The Shadows Trilogy (Box Set: Edge of Shadows, Shadows Deep, Veiled Shadows) (14 page)

Later, Ellie found herself crying in David’s arms again. It was another personal record; hysterics twice in one day. “I don’t understand why he wants to keep tormenting me. All that time he acted like I was so insignificant in his life, and now I can’t get him to leave me alone.” Her sobs subsided slowly to sniffles.

David stroked her hair and made soothing noises. “He sounds pretty unstable, Ellie. I think that restraining order was a really good idea. Some guys just don’t know how to deal with rejection.”

Ellie slowly pulled away and started smoothing her hair. She wiped her eyes and saw Skipper sitting across the room staring at them, looking miserable. “My poor dog. I don’t think he knows what to think of me. He probably wishes he had a normal owner instead of getting stuck with me.”

“Hey, don’t say that,” David said. He took her gently by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. “You are a strong woman, Ellie. You’ve been through a lot. You’ve got your life together. You are successful and talented and smart. Don’t let your ex-husband take that away from you. You are the one in control now.”

Ellie took a deep breath and felt a sense of peace returning. David’s words were having the right effect, and she wondered if somehow his calming aura was infectious. “You’re right, David. Of course you’re right. It’s not worth it. He’s not worth it. I won’t ruin our evening because of that big jerk.”

“That’s the spirit!” David chuckled.

Ellie stood up, her sense of purpose renewed. “I did manage to get groceries with all the other shopping I did today. I’ll start dinner.”

She walked into the kitchen with David close on her heels. She opened a bottle of chardonnay, poured two glasses, and handed one to David. He looked at her expectantly.

She held her glass up. “To new friends and new beginnings without any interruptions from old ghosts and bad memories.”

“I’ll drink to that.” David clinked his glass on hers. “So what else did you buy? Sounds like you went on quite a shopping spree.”

Ellie pulled the chicken breasts she had been marinating from the refrigerator. She put a saucepan on the stove and put some olive oil and ground garlic in it. She sliced the chicken up thinly and tossed the pieces into the pan to sauté. At the same time she put a pot of pasta on the stovetop to cook. She talked as she worked.

“Kevin and I have been arguing for probably a year now about me getting a new computer system for the store. I guess I’m pretty old-fashioned that way. I like working all of this stuff out in my head. I feel like it keeps me from getting rusty, and I feel like I am really in tune with what’s going on in the shop.” She paused in her work every now and then to glance in David’s direction. He stood against the countertop and sipped his wine. His attention was focused on her. He motioned to her to continue.

She watched the chicken carefully. She started putting together the ingredients for the Alfredo sauce, and then pulled garlic bread out of the freezer and preheated the oven.

“So today Kevin finally won. I went over to the electronics store and told them I needed the works. I was going to resist the cell phone, but after what happened today I am really glad I didn’t say no when they started showing them all to me.” She smiled shyly at David again.

“You need any help getting that computer up and running?” he asked.

“I don’t know a lot about computers. I liked the idea of a laptop because it’s portable. But other than finding the start button and opening an Internet browser I don’t know a lot. I feel like I’m a computer virgin,” she admitted.

“Well, I can help with that,” David said with a flirtatious glint in his eye. “Where’s the laptop?”

Ellie pointed at a cardboard box by the fireplace. “That’s going to be a big help. I really appreciate this, David. I mean about everything,” she said. She felt a lump in her throat and since she didn’t want to cry again she looked at her feet.

Suddenly David was at her side. His hand cupped her chin and he pulled her eyes up to meet his. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw the passion that smoldered there.

“I am pretty sure that I would do anything for you, Elizabeth Coulter,” he said. Then he kissed her deeply.

She clung to him and felt something long forgotten stir inside her. After what seemed an eternity, he stepped away, and she realized that her breath was coming in shallow gasps. “Um, wow,” she finally managed.

