by Alexa Verde
A latte color would do nicely.
Eventually.
After a brisk walk through the store, she eyed a large board in the wood aisle as she waited for a store employee.
“Would you like some help with that?” a familiar voice said behind her back.
She whirled around, wondering why her cheeks warmed at the sight of Sebastian Mora. She needed to be more alert. The next time, the person sneaking up on her could be Craig Marsden. Rachel suppressed a shiver.
Sebastian raised an eyebrow.
Oh.
He was waiting for her answer.
“I could use some help with this board.” Her pulse quickened as she watched him put the board into the cart, his muscles bulging under the strain. She wasn’t pinned up against the wall now, so she didn’t have an excuse for her shallow breathing.
“Thank you.” She sneaked past him. Better keep these meetings with her neighbor’s grandson short and simple.
But sure enough, Sebastian accompanied her to the counter. She was about to ask to have the board delivered when he suggested bringing it in his truck.
“Thank you.” She was beginning to sound like a broken record.
He followed her to her rental and brought the board inside.
“Thank you.” Yep, a broken record again. “I’ll take it from here.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, what are you going to do with it?” His gaze lingered on her.
Her skin heated up again.
“Cover the window in the guest room.” Rachel told herself he was just being friendly, like other people in this town, especially his grandma.
She wasn’t surprised when he offered his help. But she was surprised when he left after they were done boarding up the window. She even had a sting of disappointment, though there was no reason for it whatsoever.
She switched into professional mode and looked over the house again.
Far from ideal in the sense of security.
Oh, well.
This would have to do for now.
Of course, she should call a licensed alarm company and install alarms and motion-activated sensors outside. But she didn’t want to go under contract for a monitoring service. If she couldn’t neutralize the threat, she’d have to leave Rios Azules.
Rachel made a mental note to at least get and install motion sensors outside. She was grateful the house didn’t have an attached garage, so she didn’t have to worry about someone getting into the house through the garage door. Several of her clients had come to her after their homes had been broken into that way.
Rachel took a break to drink a cup of coffee with chocolate-chip cookies Mrs. Mora had given her the other day. As she munched on the cookies, she felt the urge to go check on her kind neighbor.
The coffee was strong enough to keep her alert after a sleepless night, and the cookies soft, chewy, and chocolatey. Rachel sighed with contentment when she finished the last one. Then she did a walk of the outside perimeter and shook her head at the fence that wasn’t high enough to deter anybody.
Her phone rang when Rachel was back in the house and in her office. She glanced at the screen and smiled.
Maya.
Rachel swiped the phone to answer the call. “Hi, Maya.”
“Hi, Rach.” Her friend didn’t sound cheerful. “I’m afraid I have some bad news.”
Uh-oh.
Rachel tensed. “Are you and January okay?” After all, Maya’s twin sister had the tendency to get herself in sticky situations.
“We’re fine. Sorry we can’t keep you company right now. But we’ll do our best to come to Rios Azules for Christmas.” Maya paused. “It’s about you.”
“Okay.” Rachel sat down in the armchair and braced herself.
“First, one of the people you asked me to check is out on parole. Craig Marsden. For six months already. He works as a store clerk now. But when I talked to the owner, the owner said Mr. Marsden took a week-long unpaid vacation. I talked to his roommate, and he hasn’t seen Mr. Marsden for the last three days.”
Rachel’s throat constricted. She filed that information away. She remembered Craig well, especially his violent streaks. The fact he’d been arrested due to her mishap when she’d been fourteen sent a shiver down her back. “Thanks, Maya.”
“There is something else. I don’t know if it’s connected to you or not. I can’t give you many details as this is an ongoing investigation, but some info was released to the press. So here it goes. Kevin Butler was murdered last night. Knife wound. Then his house was burglarized. He had a mistletoe in the living room, and though the murder didn’t occur in that room, the media already dubbed it Murder Under the Mistletoe. Does the victim’s name ring a bell?”
Rachel drew in a sharp breath. “He was one of my clients in Austin.” She had many clients, but she also had an excellent memory. “He was supposed to have a monitoring service. This should help to find the murderer.”
“Looks like he was forced to open the door and disable the alarm. There also seems to be a glitch in the monitoring service.”
Rachel’s rib cage constricted. She’d failed to do her job well, and now someone was dead because of it. She forced herself to think past the guilt that weighed heavily on her. Were Butler’s murder and the intruder’s visit to her house connected?
Or was it pure coincidence?
“On the bright side, tell me about your new neighbor.” Maya’s voice perked up.
