Holly Grove Homecoming by Carolynn Carey Page B

window. Being careful not to disturb the curtain too much, she unlocked the window and eased it up a fraction.
    The noise was louder, reassuring Carly that it did, indeed, originate from somewhere outside.
    But what was it? At first she thought the thumping might be controlled by some sort of engine, considering how steady it was. But then the cadence changed, first slower, then faster, as though whatever was creating the sound had grown tired for a minute, then renewed its effort.
    The noise itself was not especially menacing, not in the way a growl or a scream or any manner of other sounds might have been. Still, there was something about it that sent chills dashing down Carly’s spine.
    Fear pumped adrenaline into her system, and her heart rate increased to the point that the pounding in her ears almost drowned out the thumping noise from outside.
    Had Trooper heard it too?
    Thankful that she’d turned on nightlights in the hallway before she’d gone to bed, Carly made her way to her office and eased across the room until she could look out the window toward the house across the street. Every window was dark. “Dammit,” she muttered.
    She’d hoped to see lights on in the bedroom that she suspected belonged to Trooper. Then she might have risked calling her neighbor’s house at four o’clock in the morning. But now she couldn’t. Not and risk waking Myrna over a noise that might have a perfectly logical explanation.
    But Carly couldn’t convince herself there was anything logical about that noise. She decided the only way she could make herself feel any better was to turn on as many lights as possible.
    That decided, she crossed the room to the light switch by the door leading in from the hallway, and flipped on the overhead lights. Next she slipped out into the hallway where the switches were located that controlled the floodlights on the four corners of her house. She turned those on before moving back to her bedroom and turning on the overhead lights there.
    Almost immediately, her phone rang. Her heart half jumped into her throat before she could grab the receiver off her portable phone base and look at caller ID. It was a cellular number. Praying it was Trooper, she pressed the Talk button.
    “Hello.” Her voice came out hoarse and weak, so she cleared her throat to try again. Trooper spoke before she could.
    “Carly? Are you all right?”
    “I’m fine except for feeling somewhat unnerved. Did that noise wake you?”
    “Yeah. Then I saw all of your lights coming on. Do you want me to come over?”
    “Do you mind?”
    “I’ll be there as soon as I can. Don’t open the door until you know it’s me.” He hung up before Carly could thank him.
    She quickly pulled on a pair of shorts and a tee shirt before going downstairs to turn on the porch light. She stood beside the front door, watching through the sidelight for Trooper to appear. She could no longer hear the thumping noise and wasn’t sure whether to feel better about that or not.
    Trooper arrived a couple of minutes later, striding up the walk with that long lope of his. He carried a large flashlight in his right hand, and the butt of a gun protruded from the waist of his jeans.
    Carly gulped. She hadn’t counted on him bringing his gun, and the thought that he felt he might need it unnerved her more than she liked to admit. She watched him step up on her porch and then waited until he stood just outside the door before she turned the deadbolt, pulled the door open, and unlocked the screen.
    “Come in.” She moved back to allow him to step inside. “The noise has stopped.”
    “I noticed.” He wore dark jeans and a black, cotton, long-sleeved shirt that buttoned down the front. None of the buttons were fastened and a black tee showed underneath the gaping front. His face was shadowed with the beginnings of a beard, and his dark hair was tousled as though he’d run his hand through it in place of using a comb. “Did the noise wake