Yuletide Protector (Love Inspired Suspense) (12 page)

Daria sniffed. “I’m afraid if I start I won’t stop. I’m scared.”

They’d been face-to-face with George Carlisle earlier in the parking lot, but Daria’s ex-husband had still managed to get too close to Daria in her house, despite Kevin’s attempts to keep her safe. And he knew without a doubt George had a hand in this even if he couldn’t prove it.

Lord, how has it come to this? Despite my every attempt to keep Daria safe, George still manages to get to her. I need Your guidance and clarity so I can keep Daria from harm.

“Make sure you say a few words for me,” Daria said quietly.

And it dawned on him that he’d been praying out loud. His heart swelled with the knowledge that Daria was opening up to prayer. “Why don’t you say a few words to express your feelings? He’ll hear you.”

“I don’t know how.” She shook her head slightly, a trace of embarrassment crossing her face. That was the last thing he wanted her to feel. She had nothing to feel ashamed about.

“Then come with me to church tomorrow and we’ll do it together.”

Daria nodded, her hands trembling. “Someone was in my house, Kevin.”

The slight hitch in her voice broke his heart. To have your personal space invaded, the place where you feel safe and protected is a breach that isn’t easily overcome.

“I know.”

She glanced at him and swiped her wet cheeks quickly.

“Why does this keep happening? You’re with me all the time. If not you, then Ski or Jake.”

“That’s the problem. Someone is always with you and yet you’re still a target.”

Tears were back in her eyes when she looked up at him. “I admit I’m becoming paranoid, especially about the flowers. But what if it really was just these neighborhood kids? They’ve been a nuisance for a long time and the police haven’t been able to stop them.”

“Smashing street and porch lights, even the bird, gruesome as it was, is typical of neighborhood kids who have a little too much time on their hands. But to keep coming back? Then escalating to breaking and entering? Seems too brazen to me, giving street hoods too much credit.”

As the fury bubbled up his throat, choking him, Kevin realized things had gotten way too personal with Daria. He wasn’t being a cop detached from the situation and looking at the facts rationally anymore. He’d lost his reason where Daria was concerned.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. The smell of wet earth and decaying matter filtered down from the kitchen and mixed with the scent of the musty basement. The sound of feet walking across the floor seemed to boom above them.

“I don’t know why this keeps happening. And only to you,” he finally said.

His arms tight by his side, he recalled the mess in the kitchen and the overturned Christmas tree in the living room. Daria’s face still held the same shocked and fearful expression she had when she’d first come into the house.

Someone had been here, poking around, touching things that meant something to Daria. The next time it could be worse. They might actually reach her.

Kevin couldn’t stand it. Closing his eyes to the image that tumbled onto him like an avalanche, he followed Daria upstairs and prayed Jake would be able to lift some kind of print that would eventually lead to Carlisle’s arrest. He wasn’t about to let Daria’s ex get any closer than he had today. And one thing was certain. He wasn’t going to leave Daria’s side until Carlisle was locked up behind bars for good.

T
he rest of the day went to cleaning up the mess. Kevin had refused to leave Daria’s house, even to go home and change clothes. Jake brought over a fresh set of clothes that evening. He sat with her and made small talk over coffee while Kevin showered and changed, and every evening Kevin would sleep in his SUV.

The next morning, Sunday, she got up early, intending to meet the day head-on. She’d just finished putting on a dress when she heard a commotion outside her front door.

“What’s all this?” Daria stared at Ski and the truck that had just pulled into her driveway. An older gentleman climbed out, opened a side compartment and began pulling gear out of the truck.

Ski waved to her from the other side of the truck. “Your new alarm system.”

Daria looked at Ski, puzzled, and stepped out onto the front porch. “I’m not getting an alarm system.”

That’s when she saw Kevin, grabbing some of the gear the older man had put on the ground in the driveway.

“Did you have something to do with this?” she called out to him.

“That’s right. Mr. Stanasloski is going to install a system that will make sure no one gets into the house without us knowing it.” Kevin flashed a smile. “Hey, you look nice for a Sunday morning. I’m used to you in business clothes or sweats and paint-splattered shirts.”

She’d gotten dressed up. Nothing fancy, but she’d chosen a pretty dress she seldom wore because she had no occasion to do so. She’d thought long and hard about her motives for wanting to go with Kevin to church this morning and decided it was something she wanted to do for herself, not just because she wanted to be with Kevin or just get out of the house.

The older gentleman walked up the path and stuck out his hand to shake Daria’s. “I don’t usually work on Sunday, but Ski said it was an emergency. Don’t you worry though. No one is going to be able to so much as walk up to the front door without having a record of it on tape.”

“But I didn’t order an alarm system. And I can’t afford one,” she said as the men breezed by her into the foyer with all their gear. Ski followed and so did Kevin. She walked back into the house behind them.

Even with the two of them standing in the foyer alone, Kevin’s voice was low. “Don’t worry about that.”

“It’s my house. Of course I’m going to worry about it. You can’t just install an alarm system without my consent.”

