Deep Autumn Heat (27 page)

“Are you supposed to be the character from the movie
Halloween
?” Lexie asked, trying to make conversation.

The figure was silent.

The smile faded from Lexie’s face. She took a moment to truly size up the person standing in front of her. She’d initially thought that it was a high school student, but as she looked more closely, she realized she’d been mistaken. The shoulders were too broad, the stance too assured to belong to a teenager. She noticed that the man—she was sure it was a man—was clenching and unclenching his gloved fists by his side. The gesture was even more threatening than his silence.

“What do you want?” Lexie said, speaking firmly and loudly. “If you don’t want a
cupcake, then leave.” She glanced toward Babs for support, but the older woman had disappeared.

She was alone.

The man stepped forward another foot and faced her dead on. As he moved, she caught the scent of sandalwood. It was Frank. She knew it was—the way he moved, the way his body looked—it all matched. Lexie felt a well of fear bubbling up inside her. She had to do something.
Now
.

“Frank, I know that’s you under there. I have mace on my key chain and I’m not afraid to use it,” Lexie said with a bravado she didn’t feel. To show she was serious, she pulled her key chain from her pocket and held it out.

He stepped forward until he was flush against her table. Lexie still held out her arm. It was shaky, but she didn’t waver in her determination. “Go away,” Lexie whispered, her hand quivering.

Frank looked like he was about to lunge over the table, when Lexie heard Babs’s voice from across the Green. She sounded like she was about fifteen feet away. He hesitated only a fraction of a second more. Then he turned and ran, disappearing into the inky blackness.

Within moments, Babs was back, carrying a steaming paper cup of apple cider. “Got it from Luke Bedwin,” she said. “He’s handing out cocoa and cider at his table on the other side of the Green.”

Lexie ignored her statement. “Where’s Cole?” she said. Her whole body was shaking, and for the life of her, she couldn’t lower the small canister of mace.

Babs turned back toward Lexie and really looked at her.

“Oh, Lord, girl, what’s happened? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I have,” whispered Lexie, still unable to lower her hand. She turned to Babs with a stricken expression on her face. “I saw the man who attacked me on movie night. Frank Doherty is here in Star Harbor.”

* * *

Cole certainly didn’t take any chances
, Lexie thought as she bounced over the rough country road in the passenger seat of Cole’s squad car. It had taken all of a minute for him to get to Lexie and he had immediately radioed his deputies to search the surrounding area, but Frank had disappeared.

Cole had insisted on having Hank shadow her for the rest of the event, and immediately afterward, he had personally driven her home to collect a bag of clothes and toiletries.

“You’re staying with me at Emma and Jimmy’s place,” Cole said, staring straight ahead while he drove. The headlights of the car shone brightly into the darkness on Harper Pond Road. “There’s no way you’re going to sleep out here by the Pond, alone, and I don’t think you’d be comfortable sleeping on Val’s boat. The Bishops will take care of you and I’ll be there to keep guard.”

If he was expecting an argument from Lexie, he wasn’t going to get one. “Fine by me,” Lexie murmured. There was no way she was going to sleep, anyway. Frank’s seething menace had really gotten to her. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw him there. Standing. Staring.

“So,” Cole said, his voice deliberately lighter, “I heard that the catering event you did for Pru Miller last week went well.”

“Yes,” said Lexie, relieved by the change in subject. Relieved that she could think about something other than the menacing figure who’d threatened her. “The luncheon went very well. We had to drive everything up to Boston, but nothing got crushed and we just did a reheat in Pru’s kitchen. Pru loved the menu we selected, and so did her guests. Congressman Ted Kirkland was there, too. I shook his hand.”

Cole let out a brief cough. “Kirkland’s a good man. He’s represented our district well. So, will you get some more business from this?”

“Thankfully, yes. Pru hired me to cater the Millers’ Thanksgiving dinner in Boston, and some of her friends asked for my card, too. It was a good day’s work.”

“I’m glad to hear your business is thriving.”

“Things are going better than I’d hoped. So far I haven’t needed to hire extra staff, but at the rate I’m growing? Well, we’ll just have to see.”

“Do you have any plans for the holidays?”

