Chapter 110
Once m.u.f.fy started running, she didn't stop. I took off after her, worried who would see us, but more worried she would get away and I'd never find her. She came to an abrupt halt, waiting at the sidewalk, her tongue hanging out the side of her mouth. Thank goodness. Surprised how upset I was at the thought of losing her, I knelt down to pet her. But m.u.f.fy had other ideas. She took off sprinting down the sidewalk, in the direction of the car down the street. I stood there, torn between catching her and self-preservation.
But really, there was no question. I ran after m.u.f.fy. I only hoped I didn't get shot.
I didn't. Instead, I ran into Joe. Literally. I had looked over my shoulder, toward the house to make sure he hadn't seen me, when I ran smack dab into his chest. He grabbed my arms to keep me from falling.
"Rose, why are you running? What's wrong?" His voice rose in alarm.
"m.u.f.fy!" I said, looking around him for signs of her. I heard her snort and looked down to see her sitting next to him.
I shot a glare at her. Traitor!
"What are you doin' out here?" He sounded nervous and grabbed my hand. He began pulling me toward the house.
m.u.f.fy trotted along and then stopped and p.o.o.ped in the neighbor's yard. "Ewww, m.u.f.fy! I didn't bring a bag!" But m.u.f.fy was a genius. "m.u.f.fy had to go out and I barely had time to get her out the door." I'd have to remember to come back in the morning to pick up her mess.
Joe eyed me, tilting his head to look at me. "I see you had time to change into different clothes." He still held my hand in his. My palm began to sweat under his scrutinizing gaze.
"Well, I couldn't come outside in my nightgown, could I?" I answered defensively.
"No, I'm glad you didn't come out in that little purple thing. That might have gotten the neighbor's attention." Joe tried to be subtle, but I saw him turn his head over his shoulder. In the direction of the car.
At least I hadn't gotten shot yet.
"m.u.f.fy's done her business. Let's get you inside," Joe said, moving toward the side of the house.
m.u.f.fy took off again, to the backyard. I swore if she started digging up the gun, I was gonna bury her in its place. Instead, she ran to the screen still on the gra.s.s, and sat down to wait.
"Rose," Joe said, alarm raising the pitch of his voice. "Someone tried to get in your house again!"
Oh, c.r.a.ppy doodles. Play along.
"Oh, my goodness!"
Joe grabbed my arm and took off running, dragging me to the other side of his front porch. His legs were longer than mine and I stumbled a couple of times trying to keep up. He pushed me down between his porch and an azalea bush. m.u.f.fy lay on the ground beside me. "Hide down here while I see if they're still inside. Do not come out," he said, his voice lowering into an order.
"Joe! Wait!"
"What?" He turned to face me, worry lines wrinkling his forehead.
The concern on his face stunned me, momentarily making me forget why I called to him. "Go in the front door. The side door is locked." Thank goodness I unlocked the front door.
Joe sprinted to the front and disappeared inside. I had to admit I would have been afraid for him if I thought someone was in my house. How could I be frightened for him? More importantly, why did he look so concerned about me?
He returned a few minutes later, his stride stiff with tension.
"Did you find anyone?"
"No, and no sign of anyone being inside." He looked up and down the street. "I don't want you sleeping alone tonight. I'm worried they might come back."
The last thing I wanted was to spend the night with Joe. "That's so sweet of you, but I'll be fine. I've got m.u.f.fy." I started walking toward the front porch, m.u.f.fy trotting next to me.
Joe followed behind.
"Joe, I told you, I'm fine," I said, walking in the front door. I started to close it on him, but he grabbed the edge.
"You've got two choices, Rose. Either I spend the night with you or I call the police to report the break-in. Which is it?"
I usually preferred the none-of-the-above answers, but lately those weren't working out so well. I sighed, irritated. "Fine, you can spend the night."
"Don't sound so enthusiastic."
It was hard to get enthusiastic about sleeping with someone who hid a gun in your shed.
"I'm gonna go lock up my house. I'll be right back."
I peeked out the front window and watched him walk home. When he turned to climb his porch steps, his face looked anxious, not sinister. I began to have second thoughts about his motives.
I put on the ugliest nightgown I could find, which wasn't hard. I had a whole drawer full of them,
Joe raised his eyebrows when he saw me, but didn't say anything. He led me to my bed and waited while I climbed in. m.u.f.fy jumped up and lay down next to me. I expected Joe to get in, but he kissed my forehead instead. "Don't worry Rose. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you." He stood up.
"Where are you goin'?" I couldn't stop myself from asking.
"I'm gonna sleep in your Momma's room. If someone breaks in again I'm gonna get the son of a b.i.t.c.h." He left, walking toward the back of the house. He really planned to sleep back there.
I was so confused. Did he want to hurt me or not?
Too wound up to go to sleep, my mind tried to sort everything out. If Joe broke in before, why did he think someone broke in this time? I was no acting coach, but the surprise and worry on his face looked real. And if Joe didn't really like me and care about me, why did he act so worried? If I hadn't heard the message from Hilary, I would chalk all my fears up to an overactive imagination, but I couldn't deny the message.
Everything's going as planned. We have confirmation she was seen with him. Let me know if you find out anything. Otherwise we stick to the schedule.