David seemed entirely composed and his smile was warm. “I’ve wanted to do that for a long time.” He shrugged but didn’t look the slightest bit embarrassed.

“Well, you are pretty good at it so feel free to do that any time you want to,” she laughed.

David’s low laugh filled the small apartment. “I’ll remember that,” he said. He returned to the hallway and set the computer box on the coffee table. “I’ll accept payment in kisses for this hard labor,” he said.

“You’ve got it.” Ellie went back to her cooking, pretending not to be watching David, although now she couldn’t stop looking at him. He was sitting in the living room on the couch, his back to her facing the fireplace. His broad shoulders were evident over the back of the couch, and she saw that his thick blond hair had just a hint of wave in the back. She found herself thinking that she wanted to dig her hands in his hair when he kissed her again. She blushed at her thoughts, and tried to concentrate on her Alfredo sauce.

Soon she was draining the pasta and combining it with the chicken breast and sauce. She carefully shook parmesan cheese on the top, and then pulled the garlic bread from the oven. Rich, spicy smells filled the air.

“Smells wonderful.” David’s breath was on the back of her neck as he murmured into her ear, and his arms encircled her from behind. She turned and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Just so you know, I’m a pretty damn good cook,” she said.

“Oh, I had no doubt,” he said.

Ellie lost several moments as they kissed again. David had awakened a completely different appetite inside her. She was amazed how she reacted to him. She had never been like this in her entire life, even with Jake.

When David finally released her lips, she saw that his expression had grown serious. “I meant it when I said I would do anything for you, Ellie. I know we really just met, but I feel like I’ve known you forever,” he said.

Ellie nodded in agreement. He had voiced something that she had felt as well. “Yes, I know what you mean. I can’t even explain how comfortable I feel with you.” She buried her head into his chest and breathed deeply of his scent. She hoped that her clothes kept some of that, so that she could smell him even after he left.

“Okay, mister. We should eat while the food is still warm,” she said with a playful jab to his chest.

“There are many other things I’d like to do right now,” David whispered in her ear. “But you did such a great job with this that I don’t want it to go to waste.” He kissed her once more, and then stepped back so that she could move again.

Quickly she set the table and had the food ready. She encouraged David to serve himself first. “Guests first,” she insisted.

They were silent as they started to eat. Ellie watched David’s expression as he took the first bite. He seemed delighted, and Ellie was glad that she had invited him over that evening. Life was looking so much better after such a short amount of time that she could hardly believe it.

She told him all about her evening hijinks with Kevin at Linda’s house the night before, and she was delighted when he laughed along with her when she told him how they had acted like teenagers who had been left alone at home for the first time. Ellie never thought of herself as a particularly funny person, so it was a relief to feel like someone would find her engaging.

“I’m having a hard time believing that I just spent time with you for the first time outside of the coffee shop three nights ago,” she said, taking a sip of her wine.

“Things happen for a reason, Ellie.” He reached over and put his hand on top of hers. “I hope I don’t scare you by saying this, but I feel like we were meant to find each other. It’s totally crazy, but this feels right.”

Ellie was touched by his words. She felt like she was being swept off her feet, just like a girl in one of her romance novels. The fact that David was so comfortable sharing how he felt made him even more attractive to her. Jake had always shut her out.

“You aren’t scaring me, David. I don’t think you could with how fantastic you’ve been toward me. But I admit that I don’t know a lot about you. We always talk about me. Tell me something about yourself. I want to know everything about you,” Ellie said.

“Not a lot to tell,” David answered as he continued to eat. “I had two parents who wanted nothing but the best for me. Now I’m a doctor and I enjoy my job. I get to help people every day. I love coffee, which is by far my worst addiction. But I’m glad for it because it led me to you. The end.”

“C’mon, now,” Ellie joked. “There’s a lot more to you than that.”

“No, my life was pretty boring until now,” David said.

“Have you ever been married?” Ellie asked.

