Fear Familiar Bundle (135 page)

"Sarah?" Daniel's voice was uncertain. Sarah went to him and touched his face. "It's okay. It's just the two of us in this together. But we'll figure it out."

Sarah woke cradled in Daniel's arms. Easing out of bed so as not to disturb him, she stood before the window and stretched in the golden morning light. The storm had battered the bay house for several hours before breaking up, leaving the sunshine fresh-washed and beautiful.

As she dressed, Sarah studied Daniel's face. His eyes were still red and puffy, but he'd slept well for the remainder of the night. The pepper attack had been painful, but not damaging. Once the burning and irritation abated, he'd drifted into a sound sleep.

The temptation to touch his cheek was almost irresistible, but she managed to check the impulse. He was tired, and she wouldn't risk awakening him. As hard as the last few days had been on her, they'd been much worse on Daniel. He'd lost a friend, possibly his career, his self-respect and his home.

Yet he'd had so much to give her. Daniel Dubonet was a generous man when it came to love-making. A very generous man.

Sarah slipped from the room without disturbing him. There were several things she wanted to attend to before he awoke. One was a call to her mother.

Downstairs in the kitchen she put on a pot of coffee and dialed the Biloxi number. When she lifted the receiver to her ear, there was no sound. Toggling the switch hook up and down, she tried to clear the line, all to no avail. The phone was dead.

"The storm," she said to Familiar, who was pacing back and forth in front of the refrigerator. He'd disdained the cat food she'd brought and only sampled the pizza, but she knew he was hungry.

She poured him a saucer of milk and could clearly read the contempt on his face.

"What is it you want, pâté?"

"Meow!" He puckered his whiskers.

"Perhaps, la chat would prefer some grilled swordfish?" She adopted a haughty French accent.

"Meow!" Familiar sat down and nodded.

Sarah looked at him. He was actually telling her what he wanted. Grilled swordfish. She opened the freezer and began poking around. The darn cat would probably prefer it fresh, but that was out of the question. Maybe she could find something suitable in the freezer since Uncle Vince loved seafood.

After scrounging around for several minutes she held up a package of fish. "Will tuna suffice?"

Familiar nodded again.

"Good, then your menu is planned, so drink your milk." Sarah nudged it over to the cat with her toe. "Now I have to figure out how to make the telephone work. Either that or we're going to have to drive into town and report it. Lucky we know that the phone company keeps crews working night and day. They should be able to get out here and get this fixed."

Sarah realized she was talking a blue streak to the cat. She shut her mouth with a firm clamp and poured a cup of coffee. She was getting as dotty as a bat in the blazing sun.

"How about a cup of that?"

She turned to find Daniel standing in the doorway, his face still sleepy and a question in his eyes. "I need some caffeine."

"Coming right up." She poured another cup and handed it to him, letting her fingers brush his, a whisper of affection and desire. She was taken aback by the rush of emotions she felt for Daniel, and the flush of confusion. No man had ever affected her in such a way, and it was almost as disconcerting as it was exciting. She sought something to say that wouldn't reveal her turbulent emotions. "The phone is dead."

Daniel's expression froze. He picked up the receiver and held it to his ear. "Deader than a doornail, as we used to say as kids." He kept his face bland, but his voice registered his concern.

"What?"

"I don't believe in coincidences. The storm might have knocked the phone out, but it's strange that we also had a visitor."

"I see." Sarah hadn't connected the two events. Maybe it was more than wind that had knocked out the phone.

"I'll check." Daniel took his coffee and went to find his boots. "Be back in a minute," he called as he slammed the front door.

Tempted to follow him, Sarah went through the refrigerator for breakfast food instead. She had to steady herself, to give Daniel a chance to show what he was feeling for her.

She forced her thoughts back in line with breakfast. Uncle Vince kept the place stocked like a palace. Sighing as she counted up the fat grams, she pulled out bacon, eggs, a cloth sack of hand-ground grits, butter, and the makings for biscuits. It was only on rare occasions that she indulged in a traditional Southern breakfast, but the hours of the night she'd spent in Daniel's arms counted as a very special occasion indeed.

