Obsession (7 page)

Kendra clutched the tote in her hand as the SUV bounced over the road, and he pulled into the parking lot of the general store. Charlie climbed out and circled to open her door. As soon as she stood up on the running board, he reached out and put both hands on her waist. Her hands came up and instinctively gripped his shoulders for balance as he lifted her up and over the few feet of snow between the edge of the parking lot and the wide covered porch that spanned the front of the store.

Charlie’s hands lingered at her waist for a moment, and he was unexpectedly satisfied when he noticed a blush rise in her cheeks. Attraction, strong and clear, rushed through him. He acknowledged it, felt his pulse quicken, and then reminded himself that he had no business feeling anything for Kendra Blake. He’d already learned the hard way not to trust anyone who wanted to live their life in the limelight, especially a beautiful woman. He gave her what he hoped was a casual smile and then released her and pulled the store door open.

The moment they stepped inside, Kendra called out a greeting to the woman sitting in a chair beside the cash register.

Mrs. Burgess looked up, her green eyes sharp, her wrinkled face splitting into a grin as she identified her visitor. She set down the paperback she had been holding and pushed out of her chair.

“Kendra Blake! How are you?” Mrs. Burgess looked past Kendra to see Charlie beside her. “What are you doing in town? And who is this handsome man you brought to meet me?”

“This is Charlie Whitmore.” Kendra glanced at Charlie and added, “Charlie, this is Eleanor Burgess.”

“Good to meet you, Charlie.” Mrs. Burgess shook his hand briskly and then turned back to look at Kendra. “I didn’t know you were dating someone.” Her eyes narrowed. “How come I didn’t know you were dating someone?”

Charlie laughed, and for the first time since he had knocked on Kendra’s door, he felt himself relax. To his surprise, the tension he noticed in Kendra seemed to ease as well.

Kendra gave a little shake of her head and said, “We aren’t dating.”

“You aren’t?”

“Nope, afraid not.” Charlie shook his head.

“Well, why aren’t you?” Mrs. Burgess demanded. “Two single, good-looking kids like yourselves. You need to stop worrying so much about your careers and start paying more attention to the important things in life.”

Charlie glanced over at Kendra. With her hair pulled back in a ponytail and her face free of makeup, she looked like she was still a teenager. He noticed her fighting back a smile, and she winked at him before turning her attention back to Mrs. Burgess. Her voice was like an innocent schoolgirl’s when she asked, “You mean, there’s more to life than making money?”

“Money!” Mrs. Burgess thumped her hand on the counter for emphasis and narrowed her eyes again. “Why, money is the root of all evil. Says so in the Bible too.”

“I think I read something about that.” Kendra gave her a casual shrug and a grin. Then she moved forward and kissed her on the cheek. “I’ve missed you.”

“You’re a bad girl, Kendra Blake.”

“You must have me confused with my sister.”

Mrs. Burgess hooted with laughter. “That sister of yours always says the same thing when I scold her for anything.” Her laughter faded when she noticed Kendra’s shoes, or lack thereof, for the first time. “Where are your shoes, girl?”

“Let’s see.” Kendra seemed to consider for a minute, and when she spoke, there was both warmth and humor in her voice. “I think they’re in the trunk of my Mercedes, but I might have left them at my house in Malibu or maybe at Daddy’s house in Palm Springs.” She paused for a second. “Or they could be in my place in Phoenix.”

Mrs. Burgess stood up and wagged a finger at her. “Don’t you play little rich girl with me, young lady. There’s no excuse for coming up into this weather unprepared.”

Kendra bit back on a smile. “Yes, ma’am.”

Charlie watched the banter between the two women, a little surprised to see Kendra with her guard down. She didn’t look like the disinterested rich kid who had grown up in the spotlight, nor did she look like the pop star whose photograph was constantly on the covers of magazines. Instead, she looked like a normal girl chatting with the store owner as though they were family.

Apparently determined to solve Kendra’s wardrobe problem, Mrs. Burgess took her hand and started to pull her toward a small clothing section at the back of the store. “Let’s see what we can find for you to wear.”

