CoyoteWhispers (15 page)

They’d stripped what was left of the bedding, the quilt had
been an old one and rather than attempt to remove the slivers of ceramic she’d
chosen to throw it out. She’d have to do the same with the one in her room. The
thought made her cry all over again. Her Grandmother Monroe had made the quilt
for her when she’d first come to live in Whispering Springs. Gordie had only
gotten four years with her before she’d died, but Granny Roe had been the only
grandparent she’d ever had.

Gordie pulled linen from the cupboard, the smell of her
mother’s favorite scent billowing out to surround her. It was a comfort, made
her feel as though her mother was there with her, giving her a hug. Arms loaded
up, she went back to Kat’s old room and leaned against the doorjamb. Steve
worked the vacuum as if he did it every day. Watching him do something so
domestic gave her heart a jolt. He kept surprising her with his strength and
his willingness to stand beside her no matter what.

The man plowed roads, built houses, did dishes and vacuumed
floors. Her only experience living with a man other than her stepfather was
Anthony and he’d been one of those men who firmly believed in women’s work and
men’s work and never the twain shall meet. Steve was turning all she’d known
and expected on its head but she wasn’t upset. In fact she was thrilled to
discover he thought of them as equals, both of them pitching in no matter what
needed to be done.

“What are you smiling at?”

She hadn’t realized he’d stopped the machine. Pushing off
the wall, Gordie walked over and threw her arms around his neck. His height
meant she had to stand on her toes but she planted her mouth on his for a quick
kiss.

“Thank you,” she said as she settled back on her feet.

“You’re welcome but I’m not sure what I’m being thanked
for.” He smiled down at her.

“For being here. For standing beside me. For being you.”

“All that huh?” His smile turned into a grin. “I guess you
should be pretty thankful. Although, that kiss doesn’t seem like enough payment
for me being such a stand-up guy.”

“Oh no you don’t. You’ve had plenty of payment in the last
twenty-four hours.”

“I thought that was an even split of income. Seemed to me as
though you were getting paid just as much.”

Gordie’s stomach fluttered and her pussy clenched, moisture
dampened her panties. “We need to clean the house.”

“We’ve been cleaning. I think we need to both get paid
before we clean any more.” He picked her up and stepped over the vacuum.

“Steve.” Even to her own ears the protest held no strength.

“Gordie.”

“We shouldn’t.”

Steve grinned down at her. “Yeah we should.”

He lowered his head and kissed her. His tongue tangled with
hers as they each sought to claim the other. They bumped their way into her
parents’ room and Steve put her down and started removing their clothes. Her
shirt went, then his. He pulled the drawstring on her pants and pushed them
down. She tugged his sweats over his hips. Each of them toed off their shoes
and by the time they hit the mattress only their socks remained.

They hadn’t bothered to pull the bedding back but neither of
them noticed the wedding ring quilt beneath them. Engrossed in touching and
tasting, they both took and gave with equal measure. Steve drove her to the
peak quickly. Her orgasm broke over her in a tumble of sensation and need. But
he wasn’t done. With care he pushed her back up. This time slow and sensual led
the way to the top. And when he finally came inside her they took the last
steps together. He continued to thrust inside her until her release ebbed away.
Spent but satisfied, she curled into his side and drifted off to sleep.

* * * * *

Steve let Doc sleep while he cleaned the rest of Kat’s room.
Too restless to sleep, he knew he’d be tempted to wake her up and have her
again if he stayed in bed. Besides, he didn’t want to be in the room when she
worked out they’d broken the
not in my parents’ bed
rule. The thought of
how they’d smashed her rule made him smile as he hauled the last bag of garbage
down the stairs.

The snow had stopped a few minutes ago but already the
temperature was dropping inside the house. He walked around looking for the
thermostat controls to check it was switched on. It wasn’t until he’d walked
the entire downstairs that he found the control box on the wall inside the
little mudroom off the kitchen. Someone had the temp set too low so he turned
the dial and waited for the furnace to kick in.

He waited several minutes but nothing happened and he was
about to head down into the basement to check the heating system when Doc came
into the kitchen.

“You finished off Kat’s room.”

“There wasn’t much left to do and unlike you, I was awake.”

