[Lonestar 01] - Lonestar Sanctuary by Colleen Coble

Author:Colleen Coble
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2009-02-04T13:32:00+00:00

THE HOUSE BLAZED WITH LIGHT. RICK HAD LOOKED IN EVERY CLOSET, behind every curtain in the empty bedrooms and in the downstairs. He hadn't wanted to awaken the teenage girls, but when he didn't find an intruder, he rapped on their door and had them come out while he searched their room.

Their hair a mess and dragging their sheets, they'd congregated in the hall while he poked around their room. It stank of cheap perfume and nail polish.

"If you want to hook up, just say so," Latoya said, batting her lashes. "You don't have to make no excuses to visit my bedroom."

Rick was in no mood for her antics. "You've got sleep in the corners of your eyes," he told her.

Her coy smile faded, and she cleaned the gunk out of her eyes. "Thanks," she said sullenly.

"Is there an intruder?" Fern asked, her voice barely audible but shaking.

"Yep. But he seems to be gone. Did either of you hear anything?"

Latoya tossed her rumpled head. "You mean other than you hollering at us to drag our booties out of bed? Not a thing"

"How about you?" he asked Fern.

She hesitated. "I thought I heard someone in the hall a while ago. But I was half-asleep."

It could have been him or Allie. "What did it sound like?"

"It sounded like someone opened the door, then closed it again. But like I said, I was half-asleep and didn't look up."

"Wishful thinking," Latoya scoffed. "She's got a crush on Charlie."

Fern flushed and looked down at her bare feet.

Rick stepped back into the hallway. "Go back to bed. There's no one in the house, and I locked the doors."

The girls shuffled back into their bedroom and shut the door. He could hear Latoya haranguing Fern about her ridiculous crush on Charlie. Poor kid. After running back downstairs to double-check the doors, he went back up the stairs and started toward his room. As he passed Allie's room, he decided to take one more look at the hall outside her door. The guy had slipped the paper under the door. If his aim was to hurt Allie, he could have just as easily gone into the bedroom.

Why hadn't he?

Rick didn't know what the guy's game was, but the thought that he'd waltzed in here and back out without detection really steamed him. He'd have to ask Brendan for help. Running his hand over Allie's doorjamb, he felt every nick and scratch. The guy wouldn't have had to pick a lock because there were none in this old house other than the outside door locks and the office.

He knelt on the rug and lifted the edge of it. Nothing there. Rising, he stepped into the room and glanced around again. Everything was neat and in its place. A few cosmetics lined the dresser. Before he realized it, he'd picked up the gaudy nail polish and turned it in his hand. She was such a contradiction all cowgirl and competent then very feminine with bright nail polish and sleek hair.

He put the bottle back, then picked up her cologne and brought it to his nose.

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