I couldn't trust Joe.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE.
I thought about running away, but all my escape routes were blocked. The man in the car watched the front of the house. Joe slept in the bedroom impeding my escape out the back.
Maybe that's why he wanted to sleep there, to keep me from leaving. But my gut instinct didn't think so. He really thought someone might break in.
Finally, my turbulent thoughts exhausted me and I fell asleep.
When I woke the next morning I thought I was still dreaming. I smelled the delicious aromas of coffee and bacon, only when I sat up and rubbed my eyes, I still smelled it.
m.u.f.fy lay on the bed with me, watching the door. Maybe she took her new guard dog role more seriously, although she hadn't done me any favors running into Joe the night before.
I found Joe in front of the stove. He turned and smiled.
"Good morning. Sleep well?"
"Yeah, what are you doing?"
"Cooking you breakfast."
"Why?" I blurted out.
He poured a cup of coffee and brought it to me, but he looked like my question didn't bother him. "Why not? I was hungry and I figured you would be."
I took the cup and opened the fridge to get creamer. "Where'd you get bacon? I know I didn't have any bacon."
"I had some. I went home and got it and pancake mix, too."
"Pancakes?"
"Have a seat. They're almost ready. I noticed your kitchen's pretty bare. Haven't been to the store in awhile, huh?"
I sat down. Joe already had plates and silverware on the table. "Well, you know, I've been busy. Plus it's just me."
"It's just me at my house and I'm better stocked than you. Plannin' on taking a trip?"
"No," I murmured sipping my coffee.
Joe brought over the pancakes and bacon then sat down next to me. "So, we need a plan."
I choked on my hot coffee, which hurt like the d.i.c.kens. "A plan?"
Joe stabbed a couple of pancakes on the stack and dumped them on his plate. He looked up and grinned, like a kid excited about to spend his allowance at the toy store, full of antic.i.p.ation and glee. "A plan for your list. I checked it over this morning and you still have several things to do."
I shrugged. "I don't know. I've kind of given up on my list."
Joe stopped, his fork in mid air. "Why?"
"It's stupid." I said with a sigh. "Twenty-four year olds don't go around doin' stupid things on lists."
"Why not?"
I shrugged again.
"Well, I've been lookin' forward to it. I hate that I got stuck at work and stood you up last night. I'm really sorry, Rose." He reached over and picked up my hand, stroking the back with his thumb. When I didn't respond, he set it back on my lap. "If you like, I can take you there for lunch."
"Nah, that's okay."
"I already have ideas for today but I know how much you hate me tellin' you what to do, so we can do whatever you want."
I sighed again, and looked at him. "I think I'd rather just spend the day here. Alone. Thanks, anyway." I tried to keep the hurt from leaking into my eyes, but the joy dropped out of his as he studied me.
He was quiet for a moment then took my hand again. "Rose, you have no idea how sorry I am I had to cancel last night. I really wanted to be with you, but we have the entire day today. Let me make it up to you."
If I stayed home, I wouldn't be surprised if Joe watched my every move. But if we went out, I had a chance of getting away from him. I pulled my hand away. "Okay."
He looked relieved. "Do you want to hear my plan or do you want to come up with your own?"
"Yours is fine." I swirled a piece of pancake on my plate, no longer hungry. Being with Joe hurt more than I thought possible, every word out of his mouth a reminder of his betrayal.
"You don't even want to hear it first?" He sounded incredulous. And hurt.
I grimaced and shook my head, putting my fork down. "I'm not hungry. I'm going to take m.u.f.fy out and take a shower."
"I already took m.u.f.fy out."
"What? She was sleepin' with me when I woke up."
"When I got up she must have heard me. We went out, she did her business and then she went back to your bed."
So much for my guard dog.
"Then I'll just take a shower and get dressed. I'll clean up the kitchen when I get done," I said and left Joe in the kitchen.
I took a long time in the shower and when I came out there was no sign of Joe. He must have gone home to get dressed, but the kitchen was clean and a laptop sat in the chair in the living room.
For the first time that morning, my spirits lifted.
I sank to my knees on the floor, turning the open computer to face me. My stomach fluttered, tossing around the bacon and pancakes I'd choked down. The black screen lit up to a bright blue when I pushed the illuminated power b.u.t.ton.
I'd never used a laptop, just my dinosaur computer at work and the one at the library. I moved my index finger on the touchpad, getting used to the feel of it. The screen asked for Joe's pa.s.sword. I racked my brain, trying to figure out what pa.s.sword Joe would use, which felt like looking for a leprechaun on Thanksgiving Day. In a spirit of hatefulness, I typed in Hilary, stabbing the keys with my fingers. Not it.
I was so intent on my task I didn't notice Joe until he asked dryly, "Do you need help?"
I screamed.
He leaned against the doorway, his face expressionless. "Did I surprise you?"
I jumped to my feet and instantly regretted it. Talk about looking guilty.
"I wanted to check the weather forecast. For today."
Joe walked over, picked up the television remote and pushed a b.u.t.ton. "You have cable now. You can find out on the Weather Channel." He flipped the stations until a weather map appeared on the screen. "Why were you using my computer? Where's yours?"
"I don't have one."
His eyes widened and the hard look turned to confusion. "You don't have a computer?"