Rachel shrugged. “I told you already. Mrs. Mora is very sweet and kind, and—”
“I meant Sebastian Mora,” Maya interrupted her. “That handsome, strong, intriguing man who made your breath quicken and—”
“He isn’t my neighbor. He’s the neighbor’s grandson.” It was Rachel’s turn to interrupt. Her neck warmed up. Had she told all this to her friend last night? Handsome, strong, intriguing? She must’ve been really rattled. “Speaking of Mrs. Mora, I should go check on her.” Rachel was also guided by the less noble motivation of finding out if the older woman recalled more details about the intruder.
“Good idea.” Maya sounded smug.
“Most likely, he won’t even be there. And the reason he made my breath quicken was because he pinned me against the wall, taking me for a burglar.”
“Uh-huh.” Maya made a noncommittal sound.
“I’m not going to Mrs. Mora’s in the hopes of seeing her grandson. I need to make sure she’s okay. And ask about the intruder. And talk to her about installing a security system.” Rachel’s pulse increased, probably from irritation.
“Uh-huh. But if Mr. Strong and Handsome happens to be there, it wouldn’t hurt you to smile a little, would it?” Then Maya’s voice grew serious. “I’ll keep my ear to the ground here. Maybe I can track down Marsden, who might be out for revenge, and find out who murdered Butler. The only connection to you is that you helped Butler with securing his house.”
“Little use it was to him.” Rachel swallowed miserably.
Maya sighed. “You’ve had how many thousands of clients? This is the first time someone broke into a house you helped to secure. Besides, you couldn’t help it if the perp forced Butler to cooperate. Listen, Rach, be careful. I’ll talk to my boss, and we’ll be in Rios Azules as soon as we can.”
“You and your boss?”
Maya laughed. “My husband and I. January, too, probably. Hang in there until then, okay?”
“Okay. I’d love for you to visit. But you don’t have to drop everything and rush to the rescue.” Rachel’s lips curved up a little.
It had taken her about fifteen minutes last night to talk Maya out of jumping into the car with her husband, Connor McNamara, and driving six hours to Rios Azules to make sure Rachel was okay. Eagerness to rush to the rescue was in Maya’s blood, one of the reasons she’d become a cop. And last year when January had disappeared, Maya had put her life on the line while pretending to be her supermodel twin.
“I know. Miss you, Rach.”
“Miss you
, too.”
Rachel fought a wave of wistfulness after disconnecting. Sometimes she forgot that Maya was happily married now. Rachel adored her friend too much to envy her, but the emptiness inside her grew bigger.
Her phone rang again, January this time.
They had a quick chat that for some reason mostly revolved around Sebastian Mora. Rachel sighed as she disconnected. Somehow she was sending the wrong message to her friends.
She wasn’t interested in Sebastian Mora.
Was she?
Time to get busy, anyway.
Watching her surroundings, Rachel made a trip to the supermarket. Minutes later, holding a store-bought pumpkin pie, she knocked on her neighbor’s door.
Who was the intruder?
And why was she targeted?
Her sweet neighbor was her last hope. Maybe she’d provide the tidbit Rachel needed to answer those questions.
When Mrs. Mora—no, Grandma—opened the door, Rachel was relieved to see that the woman looked rested and calm, despite the scary events of the last night. Grandma held a small sandy-colored dog.
“Hi, Rachel! Come on in. Guess what? Cuddles came back this morning.” Grandmother stepped aside to let Rachel in.
“That’s great.” Rachel entered. Maybe she should get a dog, too, who could at least alert her to a stranger.
After all, whoever had broken into her house last night could come back tonight.
Her stomach clenched.
Rachel’s entire childhood, she’d moved from one run-down place to another, often to skip town before her parents had to pay rent. Getting her a dog, no matter how many times she’d asked for one, hadn’t been on their list of priorities. But then, feeding her or Rachel’s older brother hadn’t been on the list of priorities, either…
Well, she could very well feed herself now.
“Would you like some tea?” Grandmother asked her usual question.
“Oh, yeah. I brought you a pumpkin pie.” From previous conversations, Rachel knew it was the older lady’s favorite.
“How sweet of you. Thank you.” Grandma put the dog down and led Rachel to the kitchen.
Rachel took a deep breath. The house smelled of tree needles, tea leaves, and lemon, a huge contrast to the musty or stinky scents of her childhood, be it from piles of old or sweaty clothes or trash or dirty dishes, or all of them combined.
Rachel placed the pie on the table and cut it into slices. It would’ve been wonderful to grow up in a house like this. Maybe then she’d have turned out differently than she had. But would her neighbor be as kind to her if she knew about Rachel’s history?
Would her grandson?
Rachel wasn’t sure why, but the answers to those questions mattered very much to her.
Grandma said grace.
Rachel bowed her head but kept quiet.
