Three Year Rule (The Rule Series Book 1) (10 page)

Amy snuggled closer and said, “What are we going to do?”

Randy smiled and cupped her chin in his hand, tilting her face toward his. “Josh and I discussed it and we think that you should avoid the cabin for a while. I thought perhaps you could stay with me for a few days, unless you’d like to stay longer.”

Amy’s moist eyes opened in surprise.  She smiled up at him and asked, “Are you asking me to move in with you?”

“Yes ma’am, I am. I just can’t get enough of you.” Randy’s smile broadened, disappearing as their lips met.

Josh followed Elizabeth to Charlie’s side.  Elizabeth sat cross-legged on the floor next to Charlie and stroked her head. Charlie lifted her head and wagged her tail. Josh went to the kitchen and searched through the box he brought in from the truck.  He pulled out a bag of dog treats and brought one to Charlie.  Charlie rose to her feet and chewed on the crunchy treat as Josh knelt at her side.

He said, “Randy will figure all this out. He’s good at his job.”

Elizabeth leaned down and kissed Charlie’s nose.  Charlie lay back down on the pillow, and Elizabeth scratched her belly. She looked up at Josh and said, “I don’t have a stalker. I’m an author, not a movie star. I’ve never had a stalker. Randy is wrong.”

Josh rose and stared down at her for a minute.  She could feel his gaze on the back of her head like a hot sun blazing down on her. Elizabeth rose and faced him with a defiant look on her face.

Josh held her gaze and said, “Just how do you think the fox got under your deck? Do you think Charlie shot it with an arrow and then stuffed in under there? On the other hand, maybe Amy accidentally shot the fox one day while practicing with a bow.  Only she doesn’t own a bow, and has probably never shot one in her life. Or maybe it’s some renegade campers who got bored, made their own bow and arrow, shot the fox, and stuffed it under your deck as a practical joke on someone they didn’t know?”

Elizabeth glared at him.  Her eyes narrowed and she spoke with venom in her voice, “I have no idea how that fox got there. Perhaps it crawled across the yard after it was shot and tried to hide under the deck. I have no idea, but I’m telling you right now I do
not
have a stalker.  I am a psychologist; I know all the signs of a stalker. I know all the behaviors of a stalker,
and
I understand the risks. There is no one stalking me, and I’m not going to discuss this any further.”

Josh held his ground and added, “You are so stubborn and sure of yourself that you are willing to risk your personal safety. I get it. You’re a big girl, and it’s your decision. Let me ask you this, are you so confident no one is following you that you’re willing to risk Charlie’s life or worse yet, Amy’s life? This stalker wasn’t trying to hurt you; that bear wasn’t meant for you. You were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. That bear was intended for Charlie.”

All the anger disappeared from Elizabeth’s face. She stepped backward reeling from Josh’s words. She stammered, “No, it was an accident.”

Josh took a step closer and reached out to steady her. He lowered his voice and said calmly, “It wasn’t. I’m sorry, Beth.”

She glanced down at Charlie whose head rested on her front paws. She stared back up at her. Josh closed the gap between them and gently took Elizabeth in his arms. He said, “You can’t ignore this; it’s not going to go away. We have to deal with this. This person has gone beyond surfing the net and following you around. They invaded your home at least twice. They set a very dangerous trap for Charlie that could have killed you or Amy in the process. They are beyond rational thought, so we have to find them and stop them.”

Elizabeth leaned against him in surrender. “What should we do?”

Josh kissed her forehead and said, “Come stay with me for a couple of weeks. That alone might discourage them enough to pull back.”

“Or it could encourage them to become bolder,” Randy’s voice came from the kitchen as he opened the door for Amy and Kilo to enter the house.  He added, “Let’s not pretend this is going to go away overnight.”

Josh flashed Randy an irritated look and added, “I agree, but we’ve upset the girls enough for one day. Let’s open a fresh bottle of wine for the ladies, and I’ll grab some beers from the fridge in the basement.”

Kilo lay down beside Charlie. Josh disappeared through a door in the kitchen and headed downstairs. Randy headed to the box on the counter and pulled out a bottle of wine. He popped the cork and filled Amy and Elizabeth’s glasses with the golden liquid. Josh reappeared with a six-pack of beer. He opened two of the bottles and handed one to Randy.