Kevin dropped the roll of wires he’d been holding to the floor and took Daria by the arm. “Come with me a second.”

She followed him into the kitchen, all the while watching Ski and his dad in the living room, unloading gear on the hardwood floors and strapping on their tool belts.

When they were alone in the kitchen, she said, “Kevin, you know I can’t afford an alarm system. If I had the money for something that extravagant, then I’d be able to afford leaving here for a while.”

“I know that,” he said. “But after the last break-in it’s clear that it’s not enough for me to make sure you’re safe when you’re here. It’s also important that we keep people from coming in when you’re not home. Since neither one of us can be here all the time, it poses a problem.”

She crossed her arms across her chest. “Yes, but what does that have to do with an alarm system?”

“I think we’re in agreement that I can’t watch you every moment of the day and night.”

She nodded her agreement.

“And I can’t afford to keep hiring Jake and Ski to do it when I can’t because the department doesn’t have the extra funds. I figure this is the best way to protect you without having a permanent bodyguard on you 24/7. And an alarm will cut down the likelihood that you’ll come home to another break-in.”

“An alarm system costs thousands of dollars that I just don’t have now. I can’t afford it.”

“Think of it this way—you can’t afford not to get it. The house will be under surveillance even when you’re not here. That seems to be when these incidents are happening. The rest of the time, when you’re going to work or coming home, I’ll be watching. Besides, Ski’s dad is giving you a sweet deal. He’s hooking up the system for only the cost of parts as a favor to Ski.”

“And to you?”

Kevin shrugged. “And me. He’s a good guy. He’s good at what he does. He’s been installing alarms his whole adult life.”

She sighed. “What’ll it cost?”

“If you cut out stopping for coffee every day on your way to work, even you’ll be able to afford the monthly payment plan he’s set up. I’ll cover the monthly monitoring fees. They’re a lot cheaper than paying Jake and Ski.”

Having overheard the conversation, Mr. Stanasloski came into the kitchen and stood at the doorway. “It’s a good system, ma’am, and I’m happy to do this for you. It covers all the doors and windows. We even have security cameras that will monitor the grounds if you hear something and want to check things outside. It’ll keep you safe.”

“You have cameras?” she said. “I don’t know that I like the idea of strangers looking at me.”

Ski came in behind his dad. “Only you’ll see what’s on the cameras,” he said. “It’ll get recorded on loop tape that can be erased every day if there’s nothing on it. The cameras allow you to see what’s outside so you don’t have to go and look for yourself. If the right code isn’t punched in within twenty seconds of an entering on any window or door, a siren sounds that’ll wake the dead. When that happens the police will be here in a matter of minutes.”

Daria sighed. “My neighbors will love this.”

Mr. Stanasloski added, “Your neighbors will feel safer. I installed one of these just up the street a few weeks ago, so you don’t have to feel like you’re the only one needing protection. A lot of people want that extra security. I’ve been doing alarms for over thirty years now. It’s a good system and it’ll help you sleep easy at night.”

“Do I have a choice?”

Kevin pushed a lock of hair away from her face and
rested his hand on her shoulder. “Sure you do. It’s your house. You can tell us all to leave if you really want. Just say the word.”

Did she really want them to? She longed to be able to sleep in her own bed and not worry. She could handle money worries a whole lot better than the threat of George Carlisle. She wasn’t going to allow money to get in the way of her security.

Sensing her hesitation, Kevin added, “Look, I know it’s not perfect. What plan is? But at least once you’re locked inside this house at night, you won’t have to worry about what’s outside trying to get in. I can check on you, make sure you get home okay and that you’ve got your doors locked. Then I can go home to my own bed for a good night’s sleep. I’ll be more alert in the morning to be able to do my job arresting your ex-husband. Once that happens, you won’t have to worry at all anymore.”

She thought about it a moment. “Knock yourself out, boys.”

Mr. Stanasloski nodded. “It’ll take a few hours with just the two of us working. But don’t worry. When we’re done, you won’t even know we were here. You might want to find something to do for the day while we get the system installed. We’ll do the alarm today. Ski will come by again tomorrow to finish putting in the camera system.”

“Today may be a good day for you to finally get some work done on that boat of yours, Kevin,” Ski called out as he left the room.

When Daria heard the sound of Ski and his father’s boots on her wooden floors in the foyer, she said quietly, “You have a boat? You said you like to sail but you never mentioned a boat.”

“Kevin’s always complaining he never has enough time to get his sailboat finished. Never enough hours in the day.”

“I can relate to that,” Daria said. There were never enough hours for her to get what she wanted done on the house. But she hated the idea that her predicament was keeping Kevin from living his own life.

“Is that true?” she asked.

“I have an older sailboat in dry dock that I’ve been working on. It’s seaworthy and has a lot of nice features. I’d like to do some serious sailing when the weather is better in the spring.”

“Working on until you met me, you mean.”

He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it.”

“You should be out doing something you enjoy, Kevin. Not babysitting me all the time.”

