STARTING OVER (23 page)

She felt the pressure on her throat subside, and she sucked in huge breaths, filling her lungs with fresh, moist air. Her eyelids flew open and she stared into
Rusty's dear face. She flung her arms around his neck and pulled him down next to her. "I'm so glad you're here. You saved my life!"

"That must have been some dream."

"It was awful. He came back and wouldn't leave."

The look in
Rusty's eyes told her he knew, without her speaking the name, who she was referring to.

"He wasn't here," Rusty repeated positively. "It was just a nightmare."

"He tried to kill me." Kate knew she sounded irrational, but she could still feel those cold fingers circling her neck.

"No one was in here but you," he explained in a soothing tone. "I was just down the hall. Even if something or someone had gotten past me, Rebel would have let me know." He picked up the twisted edge of her sheet. "And no one was trying to kill you. You tossed and turned so much that the sheet was wrapped around your throat."

"Oh..." Perhaps her imagination had gone a little wild after all she'd been through in the past twenty-four hours. She was beginning to feel a little silly . . . but not secure enough to let Rusty go. "Would you-mind spending the rest of the night in here?" She managed an anemic smile. "I wish I could promise you something exciting, but I just want you to hold me in your arms and sleep next to me."

He didn't say anything but crawled over her and slid under the covers.

Both of them were fully dressed, and Kate was definitely not in a frame of mind to see any sensuality in their intimacy. Instead, she snuggled closer to him and felt herself relax. Rusty was with her. Everything was going to be okay.

She awoke to sunshine streaming through the window, filling the room with light and steamy heat. Rusty was still next to her, her back against his chest and his arm resting protectively on her waist. It felt good to have him there. It felt right.

In the bright, revealing light of day, Kate could be more objective about her dream . . . and her ghost. She didn't believe in the paranormal, and from the logical steps leading up to her encounter with that person, as well as after she fainted and he left, Kate could almost laugh at how ridiculous it had been.

There were two things that kept her from pushing it completely out of her mind. The first was that the person had borne a remarkable resemblance to Doug. But Rusty had satisfactorily explained that, too.

The second reason that her mind was not completely at rest was that if the thing hadn't been a ghost, then that meant someone, a real person who didn't belong in her house, had been there, not twenty feet in front of her. The fact that he had been able to pick her dead bolt lock was very disconcerting. That meant that he could return anytime he wanted. And the next time he broke in, she might be alone. Or worse, she would be with Shanna. It was one thing to frighten Kate out of her wits, but it was another matter to endanger her daughter.

Maybe she should get Doug's pistol out of his closet and learn how to shoot it. Or perhaps she should get a big, mean dog to scare the prowler away.

Rusty moved, his arm tightening and pulling her closer even though he was still asleep.

Better yet, Kate thought, she should let the relationship between her and Rusty
escalate. She felt extremely safe when he was around. And extremely happy.

That would explain the parts of her dream where Doug had asked what Rusty was doing at the house. Kate had to admit that, in spite of how innocently her affection for Rusty had developed and how much she had loved
Doug, there was a certain amount of guilt involved that she could care a great deal for another man so quickly.

And she knew that it also still bothered her that Doug's body had never been found. She felt badly for him because he deserved a more dignified demise than to be washed out to sea or eaten by sharks. There was a granite stone with his name on it in the cemetery, and Doug should be resting peacefully in his family plot.

What Kate couldn't explain was why she had been so upset when Doug said he was going to stay. Even though she had thought he was a ghost, why hadn't she welcomed him back with open arms? After all, it had only been a nightmare. Instead, she had backed away and called for Rusty. Had the dream reflected that she had made some sort of choice?

That thought added to her guilt. It made her feel disloyal.

But she remembered what she had told Doug in the dream. He was dead and she was alive. Rusty probably would be the man with whom she would share the rest of her life. It would be foolish of her to pass him by because her heart wasn't following a calendar.

Rebel got up from where he had been sleeping at the foot of the bed. Kate heard him stretch, then shake before walking around to
Rusty's side of the bed and thrusting his cold nose onto Rusty's neck.

"Go away, you mutt," Rusty mumbled, lifting his arm to swat at the dog. But the damage had been done, and a minute later, Rusty pushed Kate's tangled hair off her neck and repeated his dog's wake-up treatment, using his lips instead of his nose.

Kate rolled over in his arms and smiled up at him. "Good morning," she whispered.

"Good morning to you, pretty woman." His sleep-husky voice was incredibly sexy. "It looks like we made it through all the storms last night."

"It was rough, but we survived." She stroked the spiky curve of his jaw. "Thanks. You were wonderful."

His eyes twinkled as he teased, "Honey, you
ain't seen nothing yet. If you and I ever have a nice, normal date, I'm going to charm your socks off."

"Only my socks?"

A different, more serious fire sparked in his eyes. "We're in a dangerous position to be talking about this. If it wasn't so hot in here and if we hadn't just been whipped by a major hurricane, I would love to explore this subject further." Reluctantly, he pulled away and sat up. "Since it must be at least a hundred degrees in this room, I'd guess the electricity hasn't come back on or the air conditioner isn't working." He opened both windows, but it was as hot outside as in. "Rebel needs to go for a walk, and I suppose we should check for damage."

He straightened his T-shirt and tucked it into the waistband of his jeans. Looking down at Kate with her long, thick hair tumbling around her face, her cheeks flushed with sleep and her eyes a dark, bewitching shade of
turquoise, he knew if he didn't get out of her bedroom immediately, he would be in serious trouble. Sleeping next to her, even though both of them had been modestly clothed, had been enough to test a saint. And Rusty had never had any desire to be a saint.

