Safe at Home (Warm Springs Trilogy Book 1) Page 23

  Chapter 34

  After a cup of coffee and enough time for Spencer to throw a bag together, they were in his truck and on the way to her house. The late night caused them to have a late start. It was almost lunch time before Sam opened her back door and entered her kitchen. There was a police car outside just as Officer Holloway promised. Spencer jogged out to talk to the officer and fill him in on their plans to leave town for a little while. She took in her kitchen with its white cabinets and red chairs, and sighed. It would be strange being gone, but at least this time she wouldn’t be alone.

  She was happy to be home, even if it was only long enough for her to pack and close up the house. She hated the thought of leaving, but after everything that had happened, she knew she couldn’t stay. Earl, Betsy, and Jenny had suffered because of her and then last night. He’d been right behind her. If luck hadn’t been on her side, she could be dead right now. Her car easily could have flipped over and ended up in a ditch or worse. Her feelings of unease were back in full force this morning, but before they could leave she had a few things she needed to do, starting with a shower.

  When she came down stairs with her wet hair wrapped in a towel, she could hear Spencer on the phone in the living room.

  “I can be there in twenty minutes.” Then a pause while whoever was on the other end said their piece. “It’s fine. There’s a police officer parked out front.” Spencer was using his calming voice, but he was shrugging on his jacket and heading to where his boots were sitting by the back door in the kitchen. “No, it’ll be fine. Hang tight and keep trying to call him.”

  “Hey,” Sam said, trying not to startle him when she stepped into the kitchen. “Is everything all right?”

  “Leave it to my dumbass brother to go on a hunting trip where his cell service is bordering on non-existent.”

  “He didn’t?” Sam shook her head and leaned against the doorjamb. “Is Ann okay?”

  Spencer stopped tugging on his boot to cut his eyes up at her. “Ann’s in labor.” With a huff, he pulled on his second boot. “I need to go pick her up and take her to the hospital.” He stopped beside Sam and kissed her. “It looks like we’re going to have to put our plans on hold. I was calling Ann to fill her in when she told me.”

  “Oh my gosh, you’ve got to go.” Sam practically pushed him out the door.

  “I’m going. She’s been trying to call Jake for the last three hours, hoping to catch him when he got back to camp, but now the contractions are getting close and she said she needs to go, not to mention the baby’s early.”

  “She needs you. Besides, I still have to pack and clean out the fridge. No worries. I’ll be here when you get back.”

  “Are you sure you’re okay being here alone?”

  “There’s a police officer right outside, so I’m really not alone, am I?” She smiled at him. Fortunately, Spencer didn’t know her experience had caused her to stop counting on the law to protect her. “Now go.”

  “I’ll call you in a little while.”

  She kissed his cheek and he was gone. It was fine. She would be fine. After a deep breath, she went upstairs to finish getting ready.

  The clouds overhead started to drop a light rain. The air was cooling off in a hurry, it was going to be a cold night. Eric could barely feel the chill in the air. His blood pumped through his veins at the thought of seeing Samantha that night. He’d waited so long to get his hands on her, to beat her just to the point of unconsciousness and then watch the light leave her eyes as he choked her to death with his bare hands. He could almost feel her bones cracking beneath his fingers and he couldn’t hide his smile.

  He could see her house from his perch in the trees. He could also see the cop car parked outside. It was unfortunate, but not impossible to deal with. What was one half-asleep gomer anyway? He hadn’t been sure she would come back to her house. He’d waited half the night in vain, but things had changed that morning and now the asshole cowboy was gone.

  In a way, it was too bad. Part of Eric wanted to kill him just to torture her a bit more, but if he was gone, things would go much more smoothly. A few more hours and it would be dark enough to slide from his place in the woods and go visit the house and its occupant.

  Sam’s phone rang thirty minutes later, distracting her from the contents of her refrigerator. “Miss me already?” She teased when she heard Spencer’s voice on the other end of the line.

  “You know I do.”

  “How’s Ann?”

  “She’s fine,” Ann added into the speakerphone from the passenger seat. “Aside from all these contractions and having an idiot husband who likes to abandon his wife to go hunting.”

  “I take it you’re on the way to the hospital?”

  “Well, actually we’re on the way to your place to drop Alex off.” Spencer waited, but Sam was stunned into silence. “Sam? Hello? Are you still there?”

  She remembered to blink and shut the refrigerator door. “Yes, I’m here.”

  “Since the baby’s early, Ann’s parents aren’t here yet and won’t be until tomorrow morning. Earl and Betsy are still out of town visiting their daughter, so that leaves you.”

  “I’m calling in that favor now,” Ann added sounding distant.

  Sam paced across her kitchen and sat down at the table. “Spencer, did you tell Ann about last night?”

  “I did and that there’s a cop there now.” After a brief silence he added, “It’s going to be fine. We’ll see you in a minute, okay?”

  Sam stood and walked to the den. “See you then.” The police car was still parked out front. She exhaled. Spencer was right, it would be fine.

  “Okay, Alex, the cookies are in the oven. What do you want to do next?”