“No, but I haven’t had a lot of time to date. Medical school and all,” David answered.

“You have any brothers or sisters?”

“Only child,” was his short reply. “What about you, Ellie?”

“My parents died when I was little, and we didn’t have any close family. So I was pretty much an orphan. I grew up in foster care here in Minneapolis.” Ellie sighed.

“That must have been really tough,” David said. “You’ve really made something of yourself, owning your own business and all.”

Ellie heard admiration in his voice. “Nah. It was something that sounded fun and I’ve always wanted to work for myself. That’s all. I’ve made plenty of bad decisions. One of them, of course, you met up close and personal today.”

Ellie was starting to feel the wine. She didn’t drink very often, and it seemed that it was going straight to her head. She looked at the glass, and David reached over to refill it even though she tried to wave him off.

“We all make mistakes, Ellie. You need to relax a little,” he said through her protests.

“I still need to go over to Linda’s,” she argued.

“I’m here to help with that,” David said. “You’ll get everything done. You are safe. It’s okay. Relax.”

Ellie felt herself acquiescing. Having him there completely relaxed her. They finished eating, and David insisted on doing the dishes after parking Ellie on the couch in front of the fire. He set the new computer on her lap.

“It’s all set and ready to roll. Try it out. Get familiar with it,” he said.

Ellie couldn’t focus on the screen, and found the wine glass in her hand again. She heard water running, and then the sound of pots and pans bumping together. “I do have a dishwasher,” she called out. Was that her voice? All the words slurred together.

“There are some things that I like to do the old-fashioned way too,” was David’s amused reply.

Ellie felt her eyes starting to close and rested her head on the back of the couch.

“Ellie. Ellie.” David’s voice was close by. “How about I go over to Linda’s for you? You can just stay here and relax in front of the fire. Where are the keys?”

Ellie was so tired that she couldn’t even argue. “In my purse.”

“I’ll be back soon.”

She felt a squeeze on her shoulder. She relaxed into her dreams.

David felt strange walking up to Linda’s house. He replayed the strange story of the Bradfords in his head, and thought about what life would be like to never have to worry about money. He considered himself a simple man. He wanted nothing more than to have a satisfying job, and a happy marriage that lasted forever. For as long as he could remember, he knew that he wanted to get married and have kids. He had been looking for “the one.” Now that he had met Ellie, he was pretty certain that he had found her.

He smiled as he remembered Ellie sleeping comfortably in front of her fireplace. The more he learned about her, the more he just wanted to wrap his arms around her and protect her. He was dismayed at how aggressive her ex-husband had become and wanted to do whatever he could to help that situation.

David spotted the mailbox at the end of the driveway on the side of the house that led around back. He made his way there and pulled out the stack of mail that had accumulated. He glanced at it quickly, but there were only circulars and other assorted pieces of junk mail.

As he made his way back around to the front of the house he frowned. It looked like a light was on in a room on the third level. He remembered Ellie telling him over dinner that she and Kevin had explored the house during their visit the evening before. They must have forgotten to turn off one of the lights.

He went to the front and was unlocking the front door when he heard heavy footsteps behind him. He whirled around. The man approaching him put up his hands with wide eyes.

“Who are you?” the man demanded.

David peered closer at the man’s face. He looked familiar. “Mr. Klein?” he asked.

The other man looked confused. “Do I know you?”

“We met the other night, Mr. Klein, at Linda’s dinner party? I was here with one of Linda’s friends, Ellie? Remember, you told us the story about the house.” David stepped closer to the agent. The man looked disheveled and like he hadn’t slept in days. David noted the deep circles under the man’s eyes and the glassiness of his pupils. He wondered if the man was taking drugs.

“Oh yes. The house.” Joe Klein ran his fingers through his thinning hair and looked up at the house. “I forgot about the party.”

There was a moment of awkward silence, and David cleared his throat. “Can I help you with something, Mr. Klein?”

