The Defender. Cara Summers

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СКАЧАТЬ about ten feet in front of her, and Sadie jumped and nearly screamed. Pressing a hand against her chest, she tried to keep her heart from pounding right out of her body. Then she felt foolish when she realized that the animal she’d seen had been tiny, probably a field mouse or a chipmunk. When her heartbeat settled, she moved forward.

      The woods seemed darker now and the trees on either side pressed more closely to the path. The wind seemed to have picked up and over the rustling of overhead branches she heard a noise. One animal calling to another? Wolves traveled in packs, didn’t they? Bobcats and coyotes also crossed her mind. She had no idea what kinds of wildlife lived here.

      Nerves knotted in her stomach. Perhaps ignorance was best in this instance. Sadie gave herself a mental shake. Think positive. A half a mile wasn’t very long. She had to be at least halfway there. It would take her just as long to get back to the car as it would to reach the cabin. But the pep talk she was giving herself didn’t prevent her from picking up her pace and, after a few strides, she broke into a flat-out run. She’d been on the track team in high school and college, but her shoes, however serviceable, were not designed for running over rough terrain. She stumbled, managed to keep herself from falling to her knees and slowed to a fast walk.

      She wasn’t going to panic. She’d kept her nerve at the church and again at the hospital and she wasn’t going to lose it now. Still, when the path opened up into a clearing, relief streamed through Sadie. For just a moment, she stood there, forcing herself to take in air for a count of ten so that her breathing would level. The breeze coming in from the sea was brisk. The moon was full and bright and the dark water reflected even more light. The scene and the sound of the waves pushing into the shore immediately began to calm her.

      A wooden dock jutted out from the shore for about forty feet and she could make out the dark outline of a small boathouse at the far end. She could also see the cabin. It was a compact one-story structure with a wide screened-in porch at its front. Light glowed from one of the windows.

      Hopefully, someone was up. Sadie strode forward and when she reached the screened porch door, she knocked. The sound seemed loud to her ears and was immediately answered by movement inside the cabin. She had her face pressed close to the screen when a figure rushed through the door and hurled itself against the mesh. Barely suppressing a scream, she stumbled backward and nearly fell down on her backside. The huge creature barked once, backed up and made another lunge at the screen.

      A dog. But Sadie didn’t feel relieved. It was a very big dog and it was doing its best to get through that screen. Deciding not to wait until it succeeded, she moved quickly around the side of the cabin to the window that was spilling light out into the night. It was open and the ledge was just above her eye level. Rising to her toes, she peered into the room.

      Empty. But the bed showed signs of having been used. The patchwork quilt was turned back, the pillows had been propped against the headboard and there was a paperback book lying on the nightstand. Perhaps the occupant had heard the racket the dog had made and was even now on his way to the porch. Circling back around to the front of the cabin, she caught sight of the dog through the screen. He raced down to meet her and kept pace with her as she walked toward the door. He didn’t lunge this time. The animal looked even bigger standing on all fours but at least he wasn’t barking. She waited for about ten beats. When no one appeared, she approached the screen door and knocked again. The dog whined. She let another ten beats pass, then drummed up her courage and tried the door.

      It opened with a loud creak, but she still hesitated. The dog was wagging its tail and managing to look friendly. With a quick prayer that the creature wasn’t sandbagging her, Sadie stepped onto the porch.

      THEO WAS LYING ON HIS back in the water, enjoying the gentle movement of the waves. He’d lost track of the number of laps he’d swum, but his muscles were weak, his mind finally relaxed. He was about to climb onto the dock when the silence was broken by a sharp, staccato knocking sound. Then he heard Bob hit the screen door. Grabbing the dock with one hand, he glanced toward the shore. He couldn’t imagine either Kit or Nik knocking on the cabin door. A tree was blocking his view, but he clearly heard Bob bark and launch himself at the door again.

      Bob was not the best watchdog. In spite of his size, he had the people-loving instincts of a golden retriever and viewed any stranger as a possible source of either petting or food, hopefully both.

      Staying very still in the water, Theo waited and a moment later saw a figure move around the side of the cabin. He had a quick impression of height. But the build was more slender than either of his brothers. He’d left the light on in his bedroom, and when the figure turned to face the window, he had a clear view of a profile. Female, he thought. The light wasn’t strong enough for him to see her features, but he made out that she was wearing a skirt.

      Annoyance and frustration streamed through him. Following the arrest of his stalker, he’d convinced his little fan club—the women who’d been attending his trials for the past few months—to stop. And they had. One of them had even confessed to being embarrassed by her behavior and apologized. For the past two months, he’d thought he’d gotten his life back to normal.

      But he couldn’t think of another reason why a woman would have come all this way in the middle of the night. He wasn’t currently dating anyone. He hadn’t dated anyone since Sandra Linton had begun to stalk him. And this woman was too tall to be his sister. Besides, Philly would have walked right in. She and Bob were old friends.

      The figure had moved back toward the front of the cabin. Her knock was louder this time. Theo thought of calling out to her, but didn’t. Instead, moving quietly, he swam toward shore and, once he got his feet beneath him, he walked slowly out of the water. He was still twenty yards away when he saw her open the screened door and walk in. He had to give her points for courage. Bob might be a pushover, but he did have that size thing going for him. To his surprise, he saw her crouch down and speak to the dog, but the sound of the waves behind him muffled her words. Okay, so she had guts and she liked big dogs. She was still in a place she had no business being. Technically, she was breaking and entering.

      She’d already gone into the cabin by the time he reached it. Carefully, he opened the porch door and turned sideways to slip in before the hinge creaked. She’d left the inner door to the cabin open. In the darkness of the kitchen, he could only make out her silhouette as she stood peering out the window in the direction of the lake.

      Annoyance streamed through him again. Bold as brass, he thought. Not only had she followed him out here to a place that he’d always considered a refuge, but she’d walked right in. It didn’t help his mood one bit that Bob was sitting at her feet, beating his tail against the floor, evidently pleased as punch at the new visitor. At the very least, Theo figured he owed her a good scare.

      He flipped on the light. “What the hell do you think—”

      She whirled and her scream blocked the rest of his sentence.

      “Sadie?” His first thought was that he’d conjured her up. His second was that in another moment she was going to slip right to the floor. Cursing himself, he strode to her. She’d gone pale as the moonlight on the water. “Are you all right?” Stupid question when he could see that she was anything but. Taking her arm, he eased her into one of the chairs at the table. Then he moved to the refrigerator, retrieved the bottle of wine he’d opened earlier and filled a glass. She was still trembling when he set it in front of her, so he took the chair next to hers and covered her hand with his to help her lift the glass.

      She took a sip and swallowed. Then their eyes met and held over the rim of the glass. He was touching only her hand and yet there was that intensity, that same connection he’d felt when he’d clasped her hand in the courtroom. Suddenly, Theo knew. Not merely that their paths would cross again, but that she was the one, СКАЧАТЬ