I LOVE LUCY (The Bachelor Pact) (7 page)

“Yes, that was his name,” Bannister said.

“Oh, no,” Lucy whispered. “Where is he now?”

“I questioned him, then released him.”

“Did you explain about Emmet?”

“No,” Bannister said. “I figured if you’d wanted him to know you would have told him.”

Dear Lord. She
should
have told him.

“Where is he now?”

“I have no idea,” Bannister said. “But the problem is that Emmet is still out there.”

Nausea climbed Lucy’s throat as she hung up. No telling what Reid was thinking…

And that man on the beach…he could have been Emmet.

Panicked, she texted Sophie back and told her that Emmet was still on the loose, and that she wouldn’t be coming home until he was.

They would have to celebrate Christmas without her.

Now, what to do about Reid? Maybe it was best to leave him in the dark until Emmet was caught.

Then she’d explain everything. She just hoped he would forgive her when she did. After all, she was trying to protect him.

That was what a girl did when she loved a man, wasn’t it?

Emmet’s chest bubbled with excitement as he studied the Sunset Vista. He was going to rescue Lucy from this place.

Why, the people were almost antiques.

The plastic Santa waved to him from the lawn, giving him an idea. Maybe he and Lucy would have a Christmas wedding. Then they would honeymoon together and make a Christmas baby…

He’d heard the women on the beach discussing their upcoming Christmas Eve talent show. They were all dressing in festive attire. The show was open to the public.

It was the perfect opportunity for him to sneak inside. Now, he just needed to find something Christmasy to wear. A disguise of some sort so he could get close to Lucy.

He clapped his hands in glee and began to hum
Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer
as he headed into town to find a costume.

Chapter Six

Reid had just stepped from the shower when his cell phone buzzed. He snatched it up, hoping it was Lucy, but Sophie’s name flashed on the caller ID screen.

“Reid,” Sophie said in a strained voice. “We need to talk.”

Reid’s stomach plummeted. “What’s wrong?”

“Did you see the newspaper this morning?”

“No,” Reid said. “I just got out of jail.”

“Jail?”

“Yes,” Reid said. “I went to Lucy’s to surprise her with a Christmas tree -- ”

Okay, he was officially a bona fide sap. “-- but the police busted in and arrested me.”

“Oh, dear lord,” Sophie whispered.

“They accused me of stalking her,” Reid grumbled.

“Oh, dear lord,” Sophie said.

Reid tossed his towel aside. “Stop saying that and tell me what’s going on.”

“First of all, I just talked to Lucy and she’s okay,” Sophie said.

A mixture of emotions pummeled Reid. He wanted her to be okay.

But that meant she was ignoring his calls.

“She didn’t go to L.A. for an audition,” Sophie said.

So she had lied to him. “I see,” Reid said tightly. “She left me and was too chicken to tell me.”

“That’s not it,” Sophie said, sounding annoyed.

“Then why hasn’t she called me?”

“She’s trying to protect you.”

“Protect me?” Reid asked. “From what? I know about her dancing. What other secrets does she have?”

“Well,” Sophie hedged.

Reid cursed. “Spit it out, Sophie.”

“She does have a stalker,” Sophie said. “That’s why the police were watching her place and arrested you.”

Sophie’s words boomeranged in Reid’s ears. Suddenly the cop’s accusations, the underwear across the bed…they’d called him a pervert – it all made sense. “Who’s stalking Lucy?” he asked, barely able to control the rage bubbling inside him.

“His name is Emmet Roach,” Sophie explained. “He’s been in prison but apparently he escaped.”

“And the police think he’s coming after Lucy?” Reid said, his heart hammering.

“Yes.”

“Where is she, Sophie?”

“She doesn’t want me to tell you,” Sophie said. “She said she’ll come home after he’s apprehended.”

Hurt mingled with worry. If she’d told him, he could have protected her. Dammit. That was the way it was supposed to work.

“I’m going after her,” Reid said. “She shouldn’t be alone if some psycho is after her.”

“Reid –”

“Either tell me where she is or I’ll find out myself.”

“Reid –”

“For God’s sake, tell me, Sophie. I’m not going to let Lucy go through this alone.”

Tension stretched between them, then Sophie finally replied. “You’re right. We should all be together on Christmas.”

“Sophie –“

“Let me call Lance and my mother. If Lucy can’t be here, we’ll go to her tomorrow.”

“All right. I’ll call Maddie and Chase,” Reid said. “We’ll take Christmas to Lucy.”

But when he hung up, his imagination went crazy with awful things that this freak might do to Lucy if he found her.

Reid didn’t know if he could wait one more day to see her.

Then again, he needed the time. He still didn’t have Lucy’s Christmas present…

Christmas Eve

All afternoon and into the evening, Lucy felt jittery. Every time the door opened to the common room, she jumped like a reindeer caught in headlights.

Now night had set in, Christmas Eve was upon them, and the excitement over the Secret Santa gifts and the program was mounting.

Red and green streamers draped the walls, the Christmas lights glittered, and everyone had contributed party foods, decorative cupcakes and Christmas punch for the celebration after the show.