“I’m here to see Linda,” Joe said, glancing over his shoulder.

David wondered if this had anything to do with the glances and furtive looks he had seen the two exchanging at the dinner party. He had been sure there was more to the story than just a simple real estate agent and his client. David thought Joe Klein may be cheating on his wife, and he was disgusted.

“She’s not here, and won’t be here again for a while based on my understanding,” David said, crossing his arms.

“What are you doing here then?” the other man hissed.

David realized with a start that he was being considered competition. “I’m helping my girlfriend house-sit for Linda. I was just stopping by for a few minutes to pick up the mail,” David said, holding up the stack of circulars in his hand. He realized that it felt great to call Ellie his girlfriend. He hoped she wouldn’t mind.

Joe grunted, and David wondered what the man was hoping to accomplish. He watched Joe study the house. His gaze kept going up to the room with the light on.

“‘I guess I’ll just stop back some other time,” Joe said, backing away from David.

David was going to repeat that Linda was out of town indefinitely, but the man had already fled down the steps and was moving out of sight.

“Strange,” David said to himself.

He turned back to the house and slipped the key into the lock. He pushed open the heavy doors and stood in the foyer. He felt a rush of warmth through his body, all the way to the tips of his toes. He took a deep breath. He felt incredibly relaxed, like he was at home.

He flipped on the light on the panel next to the office and tossed the mail onto the table just off to the right at the bottom of the stairs. He admired the cherry wood paneling that lined the walls moving down to the library. He gently tapped the side of the wall as he walked down the hallway, intending to do a quick sweep of the first floor. He stopped when he realized one of the knocks sounded different.

He knocked again on that part of the wall with his ear close to the surface. It was hollow. He examined the wall closer and saw that there was an outline for an opening. He started pushing on the edges when suddenly the door swung open.

David looked into the dark opening. Was it a storage area? He felt around inside the doorway, trying not to think about how jumpy this secret entrance made him. He sighed in relief as he found the switch and flipped it on. He was standing at the bottom of a staircase that wound up into the air. David couldn’t see all the way to the top, but it appeared to go all the way to the top floor.

“Interesting,” he said out loud, just to hear something other than the silence of the house.

He started to back out of the doorway when he thought he heard movement at the top of the stairs. He remembered the light on the third floor. Did Linda have someone else watching the house as well?

“Hello?” he called out.

There was no answer. David shook his head. “I’m hearing things.”

Did he really expect someone to answer? David knew that he was alone. “Screw it,” he said, and then he started to climb up the stairs. He had to go to the third floor anyway to turn that light off and this seemed like a shorter alternative.

Ellie’s face popped into his head, and David felt the tension ooze out of his body. Ellie was his ideal woman, and he was so lucky to have found her. He wondered how she would react if he went back to her place and pulled her into his arms so she could sleep against his chest. He could feel her hair tickling his nose, and he would stroke it and wish her happy dreams.

David found himself standing in front of two French doors on the landing of the top floor. He turned around, confused about how he had gotten there. What was he doing up here? He had been thinking about Ellie and then time seemed to go all hazy. David opened the door but was greeted with a deep darkness.

If he remembered correctly, this was the empty master bedroom that Ellie mentioned. He closed the door and looked across the hall. “Ellie’s Room” was written on a gaily colored piece of paper. He briefly considered taking a look inside, but it felt a bit like invasion of privacy even though he knew Ellie hadn’t moved any of her things in yet.

David glanced at his watch. He had been gone for almost twenty minutes, and he didn’t want Ellie to wake up and find him gone. He needed to get back. He took the stairs down to the front foyer two at a time and glanced one more time around the front entryway and down the hallways. Everything seemed intact and in place.

He looked up at the elaborate chandelier and thought again how nice it must be to have this kind of money. He sensed that a house like this was in his future; something about it just felt right. He left the light on in the foyer and then slid out the front door whistling a happy tune. He couldn’t wait to see Ellie again.