“You should have woken me.” She walked over to him. “What’s
wrong?”

“I was going to check the furnace. I turned up the heat but
I haven’t heard the unit start up yet.” Steve pulled the door to the basement
open.

“Hang on, the globe down there blew the other day, I’ll grab
a flashlight.” She stepped into the mudroom and returned with a large
flashlight.

“That looks more like a weapon than a light.”

She grinned. “It’s a two-for-one deal.”

“A what?”

“Two-for-one. Two tools in one piece of equipment.” Doc
lifted the black stick above her head. “Anyone bothers me I can smash them over
the head with it. Or I can switch it on and blind them before they get close
enough to be any trouble.”

“Wow.” He ducked his head. “Remind me not to sneak up on you
in a dark alley.”

“I’m not about to find myself in a dark alley and I’d be
concerned if I found you in one.” She switched on the light and aimed it on the
stairs. “I’ll lead the way, I know where I’m going and I’d hate for you to fall
down the stairs or trip over one of the million boxes Mom has stored down
here.”

They reached the furnace to find the pilot light had gone
out. He was familiar with the unit so it only took a few minutes to ignite and
have heat pumping through the venting pipes. As they turned to go back upstairs
the flashlight hit on something to their right that made him reach out and grab
Doc’s hand to redirect the beam back to what he’d glimpsed.

Doc gasped and her hand trembled under his, the spotlight
dancing over the plastic dry-cleaners bags. Steve plucked the flashlight from
her grasp and quickly scanned the room. Nothing else looked out of place and
other than the bags everything had a layer of dust to show how long they’d been
down here. He entwined his fingers with Doc’s and led the way back to the
kitchen.

Once out of the dark he switched off the light and placed it
on the kitchen table on his way to the back door. He checked for signs of
forced entry knowing full well that Dale had done that earlier but Steve had to
see for himself. Next he checked windows, from one room to the next until he
found himself at the front door. Doc followed behind, her hand still in his.

“What are we doing?” she asked.

“Checking for how the fucking bastard got inside.”

“But Dale checked already.”

“I know.” He turned to look at her. “I need to see for
myself.”

“Okay.”

They made their way upstairs and one by one he checked all
the windows. There were no balconies so no outside doors and Steve was just
about to concede defeat when he happened to glance up the hallway. At the far
end from where they stood was a manhole in the ceiling and the square removable
section appeared crooked.

“What type of roofing do you have?” he asked as he headed
for the other end of the house.

“Type? Oh, you mean shingles or tin sheeting? Shingles,
why?” She was right on his heels.

He stared up at the recently moved manhole and said,
“Because I think I just worked out how he got into your house.”

Steve pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed the
sheriff.

“Dale Turner.”

“I know how he got in.”

“How? I searched that house from top to bottom.”

“I know. Also, we found dry-cleaning bags in the basement.”

“Shit. Didn’t the deputies look down there?”

“Yeah, but to be honest I doubt they would have realized
what they were. I only recognized them because I picked up my suit last week
and I knew where the dresses had gone missing from.”

“Right. I’m still going to ream them a new one. Now tell me
how you think Marcus is getting in that house.”

“Through the roof.”

“The roof?”

“Yep. I’m staring at the manhole in the upstairs hall. It’s
been moved recently and it hasn’t been put back in the grooves properly so it’s
sitting lopsided.”

“Give me five minutes to finish up here and I’ll be over.”

“Okay. See you in a few.” Steve hung up and put the phone in
his pocket.

“Do you really think he got in that way?” Doc asked.

He turned to look at her. “Yeah, it looks that way to me.”

“So Dale’s coming back?”

“Yep.” He gripped her elbow and steered her toward the
stairs. “Why don’t we put a pot of coffee on and wait for him in the kitchen?”

“I’ll make a pot but I’m boiling the kettle for some tea.
I’ve had enough coffee for today.”

Steve let Doc fuss over the tea and coffee making but it
didn’t escape his notice that her hands trembled. Maybe they shouldn’t stay
here tonight. She might feel safer back at his place or they could crash at
Kat’s.

“We’re staying here.” Her voice held a trace of anger. “I
know what you’re thinking and we’re not letting him drive us out of here.”

