Hide in Plain Sight by Perry Marta

Author:Perry, Marta [Perry, Marta]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, mobi, epub
Tags: Romance, Contemporary, Romantic Suspense
ISBN: 9780373442553
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2006-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

NINE

Andrea wrapped her fingers around the coffee mug, absorbing its heat. The warmth generated by Cal’s kiss had dissipated when he’d drawn back, looking as confused by what had happened as she was.

Maybe they’d both sensed the need to change the tempo a bit at that point. Cal had gone to search the house, leaving the dog with her. Barney had padded at her heels while she fixed coffee and carried a tray back to the library, apparently mindful of his duty to guard her. The journal, Rachel’s receipts tucked inside, lay next to the computer, the innocent cause of her problems.

She stroked the sheltie’s head. In spite of Cal’s doubts about Barney’s intelligence, the dog had seemed to know she was in trouble.

“Good boy,” she told him. “If it hadn’t been for you…” Well, she didn’t want to think about that.

“If it hadn’t been for Barney, you’d still have been all right.” Cal came into the room as he spoke. “Your grandmother would have come home and found you soon, even if I hadn’t heard the dog.”

She knew he was trying to make her feel better, but she didn’t want to think about what she’d have been like if she’d been closed in the closet all this time. Cal didn’t understand the panic. No one did who hadn’t experienced it.

“Did you find anything wrong anywhere?”

“No actual sign of an intruder, but there are far too many ways into a house this size.” He frowned, looking as if he’d like to go around putting bars on the windows. “And I’m not saying that closet door couldn’t have swung shut on its own, or even from the vibration when you fell, but it still seems pretty stable.”

“Is that supposed to make me sleep well tonight?”

She watched as he took a mug, poured coffee and settled on the couch opposite her. She liked the neat economy of his movements.

“I’d put safety over a good night’s sleep anytime.” He looked toward the windows. “Your grandmother should be back soon, shouldn’t she?”

She glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner and nodded. “I don’t want her upset about this. It was just an accident. You agree?”

“Let’s say I’m about eighty percent convinced of that. You’re sure it wasn’t a person you heard before you fell?”

He leaned toward her, propping his elbows on his well-worn jeans. As usual, he wore a flannel shirt, this time over a white tee, the sleeves folded back. Also as usual, his brown hair had fallen forward into his eyes.

“It was a creak. That’s all. I told you—this house has a language all its own. Surely if someone had been there, I’d have heard him running away.”

An image popped into her mind—the large, dark figure she’d seen outlined by the lightning. Her fingers tightened on the mug. If he’d been in the house, he would have made more noise than a gentle creak.

“Well, maybe. Unless he was smart enough to slip away the minute he heard you fall.”

“You searched the house.

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