Josh sat down next to Elizabeth on the L-shaped sofa. Randy and Amy sat at the far end. Josh put his arm around Elizabeth’s shoulders and said, “Why don’t we turn in early tonight and get up with the sunrise. I know a great fishing spot on the far end of the lake. We can relax and see what’s biting for a couple of hours. If we pack a lunch, we can pull into a cove then do some waterskiing and head back in to barbeque for dinner.”

Randy smiled and added, “Great idea, I brought some steaks we can grill. We can throw on some corn on the cob and baked potatoes for dinner. You girls can just relax and let us cook. Then we can take a sunset cruise on the lake later.”

When Josh took Elizabeth upstairs to the Master Bedroom, her head was swimming from a bit too much wine and a very long emotional day. Kilo trotted to the end of the hall and settled down for the night. Josh opened the bedroom door to reveal a room twinkling with candles. A King size, four-poster bed stood in front of a wall of French Doors. Elizabeth dismissed the details of her day and fell into his arms.

Josh kissed her with savage passion. The stalker’s carelessness could have cost them more than Josh was willing to risk. Josh immediately pulled Elizabeth’s shirt over her head and removed his own. As their naked flesh touched, Elizabeth felt the heat of his body sink into hers. Josh undid her capris and slid them down over her hips. Elizabeth stepped back and slid her panties down to land on the floor next to Josh’s jeans.

Josh slid one arm around her waist as the other cupped her breast. Elizabeth gasped as his kiss moved to her neck and began to trail down to her breasts. His hands explored her soft curves as their entwined bodies fell onto the bed. The rest of the world faded from their thoughts as they surrendered to their desires.

                                                                      ************                                                                     

Randy sat up abruptly as the lights went out. They had fallen asleep on the couch, and a storm had apparently moved in across the lake. Randy gave Amy a quick kiss and said, “The power is out, it must be the storm. I’ll take a look outside and lock up the house.”

Amy rose and draped a thin blanket over Charlie’s sleeping body. Randy closed the back windows and moved to lock the back door.  Amy headed to the kitchen with the empty wine glasses, set them on the counter, and began to search the drawers for candles or a lighter.  Randy turned the deadbolt as he glanced out the window. The night was chaotic with the wind surging through the tall trees that lined the shore, whipping them back and forth viciously, causing leaves and debris to skip across the growing waves of the lake. As the moon slipped out from behind a large cloud, Randy paused to gaze at its rippling reflection on the dark sparkling water of the lake. The rain spread across the lake like a thin mist, giving it a mystical look.

Randy was about to turn and head to the front door when a tall shadowy figure appeared out from behind the trees and ran swiftly across the open grass on the far side of the pool.  Randy shot a startled look at Amy and said, “Lock the door behind me!”

Amy’s heart raced as she rushed to the door and slipped the deadbolt into place. She glanced back at the stairs wondering if she should call Josh.  She turned to look through the window in search of Randy. The rain began coming down in sheets, and the wind slammed it into the window so hard Amy could no longer see the deck. She turned to glance back toward the fireplace; surely, there were matches there. It was then that she noticed the front door was standing slightly ajar. Amy didn’t hesitate. She ran across the room and shoved the door closed. Slowly she turned back to scan the house. Did the wind just blow that open? Her heart jumped into her throat. She glanced around in the darkness then rushed back to the kitchen and pulled out a large carving knife from the drawer next to the stove.

Josh rose and opened the French doors that led to a small balcony.  Elizabeth rose and blew out the candles, then went to stand beside him. They stood in the darkness, gazing out over the turbulent water of the lake as the storm moved closer. Tiny lights twinkled from across the water from the homes and docks on the other side of the lake.

Elizabeth slipped her arm around Josh’s naked body and said, “Can I see photos of your children.”

Josh gazed down at her and smiled. He reached out and touched her cheek gently with the tips of his fingers. He said, “I’ve got some photos in my wallet. I can show you in the morning.”

She kissed him softly and asked, “What happened with their mother? Why did you separate?”

