Under A Painted Sky (Spirit Warrior Series) (9 page)

“I have one sibling,
and his name is Blake. He is four years older than me and we are pretty close.
He sells insurance. He’s not married. I think it’s because he doesn’t want to
share his money and not be able to buy his toys. He, of course, says that is
not true. He loves speedboat racing, as well. That is pretty much the skinny,”
I elaborated.

“I think speedboat
racing would be a rush, but in the desert it is not an option for me,” Logan
said.

“I think I’m going to
the lounge chair to warm up. That little breeze I just felt gave me a chill,” I
said.

“I think I will join
you,” Logan said.

We sat down on the
thickly cushioned brown beach type loungers. “Heartbeat” by The Fray was
playing through the speakers. I looked across at the Sandia Mountain. “Do you
ever get tired of looking at that mountain?” I asked Logan. “I don’t think I
ever could. It gives you an awesome perspective of where we fit in this vast
amazing world of ours.”

“I never do. I hear
people say all the time that it gets old, but it does not get old to me. I have
practically known my whole life that this is where I am supposed to be. I love
this place,” Logan replied.

“I understand that completely,
because I am falling in love with this place as well. I love the beauty, the
warmth of the adobe structures and pretty colors everywhere, the mystery of all
the cultures and the people. It’s as if I’ve stepped through a time portal into
a place where acceptance is the norm. So unreal,” I said.

We talked for hours.
Past lunch time and late into the afternoon. I didn’t even miss lunch. It was
as if time stood still.

Logan was the easiest
person in the world to talk to. He gets me.

Logan said, “Whoa, look
at the time.
It’s
six p.m. already. We’d better get
something to eat. How about if I leave to go and change clothes and let you
change, and I’ll pick you back up in one hour for dinner?” he asked.

“That sounds good to
me,” I replied.

CHAPTER TWELVE

He gathered his things
and left. I went upstairs to shower and dress. After my shower, I realized I
didn’t ask where we were going. I thought,
duh
!

I had better go with
the middle of the road outfit again. I chose another sundress. It was a royal
blue, low cut V-neck, gathered at the breast with a silver cascade of hearts.

I put on cascade heart
earrings and a ring. So, I’m a little obsessive compulsive with the matching
thing. I’m a match freak! Everything must match. I know, I need therapy, I laughed
at myself. I also have a thing for V-necks. I grabbed my sandals with heels
that were black with silver circles across the top.

I put on a little
makeup and fixed my hair.

I sprayed Unconditional
Love perfume and walked through it. That should do it. I straightened the room
up, gathered my things and went downstairs. I went to the back patio door to
lock it, and it was open. I could’ve sworn that I closed it. I looked around
and saw nothing, so I closed the door and locked it. I turned off the music as
I heard Logan pulling into the driveway. I got my purse, went to the door,
locked it behind me and hurried to meet him.

Logan jumped out to
open the truck door for me.

Who does that anymore,
I thought? It made me feel special. He was wearing a black shirt with the top
two buttons undone and black pants. I really had a thing for men in black. I
believed it was the ultimate sexy thing a man could wear. I smelled his Hugo as
I got in.

He got in the truck and
looked over at me and said, “You look incredibly beautiful, Isabella.”

“Thanks. And you look
very sexy, Logan,” I replied.

“Thanks,” he said.

“I forgot to ask where
we were going, so I hope this is okay,” I said.

“You are perfect,
Isabella, and you would be perfect in anything you wear,” Logan said.

“
Wow,
that
is so sweet. Where are we going?” I asked.

“Do you like Greek?” he
asked.

“I don’t know. I’ve
never had it,” I replied.

“That settles it, then.
You have to try Greek. I think you will like it. We’re going to Mykonos Café
and
Taverna
. It’s a Greek restaurant at the foothills
of the Sandia Mountain. It is very good,” Logan said.

“Great, I love to try
new things.”

The radio was playing
“Glad You Came” by The Wanted. I started singing the lyrics.

“That’s pretty good,
Isabella. Maybe you should be on American Idol,” Logan said.

“I don’t think so. I
can carry a tune, but a singer I am not,” I said.

“Well, I’m glad you
came anyway,” Logan said.

A short time later, we
arrived at Mykonos.

It didn’t look like all
that much from the parking lot, but as we started into the restaurant, it
seemed to be something very special. The whole place had royal blue colored
table cloths of real linen with a smaller white cloth on top of that. The light
fixtures suspended from the ceiling were blue. There were blue tiles on the bar
with lots of blue glass and crystal. They had candles galore. It looked like
the deep blue ocean. There was even a huge beech scene on the wall with rocks
on part of the bank and sand on the rest, with the ocean waves crashing the
rocks and a lighthouse in the distance. It was gorgeous and romantic. There was
a piano in one corner with someone playing beautiful, soft music. I guess you
shouldn’t always judge a book by its cover. The place was dreamy.

We were seated and the
waiter took our drink order.

Logan said, “Since
you’ve never had Greek before, then you must try the Greek combo platter. It
has some of everything and is really good.”

“Okay, you haven’t let
me down so far. I will have that.”

Logan ordered for both
of us and he got the same that he suggested for me. This was really a romantic
place.

This was way cool. I’d
gotten kissed today by Logan and now I was at a very romantic restaurant with
him. Could life get any better?

“I love this place.”

He flashed me his
million-dollar smile and said, “I’m glad. It’s one of my favorites.”

When our food arrived,
we feasted. I couldn’t remember what everything was called, but it was all very
tasty and looked gorgeous on the plate. The entire meal was divine. We enjoyed
the music being played on the piano. The flickering candlelight glowing through
the cut glass holder was captivating.

