to dump her cuttings before she drove back home.

In this for the long haul
, she remembered as she drove through the night. Why? Parking in the garage, she let
Macey out as she walked down her drive, enjoying the night air. There was a load of
mail. Had she gotten it the day before? Flipping through bills and ads, she walked
back up her driveway as Macey sniffed around in the grass. Her legs jerked to a stop
when she uncovered a blank manila envelope. No address. No return address. Uneasiness
bubbled through her.

"Macey, heel."

The dog responded to the urgency in her voice, galloped over and sat at her left side.
Brie looked around as she walked deliberately and casually to her garage. Her heartbeat
quickened as she checked her surroundings before closing the overhead door. The mix
of frustration and fear unsettled her. She went around checking doors before mindlessly
setting her keys and bag down on her kitchen table. Unhooking the metal clasp on the
envelope, she peered inside.

* * *

Brie decided it was better not to walk in uninvited this time. It was late and she
wasn't sure where things stood between them. She knocked with Macey sitting at her
left side and waited for Nathan to answer. When he opened his front door, she stood
uncomfortable and somewhat speechless. He must have been working out, because he wore
gray sweats with a white, no-sleeved undershirt that was damp with perspiration.

"I know it's late," she stuttered.

He pulled off the undershirt and replaced it with a gray sweatshirt as he moved back
from the open door.

She stepped in behind her dog, and they walked to the back of the quiet house to the
only three chairs available. Nathan flipped his chair around backward and sat.

Folding her hands, she set them on his card table. She felt like Liz.

"I was wrong," she said. There. Not so hard. "I can say I won't close you out like
that again, but I probably will." She shut her eyes and shook her head. "But you already
know that." She took a deep breath. "I can also live with you having a need to protect
me. You've never smothered me."

"Are you sure? Because I need to know that up front."

Nathan looked at her in silence with eyes half open long enough to make her feel insecure.
"My ex left when I had a need to protect Duncan and Andy. I'm not going to start comparing,
but it brings back memories."

Distracted, she forgot about the manila envelope tucked under her arm.

"Yes. Duncan told me that."

"He did. Well." He looked at her, maybe through her. "You know, they've gone through
more than the death of their parents. They've also lived through a divorce and having
an inexperienced dad."

Nathan turned his chair around. "She and I became godparents when Duncan was born
and again for Andy." He leaned back. "When my brother died, we took them in. She was
supportive at first, but it didn't last. She couldn't handle being thrown into motherhood.

"The studio was taking off. I started getting more orders. Orders from significant
people. We were invited to stuffy parties, rubbed noses with politicians and CEOs.
I wanted a balance with the boys. She wanted to embrace where our lives were headed.
My folks offered to take Duncan and Andy. I needed to keep the promise we made to
my brother and to the boys. I loved them. Love them. I couldn't let them lose two
dads. We made our choices."

"Whatever happened to for better or for worse?"

"I don't blame her. She married the governor's personal assistant."

"She moves fast."

"Yes." He leaned toward her. "Are you going to tell me what's in that envelope?"

She took one deep, cleansing breath. "I was wrong. Twice. This time about the connections
to the fire."

As she suspected, his eyes turned intense, the bold blue making them look all the
more intimidating.

"Before I show you these, I want you to know I'm really okay, and there are pictures
in here that might not sit well with you." Handing him the envelope, she sat back.
She turned her head but kept her eyes on his, wanting to read his reaction.

Cautiously, Nathan turned the envelope upside down and shook the contents into his
hand. Dozens of photos spilled around his fingers and onto the small table. Some were
close-ups, some far away, all different sizes and each a picture of Brie. His eyes
darted to hers, back to the pictures and again to her. She kept her face composed.
Spreading them out hurriedly on the table, he straightened the ones that had landed
upside down. Most of the pictures were of her with different men. One on a small rowboat.
One taken through a window at a restaurant. Another sitting with Liz and Tim, all
with the word SLUT written in red letters across the front.