Josh wrapped his arms around her and gazed out across the water. He spoke softly as if talking to the cool night air, “Joanne was wild.  She, Randy and I grew up together, went to the same school since kindergarten. She was always the first one to try anything new and risky, even as a child. She was the first to jump off Bogart Bridge. Danger and risk excited her, and we followed in her wake. She was exciting; being with her was a rush. As a young man, I found that intoxicating. However, one day things went too far, and Randy got hurt. We were running across the rim of the dam, and Randy slipped. He fell onto the spillway. The rolling water at the base of the spillway pulled him under. It seemed like it took forever to find him under the water, but I did. He was blue; his skin was cold and clammy. It shook me to my core. Luckily, Mary, Randy’s girlfriend at the time, wanted to be a nurse so she knew CPR and revived him as I ran for help. After that, Randy and Mary kept their distance. Things just weren’t the same between us all.

“The night I decided to break up with Joanne she told me she was pregnant. I made a mistake in thinking she would settle down and concentrate on the baby. So, I married her. She struggled for years to be a good mom, but it just wasn’t her. One day I came home from work, and she was gone. She’d dropped Jake off with Randy and disappeared. No note, no explanation, nothing. He was three years old.”

He turned and gazed down at Elizabeth adding, “I was scared to death to be left alone with Jake, but Randy and Mary were there for me constantly. Mary was an RN by then, working at a local hospital and Randy was a deputy. Between the two of them, I was hardly ever alone the first few months.  Eventually, I got into a rhythm with Jake. Then, about a year after she disappeared, Joanne showed up at my door one night with Molly in her arms. Thank God, Jake was asleep. She handed Molly to me and said, ‘
She’s yours
,’ nothing more. I was so surprised and pretty shook up to be honest. I took Molly and watched her walk away. Then I closed the door and called Randy.” Josh laughed and said, “He and Mary were on my doorstep in less than an hour with diapers, formula, bottles, and a bunch of pink baby clothes. I don’t know what I would have done without them.”

The wind grew stronger as the rain began to spread across the lake.  Elizabeth smiled and took Josh’s hand to lead him back to the bed as she asked, “What happened to Joanne?”

Josh lay down on the bed and took Elizabeth in his arms. He said, “She grew up a bit over the next couple of years and began to drop by to see the kids. Finally, she asked to have them overnight. Now she takes them for 6 weeks in the summer and half of Christmas and Spring break. The rest of the time they are with me.”

“And Mary?”

Josh sighed and said, “Mary was diagnosed with Leukemia. They did everything they could to fight it. Randy took her to the best doctors. She had a bone marrow transplant they were sure would end it, but it didn’t work. She was gone in less than a year. It took a toll on all of us. She was like a mother to my kids. She was Randy’s whole life. Mary was beautiful, kind and selfless. The kids and I lost both of them the day she died. Randy went into seclusion, and then threw himself into his work. I kept close tabs on him and kept dropping in when I could. I think it was hard for him to see the kids. They reminded him of the life he felt he was never going to have. Finally he came out of it, and things got back to almost normal. He hasn’t dated much in the last few years. So it’s great to see how attached he’s become to Amy.”

Elizabeth snuggled up against him and ran her fingers through the thick blonde hair on his chest.  She said, “Amy adores him. She’s had a hard life, but you’d never know it by her attitude.”

“What about you?” Josh asked, “You’ve never talked about your life or friends. I really don’t know anything about your past.”

Elizabeth nuzzled his neck and said, “My life is pretty boring. I grew up in a small Missouri town. I did the usual little girl things: dance lessons, piano lessons, played softball, and sang in the school choir. My parents were older and a bit judgmental. I had to be perfect at everything I did or they were greatly disappointed. They had high expectations and little patience. My parents were both attorneys, so they were always working. I got involved in every activity our small town offered, except in the summer. I looked forward to the 2 weeks every summer on my Uncle's farm. He was nearly ten years younger than my dad and more laid back.  He and Aunt Mae accepted me as I was and never lectured me. He taught me how to milk a cow, gather eggs, ride a horse and how to fish. We went camping and hiking. Uncle Wendell and Aunt Mae never had any kids, so they devoted all their time to me while I was there. They were big into their church and, as a result, we were always helping neighbors and dropping off food, clothing, and even school supplies to families in the area. Aunt Mae taught me about Jesus and how to forgive. I loved it there. My parents thought my aunt and uncle were wasting their lives struggling to keep their little farm going, but it was my favorite place in the world. I used to pretend they were my parents.” Elizabeth laughed, “One day I told my third grade teacher the reason I didn’t get my homework done the night before was because I was secretly communicating with my real parents Wendell and Mae that night. My parents were furious when the teacher called them. I was grounded for a month.”