  He placed a finger on his chin while he thought about it. “Um, I don’t know. We could play ball.”

  “Sounds good to me. Did you bring your baseball mitt?”

  “Yeah, but what’re you going to use?” Alex asked looking crestfallen.

  “Oh, I’m sure I can come up with something.” She winked. “Let me run upstairs for just a minute.” Sam took the stairs two at a time and went into the never-been-used guest room.

  There were a few boxes of keepsakes stashed away in the closet. Now, if she could just remember which box contained her softball mitt. At some point, she was going to have to clean out the boxes. Some of them contained happy memories, but some needed to go. She spotted a trophy, which was a good sign. “A-ha,” she said triumphantly to the empty room. She didn’t want to go down in the books as the worst babysitter in the world.

  “Got it, let’s go out back,” she said descending the stairs.

  “You have a mitt?” Alex asked.

  “I sure do.” She opened the back door for him to step through. “I played softball all through high school.”

  “Softball, huh?” He squinted up at her.

  She squinted back at him. “Hey, what’s wrong with softball?”

  “Oh, nothing, it’s just that it’s for girls.” He threw the ball at her across the yard which she caught with no trouble.

  “Well, in case you haven’t noticed, I am a girl.” She tossed it back.

  “I know you’re a girl.” They played in companionable silence for a little while, but she could tell something was on Alex’s mind.

  “I’m sure your mom’s doing okay.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure she is. She’s tough,” he shrugged. “That’s what my dad says anyway.” They lapsed back into silence and then out of nowhere lightening lit up the sky.

  “Whoa, I guess we better go in, huh?” They raced through the back door as thunder clapped overhead. The smell of the chocolate chip cookies filled the downstairs, making her mouth water. “How about pizza for dinner?”

  “Does it have pepperoni?”

  “Of course. What kind of person do you take me for?”

  Alex giggled at her silly expression and the phone rang. “Hello?”

  “Hey, Sam, it’s me. How are thi
ngs going?” Spencer asked.

  “Fine. We were just about to make pizza. How’s Ann?”

  “She’s hangin’ in there. Doc says she has a long way to go.”

  “I know she’s glad you’re there. Any word from Jake?” She bent to take the cookies out of the oven.

  “Not yet, but I’ll keep trying. I’ll give you guys a call a little later and check in. Enjoy your pizza. I’ll just be here eating cafeteria food.” He used his most pitiful voice.

  “Oh, I forgot to tell you, after pizza we have cookies.”

  “They’re not chocolate chip are they?”

  Sam grinned. “You know it.”

  He whimpered on the other end of the phone and she laughed.

  “Tell Ann hello and that we’re thinking about her.”

  “Will do.” He hung up.

  “Spencer said your mom is doing great, but it’s going to be a little while.” Sam noticed he still had the look of a man with something on his mind.

  “Sam?”

  “Yes?” She turned to put the pizza in the oven.

  “Are you going to marry Uncle Spencer?”

  She almost closed her hand in the oven. “What makes you say that?” She turned slowly to give herself the chance to recover.

  “I don’t know. It’s just that you’re the first girl that’s hung out with us a whole lot and my mom says that when people kiss, it means they love each other and you guys kiss. And when you love each other, you get married and have kids, so I was thinking you guys were going to get married.” His words came out in a rush with no awkwardness, just pure childlike curiosity.

  “Well,” she began, sitting at the table across from him, “I do care about Spencer, but I don’t know if we’re going to get married. There’s a lot going on right now.”

  “Do you mean with the baby or with the Jenny thing?”

  All the blood rushed out of Sam’s face at his comment and she had no idea how to answer.

  He must’ve noticed because he rushed on, “I mean, I hear stuff. I’m not a little kid. And Mom and Dad talk about everything in the kitchen like it’s soundproof.”

  “Well, the baby is one thing, and then there are the holidays, and we really haven’t been going out that long. Sometimes people date for a long time. As for the Jenny thing, as you put it, that’s complicated, but we’re working on it.”

  “That’s what the police are here for, right?” They both looked toward the front of the house reflexively even though they couldn’t see out the front window from where they were sitting.

  “They’re here to keep an eye on things. The man who took Jenny is a really bad person and does things we don’t understand. We want to make sure everyone’s safe.” The oven buzzer went off and Sam leapt at the chance to change the subject.

  “Pizza, yes.” Alex cheered and the conversation was forgotten.

  After several slices, cookies, and rounds of Uno later, Alex snoozed on the couch. Sam was sitting in her chair reading a book and listening to the rain outside. When there was a knock at the door, she had to stifle a yelp. Alex didn’t stir. Looking out the peep hole, she saw Officer Holloway standing on the porch in his poncho. She opened the door and stepped out onto the porch, glancing at Alex over her shoulder.

  “Evening, ma’am, I just wanted to let you know that there’s been a power outage up on Main. We need to go up there to help out. If you don’t want to stay here, you can come up to the station.”

  “We should be okay. Alex is asleep, so I’d hate to wake him. Will you be back later?”

  “My shift will be over soon, but someone else will be out as soon as we can spare them.” Lightning lit up the sky causing them both to glance out over the yard.