Having Logan sitting
across from me with his beckoning smile and dancing green eyes was even more
captivating.

My Aunt Carol came to
my mind and I thought about how wonderful she is. I wondered what insight she
held to think we were a perfect match. Was it some kind of sixth sense or ESP
or something? She was pretty cool if you asked me.

After sitting awhile
and listening to the music and eyeing each other, we got up to leave.

We got in the truck and
checked our phones. I texted back four people and finished with the phone.

When we pulled into the
driveway, Logan got out and followed me to the door.

He kissed my cheek,
then
said, “I had a really great time today. I had something
unexpected come up and need to do some business tomorrow. Can we pick up where
we left off the day after tomorrow around ten a.m.?

 “I’m fine with
that, because I have a few personal items to pick up and I’ll catch up with my
folks.”

“Great. Goodnight,
Isabella,” Logan called out.

“Goodnight, Logan,” I
said.

I set the house alarm
and I went into the living room to crank the stereo. I noticed the fireplace
was going. I froze in my tracks.

I yelled, “Hello? Hello?”
And got no answer.
I checked out the downstairs and I
saw nothing. I grabbed a huge painted rock on the end table and went upstairs
turning on the lights as I went. My heart raced as I climbed the stairs and
entered the master bedroom. I went in and checked everywhere, including the
closets and found nothing. I checked the other rooms and nothing. I went out on
the veranda off of the bedroom and looked around outside. I saw nothing.

I headed back
downstairs and turned off the fireplace, which went off with no problem. I
turned on the outside lights and looked out of all the different windows and I
saw nothing. I thought it was very weird. Could there have been something wrong
with the fireplace? I guess I could get that homeowners book and call whoever
was listed about the fireplace.

My nerves settled back
down. It was only ten p.m., so I decided to call my Aunt Carol and ask her
about it. Her time would be eight a.m. in Moscow.

Aunt Carol said, “Maybe
the switch is faulty since it’s brand new. Call the person listed in the
homeowner guide to get it checked. And if that doesn’t work, or if you need
help, get Logan because he can take care of anything.”

“Okay, thanks,” I
replied.

She then asked, “How
are you and Logan getting along?”

“We’re getting along
perfectly,” I said.

She squealed with joy.
“I knew it! I felt so good knowing he was looking out for you. I was very
comforted that you were in capable hands.”

“How did
you  know
? I asked.

 “Not only is he a
great person, he’s handsome, charming, attentive, and capable. I felt like
Logan is exactly who you needed,” she explained.

I told her he had been
so great taking me all over town and that I’ve been having such a great time.
She told me she was so glad.

I felt much better
after talking to my aunt.

I decided I was too
keyed up to sleep, so I turned on the TV and picked out a paid movie. I didn’t
think I could handle scary right then. I picked “
The Vow
” and watched
the movie with a tissue in hand and decided when it was over that I could
sleep.

I checked the doors
again, went up to the master bedroom, and got ready for bed. I set the music
volume low from the wall panel and climbed into bed and turned out the lights.

I woke up to what I
thought was somebody softly calling my name. I sat straight up in the bed and I
saw a light coming from the stairway like maybe the moon shining through the
window adjacent to the stairway. I got up and went out of the master bedroom
door and saw it was not. The light was coming from downstairs. I went back in
the bedroom with my heart beating out of my chest and looked for a weapon just
in case I needed it. I couldn’t find anything. I grabbed an umbrella from the
closet and crept down the stairs with my heart racing faster and faster and my
breath getting quicker. I got almost to the bottom and saw the front door was
opened. I freaked out inside and tiptoed back up the stairs.

I got in the bedroom,
locked the door and dialed 911. I was barely speaking because I was so scared,
and if someone was still down there, I didn’t want them to hear me. The 911
operator told me a car was very close to where I was and made me stay on the
phone until they got there. I went into the closet and shut the door and hid
somewhat behind a set of suitcases. The lady on the phone told me they needed
the gate code to get in. I whispered the code.

It did not take long
and I heard noises downstairs and my heart was about to explode.

Then I heard a voice
say, “Miss Reed? Miss Reed, this is the police.” The woman on the phone told me
the police were there and to go downstairs. I crawled out of the closet,
unlocked the door, and took off down the stairs. The lady on the phone asked if
I saw the police and I told her I did. She said we would hang up then. My heart
started to calm back down some.

The police officer
said, “Miss Reed, we’ve looked all through the house downstairs and I’ve got an
officer checking upstairs just to make sure.”

I then heard another
officer say, “All clear.”

“Perhaps you just
forgot and left your door ajar and the wind blew it open. We saw you left the
fireplace on as well.”

I assured the officers
I did neither of those things. They grinned and one said, “I am sure you don’t
remember. We all have a little drink and don’t remember things every now and
again.”

“What?” I asked. “I
don’t even drink.”

They grinned again and
the other officer said, “Just close your door all the way and lock it and I
don’t think you will have a problem. After all, this is a gated community with
very high walls. You can feel very safe. We have to go now.”

“Thank you very much,”
I told them, even though I knew what they said wasn’t true. The door had been
locked. The alarm was set and the fireplace was not on and neither was the
light.

I looked at the clock
and it was 5:10 a.m. Another hour and it would be light outside. I went for the
coffee pot to calm my nerves while I thought about all the scenarios it
could’ve been. I came up very short in my thoughts. The faulty fireplace does
not explain the light being on unless you had an electrical short in both, no
three things: the fireplace, the light and the alarm system.