Daniel had to work his way around to his own feelings on the matter, but she felt wonderful. It was almost as if some stranglehold on her emotions had been broken. She'd protected herself against feeling anything for so long, but now she was free. Free to experience all of the pleasure Daniel gave so readily. And, perhaps, the pain that came with it. There were no guarantees in relationships; she knew that. She'd been afraid of losing someone for so long that now the sudden freedom was…exhilarating.

Daniel made his way around the house, stopping at the window that looked in on the kitchen. The black cat was sitting on the floor, watching every move that Sarah made. And Sarah…He smiled at the sight of her. She was luminous this morning. When he'd first awakened, he'd had a stab of concern that she might wish the night had never happened. But one look and he knew that she had no regrets. The question he confronted now was, what were her expectations? And what were his? He'd never met a woman quite like her. She was independent, responsible, mature, fun, giving— and very vulnerable when it came to her past.

That was tricky ground with Sarah. He had to walk there with her, to know it and understand it, but he had to let her pick the path. Until then, he had to figure out what was wrong with the telephone.

He saw the line, torn from the connecting box. A large limb was across the line, pinning it firmly to the ground. He was turning to go back into the house when he saw the big blue-and-white truck bumping through the trees. The telephone crewman got out and waved.

"Bad storm passed through. We've got line damage reported."

"The lines are down." Daniel spoke the obvious. "You're out and about pretty early." How was it that the crew truck had showed up so conveniently? He was instantly suspicious.

"That wind whipped through here like a buzz saw. Never seen this kind of damage before." The repairman pushed his hat up on his forehead. "We'll be busy for the next three days. Folks around here like their privacy, and they like their telephones to work."

"I'll bet." Daniel watched the man as he started to unpack ladders and gear. "You must have been working all night."

"Nope. Just came on, but this is a neighborhood with a lot of pull. Folks report phones are out, and we send a truck." He inspected the wire. "I'll ask you to check the phone in a minute," he said.

Daniel watched the repairman. It did seem strange, but the tree limb was on the line, there had been a storm, and it was a wealthy neighborhood. He started back around the house when he heard Familiar's deep meow. He couldn't place the cat immediately, but as he listened to his cry, he moved around the house to where the woods grew dense and thick. He saw the cat's tail moving among some brush and shrubs.

"Meow!" Familiar demanded.

Daniel's training reminded him to look around before he stepped into the shadows of the trees. The telephone man was at the side of the house, but his attention was focused on his work. Daniel disappeared into the woods.

"What is it?" He felt like a fool talking to the cat. Now if it had been a dog…

He felt the prick of sharp claws in his shins. "Meow!" Familiar demanded as he moved away.

"Okay," Daniel said with a sigh. So he was sleeping with a chef and following a cat through the woods. He'd been kidnapped, knocked unconscious and robbed, and he had lost his job. So his life was taking some unexpected turns.

"Meow!" Familiar stood beside a dark object that was nearly hidden by the shadows of the woods and leaves.

"What?" Daniel used a stick to dislodge the item from the leaves. It was a hat. A dark hat. He lifted it on a stick so that he could examine it better.

"Well, well. It looks like the hat our intruder was wearing." And it did, but Daniel could not make a positive identification. Still holding it on the stick, he started back toward the house with Familiar in the lead. At the edge of the woods, the cat stopped. Daniel paused, wondering what was on Familiar's mind.

The telephone man was climbing into his truck, and Sarah was on the porch, waving at him as he pulled away. The work had gone quickly.

Once the repair truck was gone, Familiar ran across the yard, calling to Sarah.

"Well, it's about time for breakfast, you guys," she said, leaning on the porch railing as she watched Daniel and Familiar come out of the woods. Her eyes went to the object Daniel carried, and a frown touched her face. "What is that?"

"Familiar found it. A hat."

Sarah started down the steps, her heart sinking with each step. That darn cat had managed to dig up evidence, even without the photo album that she'd hidden in the top shelf on the closet.

"Is something wrong, Sarah?"