“I won’t lie. I love giving the boat my attention on the weekends. I enjoy being down at the marina. But there’s plenty of time for that later.”

Later was something that had no definite measure of time attached to it for Daria. Not while George and whomever else he might be connected to was still out there.

“You should go today,” she said. “Ski and his dad are here. I’ll be fine. There’s no reason you should have to be stuck here with me. You should take a day to yourself and have some fun.”

It may have been her imagination, but his expression faltered.

“You trying to get rid of me?”

“No. I just…feel bad you’ve been running yourself ragged these last few weeks.”

“Regardless of what you may think, I don’t feel stuck
when I’m with you. And after seeing you in this pretty dress, I thought maybe you’d decided to come to church with me today. You mentioned you might.”

“Actually, that was the plan until the crew arrived. I just wasn’t sure you’d still be going. You know, with all this going on.”

The light that flashed in Kevin’s eyes was immediate, as was his smile. “I am still planning to go. And I’d love it if you came with me.”

“You sure you don’t mind?”

“Not at all. In fact, if you want, we’ll make a compromise. We’ll go to church and you can meet some of the people there. I’ll introduce you to the pastor over coffee and Danish. And then, if you want, we’ll go down to the marina for the afternoon and do some work on the sailboat. That way we’ll be out of Ski and his dad’s way while they work. And I can get some boat time in. I can always use a hand.”

“I suppose it’s only fair,” Daria said with a light chuckle. “You did help me with my house. Just let me grab a change of clothes.”

The fresh air was doing her good, Daria realized. Unlike the night she found the bird on her door, Daria hadn’t quite recovered from the break-in. It helped to get away from it for a few hours. She was looking forward to the distraction of meeting new people.

As she walked into church with Kevin, she caught more than a few glances from the women in the congregation. She and Kevin sat in a pew in the middle of the church and waited for the services to begin.

Daria felt only mildly out of place as she followed the service. Kevin opened a book and guided her through
the prayers. She didn’t know the words or the tune of the songs as everyone sang. But she followed along.

Her favorite part was the pastor’s sermon. She listened to every word and thought about how it applied to her life. As she listened, a warm feeling enveloped her. As if she’d filled a space in her heart that had been empty.

When the service was over, everyone left the church and walked to the rectory where they were serving coffee and treats.

Kevin smiled and waved to people as they walked. It seemed as though he knew everyone.

“You hungry?” he asked her as they walked into the crowded room.

“A little,” she said, smiling at a woman who’d been staring at her in church. She was pleased when the smile was returned with a quick nod, as if in approval.

“We need to move fast then,” Kevin said, keeping his voice low. “Loretta Olsen has spotted you and it’s only a matter of time before she makes her way to us to find out just who this beautiful woman is.”

Daria giggled. “Who’s Loretta Olsen?”

“She works in the church office. If Loretta had her way, she’d have your name, address and social security number to do a CORI check as soon as everyone left.”

“Really?”

“Don’t worry. She’s a nice lady. Just likes to know who’s attending church. Here she comes.”

A short woman, who Daria decided was about the same age as her parents, came quickly through the crowd. “Kevin, there’s plenty of pastries,” the woman said when she reached them. “I know how much you like my apple spice cake.”

“I’ll stick to the coffee today, Loretta. Thanks just the same,” he said.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend? I’m Loretta Olsen. I work in the church office. I know every member of the church but don’t believe I’ve seen you here before, Miss…”

“Call me Daria.”

“Daria. An unusual name. Make sure you have some pastries. Jennifer Drake made that coffee roll.”

Daria glanced at Kevin and smiled. “It all looks wonderful.”

“Well, help yourself. Did you just move to town?” Loretta asked.

Having been warned by Kevin, Daria had the feeling she was about to be interrogated. But Loretta seemed nice enough.

Kevin took Daria by the hand, a gesture that didn’t go unnoticed by Loretta. “I see Pastor Harrison. Let’s go say hello.” He turned to Loretta. “If you don’t mind, Loretta. Good seeing you again.”

“Oh, no. Go right ahead,” she said.

As they walked toward the back of the room where the pastor was now conversing with some other church members, Kevin leaned closer to Daria and said, “Sorry about that. But Loretta is legendary for digging for information. Inside of an hour she would have known about every childhood friend you had from kindergarten all the way to your senior year of college, along with every town you lived in and the names of your professors.”

Daria laughed. “That’d take all day and then some.”

He introduced her to various people as they passed through the crowd. Everyone seemed so friendly and
so willing to accept her that she didn’t have a bit of apprehension.

Pastor Harrison, and the couple he was talking to, turned to Daria and Kevin as they approached. After quick introductions, Daria soon learned that Belinda and Jerry Tobin were both nurses at the local hospital.

“It’s good to see you, Kevin,” Jerry said, shaking Kevin’s hand.

Despite not being a part of a church community before, Daria felt quite at home, making small talk and laughing with people she’d just met. No one questioned whether or not she belonged here. It was if they accepted her openly. She’d learned long ago how to make friends quickly. But there’d always been reserve held back on the other side. Today she felt none of that.