“So far just the Millers’ dinner. But if business continues to go well, we might get some other work catering Thanksgiving events, too. Right now, any business is good business.”

“I guess you’re planning to stay close to home then. At least for the near future.”

“That’s the plan.”

“And I heard from Buster that there have been no new notes.” Cole’s voice was more serious.

“No.” Lexie swallowed back a rising tide of nervousness.

“We’re still monitoring that.”

“Good.”

As they pulled up the gravel driveway at the Bishop farmhouse, Lexie saw that the front door was open. Emma’s silhouette came into view against the hall light. The moment she’d walked through the threshold, she felt at home. Emma directed Jimmy to take Lexie’s small overnight bag up to the guest room and immediately invited her into the kitchen for some tea. She was doing her utmost to ensure that Lexie felt like a houseguest.

A houseguest who was under police protection.

After an hour or so, Lexie excused herself and starting preparing for bed. She placed her cell phone on the night table and plugged its charger into a nearby outlet. Then she unpacked her blouse and skirt for the next day and laid them on a wingback chair. It was so cold in the farmhouse that Lexie waited until the very last possible minute to undress. As quickly as possible, she shrugged into her flannel sleep shirt.

Shivering, she jumped into the bed, pulling the soft down comforter up to her neck. Despite the comforter’s weight, the sheets were freezing. She curled up into a ball and tucked her head under the covers, rubbing her arms over the goose bumps on her legs.

It took ten minutes before any semblance of warmth crept through Lexie’s bones, and another ten before the small pocket she’d formed with her body started to fill with heat. She tried to focus on slowing her heart rate down, a trick she’d learned from a Zen master back in California. She concentrated on breathing in and out, slowly, slowly. Breathe in and hold. Breathe out and hold. Breathe in and hold. Breathe out and hold. Breathe in and—Lexie let out an impatient huff. Her heart was still pounding, and all she was doing was making herself lightheaded.

What could she do to calm herself? Think up new recipes? Not so appealing. She’d done that plenty over the past few weeks. She could think about the triumph of her recent catering events. Better, but still not terribly calming. Thinking about catering made her think about everything she still had to do to expand her business, which was anything but calming.

She could think about Seb.

That was the worst idea of all. Thinking about the man with the smoldering gaze and the infuriating attitude would only rile her up, not calm her down. She was still peeved by the way he’d handled his departure. Leaving with barely any warning, and then a few smattered phone calls in the middle of the night when he knew she’d be asleep.

She didn’t care. At least that was what she kept telling anyone who asked.

But, deep down, she knew she was kidding herself. She did care. Deeply.

Still, calling him and baring her soul wasn’t in the cards. It would only make her feel foolish and embarrass them both.

Lexie slowly fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

A loud, insistent buzzing woke Lexie the next morning. Groggily, she opened her eyes, momentarily confused about where she was. But when she pulled the sheet off her head and exposed her face to the frigid air, she figured it out fast. Her house was never this cold. In a rush, she remembered everything that had happened the evening before on the Green—the Halloween celebration, Frank’s appearance, and Cole’s insistence on bringing her to the Bishops’ house.

It finally permeated her consciousness that the buzzing was her phone vibrating on the wood nightstand. Lexie glanced over at the electric clock flashing the time. Five
A.M.
Who would be calling at such an unholy hour? She snaked her arm from the warmth of the covers to grab her phone. “Hello?” she said, her voice sounding throatier than she’d anticipated.

“Lexie, hi.” It was Sebastian, his voice resonating throughout her entire body.

“Oh, hello.” Lexie tried to keep cool even as a hundred questions flashed through her mind.

“Lexie, I heard from Cole that you had a rough night. I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”

“I … I appreciate that,” she said. This wasn’t what she was expecting to hear.

“Is there anything I can do for you?”

“No. No thank you.” Really, what
could
he do from so far away? Send comfort food? Provide armed guards?

“I’ve missed you, Lexie.” His voice was low, seductive, and impossible to resist.

“I’ve missed you too, Seb,” Lexie responded, trying to keep the sadness from creeping into her voice.

“Come to New York,” he said abruptly. “Please.”