He didn't sleep with every woman he found attractive. On the other hand, he had never shown such restraint when he met someone who really turned him on the way Kate did. Even now, with millions of other things on his mind, his body was responding automatically, wanting her, needing her.

"Do you always look like this in the morning?" he asked.

Her eyes widened and her hand tried to smooth her hair. "Like what? Do I look that bad?"

"No, Katie. You look that good. If you had any idea how distracting you are..." He adjusted his jeans and sucked in a deep, bracing breath. "I don't know if it's the heat outside or the heat in here, but my blood is about to boil over."

Whistling for Rebel, he abruptly left the room with the dog trotting at his heels.

Rusty took his time surveying the yard. He had hoped the air would cool him down, but it felt like a sauna outdoors. Everything had been soaked, and the moisture combined with the scorching sun sent the humidity level to an unbearable high.

Overhead, the sky was clear and blue as if a hurricane had never occurred. But beneath his feet were broken branches scattered over a thick carpeting of twigs and leaves that looked as if they had been through a shredder. A tree in the neighbor's yard had come down, taking part of Kate's garage rear wall with it. There were a dozen or more shingles missing from her house's roof, and the pool was full of debris.

As he walked around, Rusty's thoughts were only partially on the destruction. He had meant to broach the possibility that Doug had planned the accident. But she had been in such a cheery, playful mood that he didn't have the heart to dampen it with any hint of suicide.

Then the "ghost" had shaken them both. But there was something odd, something that didn't make sense about Kate's prowler last night. Rusty examined the lock on the front door and saw no evidence that it had been jimmied or picked. Unless Kate was wrong about forgetting to lock that door, it appeared the intruder had used a key.

Rusty had a key. The neighbors across the street had a key. Of course, Kate had a key. But who else would? Whom had she trusted enough?

Doug would have had a key.

It was unlikely that anyone would have found his set of keys if his body hadn't been recovered. Would Doug have given one out to someone who perhaps Kate had forgotten? Or someone Kate didn't know about?

Rusty remembered how positive Kate was that the person in her hall had looked like Doug. Maybe he had a brother. It would be logical that Doug would give his family a set of keys in case of an emergency. It even made sense that they might come over and check on the house if they thought Kate wasn't home.

But it didn't make any sense that a member of the family would run away when Kate fainted. If it was someone, who cared about her, surely they would have gone to her to see if she was okay.

When he went inside to ask her, he found her lying on the couch with ice packs on her chest. She had opened all the windows, but there was no breeze to bring the temperature down to a bearable level.

"I'm paying the price for leaving Shanna in Austin," Kate moaned when he asked her what was wrong. "But I'm glad she's not here. This heat wouldn't be good for her. And everything is going to spoil in the refrigerator and freezer if the power doesn't come back on soon. This is the last of the ice."

Rusty felt particularly helpless around this very female ailment. "Is there anything I can do?"

"The phone's still working. I called my doctor and he said he'd call a prescription in to the pharmacy that should help dry me up faster and ease the pain. If the roads are passable, would you mind picking it up for me?"

"No, of course not.
I want to go to the office and see if we still have a helicopter."

"How is it out there?"

"It's pretty messy. There are limbs and trash everywhere. Someone's barbecue pit is in your front yard, and there's someone else's lawn chair in your pool. But then, the water in that pool is so dirty, there could be almost anything at the bottom."

"Any damage to the house?"

"Some. You'd better call your insurance agent and add your name to his list. I'm sure he'll be the most popular man in town for the next few weeks."

She nodded,
then grimaced. "If anyone is selling ice, would you bring some home?"

"Sure. If there's a hardware store open, I want to buy new locks for your doors."

"You found something, didn't you?"

"It's what I didn't find," he explained. "I think someone might have used a key to get in your house. Do you know if Doug gave a key to anyone? His friend? His brother?"

Kate considered the question,
then shook her head. "Not that I know of. He didn't have any close friends, and he was an only child like me. He might have given one to his parents, but I know it wouldn't have been one of them, because they went to Dallas to escape Cesar. Their house is right on the beach on the west end of Galveston Island, so they don't try to ride out the storms." She looked at Rusty, her eyes filled with questions.

Unfortunately, Rusty didn't have any answers.

"I'll be back as soon as possible. And I'll check with the power company. Have you called your parents?"

"Yes. They were very worried about us. The reports they heard said that Cesar hit this area pretty hard." Her expression softened. "Shanna is doing fine. I really miss her, but I'm not going to go get her until the power is restored. She'll be more comfortable in Austin enjoying the air conditioning and being spoiled rotten by my parents."

He rested his hand on her forehead and was alarmed at how hot it was. "You still have a fever."

"A little, but the doctor said that was perfectly normal. I've taken a couple more aspirin, but I think only the prescription and time will help."

Rusty didn't want to leave her when she was obviously in so much pain. But he knew his best hope of helping her was to bring back the medication she needed.

When he drove back into the driveway an hour later, he was surprised to find the insurance man already there. The man was making his way in a slow circle around the house, writing notes on a clipboard as he went.

"Hello, I'm Al Nicholson, Kate's insurance agent. I met you once before..." The man extended his hand.

"Yes, I remember. I'm Rusty, her pilot." The two men shook hands,
then Rusty fell into step as Al continued his inspection. "I'm surprised you were able to get to this so quickly. I would have thought you'd be snowed under today."

"Actually, I do have a backlog of calls that would choke an elephant. But I live just down the street, and I knew how much Kate had gone through lately, so I thought I'd get to hers first."