Charlie called after them. “I’ll take care of my grocery shopping while you deal with the shoe problem.”

He couldn’t help but grin as Mrs. Burgess lowered her voice fractionally and told Kendra, “Nothing like trying on shoes to send the men running.”

Charlie shook his head as he grabbed one of the little carts next to the door and started browsing. If Kendra planned to stay for a few weeks, he had to assume that Elias would want him to stay for the duration. He wasn’t crazy about misleading her about why he was here, but for now, those were his orders. As soon as he got back to his cabin, he would put the call into Elias and give him an update.

Charlie glanced out the store window and considered for a minute. Realizing that coming back into town for supplies would be difficult until after the storm had passed and the roads were cleared, he tried to decide what supplies he might need.

He’d been so eager to see if Kendra was really at her family’s cabin that he hadn’t done an inventory when he’d first arrived. Instead, he’d dropped his bag in one of the bedrooms and had headed straight to her place.

Better be prepared
, he told himself. He started in the household section, picking up some matches, a lantern, a flashlight, and a bag of charcoal. He hoped he didn’t have to cook outside, but he suspected a summer town like Pinewood was probably low on the priority list when it came to winter power outages.

After filling up one cart with emergency supplies, Charlie moved to the grocery side of the store and began making his selections. He heard Kendra’s laughter ring out. Maybe, if he could convince her to have dinner with him, he would have an excuse to keep an eye on her. And just maybe, he could find out why she was refusing protection.

* * *

Kendra put the hood up on her newly purchased parka and stepped out of Charlie’s SUV, her purse in one gloved hand and her tote in the other. The shopping spree had depleted most of the cash she had on her, especially since she had followed Charlie’s example and bought enough supplies to last her for at least a week or two. If she decided to stay longer, she would have to talk to Mrs. Burgess about setting up an account with her rather than risk using a credit card.

Charlie moved to the back of the vehicle, opened the rear door, and hefted a box of supplies. “If you’ll unlock the door, I’ll get this stuff inside for you.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“It’s not a problem.” Charlie shrugged. “That way you won’t have to keep tracking snow through the house.”

“That’s true.” Kendra offered him a smile. Then she started up the steps and retrieved her key to unlock the door. To her surprise, when she started to slide the key into the lock, the doorknob shifted. Testing it, she turned it to find that it was already unlocked.

She looked at it a moment, puzzled. Had she forgotten to lock the door? She tried to bank down the uneasy feeling that instantly surfaced. Before she could turn to look for any signs of an intruder, Charlie’s hand came down on her shoulder.

His eyes were intense, as though he, too, were sharing her thoughts, her questions. His voice was low, barely louder than a whisper when he said simply, “Wait.”

Kendra nodded obediently. Then she watched him as he moved back to the front of the porch and studied the yard. She looked out, wondering what he was looking for. She could see their tire tracks on the road and the faintest outline of the footprints Charlie had left when he had walked across the street to her cabin earlier.

Was it her imagination, or were there also smaller tracks on the road? Perhaps from a sled or a snowmobile?

Charlie turned back to her. “Have you seen anyone but me since you got here?”

She shook her head. The directness in his eyes had her fumbling, and the truth, at least part of it, tumbled out of her mouth. “No one but my grandparents knows where I am.”

“Is it okay if I check out your place before you go inside?” Charlie asked softly. “It may sound silly, but it would make me feel a lot better if I know you’re safe.”

Kendra’s head bobbed up and down, and she swallowed hard. If Charlie was worried too, maybe her concerns weren’t just from her imagination running away with her.

Charlie handed her his car keys. “Why don’t you go wait in the car. I’ll be right out.”

Again, Kendra nodded. She started back down the stairs, slipping on the second step and having to carefully regain her balance. Then she hurried to Charlie’s SUV and climbed back inside. Her tote fell onto the floor, and she absentmindedly pulled her favorite stuffed animal free and clung to it.

When she looked up at her front door, she saw Charlie glance back at her, making sure she was safely inside the vehicle. Then he slowly pushed the door open and disappeared inside.

