Matt rubbed his eyes and shook his head. “Can’t you see we’re in over our heads here? Why is it so important to help this guy out anyway? It’s not like you were friends or anything. Is it really worth it? I mean, look at the house.”
“I am helping Scott because I can,” I said. “Because he needs it. The house is fine. No one died because of a little mess.”
He shook his head. “There’s more to it than that. Don’t you think I’ve seen the way he looks at you?”
I flinched. I didn’t think anyone else had noticed. I looked at the floor and turned away from him, facing the sink.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Matt scoffed, then left the kitchen, mumbling, “Sure, you do.”
Chapter 21
Lily grabbed her water bottle and drank from it, still while running on the treadmill. Cocoa Beach Health and Fitness, where she worked out on Saturdays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, was packed as usual.
Lily wiped her forehead with a towel, then stopped running and moved on to the bike, where she worked another fifteen minutes until she moved on to lifting weights. She looked at herself in the mirrors when she spotted someone behind her and dropped the weight.
It was him again—the guy from the café.
Their eyes met in the mirror, and she could tell that he blushed. Why was he looking at her that way? It made her feel uncomfortable. Lily gave him a strange look, one to make him back off, then returned to her weightlifting.
Maybe she was just being paranoid. After all, the guy was allowed to work out in the same place as her. Everyone from Cocoa Beach worked out here when they didn’t run on the beach or surf.
She just didn’t care much for the way he stared at her. There was something creepy about that look in his eyes. Maybe it was just the fact that he constantly stared at her that made her freak out.
He might just think you’re hot.
Lily continued her lifting while keeping an eye on him in the mirror. She saw him stop working out, then grab his stuff and leave. Relieved at this, she finished her session, but as she left and walked outside to the parking lot, she saw him sitting in his car. The motor was running, but he wasn’t moving. He was just sitting there, still staring at her. It made her shiver, and she rushed to her own car and got in. She took off, speeding and hurrying through an intersection just as the light turned red. Still speeding and with her heart racing, she looked in the rearview mirror and noticed his car had stopped at the light.
He wouldn’t be able to follow her anymore.
She took a deep breath, thinking she had escaped him. Yet she couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling, and as soon as she got home, she called her boyfriend, Peter.
“Can you come over? I don’t want to be alone tonight.”
They hadn’t been doing so well lately, and if she was honest, she had been avoiding his calls. But now, she needed him.
“Be right there.”
She stood by the window, looking out through the thin see-through curtains, jumping at every car that drove by. Peter arrived fifteen minutes later, and she threw herself into his arms. He lifted her and carried her to the couch. As he helped her get her shirt off, she glanced briefly at the window and then screamed.
“What?” Peter said, jumping up.
She held her shirt up in front of her breasts, then pointed. “There was someone out there. He was looking in at us. He was watching us.”
Peter rushed to the window and pulled the thin curtain aside.
“I don’t see anyone.”
“But he was there,” she said, her voice shaking. “I swear, Peter. I am not making this up. There was someone out there, watching us having sex.”
Chapter 22
I swung my minivan around in the cul-de-sac and parked in the driveway. I sat for a few seconds, staring at the mansion in front of me, taking a few deep breaths to prepare. I had gotten myself quite worked up on my way there, thinking of all the things I wanted—no needed—to say. I had been up most of the night, thinking about it, and made the decision this morning.
I walked to the back, got Owen out in his car seat, and carried him up toward the front door with the frosted glass and beautifully carved-in palm trees. I stared at the doorbell for a few seconds, gathering my courage, then pressed it. Shortly after, the door swung open, and Kim’s face appeared.
I lifted Owen, who was still sleeping in his car seat.
“Kim. Meet your grandson, Owen. Owen, this is your grandmother.”
Kim stared at me with huge eyes. She didn’t even look down at the baby, and then she tried to close the door on me. I placed my hand on it and pushed it back open, then stepped inside the big hall.
“Eva Rae Thomas,” she said. “You can’t just…you can’t just…”
Finally, her eyes landed on the child, and something seemed to happen. She couldn’t lift her eyes to look at me and just stood there, nostrils flaring.
“He’s your grandson, for crying out loud,” I said. “Amy has run away, and we can’t find her. I can’t take care of him forever. I have an infant of my own, remember?”
Kim looked at Owen, and it was obvious she was struggling. She closed her eyes and shook her head.
“No. We can’t.”
“Why on earth not? Give me one good reason. You have a big house. You don’t even work.”
Kim shook her head. “I’m sorry, but…”
“Okay, so you’re angry with Amy, but why take it out on the baby? He needs you. He needs a family right now. If Amy never comes back, then…”
“No,” Kim said, holding a hand to her chest. She was biting back her tears. “I am sorry. We can’t. Phil is going to…” she paused, breathed, then said, “I need you to leave now.”
“Come on, Kim, how can you be so…?”
She pointed a finger at me, her lips quivering as she spoke. “You don’t know anything about me. Now leave, please.”
I exhaled. I had really hoped to convince her to take care of her grandson and appeal to her better side. Now, it just seemed like she didn’t have one.
“Okay, can you at least tell me who the father is? Maybe he can take care of Owen.”
Her eyes grew dark. “We don’t know who he is. Amy wouldn’t tell us. Now, please, leave.”
I looked into her eyes, scrutinizing them, trying to find some sense to what she was saying and doing. I couldn’t for the life of me understand her motives. The kid was the cutest thing in the world, and he was all she had left of her daughter right now. Why wouldn’t she want him?
“Kim, come on, can’t we at least…?”
She shook her head. “Please, leave before I call the police.”
I looked down at Owen, feeling sorry for him. By the time the door closed behind me, and I walked down the driveway, he was wailing loudly.
I couldn’t blame him. I was beginning to wonder when it was my turn to scream.
Chapter 23
THEN:
“Guess what I did over the weekend?”
Jeff’s eyes gleamed as he looked at Lynn. She felt her heart drop. He was so happy at this moment, but it wouldn’t last long. She had something to say to him that wouldn’t be pleasant for either of them. But it had to be done.