  “Okay, thanks for letting me know.”

  With a nod, Officer Holloway was hurrying through the rain back to his cruiser.

  Chapter 35

  He was sick of the damn rain. Even with the jacket he wore, he was soaked to the bone. The trek through the woods had been miserable. He shifted his weight and looked at the house. The lights inside were on, but her car wasn’t in the drive. The memory of smashing into it repeatedly the night before caused a slight rise at the corner of his mouth.

  Eric wiped more water from his face and crouched low to the ground, making his body even with the bumper of the cruiser. The rain, which continued to pour, masked the sound of his boots on the pavement and he hoped it would obscure the mirrors of the cruiser. Once aligned with the driver’s side, Eric stopped moving and wrapped his hand around the hilt of his knife. Slicing the throat of an unsuspecting police officer wouldn’t be hard.

  Suddenly the door flung open and Eric skittered backward, almost losing his balance. He stifled a curse, released his knife and then jogged back to his place in the trees. He watched as the cop spoke to Samantha and then ducked through the rain to get back in his car. Samantha was already gone from view when the cop cranked up and left. Eric took it as a sign. What he was about to do was right. It was finally time to make the bitch pay for what she’d done.

  Sam couldn’t stop the shiver that went up her spine when she stepped back into the house. It wasn’t as if anything was different, but knowing the police weren’t sitting outside anymore made her senses go on high alert. She tried to sit down and get lost in her book, but she found herself rereading the same page over and over again. She closed the book, set it aside and reached for the remote. She went for the evening news. She kept the volume low and had no idea what the reporter was talking about, but it was a distraction at least.

  From her seat in her favorite chair, she had a full view of the tree. She couldn’t help smiling at the thought of Spencer showing up at her house with it in tow. It had been ages since she’d had one. Every now and again, a light snore sounded from Alex. His blond hair fell over his angelic face in a slant, fluttering with each exhaled breath. She couldn’t remember the last time she slept that way. Completely peaceful, without a care in the world knowing someone was there to watch over you.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the lightening flash and began to mentally count until the thunder boomed overhead. It didn’t take but a second. The storm was right over them now. As if on cue, more lightning lit up the night, but this time Sam’s heart skipped a beat. She thought she saw a shadow on the front porch.

  Her throat constricted as she sat paralyzed. It’s okay she told herself. Just your imagination. The police will be back in a little while and hopefully, Spencer will too. Take a deep breath, close your eyes, in and out, but then there was a noise. It sounded as though a rocking chair was being pushed across the wood. Her eyes flew open and she darted into action. She thought of sending Alex out the back door, but the fence would force him to cross in front of the front porch.

  “Hey, Alex,” she whispered, gently kneeling on the floor by the couch. “I need you to wake up now and come with me upstairs. Do you think you can do that?” She tried to keep her voice from shaking.

  His eyes fluttered open and after realizing where he was, he shrugged and sat up.

  At the same time, Sam heard her doorknob rattle on the back door. “Hurry, Alex, and don’t make a sound.”

  “Okay,” he whispered back. He heard the noise too and seemed to realize Sam was serious.

  Halfway up, she heard her phone begin to buzz on the table. She swore under her breath and thought about running to get it, but glass shattered in the kitchen. She needed to get Alex hidden. Eric was almost in the house. She knew it was him. The wait was over. He was there to make good on years of threats.

  She pulled the string leading to her attic stairs. She’d only been up in the attic a couple times and hoped Alex could hide up there. She only hoped Eric didn’t realize Alex was there.

  “I want you to hide, Alex, and don’t make a sound. Don’t come out no matter what you hear, okay?”

  “I’m scared.” His eyes started to shine with unshed tears.

  “Me, too, but I won’t let anything happen to you I s
wear, now go.”

  Alex climbed the stairs like a rocket and she closed them as fast and as quietly as she could. The pounding rain helped cover the sound of the metal springs stretching and then snapping back into place. She could hear footsteps in the kitchen and then dishes began to crash to the floor. He was trying to scare her, and it was working, but his actions made it so she could tell where he was in the house.

  She glanced around the upstairs. Her bedroom seemed obvious, so she headed into the guest room. It was closer. With her heart pounding in her throat, she squeezed between the boxes she’d been digging in earlier to find her glove. It was a tight fit, but it was the only cover there was.

  “Damn.” Spencer took off his baseball cap and ran his fingers through his hair.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Ann from the bed. “Still no answer?”

  “No, and that was my third try.” He began to pace. He couldn’t shake the bad feeling starting to twist in his gut. “Ann, I’m sorry, but I may need to go check on them.”

  “Try calling Nick first. He should be able to put your mind at ease. And mine.”

  “Good idea.” Spencer scrolled through his phone, thankful he had Nick’s number.

  “This is Holloway.” Wind roared through the phone causing him to shout.

  “Nick, hey it’s Spencer. Is everything okay over at the house?”

  “It was when I left, but hey we’ve had some power issues over here on Main. I had to duck out early. One of the other officers is supposed to be headed that way in about half an hour.”