The Chocolate Garden (Dare River Book 2) (16 page)

Taking a sip, she realized he was more than right. It was soothing in the same way the silence inside his house was.

“Enjoy the peace and quiet.”

Still, old habits died hard. “I’ll finish the containers tonight, I promise.”

“The flowers will keep. I’m going to give you thirty minutes.”

When he set the egg timer on the stove, she reluctantly laughed. “You’re timing me?”

“I know you women. My stepdad does it to my mama when she needs to take a moment.”

Such a simple action, yet it was sweeter than a bouquet of roses.

“Then later, how about I give the kids a bath?” he asked.

“What?”

His dimple winked at her again, as if daring her to touch it. “I’m not sending you home with kids plastered with grass and mud when the games I suggested are the reason they’re dirty.”

Mud and grass were badges of childhood, and she was delighted to see her children play with such happy abandon after the immaculate upbringing they’d endured in Meade.

“It’s okay,” she said. “I can manage it.”

“Nope, I mean it. I’ll clean them up once we’ve finished playing outside.”

“Are you serious?”

“Sure. I’ll just chuck them in the shower and have them all spit and polished in a jiffy.” He opened the door and then turned again as if making a sudden decision. “You know, Tammy, your daddy must love you an awful lot to separate from your mama after she was so ugly to you. Seems you have a lot of folks in your camp these days. Just thought you should know you can count me in that company too.”

He sailed through the door before she could reply.

Like she’d ever doubted that.

The man just kept proving over and over again how wonderful he was.

She eased back against the back of her chair, feeling more solid with each breath. The silence held a comfort and peace she’d come to cherish. It was nice to know that someone she trusted was taking care of her babies while she was comfortably situated. There’d been so few people to count on until a year ago. And they’d all come with conditions. Yet now, the people in her life cared freely. They listened. They accepted her and the kids. It was the greatest gift she’d ever received, and she hadn’t even realized she was starving for it. Living with Sterling had been like an endless famine.

Closing her eyes, she listened for the little voices outside, soaking up the moment, the quiet, the peace. And she massaged her now perfectly functioning wrist, thanking God that she would never have to lie about the reasons for an injury ever again. Those days were behind them now, and they were all safe.

Miracles did happen, even to people like her.

Chapter 12

It took her two more days, but John Parker’s containers were finally finished and situated in prime spots around his property. Like hanging pictures on the wall, she’d fussed over their location, probably driving some of her crew nuts with all the moving about. The smaller ones she could heft, but not the ones that required two men to lift them.

Now she was alone in the peace of John Parker’s backyard, watering plants as she waited for him to fetch the kids now that the crew had left for the day—his suggestion. She studied the array of blue containers she was watering in the new outdoor eating area. Plants of different sizes and colors were clustered together in some of the containers, including a fun trio of miniature Twist of Lime hostas that were planted next to some Red Hot Pokers, with some Japanese forest grass trailing over the side of the pot. Then there were showy lone containers sporting specimen plants like the hot-pink Painted Lady Hibiscus and the dramatic Purple Queen Bougainvillea vine she was planning to train around a blue trellis.

But her beauties couldn’t take her mind completely off the emotional conversations she’d had with Daddy and then Rye and Amelia Ann about her parents’ separation. Daddy’s voice had been like a sky tinged with gray clouds, and she’d cried for him after the end of their call. Rye had been ecstatic for Daddy, heaping a whole truckload of blame on Mama. Tammy knew it wasn’t as simple as that—no separation was. Amelia Ann had simply said she was glad Daddy was making positive changes.

Tammy wished her sister was in town and not at a legal conference with her boss. She longed to talk with Amelia Ann in person over a glass of sweet tea or wine and not on the phone. Yet the business trip was only another indication of how much her sister’s boss valued her, which could only be a source of pride for all of them.