He glanced at the clock on the oven. “Well, it’s too late to
head up the mountain to my place and I guess Kat doesn’t have room in that
apartment of hers.”

“No, she doesn’t. We’re staying put.”

“Okay.” Steve stood when the knock came on the front door.
“I’ll get it.”

Steve opened the door and let Dale in. “Thanks for coming so
quickly. Again.”

“Anytime. Now where’s the manhole?”

“Upstairs, end of the hall in front of the senior Monroe’s
bedroom.”

“Okay, I’ll go up and take a look. I’ll give you a yell if I
want to get up in the roof.”

“Doc’s making coffee so come on down for a cup when you’ve
had a look and then we’ll get up in the roof together. I’m not leaving it. I
want to take a look up there to make sure none of the shingles have been
moved.”

“Will do.” Dale turned and headed up the stairs two at a
time.

Steve went back to the kitchen. Doc had poured a tea and sat
at the table with a slice of what looked like chocolate cake.

“Is that what I think it is?” He pointed to her plate.

“If you think its Kat’s special recipe, double-choc
chocolate cake, then yes it is.” She grinned and forked a piece of cake into
her mouth. “Mmm…”

“Where is it?” He opened the fridge and peered inside. “I
can’t see it.”

“Here.”

Steve turned to find her placing a second plate with a slice
of cake on the table. “That’s not a very big bit,” he complained.

“I know, but she only sent a small section of the cake, not
the whole thing. I’m saving some for dessert.”

He took the chair in front of the cake. “Quick, let’s eat it
before Dale gets down and wants some. I’m not sharing this with him if we don’t
have a whole cake.”

“Don’t worry, Kat packed some chocolate chip cookies so Dale
can have those with his coffee.”

“What?” Steve’s fork paused halfway to his mouth. “Cookies?
Damn, I’m gonna get fat at this rate.”

Doc laughed. “Probably. I can’t cook so I usually pick up
dinner at the café before I head home every night.”

Steve groaned. “Oh yeah, I’m gonna get fatter than Santa.”

“Well as long as you have his cheery disposition we’ll get
along just fine.”

“Having you sit on my lap and tell me your most secret
desire is guaranteed to keep me in a cheery mood.”

“Is that coffee I smell?” Dale asked as he entered the room.
“No, don’t get up, I’ll pour my own.”

Steve scraped up the last piece of cake and shoved it in his
mouth. “There’s cookies too.”

Doc stood and went to the counter. “Here, let me get that
for you, Dale.”

“I’m fine, Gordie, sit back down so we can talk.”

“You think I’m right?” Steve asked.

“Yeah.” Dale brought his mug and plate to the table. “It
looks like he came in through the roof to me too.”

“Are you sure?” Doc asked.

“No, but we will be after we’ve had our coffee and gone up
to look inside that manhole.” Dale took a bite of cookie and closed his eyes.

“You’re going up there?”

“Yes. We need to make sure all the shingles are in place or
you’ll get snow and water in the cavity and be in all sorts of trouble,” Steve
said.

“There’s a step ladder in the mudroom. You can use that to
reach the ceiling.” Doc got up and disappeared into the small outer room. She
came back carrying a five-rung, steel ladder. “The flashlight is on the
counter. If you two don’t mind I think I’ll get started on cleaning my room.”

“I’ll be up in a second,” Steve called after her. “Is it
possible he got into the clinic the same way?” he asked Dale when he was sure
she was out of earshot.

“Definitely. We’ll take a look at that tomorrow, it’s too
late now.”

“Okay. I’ll take the ladder up. Finish your coffee and
cookies, there’s no rush unless you’ve got somewhere to be.”

Dale looked startled for a moment but quickly masked the
look with his usual, bland sheriff face. “Nope. Nowhere to be.”

Chapter Seven

Gordie sat beside Tatum at the counter of The Den Café.
Steve had dropped her here an hour ago to hang out with Kat before they headed
up to his place for the rest of the week. Tatum had already been here and Doc’s
sister was busy bustling back and forth from the kitchen making all the meals
that people would be picking up for the Christmas feast tomorrow. She’d
explained to Kat about not spending the meal together and surprisingly Kat
hadn’t argued.