No Way Out by Fern Michaels (great books for teens .TXT) 📗

“That’s quite all right, Jackson. I’ll buzz you in.”

“That’s OK, Miss Bowman. My mom might be worried if she can’t see me.”

“She knows you’re out this early?” Ellie was wondering if Colleen was aware that Jackson was out of the house.

“Yeah. I told her I wanted to see if Buddy was up. I missed seeing him yesterday.”

“Well, he missed you, too. Do you want me to call your mom and see if it’s OK for you to come into the yard?”

“That would be swell,” Jackson replied.

“OK. You hang on a minute.” Ellie took the steps two at a time and retrieved the phone she had designated for Colleen.

A startled Colleen answered. “Hello?”

“Hi, Colleen. Sorry for calling so early, but Jackson is here, and I wanted to know if it was all right to let him into the yard.”

“I hope he didn’t disturb you,” Colleen said.

“Not at all. I was up already.”

“Well, if you don’t mind, that would be super. Jackson had a good day with his father, but then he had a bad night and woke up with nightmares.”

“I can relate to that,” Ellie said casually. She felt at ease speaking to this woman. “I’ll buzz him in. You can call me when you want me to send him home.” Ellie remembered telling Colleen about the time frame of the phone number.

“Is that same number good?” Colleen asked.

“Yes, for another day.” Ellie had to come up with some other plan for communication with Colleen. Changing phones every five days for Colleen and Jackson seemed a bit extreme. Not that “extreme” wasn’t a part of her norm.

“Thanks very much. You can send him home anytime. Talk to you later.”

“OK.” Ellie signed off. She would actually like to talk to Colleen later.

Ellie spoke to Jackson again over the intercom. “Go to the side gate, and I’ll let you in. Your mom said it was OK. She’ll call me if she needs you to come home.”

Jackson gave the thumbs-up to the speaker and shrugged. He had no idea if she could see him or not. But she could. He was a bit too young to be scoping the area for surveillance cameras. He trotted to the driveway, where a small Mini Cooper sat. No one had ever seen anyone drive it. He wondered if it even worked. But Ellie had Hector start the engine once a week just to keep it running. She didn’t know if she would ever need it to run, and if she had to run, could she?

Ellie buzzed Jackson into the yard and began tossing the ball to Buddy. She watched from inside the kitchen. She and Jackson had a lot in common. They both suffered from nightmares, and both of them didn’t mind spending hours with a dog.

Ellie spent the rest of the morning working with a few customers when she realized it was getting close to noon. She looked out the window again. Jackson was sound asleep on the swinging bench in the garden, and Buddy was lying under it. It was a sweet scene. Ellie wondered if she should disturb them when her phone rang. The only person it could be was Colleen.

“Hey,” Ellie answered.

“Hey,” Colleen replied. “I hope Jackson hasn’t been a pest. He’s been there for hours.”

“He’s fine. In fact, he’s curled up on the bench, taking a nap. Buddy is lying under it, keeping guard.” Ellie chuckled.

“Oh, good. I was worried he was overstaying his welcome.”

“Not at all. Do you want me to send him home for lunch?” Ellie wished she could offer the kid a sandwich, but she knew she couldn’t.

“Good idea. Besides, he shouldn’t be sleeping in your yard.” Colleen stifled a laugh.

Then Ellie realized that Jackson wasn’t within earshot of the back-porch intercom or the one at the gate. “I just thought of something.” Ellie hesitated. “He won’t be able to hear me from the bench. It’s set back in a garden area.”

“I can come and get him,” Colleen said, as if everything about the situation was normal.

“Great. You can come through the front gate and walk around to the back.” She didn’t tell Colleen that opening the front gate sent a chime signal to the security panel.

“What about Buddy?” Colleen asked. “Will he be all right with me sneaking up on them?”

Ellie thought about it. Maybe it was better if Colleen came to the side gate. That’s where Hector and Jackson entered and exited. Ellie had no experience with anyone walking through the front gate and walking around the yard. Better not take any chances. “I have a better idea. Come around to the side gate and ring the bell. I’ll buzz you in.”

“Thanks. I’ll be over in a couple of minutes.” Colleen was excited to have so much interaction with the mysterious woman at the end of the block. Besides, she was curious about the landscaping. If it was as nice as the front, it might be pretty special.

Ellie heard the bell from the gate and buzzed Colleen in. She spoke into the intercom. “Just push the button when you’re ready to leave. Jackson knows the drill.”

Colleen gave the thumbs-up to anyone who might be watching.

Must run in the family. Ellie laughed to herself.

When Birchwood Lane and the surrounding area was first being developed, the local council decided to make sure it didn’t become a suburban cluster of cookie-cutter homes with little room in between. Each house had to be on an acre, allowing families to plant vegetable gardens and have room to raise children. It was a quiet neighborhood, with large trees lining the street. When Hector had sent Ellie the photos of the cottage, she knew it would be perfect for her needs at the time, and for as long as necessary. The rear of the property had some trees, but Hector assured her that he would make it as private and as serene as possible.

As Colleen entered through the gate, she was in awe of