“Wh-what?” she said, not sure she’d heard him correctly.

“Take a few days off and come to visit me. I miss you. You miss me. I want to see you. Make sure you’re all right. Please come.” Seb’s heartfelt plea sent shivers down her spine.

“Okay,” Lexie heard herself agreeing.

“Good.” Sebastian immediately sounded more like his confident self. “The sooner you take a break from Star Harbor the better. I’ll expect you by the end of the week.”

“But Sebastian, I—”

“Gotta dash. I have a meeting at five-thirty. Stay safe, Spice.”

He hung up.

Lexie held the phone up to her ear for a few long moments after he was gone. The silence of the dead line echoed loudly. She was stunned by his brusque arrogance. For all he knew or cared, she could have catering obligations this week.

As it happened, she didn’t. A sneaking suspicion crept over her. Had he talked to Buster? Even if he had, Buster wouldn’t have told him anything. Unless Buster thought it was wise for her to leave town. Then he would have done all he could to help Sebastian.

Lexie frowned. She hated being conspired against. Slowly, she pulled the phone away from her ear and snuck her hand from underneath the covers to place it back on the table. As soon as her hand hit the cold air she shivered, despite the fact that the rest of her body was still beneath the warm covers.

Yeesh, it was cold in this house! What she wouldn’t give for a space heater and a hot cup of tea to launch her into the morning.

In a way, it was good thing that Sebastian had called. In her haste to get out of the cold air last night, she had forgotten to set an alarm. She needed to be up and out of here soon, and she wondered if Cole intended to escort her to her restaurant.

Lexie didn’t have long to wonder. She heard the sound of a shower door opening and the water being turned on. Ten minutes later, Lexie herself was ensconced in the warm mist of the shower in the guest bathroom. Before she stepped out, she steeled herself against the freezing blast of air that she knew was coming.

Cole was waiting for her when she got downstairs, his striking looks and imposing figure no less a reminder of his relationship to Sebastian this morning than it had been last night. Or anytime she saw him. Jimmy was there too, and the sight of the two enormous men in the small, homey farmhouse kitchen almost made her laugh.

“Good morning,” Jimmy said, smiling. “I hope you slept well.”

“Yes, thanks.” Lexie decided that saying something about the Bishop house’s frostiness might be construed as insulting.

“Good.” Jimmy said. “We’re just having coffee. Want a cup?”

“No thanks, but I’ll take some tea if you have any.”

“I think Emma keeps some up here,” he said, opening up a high cabinet. “Ah, yes. Here it is.” He pulled it down. “This okay?”

“Perfect.”

Jimmy took another mug from the cabinet, poured hot water into it, and dunked the tea bag in before handing it to Lexie.

“Thanks.”

“So,” Cole said, taking a sip of his coffee and eyeing her over the side of his mug, “I’ll be driving you to work today. And I think it’s best if you stay here for the time being.”

“Maybe you’re right.”

He nodded. “I know I am. If the man at the Green last night really was Frank Doherty, he’s certainly not obeying the terms of the restraining order. Still,” he mused, “it’s troubling that he was so bold. There were more than two hundred people on the Green last night, and he still felt you were unprotected enough to approach you.”

“I’m just annoyed that I feel like I’m in hiding when I haven’t done anything wrong,” Lexie said with a sigh.

“Look, if you lived with someone or if you didn’t work such late hours, I wouldn’t worry as much. But you lead a very independent life, and there’s not always someone around to keep tabs on you.”

Lexie snorted. “I’m either at the LMK or I’m at home.”

“We both know that’s not true. Buster told me that you take frequent trips to farmers’ markets, and now you’re doing more traveling with the catering work you’ve started. You’re alone a lot, and that’s what worries me the most.” Cole glanced over at Jimmy and then quickly looked around, as if to ascertain that no one was coming. He lowered his voice. “Emma is especially concerned about your safety, and she suggested you stay here until all of this gets resolved.”

Jimmy nodded solemnly.

Lexie held up her hands in defeat. “Okay, okay, I get it. People care about me.”

“Not just people,” Cole said. “Friends.”

Lexie sighed. “So what am I supposed to do? Have a police escort everywhere I go?”