Todd knew he had to be heavy on top of her but every time he tried to move, she protested. It felt so good to lay there with her stroking his back and hair. Finally he did move, taking her with him, he rolled her over on top of him.
“This is better,” he said, and kissed the tip of her nose. She smiled down at him and let out a very satisfied sigh. “This place is beautiful, Todd. Thank you for sharing it with me.” She rolled off of him and reached for her clothing. “I’m getting cold,” she said as she pulled her jeans and sweater on.
“Since we’re not going to eat anything from the picnic basket I packed, we should head back soon. I have a hot date tonight,” he said as he reached for his shirt.
“What a coincidence. I do too,” she replied. “This really hot guy kept hitting on me until I agreed to go out with him.”
“Lucky man, do I know him?” he said as he wrapped her in his arms.
“If I tell you, I’ll have to kill you,” she whispered silkily into his ear.
“I’m taking you home now. You are starting to scare me.”
She laughed as they finished getting dressed. Todd picked up the blanket and basket and climbed in the Jeep as Rachel took one last look around. They drove away from the sun as it began to fade behind the mountains.
Todd dropped Rachel off at her door. Kissing her goodbye, he said, “I’ll come back to pick you up around seven.”
“Okay, I’ll be ready,” she said as she unlocked the door. She watched him climb back in the Jeep and drive off before she closed and locked it behind her. Brutus was sleeping on the couch. Lazily he stretched and looked at her with his big brown eyes.
“I better get showered. I don’t know what to wear,” she said to the dog as she dashed off down the hall into the bathroom.
After a long, hot shower, she stood naked in front of her closet trying to decide what to wear. She tried on four different outfits ranging from casual to elegant before deciding on a black cashmere sweater dress that fit snugly and hugged every curve. The neckline plunged for a nice effect and the hemline was well above her knees. Standing in front of the full-length mirror, she said, “Eat your heart out, Todd Bradley.” A wicked, little smile played on her lips. She was going to knock him off his feet.
She proceeded with makeup and finished by blow drying her hair for that freshly rumpled or bed head look as it was fashionably called.
* * * *
Todd took his time getting ready. In his past experience, women usually ran late. So he didn’t feel the need to hurry. Jessica came downstairs as he opened a beer.
“Woo hoo,” she said when she saw him. “Don’t we look pretty when we get cleaned up?”
“Stuff it, Jess,” he said with a grin.
“No seriously, you look great. The dark gray sweater does incredible things for your eyes. You must be hooked, you pulled out your dress boots and your snug fitting black jeans. She doesn’t stand a chance. You’re going to knock her dead, big brother.”
Having this type of conversation with his kid sister made him uncomfortable and embarrassed him. He turned the tables and asked her, “Are you going out tonight?”
“Yeah, I got a date with this really hunky guy in my wildlife sciences class. He saw me through his field glasses when we were out tagging game last week and was swept off his feet,” she said batting her eyelashes for added effect.
“Just be careful, please?” He emphasized the please.
“I will. We’re going to a party in town.”
“Here, finish this for me. I’m driving. I’d hate to have to arrest myself,” he said, pulling on a black leather jacket and walking out the door.
“Have a good time,” she called after his retreating figure.
* * * *
Brutus barked as Todd drove in. Rachel stood in the doorway and watched him as he walked up. His mouth went dry as he took her in from head to toe. She looked incredible, no, devastating. The dress looked like it was painted on and stopped midthigh. The shoes had four inch spikes and did the most fascinating things to her legs. He envisioned her naked wearing nothing but those heels.
“Let me get Brutus taken care of and I’ll be ready.”
Todd just nodded his assent. For some inexplicable reason, he seemed to have lost the ability of coherent speech.
Rachel went into the kitchen to make sure Brutus had plenty of food and water. “You be good and guard the house for me. I promise tomorrow will be a play day for us. I love you and I will see you soon,” she said to him as she closed and locked the door.