Charlie entered Kendra’s cabin and quietly closed the door behind him. He set down the box of supplies he’d been carrying just inside the door and reached for the gun he kept holstered at the small of his back. His eyes swept the room, and he listened for any sound that was out of place.

The fire still flickered in the fireplace, though it had diminished to a dull glow, no longer providing any warmth in the room. Kendra’s belongings were still strewn across the room, but nothing appeared to have been moved since they left.

It’s probably nothing
, Charlie assured himself, even though he’d felt the odd chill run through him when he’d realized her door was unlocked. He remembered asking her if she had her key, but since Kendra had been the last one out of the cabin, he couldn’t be sure if she had thought to lock the door or not. But he also didn’t remember seeing those faint snowmobile tracks on the road when they’d left earlier.

Then again, now that he thought of it, he had been more concerned about getting Kendra to his truck without her freezing her toes off than he had been about making sure everything was secured properly. That pretty face of hers was proving to be a distraction, and he didn’t have time for that right now.

He was probably overreacting by making her wait for him outside. Regardless, though, it wouldn’t hurt to err on the side of safety. He would just check out the cabin to make sure everything was as it was supposed to be, and then he could laugh off this little panic attack and tell Kendra that his protective side was showing because she was staying here alone.

He slipped his boots off, partially to mask the sound of his steps and partially to keep from tracking moisture across the floor. He checked out the main level first: the living room and kitchen, the three bedrooms, two bathrooms, the mudroom, and various closets. When he was satisfied that the back door was locked tightly and that there wasn’t any sign of anyone having been inside the mudroom recently, he turned back down the hall and headed up the stairs.

The third stair from the top creaked loudly under his weight. He froze for a moment, listening once again as he lifted his weapon a little higher. The loft overlooked the living room below, and three doors opened off of it. Cautiously, Charlie entered the first room to find a bedroom and a private bathroom. His methodical search revealed that the other two rooms were identical to the first, and all of them were empty.

A sigh escaped him, and he holstered his weapon. He took a moment to steady himself before heading back to the door, slipping his boots back on and motioning to Kendra that it was all clear.

Kendra climbed out of the car and moved toward him, her face pale. He’d scared her, Charlie realized. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing right now or not. He wanted her to understand the dangers she was facing—otherwise, how could she defend against them?—but he also needed her to trust him.

He moved toward her and pasted on an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry about that. I thought I heard something inside.”

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine.” Charlie reached for her hand, pulling her gently up the steps and toward the front door. “Why don’t you go inside and warm up by the fire. I’ll get everything else from the car.”

“Are you sure you don’t need any help?”

Charlie shook his head and nudged her inside before going to unload. He made several trips, each time depositing his load near the door. When all of her belongings were finally unloaded, he took off his boots and helped her carry her groceries into the kitchen and set them on the counter.

“Thanks so much for your help,” Kendra said, and Charlie was relieved to see that most of her color was back. “I don’t know how I would have managed to get supplies if you hadn’t been here.”

“I’m glad I could help,” Charlie told her. “I’m going to go get my stuff put away, and then I thought I’d make some dinner. Any chance you want to join me?”

Kendra looked at him blankly. “Join you?”

“Yeah.” Charlie nodded, amused by her expression. If he didn’t know better, he would have thought that she wasn’t used to having men ask her out. Not that he was asking her on a date, exactly. “Come have dinner with me.”

“Oh, okay,” Kendra said, still looking somewhat stunned.

“Great.” Charlie stepped toward the front door. “Why don’t you come over around five? That way, it will still be light out when you walk over.”

Kendra simply nodded. Then Charlie pulled on his boots and walked out the door.

* * *

A bomb had gone off at her concert, she was hiding away from the world in a snowbound cabin, and all she could think about was her upcoming date. At least, she thought it was a date.

Kendra shoved cans into the kitchen pantry, her conversation with Charlie replaying over and over in her mind. She cringed as she thought of how she had acted. She’d felt like a tongue-tied schoolgirl who had just been asked out on her first date. In a way, the description wasn’t all that far from the truth. Though she hadn’t been a schoolgirl for some time, she couldn’t remember the last time she had been out on a date.