When John Parker and the kids and their dogs finally arrived, their bikes stowed in the back of his truck, he sauntered over and praised the containers she was watering, asking again for the names of each plant—something he always did, saying he wanted to memorize them to impress his mama and sisters. The kids immediately ran for the mill, which was finally complete now that its beautiful Tigerwood siding was in place. Annabelle thought it looked like something out of a fairy tale. The shed was being demolished tomorrow, and she couldn’t wait for the eye sore to be gone, frankly. It seemed out of place now.

The pond had been filled with water lilies, lotus, and bog plants, and dragonflies with blue wings buzzed along its surface. They’d added white and orange koi to the pond, and the kids loved to feed the fish when they visited. Everything was taking shape, and it soothed the rough edges of Tammy’s heart to see what she could create.

After the accent fences in the two side beds were painted a bright blue and red, they’d be ready for planting. And her prime bed, the chocolate garden…well, she’d finally completed her plans. She’d start ordering the plants tomorrow. Her hands itched to dig the holes and tenderly lay each specimen into the ground, covering it with the dirt to nourish its growth.

John Parker insisted on ordering pizza to celebrate the beautification of his property, as he called it, so she wouldn’t have to cook for the kids. This was the second meal they’d shared in a week, and she had to admit he was becoming a fixture in their lives.

There was a smile on her face when she nodded off that night, thinking of the back rub John Parker had given her to help ease her constant gardening backache. She’d relaxed beneath his touch after realizing he wasn’t planning to push her boundaries.

***

Like walking through fog, Tammy jolted awake at an unusual sound. Her heart rate spiked, the rhythm a frantic pounding in her chest now. She had no idea how long she’d been asleep. Had one of the kids fallen out of bed? Then she heard it again.
Thud
.

As she rose to check, she looked out of the open bedroom door. A small beam of light pierced the darkness in the hall.

Dear God, she’d forgotten to set the alarm, and now there was someone in the house.

The kids!

She rushed to her doorway, trying to control her breathing. The light, which she now recognized as the beam of a flashlight, grew brighter as the person drew closer. She pressed herself behind the open door and against the wall as the tall, dark form—male, based on his size—crossed the threshold.

She held her breath, praying.

Don’t see me. Don’t see me. Please God. Don’t let him see me.

His flashlight scanned her dresser, and he moved toward it and began opening the drawers. Quietly.

The kids. She had to get to the kids.

Slipping out from her hiding place and into the hallway, she felt for the alarm panel on the wall. She pressed the panic button to signal the alarm company of the break-in, then hurried into Annabelle’s room. Her daughter’s princess night light illuminated her peacefully sleeping form, the sight so at odds with what was happening in her own room just a door away.

Would the man come looking for them? Dear God, what did he want?

Her daughter was twisted in the sheets, her hands wrapped around Barbie, who was snoring softly. Oh God, the dog. They had to keep her quiet.

She picked both of them up, praying they would stay asleep.

“Mama?” Annabelle mumbled.

“Shh,” she whispered, walking to the doorway and checking the hallway for any sign of the intruder.

Nothing moved, so she glided across to Rory’s room, thinking through their options. The alarm company would call the police, but how long would it take for them to arrive? Where was the best place for them to hide right now?

Rye’s room at the end of the hall, she concluded.

His suite was enormous, and she could lock the bedroom door, grab the phone, and take the kids into his bathroom, putting two locked doors between her family and the intruder.

But she couldn’t carry Rory. And there was his dog too.
God help her.

She moved quietly to her son’s bed, his sail-boat night light guiding her way. “Rory?” she whispered.

He stirred, and so did Bandit, who was sleeping beside him.

“Mama?”

“Shh,” she whispered back. “I need you to come with Mama now and be real quiet. We have to go to Uncle Rye’s room.”

He must have sensed her fear because he looked at the doorway, his eyes enormous now. “What’s wrong?”

“Just come with Mama and keep Bandit quiet.”

They were taking too much time. The man could be here any second.

He rolled out of bed, and Bandit jumped down, his ears cocked.

Rory grabbed his collar, and they walked to the hallway. She leaned around the doorframe to look, and seeing nothing, they eased out into the hall. They were halfway to Rye’s room when a small light touched the floor in front of them.