Chapter 19

"What the hell is this?" Nathan asked.

"I don't know. They were in my mailbox tonight when I got home." She picked up a specific
picture. "Look at this, Nathan."

He took it from her. "Is this you?"

"Yes. I used to be heavier. Do you know who these people are next to the man I'm with?"

He looked closer and recognized them from pictures over her mantle. "Your parents.
That makes these six, no seven years old."

"Eight. That's an old boyfriend. Marketing major. I met him at grad school when I
was taking night classes. I was twenty-two years old in that picture. Nathan, I've
never seen these before."

The photo she pointed to was of her eating corn on the cob at a table that was clearly
in her parents' backyard. The deck was different and there was no patio, but it was
definitely her house. Next to her was the boyfriend with his arm draped over her shoulder.

Pushing through the dozens of pictures, he noticed one with him in it. He was in Brie's
kitchen nook by the glass doors with Brie's leg wrapped around him and his hands dug
in her hair. There was one of Brie as she sat suggestively on his lap, and even one
from a few days ago when they were tangled on the hood of her truck. It must have
been taken from the road because he could see the painters working on the siding in
the background. Written on the bottom of the pictures of the two of them were the
words, "A present for the Board of Education."

He sat back and ran his fingers through his hair. "I can't leave Duncan and Andy.
You need to take these to the station."

"It's late. Can't we just call Dave and see what he thinks?" She put her elbows on
the table and ran her hands along her ponytail.

Nathan turned his head contemplating. "All right." He lifted from his chair and dialed.

Dave was still at the station and said he would come by.

"See you in a few," he said before hanging up.

"Okay. Late night," Brie said.

"You can catch up on sleep tomorrow," he said curtly while leafing through pictures.

She spoke up again. "Tell me about the house."

"Hmm? Oh. Show work this week."

"Show work?" He heard her voice crack.

He looked at the picture of her when she was on his lap, trying to figure out the
angle it would have been taken from. "Show work. Work that's faster and just for show.
Upstairs is done and most of the down." He lifted his focus to her. She was sheet
white. He piled the photos together and took her hand. "Let's walk while we wait."

They toured the house. He pointed out examples of show work as a means to distract
her, and it seemed to work.

The change from the week before was big. He'd trimmed out every upstairs window and
door. All the trim except the baseboards was finished. Purposely, he kept the design
the same, just modified the color depending on the room. Mission style he explained
to her.

When they reached Duncan's room they found Andy had wandered there. They put a blanket
over him as he slept and shut the door.

Dave wasn't long. The three of them sat in the folding chairs as Brie explained what
Dave was looking at and how she'd found the photos. Nathan noted the way she could
stuff her fears and suspicions whenever she needed to and supposed he should feel
relief that she could let loose when they were alone.

Dave took in a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh. "Trouble is there's no threat
here. I can get a patrol to pick up the neighborhood canvas, but I can't get a squad
car to sit at your house just because someone thinks you're a slut."

For the first time in a very long time, Nathan lost it. "No threat? Are you joking?
She's had some, some
maniac
taking pictures of her for almost a decade! He set fire to her home, broke into her
garage."

Brie intervened. "You're going to wake up Duncan and Andy, Nathan. He's right. There's
no proof to say any of this is connected."

"Can I take these?" Dave motioned to the pictures.

"Sure," Brie offered.

Nathan turned to Brie. "You're not going home."

"Nathan," she spoke softly.

"Damn it. You heard me."

Brie turned to Dave. "Do something. I can't bring this to a home with two children."

"By the looks of the pictures, it already is. It's late. I'll let myself out and the
two of you can duke this out." He stood. "Stop by the station tomorrow. I'll see what
we can do about extra patrols," and headed for the door.

"Where will I sleep? I need my stuff. Oh, hell."

"I have a mattress, and I have an extra toothbrush."

"Goes to show what you know about women. I need a lot more than a toothbrush. I can
bring Macey with me to at least get some things."

"Not tonight, and I can't come with you and leave the kids here."