“Shall we go?” she asked with a devilishly wicked grin on her face. Todd just nodded. When she bent over to pick up her coat and purse from the patio table, he almost swallowed his tongue. High heels did
really
amazing things to a pair legs. She walked across the patio and right past him towards his truck. He caught a whiff of her perfume and could think of no better torture to endure.
Clearing the cobwebs from his brain, he finally spoke. “You’re a little overdressed for The Sandstone but I don’t think anyone will mind.” Helping her into the cab of his truck, he watched her dress creep higher on her thigh as she sat down. He ran a finger down her smooth leg, and found she wore no stockings. “I know I most certainly don’t. You’re trying to kill me aren’t you?” he asked.
“Is it working?” she purred.
“Extremely well.” He walked around to his side of the truck and pulled out of the drive.
* * * *
Ed waited until the lights were gone and then two minutes more just to be safe. He watched them and their disgusting display of affection. “I’m not good enough for you but the sheriff is?” He sneered. Quietly, he picked the lock on the garage door. The dog was inside the house. He turned on his flashlight and gasped. Horrified, he saw the shelves had been emptied and cleaned. “Where is it?” he screamed. “She found it and moved it into the house. She is not going to take it from me! I guess I’m going to have to face that dog after all.” Quietly, Ed opened the door to the laundry room. The whole house was dark. He didn’t hear any noise so he continued into the kitchen. All of a sudden, a low, rumbling growl had Ed stopping dead still. He turned towards the sound and flashed the flashlight into Brutus’ eyes. Ed ran and Brutus chased him down the hall, Ed dove through the first door he came to. He jumped on the desk as Brutus came charging in behind him. Grabbing a box, he emptied the contents on the floor and shoved it over Brutus’ head. He quickly jumped off the desk, over the dog and slammed the door, successfully locking the dog in the room.
Hearing the dog barking and clawing at the door, Ed frantically began to search the house. Throwing pieces everywhere, he searched her bedroom and closet. He searched the spare bedroom, kitchen and living room. Growing frustrated, he went out in the garage again. Nothing, the chest was gone. Panicked and terrified he ran through the house, upending and searching everything a second time. “It’s not here! Oh my God, it’s not here!” A wave of terror washed over him. He bolted out the front door and ran off into the night. He ran all the way to his vehicle parked on the fire trail behind Rachel’s cabin. “What am I going to do? Mr. Vee is coming tomorrow. I’ll run tonight. I’ll take my chances and run tonight.”
* * * *
An unsuspecting Ed arrived home to find a visitor waiting for him in his living room.
“Good evening, Edward,” the raspy voice said.
Chapter 11
Rachel and Todd sat in an intimate little booth tucked back in the corner of the Sandstone Statue Restaurant. Enjoying their loaded pizza and pitcher of ice-cold beer, they ate in silence for a time. Todd finished first and watched her from across the small table. “Rachel, I have to tell you something. You have the most beautiful eyes. I almost hate to admit this, but I used to stare at your picture all the time.”
She looked up at him with a confused expression on her face. “Excuse me?”
“Jessica has all your books. I was fascinated by your eyes from the moment I saw you. Not fascinated enough to read one, mind you. But I was always curious when a new book came out. What will she look like this time?”
“So you knew who I was all along? For some reason, I figured Jessica was the one who told you about me. Thank you, Todd, that was very sweet of you. You know, you should read one of my books sometime. You would be surprised to know how many men read romance novels. You would be even more surprised to find out how many write them.”
“Are you serious? Well let’s get into that another time. I promised you a question and answer session, remember? Do you want to go first, or shall I?”
She smiled at him from over the rim of her beer mug. “This is your game. You go right ahead.”
“Okay, first of all, what is your favorite color?”
“It’s blue. How does this work exactly? I mean, I understand you asking me a question and I answer, but when do I get a turn?”
