Forever Hers by Walters, Ednah (new ebook reader .TXT) 📗

wall to steady herself, her feet dragging on the floor. It was dark, but after three months, she knew the layout of the house and could move around blindfolded.

She reached the end of the hallway and froze. Two figures shrouded in darkness were visible through the floor-to-ceiling glass wall. They moved cautiously toward the door. Why the owners didn’t bother with draperies was beyond her. Then something else registered. The security lights weren’t on. They were supposed to turn on when someone stepped on the patio.

The sound of the dead bolt clicking as the burglars tried to open the locked door echoed through the silent room and Amy jumped. A rational part of her urged her to call the police and let them deal with this. The irrational part saw it as a cop out. The police had never been there for her when she needed them. No matter how scared she was, she had to take care of her family.

In the kitchen, she stayed low as she rounded the island, until she reached the light switches and flipped one up. Nothing happened. She tried the second switch and light bathed the side of the house. The beam of light didn’t reach the patio, but the two would-be burglars took off, their footsteps headed toward the front side of the house. Amy waited until the sounds disappeared, then she surged against the kitchen floor, her body shaking.

That was close. “At least the bastards know the house is occupied. Hopefully, they won’t come back.”

Hearing her voice made her feel better, but it wasn’t enough. She needed to connect with someone. Sighing, Amy reached for the phone and dialed Lauren’s number.

Lauren Holliday was her sorority sister and the woman responsible for Amy’s long drive across the country to Idaho. To safety. To freedom. Lauren owned Waterfront Resort Rentals, a company that managed summer and winter homes around Lake Pend Oreille and Schweitzer Mountain. Without Lauren, Amy would not be housesitting one of the homes now.

The phone was picked up after two rings. “Amy?”

“Did I wake you up?”

“At eleven? Nah. I’m still catching up on paperwork. Is everything okay?”

“Two guys were outside the house tonight,” Amy said, walking to the fridge for bottled water. Her mouth was dry. Fear often did that to her.

“Are you okay?” The concern in Lauren’s voice was genuine and Amy smiled.

“I’m fine. I have the Glock.”

“Told you it would come in handy someday.” The gun-loving Idahoan chuckled with glee. She had loaned the Glock to Amy and showed her how to use it. “Are you going to call the police?”

“What for?” Amy twisted the lid off the bottled water and took a swig. “I didn’t see their faces. They did something to the patio light bulbs. Probably smashed them.”

“You know, not all cops are like him.” Lauren’s voice softened and dropped an octave.

Amy chugged the water again and grimaced. Lauren knew most of the sordid details of Amy’s marriage. “I know.”

“Do you want me to come over?”

“No, I’m fine. I just wanted you to know in case they came back and someone got hurt,” Amy said, hoping she sounded confident. She must have because Lauren laughed again.

“That’s the Amy I knew in college. We should go out and celebrate your first vigilante showdown. My mom can keep an eye on Raelynn for the evening. We can hit the spa or catch a movie.”

The thought of leaving her four-year-old daughter with anyone filled Amy with dread. She wasn’t ready to trust anyone with her most precious possession. “I’ll think about it. Goodnight.”

“You’re hedging. Every time I suggest going out, you shut me down. It’s been a year since your divorce, Amy.”

Amy bristled at the subtle criticism. “So?”

“So there are men out here who would love to have a date with you. Nice men. Gentlemen. That super brilliant little girl of yours will need a daddy someday.”

“Whoa, Ms. Speedy. I’m not looking for a husband and Raelynn doesn’t need a father. The two of us are doing just fine. Oh, I think I heard her calling. Gotta go. Goodnight.”

“Chicken.”

Amy hung up before guilt set it. Lauren’s heart was in the right place and Amy owed her, but she could be pushy. Amy refused to be bullied into going out or rushing into anything.

She finished the water, put the bottle in the recycle bin under the sink and headed back to her bedroom. On her way, she checked the lights at the front of the house. The security lights turned on as soon as she opened the front door. At least they hadn’t smashed them too.

Amy tiptoed across the bedroom and opened the door to the adjoining room, where her daughter slept peacefully, thank goodness. The first month after they moved in, Raelynn had nightmares and woke up screaming. It reached a point when Amy just slept with her. But the past month, Raelynn had started sleeping through the night and in her own bed.

Amy slid under the covers and released a shaky breath. Times like this reminded her of things she’d rather forget, past mistakes she now regretted. She missed her life before Nolan, before she’d bought into his heroic persona. Amazing what a woman was willing to see when she was pregnant, alone and scared.

Tears filled her eyes. Because of Nolan, she had completely severed ties with everyone in Virginia, including her parents. Not that there was any chance of her and her parents seeing eye-to-eye about anything. They had disowned her the day she’d decided to divorce Nolan. They hadn’t believed that he was an insecure, controlling psychopath who felt he had to compete with Raelynn for Amy’s love. Even when she’d shown them the bruises around their granddaughter’s wrists, they hadn’t believed her. Nolan had already convinced them and his cop buddies that it was Amy hurting Raelynn. As if she could hurt a child, let alone her own. It still hurt that her parents had believed him not her.

Amy turned and punched the pillows again, but