Her head craned around, and the flashlight blinded her.

Dear God, he’d seen them!

Bandit barked, and Tammy made a mad dash for Rye’s room, herding Rory along in front of her. The dog’s barking went wild then, and Rory paused.

“Mama! I can’t hold him,” he cried as the dog took off.

She was nudging him along now, not pausing even when he started shouting Bandit’s name. When they finally reached Rye’s room, after what seemed like a lifetime, Tammy let Annabelle and Barbie slip from her arms to the ground so she could lock the door. After frantically searching for it in the dark, the lock clicked.

Annabelle and Barbie were both crying now, the last of the sleepiness knocked out of them.

“Bandit’s gone, Mama,” Rory keened, reaching for the door.

The dog’s mad barking hadn’t stopped, but it seemed farther away.

“I have to go after him.”

“No, Rory,” she ordered, grabbing both of her children by the hand. “We have to go into the bathroom. Run there right now! Mama has to get the phone.” Squeezing their hands once, she released them and ran to Rye’s bedside, picking up a whining Barbie on her way. With the phone clutched in her hand, she ran into the bathroom. Her children were waiting for her, crying softly inside the doorway.

Pushing them all the way inside, she slammed and locked the door, then dropped Barbie to the floor. It was a simple flip lock on the doorknob, not a deadbolt, and she wondered if it would do any good if the intruder decided to follow them.

How much time did they have before the police arrived?

She dialed 911 to make sure they were coming as her baby girl’s hands clutched at her nightgown.

“What is your emergency?” the dispatcher asked.

“We need help. Someone’s in our house. We live at 4 Eagle Crest Pointe. Dare River. Please hurry. I have two babies, and there’s a man here. I hit the panic button, so the alarm company should have already called you.”

The reality of the situation, and the danger they were in, hit her hard, and she had to press her hand to her mouth to hold back the sob that wanted to burst from her throat.
Oh, dear God. Oh, dear God. Please keep us safe.

“Yes, your alarm company called us. The police are on their way. They should be there any moment now. Stay on the line with me. Who am I speaking with?”

The cries of her children filled her ears as she replied, “Tammy.”

“Tammy, this is Barbara. Are your children with you?”

“Yes. We’re in the bathroom. I’ve locked the door. And the bedroom door is locked too.” She strained to hear any noise from the room, but there wasn’t any. Bandit wasn’t even barking any more, and cold fear slithered down her spine as she wondered what that meant.

“That’s good. Ms. Hollins? Can you tell me how you’re doing? Are the children still all right?”

“We’re fine,” she said before she realized it.
Fine? God help her.

The kids were clinging to her, their hands vises in the cotton of her nightgown. The sight of their fear almost broke her.

“Annabelle. Rory. Listen to Mama. The police are coming. It’s going to be okay.”
Dear God, please let it be true.

She listened for sirens, but heard none. “I don’t hear the police yet,” she told the dispatcher.

“You won’t, ma’am,” the operator told her. “They’ll be approaching the house silently in case the perpetrator is still on the premises.”

A cold reality hit her.

All the intruder knew was that she and the kids were hiding in this room. Would he also guess she’d called the police?

“I’m going to hang up for a moment,” she told the operator and did so.

“Kids, I want you to get into the shower.”

If he decided to hurt them, he’d have to get through her first. Scooping them up, she brought them over to Rye’s gigantic shower stall.

“No, Mama!” Annabelle cried as she pressed her inside. “I don’t want you to leave.”

“I’m not going anywhere. I’m just going to stand by the door while you and Rory wait in the shower.”

No, she wasn’t going to let him get to her kids. He’d have to kill her first.

Rory launched himself at Tammy as she closed the door. “Don’t go!”

“I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be right here in the bathroom with you. I want you and Annabelle to stay in the shower and close the door. Rory, I need you to hold her. Take Barbie too,” she added, leading the little dog into the stall.

As she shut the door, she had to force herself not to listen to their cries. Turning, she walked toward the intruder’s one possible entry.

The door became her focus.

Please God, don’t let him come inside. Please God.