If she wasn’t shaken before, having Jesse McCutcheon in her home did the trick.
It was all too easy to imagine him there all the time.
While he prowled around the house, she sorted through over a week’s worth of mail, checked her messages, most of which were from her mother who she’d already called on her way home from Wisconsin, and went to the French doors leading onto the back deck.
The new bowl was there, untouched this time, but the water was frozen and there was still the same amount of food as when she’d left.
She hadn’t particularly wanted a cat, but she’d become accustomed to the morning feeding ritual, and last summer when she did grab a few minutes to sit out on the back deck, he’d been a nice companion.
How come she’d never realized she was a little lonely? It seemed impossible, since she was around people all day long, but it was true.
Her life lacked something. Artemis had at least shared in a small way her private side, the personal space separate from her busy professional one.
Maybe Jesse was right and the cat wandered off in the same way 84
Kate Watterson
he wandered in. If the bowl hadn’t been destroyed, she would be more hopeful. It felt like a message.
“Looks all quiet.” Jesse came up behind her and touched her shoulder, then feathered his fingers down her arm. Through the material of her sweater the gesture felt reassuring. “If someone’s been in here, I can’t tell it.”
“Thanks for looking.” She stood there, staring out at the tufts of brown grass peeking through the light covering of snow.
“What do you say we order a pizza or get some Chinese and watch a movie? Just relax. We had a pretty long drive and tomorrow you said you want to be at the office by seven o’clock.”
Finally she turned, and was pretty sure her smile was on the wan side. “Sounds good to me.”
* * * *
Jesse pushed the button on the remote and the television went silent. Next to him Kerin was half-asleep, one arm curled around his waist, her silky hair spilled over his chest. She said, “Hmm…”
He loved it when her voice took on that throaty tone. He skimmed his fingertips down her spine, the bare skin like satin. “You’re tired.
Go to sleep.”
“I like you in my bed.”
The words were said very low, and he knew why. Even though she’d made him check every inch of the room, he knew she didn’t trust no one was listening in. Making love tonight didn’t seem to be an option, besides, he knew she was exhausted.
He bent and put his mouth to her ear. “I like being here.”
“I think we’re both crazy.”
It wasn’t as if he could argue the point. “In a good way, right?”
Her lashes drifted down a little more. He predicted she’d be out in seconds.
When her breathing was soft and regular, Jesse eased away from Blindsided 85
her enticing warmth, cursed his unruly erection, and pulled on his jeans. He grabbed a sweatshirt, tugged it over his head, and picked up the case holding his laptop.
He went quietly downstairs, the house silent as a ghost around him. Other than slamming his shin into an ottoman in the living room, he managed to navigate the unfamiliar surroundings pretty well, flicking the light on in the kitchen and settling into the breakfast nook.
She had wireless internet service and he took advantage of it, powering up his computer.
The next hour was spent building a file that included the names of her colleagues and whatever information he could find on them. It might be futile to look to a group of doctors as likely suspects in the type of activity Kerin had described, but then again she spent most of her time involved in some kind of contact with them and it seemed like a good place to start. Then he did a swift run through of his e-mails, sent a detailed message to his secretary about his change in location and the possibility of needing some extra time away, and then he logged off.
A glance at the glowing numbers on the sleek stove showed
It was all too easy to imagine him there all the time.
While he prowled around the house, she sorted through over a week’s worth of mail, checked her messages, most of which were from her mother who she’d already called on her way home from Wisconsin, and went to the French doors leading onto the back deck.
The new bowl was there, untouched this time, but the water was frozen and there was still the same amount of food as when she’d left.
She hadn’t particularly wanted a cat, but she’d become accustomed to the morning feeding ritual, and last summer when she did grab a few minutes to sit out on the back deck, he’d been a nice companion.
How come she’d never realized she was a little lonely? It seemed impossible, since she was around people all day long, but it was true.
Her life lacked something. Artemis had at least shared in a small way her private side, the personal space separate from her busy professional one.
Maybe Jesse was right and the cat wandered off in the same way 84
Kate Watterson
he wandered in. If the bowl hadn’t been destroyed, she would be more hopeful. It felt like a message.
“Looks all quiet.” Jesse came up behind her and touched her shoulder, then feathered his fingers down her arm. Through the material of her sweater the gesture felt reassuring. “If someone’s been in here, I can’t tell it.”
“Thanks for looking.” She stood there, staring out at the tufts of brown grass peeking through the light covering of snow.
“What do you say we order a pizza or get some Chinese and watch a movie? Just relax. We had a pretty long drive and tomorrow you said you want to be at the office by seven o’clock.”
Finally she turned, and was pretty sure her smile was on the wan side. “Sounds good to me.”
* * * *
Jesse pushed the button on the remote and the television went silent. Next to him Kerin was half-asleep, one arm curled around his waist, her silky hair spilled over his chest. She said, “Hmm…”
He loved it when her voice took on that throaty tone. He skimmed his fingertips down her spine, the bare skin like satin. “You’re tired.
Go to sleep.”
“I like you in my bed.”
The words were said very low, and he knew why. Even though she’d made him check every inch of the room, he knew she didn’t trust no one was listening in. Making love tonight didn’t seem to be an option, besides, he knew she was exhausted.
He bent and put his mouth to her ear. “I like being here.”
“I think we’re both crazy.”
It wasn’t as if he could argue the point. “In a good way, right?”
Her lashes drifted down a little more. He predicted she’d be out in seconds.
When her breathing was soft and regular, Jesse eased away from Blindsided 85
her enticing warmth, cursed his unruly erection, and pulled on his jeans. He grabbed a sweatshirt, tugged it over his head, and picked up the case holding his laptop.
He went quietly downstairs, the house silent as a ghost around him. Other than slamming his shin into an ottoman in the living room, he managed to navigate the unfamiliar surroundings pretty well, flicking the light on in the kitchen and settling into the breakfast nook.
She had wireless internet service and he took advantage of it, powering up his computer.
The next hour was spent building a file that included the names of her colleagues and whatever information he could find on them. It might be futile to look to a group of doctors as likely suspects in the type of activity Kerin had described, but then again she spent most of her time involved in some kind of contact with them and it seemed like a good place to start. Then he did a swift run through of his e-mails, sent a detailed message to his secretary about his change in location and the possibility of needing some extra time away, and then he logged off.
A glance at the glowing numbers on the sleek stove showed
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