Kaleidoscope Eyes (16 page)

Annie really wasn’t in the mood for Killian’s sarcasm. “Look, I know I should be delighted, but there’s no card—”

“Ah. Mystery explained. You don’t know your benefactor’s identity, hence you aren’t in control.”

Wow. He was in a mood today. “This is not about being in control.”

“Yeah, okay. And selling art isn’t about making money.”

“Killian.
”

“Listen, so someone appreciates you. Enjoy. Now if you’ll excuse me, I hear my mother calling.”

“Your mother died five years ago.”

“Then it’s about time I answered her, don’t you think?”

The dial tone buzzing in Annie’s ear told her he didn’t expect a reply Too bad. She had a great one.

Or would have had if she used words like that.

She went to sit on the floor beside Kodi. “You know what, girl? You just may be right about Killian.”

Kodi’s tail thumped the floor, and she angled Annie a look over the bone.

Annie gave the dog a gentle push. “Don’t look so smug, you brat.” She stood and brushed the dog hair from her pants. Of course, she’d be covered again in no time. Such was life with a double-coated dog. “You know I don’t really agree with you. Killie’s a nice guy, down deep.” Her lips twitched. “Waaaay down deep.”

She snickered, then picked up the box of chocolates—no way she was leaving unsupervised Godiva in the house with Kodi—and headed for her studio. Enough time wasted thinking about Killian’s snarkiness and the mystery gift giver. What she needed was a serious dose of art and gourmet chocolates. That would put her in a good mood in no time.

Or a sugar coma.

Right now, she’d welcome whichever hit first.

The jangle of the phone sent Annie’s pulse into overdrive.

She bolted out of the easy chair where she’d been dozing—dodged the suddenly barking Kodi, who’d also been startled from a deep sleep—and grabbed the cordless, almost growling a greeting. “Hello?”

“Annie?”

At Ryan’s uncertain tone, Annie sank back down onto the chair. Poor guy. Between this phone call and the last, he would think she was a total grouch. “Sorry, Ryan. What can I do for you?”

“I was just calling to see how our window is coming.”

“Our window?” What was he talking about?

“You know, the commissioned piece for Mrs. Stowe.”

Of course. That window. The bane of her existence. “It’s not.”

“Excuse me?”

Annie fought to keep her tone even. “It’s not. Coming.”

“It’s not—?”

Suddenly she heard what sounded like a scuffle, and then Killian was on the line.

“Annie?”

“Killian.”

At her flat tone, he snorted. “Well, don’t you sound cheery?”

Annie massaged her temples. “What do you want, Killian?”

“And so polite too.”

She scowled. He was right to sound miffed. She was being a twit. “I’m sorry, Killie. I was asleep when Ryan called.”

“Asleep? This time of day? Shouldn’t you be working on the window?”

Shouldn’t you two find something other than my window to fixate on?
Annie trudged into the kitchen, pulled a glass from the cupboard, and turned on the faucet. “Yes, I should. But as I just told Ryan, it’s not coming.”

“Not coming? What do you mean ‘not coming’?”

Two gulps of cold water didn’t make her feel any better. “The
window. The scene. The wonderful, creative way of making people see God in a new light!” She plunked the glass down on the counter. “It’s just … not there, Killie. I’m as short on ideas as I am on time.”

If she’d hoped for encouragement, she was in for a disappointment. “Annot Christine, get over yourself!”

Annie held the phone away from her ear, staring at it, then pulled it back in place. “I beg your pardon?”

“Yes, your art is inspiration. But it’s also just plain work. And that’s what you haven’t been doing lately. Working. You’ve been running around, messing with training for these searches and whatnot, and letting yourself be distracted from what really matters. Your art.”

“Killian … ”

“You saw how people reacted at your showing. They love your work, woman. But they won’t wait for you forever. You’ve got a window of opportunity here, and you need to grab it with both hands.”

Annie leaned against the counter. Her head was pounding. “But no pressure, right?”

“Pressure? Of course there’s pressure! What did you expect, that your calling would be easy?”

No. She hadn’t expected that.

She just hadn’t expected it to be quite this hard.

“Listen, I’m sorry, Annie. I don’t want to nag you—”

Too late.

“—but you’ve got to get it together, my friend.”

He was right. Yet again. But she just wasn’t in the mood to admit that. “Killian?”

“Yes?”

“I’m hanging up now.”

He didn’t miss a beat. “Good-bye. And get to work.”

Annie thumped the phone on the counter, then glared down at Kodi. “Get to work. Did you hear that? Get to work.”

Kodi’s head wagged to and fro. “Arrowww!”

“That’s right. Get to work, he says. Well, I’ll show him! You know what I’m going to do?” Annie stomped to the front door and pulled it open.

Kodi stared at her for a moment, then walked through the door, padding outside and heading toward the studio. As she watched the dog, Annie felt her anger melt away Laughing, she went out too, pulling the door shut behind her.

“What else?” She followed Kodi to the studio. “I’m getting to work.”

Mission accomplished.