There was no point trying to lie to protect Jean-Claude. "My cousin, or my adopted cousin, Jean-Claude, used to wear a boating hat sort of like that." She stopped at the foot of the stairs as Daniel came toward her. A flash of gold on the cap caught her attention. "It was very much like that hat," she said grimly.

"Jean-Claude?" Daniel nodded. "So you thought it was him all along?"

"He's very spoiled. Or at least, he was." She shrugged. "He has some kind of idea that he's interested in me. It's foolish, certainly, but…" She felt the stain of embarrassment heating her cheeks.

Daniel understood it all. Jean-Claude had come to pay court to Sarah and discovered that she had other male company. He'd waited, on the porch, and then sprayed Daniel with pepper. It was a mean and petty thing to do.

"Jean-Claude was always spoiled, and when he didn't have things exactly his way, he acted like a brat. Even things he really didn't want, he didn't let other children touch." She felt the heat in her cheeks.

"You're not responsible for his actions, Sarah," Daniel reminded her.

"He told me that he was changed, mature, different. But I have no proof of that. None." She pointed to the hat. "If this is his idea of the right way to behave— "

"We're both jumping to conclusions." Daniel gave her that out.

"Could the hat have been in the woods for some time?"

"No. It was covered in leaves, but there is no decay of the material. I'd say the hat has been stored someplace, but not on the ground. Someplace like a cabinet."

"The boat house. Maybe we should go take a look."

Daniel carefully placed the hat on the edge of the driveway. He had no access to labs or anything else now, but it might prove to be a valuable clue at some later date. He would preserve it, just in case. For now, though, he had Sarah to consider.

He put his hands on her shoulders, rubbing gently and drawing her toward him so that she soon rested in his embrace. "I can see clearly why a man would desire you and risk any behavior to have you." He kissed her forehead.

Sarah's laugh was shaky, but there. "I know, I'm a good cook. Never underestimate that. My mother always told me that the way to a man's heart was through his stomach."

"That, and…"

"I have a charming personality?" There was real humor in her voice again.

"Yes, there's that. And I hear you make your own clothes."

They laughed together, and Sarah took his hand. "Breakfast is ready, and I'm starving." Daniel had not overreacted. He wasn't pointing the finger at Jean-Claude or anyone else.

"Meow!" Familiar said, bounding up the stairs ahead of them both.

"That settles that," Daniel said, eyeing the cat with renewed respect. "Familiar says it's time to eat, and I think we should all pay more attention to that cat. Let's eat, put on some warm clothes and go take a look at that boat house."

After bacon and cheddar cheese scrambled eggs, Familiar curled up on the sofa beside Sarah as she placed the call to Biloxi. Tactfully, Daniel had decided to inspect the boat house while she talked with her mother.

When the line proved busy, Sarah put the phone down and stroked Familiar's shimmering hide. Something wasn't right. Mora had call-waiting. There shouldn't be a busy signal. She dialed the number again. This time the phone rang ten times before she replaced the receiver. Worry pulled her brows together as she sat in front of the renewed fire. One hand stroked the cat while the other tugged at a strand of her straight blond hair. She finally picked up the receiver and dialed again.

Still no answer.

"She has a machine," she told the cat.

Of course, the machine could be off, or her mother could be on the other line, so caught up in conversation that she didn't want to answer the incoming call. That was a possibility. But not a strong one. Mora was the kind of person who was afraid to let a phone ring for fear it was someone needing her. In that respect, Sarah was just like her.

She dialed her uncle's home, remembering on the sixth ring that he was in New York, and if anyone answered it would be Jean-Claude. That prompted her to replace the receiver with a quick slam. Of all the people on earth, Jean-Claude was the last one she wanted to talk to.

Familiar stood and stretched, then walked to the door.

"Good idea," she said, grabbing her coat. "Let's give Daniel a hand down at the dock."

The wind bit into her face as she stepped away from the protection of the house. She'd failed to realize how much colder it was on the water than in the city.

With Familiar at her side, she found Daniel in the boat house. He was looking but not touching.

"Be careful," he advised her. "Someone jimmied the lock off." There was disappointment in his words.