“If you answer the question, you get to ask one. Refuse to answer and you forfeit your turn.”
“Tough rules but alright. Ummm, okay, I got it. If you could have any car in the world, what would it be?”
“I’ve always wanted a 1963 split window Corvette. Oh, and just in case you wanted to know, my favorite color is green. Alright since I answered two questions I get to ask two. First one, what kind of music do you listen to? And the second is; why did you move to Oak Creek Canyon?”
“That’s not fair! I only asked you one question. You volunteered your favorite color information. So, to answer your first question, I love rock and roll. All of it, from the oldies to the Rolling Stones to heavy metal bands like Pantera and System of a Down. Now it’s my turn to ask you something. Why isn’t a gorgeous guy like you home with a wife and a couple kids?”
“You never answered my second question. You forfeit your turn.”
“You’re cheating! I never asked what your favorite color was. You can’t change the rules in the middle of the game. You’ll have to answer my question or forfeit your turn. Then I can ask you about something else.”
“I haven’t found Ms. Right. I came close once, but came to my senses before we both made a big mistake. She is now happily married to someone else and they have the two children you spoke of. Now you answer my question, Rachel. Why did you move from Phoenix to Oak Creek Canyon?”
She sighed and looked in her beer mug as if she might find the answer floating in the pale amber liquid. “I hate to admit this, but I’ve led a very sheltered life. I moved out of my parents’ house and went straight into a college dorm. After spending four years of college with four different roommates, I moved back home for a short time. Shortly after I got published, I met a man. We became involved and I moved in with him. I discovered a few months ago that he had been cheating on me. I left him and went to stay with my dad, yet again. He reminded me about the cabin. Said he was planning on selling it. I talked him out of that and offered to buy it from him. So basically, this is the first time in my twenty-six years of life that I have lived on my own, all alone.”
“Wow, some pretty heavy stuff,” he said, sipping his beer.
“Okay, I have another one for you and this is really serious. Who do you like better, Tom and Jerry or Bugs Bunny?”
“That’s a tough one. I’m going to have to go with Bugs, although Tom and Jerry will run a very close second. My turn right? Wait, that wasn’t my question. What about your family?”
“Well, as you know, my dad lives in Phoenix. I am the youngest of four. I have a brother who lives in Montreal, Canada, a sister in Chattanooga, Tennessee and another sister in Salem, Oregon. My mother passed away a few years ago.”
“What about you? Where is your family?”
“That was two, but I’ll let you slide. I understand it was kind of a compound question. Mom and Dad moved back East, they’re in some little coastal town called Blue Hill, Maine. They’ve always loved the ocean and fresh fish and they wanted to experience some different scenery and real seasons. This way, they get to have it all. Jessica and I are their only kids. I’ve got aunts and uncles but I don’t really think you want to go that far into detail. Do you?”
She shook her head no, so he continued, “Good, I really miss them. Jessica and I were really surprised when they started throwing darts at a map of the east coast. That’s how they discovered Blue Hill. Mom hit the dot on the map square on. They considered it a sign, the next thing we knew, they were jumping on an airplane and heading off to go look at property. Would you like to take a walk or is that going to be impossible for you in those shoes?”
She laughed, “I can walk just fine in them. Let’s go look at the sculptures.”
They held hands as they walked through the different sandstone sculptures. She stopped in front of the rendition of The Last Supper. “You’re going to laugh, but this terrified me as a child,” she said, laughing at herself a little. “We came up here late one Friday night and Dad turned too early. He thought he’d missed the turnoff to the cabin. He turned in here instead. I was sleeping on the seat beside him and woke up when the truck stopped. I opened my eyes and the headlights were shining on them,” she pointed to the sculptures. She let out another shaky laugh. “I thought they were ghosts or something horrible. They glowed. I screamed and climbed into my mother’s lap. The next day, my dad brought me down here and tried to show me what they were. I didn’t want to believe him.”