One Secret Santa gift remained on the table. Her name was on the card.

She glanced around the room where three residents were finishing decorating the stage, then through the picture glass window at the pool area, but didn’t see anything suspicious.

No sign of Emmet.

But when she opened the bag, she discovered a pair of sexy red stilettos.

Fear jackknifed through her. No one here knew about her obsession with shoes.

But Emmet did. In fact, he liked trying on her shoes and underwear.

She punched Wallace Bannister’s number, but his machine rolled to voice mail. “Wallace, it’s me, Lucy. I’m afraid Emmet’s found me. Please call me back.”

She tucked the phone in her pocket, then smiled as Mae tottered toward her carrying a blueberry cobbler. “Taylor, guess what! I’ve got a date tonight with Harry, the man I met in the obits! He must have liked my pie after all.”

Lucy laughed although guilt weighed on her for lying to these sweet people.

Moon strolled in dressed as Santa Claus. Billy and Nelda wore matching jingle bell shirts while DeEtte’s shirt glittered with blinking lights. The others filed in, all dressed in festive attire, the mood jovial as they gathered for the show.

For a brief moment, she wondered what her sister was doing tonight, if she and Lance, and Reid, and Maddie and Chase were all together, sipping drinks over dinner and making toasts to the holiday.

Tears threatened, but she blinked them back. She missed her family, but she loved the people here. And she would be home soon.

Would Reid be waiting?

Christmas music piped up, and she studied the guests as they entered, one eye open for Emmet.

Sue directed everyone to take their seats, and introduced the first act.

Four Silver Sneakers, DeEtte, Ellen, Sue, and Willene performed a tap dance to Jingle Bells, the bells on their shoes ringing. Laughter and applause rang out as they finished.

Act two featured Billy and Nelda who performed their own version of Ghosts of Christmas Pasts by reenacting some of the funniest holidays they’d spent together. In the first scene, they’d spent Christmas rubbing lotion all over their six children who’d come down with chicken pox. But the first holiday was the best – they were so poor they didn’t have money to buy a tree, so they chopped one down in the woods, but it was so lopsided they had to tie it to the wall with a belt to keep it upright. Then they cut Christmas cards and threaded them onto the tree for decorations.

Lucy’s heart churned with emotions. She wanted the kind of love those two shared.

Next, Moon played
Here Comes Santa Claus
on his spoons while his buddy Lewis accompanied him on a set of water glasses, and Roger played the harmonica. Bradford, dressed as Santa, hung candy canes on the tree then pretended to climb up the chimney. But his big belly got stuck, and the cardboard fireplace fell apart, bringing another round of giggles.

Suddenly a commotion erupted near the back door, and Lucy went to see what it was. But when she reached the door, she noticed a woman wearing a lampshade decorated like a Christmas tree, sunglasses and a frilly bright green skirt made of netting.

The woman waved and moved toward her.

The woman had the hairiest legs she’d ever seen.

Then the truth hit her -- the lampshade hat belonged to a man.

Dear God, it was Emmet!

She started to scream, but her voice died when he shoved a gun in to her side. “Hi, sweetheart, miss me?”

Lucy tensed, and saw Santa Claus climbing on stage. Maybe Santa would save her. “You won’t get away with this, Emmet.”

“Oh, yes, I will.” He gestured toward the stage where Reba, Betty and her sisters Sheila and Shirley, and their cousins Linda, Vicky, and Janet were doing a can-can dance to
We Wish You A Merry Christmas
with Santa dancing in the middle. The crowd had joined in, everyone clapping and cheering.

“Let’s go, Lucy. I’ve been waiting for you a long time.”

“Just don’t hurt any one here,” Lucy whispered.

He leaned close and licked her earlobe. “Funny, Lucy, I never imagined you at a place like this.”

Neither had she, but she loved the people, and she’d do anything to keep them safe..

Even if it meant going with crazy Emmet.

Reid, Lance and Sophie, and Maddie and Chase and Deseree had slipped into the back of the room to watch the talent show, then Reid spotted Lucy with the strange looking woman in the lampshade hat.

Only it wasn’t a woman. Hairy legs stretched below that green net skirt.

“That’s him. He has her,” he said in a low voice to Lance.

“He has a gun,” Maddie screeched.

“Chase, keep Maddie out of this,” Lance told Chase.

“You take care of Sophie,” Reid said. “I’m going after Lucy.”

“Where’s Deseree?” Sophie asked.

“She’s over there flirting with that man in the reindeer shirt,” Chase said.

On stage, a man and several others were acting out
The Night Before Christmas
with Santa ho-ho-hoing as he handed out gifts to the few grandchildren attending the show.

Reid wove through the row of seats toward Lucy and her stalker, but Lucy saw him and gasped.

Suddenly Deseree screamed, “Lucy’s in trouble, call 911!”

“Who’s Lucy?” several people shouted.

The guy in the lampshade fired a shot into the air. Chaos erupted. Everyone on stage dove to the floor. Santa threw his arms over them to protect them. Women screamed and took cover under the food tables. Casseroles and punch splattered the floor.