Jed couldn’t hold back a grin as he exited the post office into the bright sunlight. Okay. So he was being smug. And with good reason.

Genius. That’s what he was.

Pure genius.

Sure, the flowers and chocolates had cost him a small fortune. But unless he’d seriously miscalculated—which he seriously doubted—they’d worked their magic. Miss Ice Maiden’s edges ought to be thawing by now. When this last delivery hit her door, well, good ol’ Will said it best: “If you want to win anything—a race, your self, your life—you have to go a little berserk.”

And so he had. But it was worth it because the payoff would be getting what he wanted.

Annie Justice and her dog. On his show.

Needless to say, Jed was staying close to his cell phone. This was one call he was not going to miss.

FIFTEEN        

S
EPTEMBER
28—A C
ATTAIL
D
AY
(G
REEN AND
A
UBURN
)

It was no use.

No matter how many sketches she did, how many ideas sparked, they all fizzled. Annie couldn’t count the number of times she’d filled her trash can with crumpled pieces of paper.

This window was going to be the death of her. Either that, or the death of her career.

She glanced at the clock. The mail should have arrived by now, and she could use a break. She stood, calling to Kodi. The dog bounded toward her, delighted with the chance to go for a walk, even if it was just to the mailbox.

They walked down Annie’s long driveway, and she put Kodi in a sit-stay as she opened the gate and went to the box. She sorted the pile of mail as she walked back, closing the gate behind her and giving Kodi a release command.

“Junk mail, bill, bill, junk mail … ”

Wait a minute. What was this?

Annie lifted the envelope. Looked like a card of some sort. But there was no return address.

And no postmark.

Tucking the rest of the mail under one arm, Annie opened the envelope. Hmm. No card, just a folded piece of white paper. She pulled it out and unfolded it.

She recognized the print right away. The message hit her a second later.

Annie dropped the paper and stepped back from it like it was a snake about to strike. Kodi dropped her head to sniff at the paper, and Annie grabbed the animal’s collar, jerking her back. “Kodi, no!”

The dog yelped like she’d been mortally wounded—her typical drama queen reaction to discipline. Annie fell to her knees and threw her arms around the animal, hugging her close. “I’m sorry, girl.”

Annie’s voice was as shaky as the rest of her.

How had this person found her address? Her phone number was unlisted. Her address wasn’t published anywhere that she knew of. Not even on the Internet.

The awareness that someone who wanted to hurt Kodi knew where she lived was almost more than Annie could take. She surged to her feet. “Come on, Kodi. Let’s go call your uncle Dan.”

She’d only gone a few feet when she heard the driveway buzzer go off. Spinning, she stared at the gate, ready to take on whatever threat awaited her or Kodi.

The UPS man stood there, eyes wide.

Annie blinked, then looked down at her watch. Ten-thirty, on the dot. Just like the last two days. Chin set, Annie marched to the gate. Kodi obviously sensed Annie’s growing anger, because she padded right next to Annie, practically Velcroed to Annie’s leg.

Annie didn’t even try to stop the dog as she jerked the gate open and grabbed the two large envelopes and three yellow roses from the deliveryman. “Who sent these things?”

If the poor guy’s eyes were wide a moment ago, they were huge now. “I don’t know. I just deliver them.”

“Can you track them?”

His nod was quick and jerky. He looked like a rabbit on speed. “Yeah. Sure. All you gotta do is go on-line and type in these numbers.” He held his pen out to her. “Sign here, please.”

Annie stared at him for a minute, then took the pen and scribbled her name.

The man kept his gaze fixed on Kodi as he slipped his pen back in his pocket. “That’s a good-sized dog.”

“Yes, she is.”

He shifted, clearly nervous. “I’m, uh … I’m supposed to tell you to open the blue envelope first, then the red one.”

“Okay, thanks.”

The man beat a hasty retreat to his truck, and Annie carried the envelopes inside. She slammed them down the kitchen island.

Enough really was enough.

Blue one first, eh?

Not on your life.

Grabbing a steak knife from the silverware drawer, she picked up the red envelope and slit it open, spilling its contents on the island. A parchment document and three photos fluttered out. Trepidation tripping along her nerves, Annie picked up one of the photos.

A black and tan German shepherd looked out at her, the name “Gonzo” written across the bottom of the photo. The other two photos were of shepherds as well—“Raven,” who was mostly black like Kodi, and “Dove,” who was all white.

Annie laid the three photos side by side on the island and thought her heart would break. All three dogs had that shepherd grin on their fuzzy faces, but there was something in their eyes … something deep and compelling. Something timeworn
and trial tested, but trusting in spite of it all.

Annie picked up the document that came with the photos. “THANK YOU!” was emblazoned across the top of the paper.
Thank you? For what?

Frowning, Annie read on.

Tears washed Annie’s frown away.

Okay, no way this envelope came from the same person who’d been sending her the gifts. Everything about it was different. She touched the three photos, then looked down at Kodi, who sat beside her. Dropping down to a crouch, Annie circled Kodi’s strong neck and hugged. Kodi leaned in to her, as though consoling her mistress’s jumbled emotions.