About an hour, three cups of tea, and two slices of pie later, Rachel still knew close to nothing about the intruder but enough information about several generations of Mora to draw a detailed genealogy tree.
Well, there was one Mora who’d stirred Rachel’s interest more than the others.
Far more than he should have…
CHAPTER FOUR
ALL EARS, RACHEL PUSHED HER empty cup and saucer aside when grandmother started talking about Sebastian.
Apparently, he’d received a black belt in high school. After graduating, he’d moved to Houston to take college business classes and then worked with a security company there. At the age of twenty-five, he’d met Tess and married her a year later. A month after the wedding, she’d been murdered at night in her own home while he’d been at work, in a burglary gone terribly wrong.
Sebastian had been so devastated that he’d left his job, had come back to his hometown, and tried to lose himself in a bottle. After a couple of months of drinking, he’d pulled himself together with the help of family and friends. He’d taken over a small martial arts school for kids and teenagers when its owner had retired.
Rachel’s heart went out to Sebastian.
She knew well how much it hurt to lose a loved one. At the same time, the sweet pie turned sour in her stomach. It was a wonder he hadn’t knocked her down when he’d discovered a thief at his grandmother’s place, considering what had happened to Tess. And though Rachel had been forced to steal when she’d been fourteen and led a different life now, she couldn’t change her past.
One more reason to stay away from the handsome Sebastian Mora.
The thought shouldn’t have upset her, but it did.
Oh, come on!
It wasn’t the right time or the place for a relationship, even if the gaping wound after losing Ryan had finally started to heal.
“My grandson takes me to church every Sunday. I raised my son a Christian and helped raise Sebastian a Christian, too. Do you go to church, dear?” Mrs. Mora studied Rachel over the brim of her teacup.
Rachel froze.
Nobody had taught her Christian values when she’d been a kid; that was for sure.
The first time she’d read the Bible had been in the center for troubled teens, the same time she’d decided to turn her life around. But after Ryan’s death, she’d had difficulty praying and going to church.
Until…
She’d found herself in church the day after moving to Rios Azules, and it had given her some sense of peace. She’d started reading the Bible again the same day. But were people like her worthy of redemption?
“I want to,” she said honestly.
A knock on the door made her tense.
“Grandma, it’s me!” Sebastian’s voice filtered through the door.
Rachel’s pulse increased when he walked inside, filling the space in the small house with his broad shoulders and a muscular frame. He smiled when he saw her, and the smile reached his blue eyes.
Drawn to the azure depths of his irises, Rachel found herself returning that smile.
Nope.
Not a good idea.
She leaped to her feet. “Hello, Sebastian. Thank you for the tea, Mrs. Mo— Grandma. But I’ve got to leave.” She tried to scoot past Sebastian.
He didn’t move aside.
“Thank you for the pie, dear. Please have another slice.” Grandma placed her palm on Rachel’s arm, as if trying to stop her.
“I already had two slices!” Rachel’s protest fell on deaf ears.
Maybe her neighbor enjoyed her company, and Rachel felt a warm wave of gratitude. She returned to the table.
Another knock on the door made Rachel look up.
Well, this place was busy.
“Oh, that’s Clark. Mr. Hill, I mean.” Grandma’s cheeks pinked.
An elderly gentleman walked in, leaning slightly on a cane.
“Good afternoon, darling. I mean, ma’am.” He smiled uncomfortably.
Huh.
Her elderly neighbor seemed to have an admirer. How about that? Rachel hid a smile.
“Everybody, this is Clark Hill. I met him at the supermarket several days ago. He helped me choose tomatoes. He came to Rios Azules for a weekend of fishing and decided to stay longer.” Mrs. Mora stood a little taller.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Hill,” Sebastian and Rachel said in unison.
“Nice to meet you, too.” He shook hands with Rachel, then with Sebastian, and turned to Mrs. Mora. “Ready, dear?”
Grandma gave him an affectionate smile. “Ready. Kids, don’t bother to lock up after you leave. It’s a friendly neighborhood.”
Yeah, right. It had been before Rachel moved here. But she wasn’t about to say that out loud.
Mr. Hill and Mrs. Mora left.
Sebastian and Rachel stared at each other.
He broke the silence first. “Great to see you again, Rachel. How are you?”
Sad, heartbroken, and a bit scared didn’t sound like a good answer.
So she said, “I’m doing great.” Eventually, she would be doing great. She’d built a good, honest life for herself. And the danger… t
he danger would pass, eventually.
Sebastian got a porcelain cup for himself and poured tea in hers. “I take it that Grandma told you everything about me. It would be only fair if you told me about yourself.” He took the seat closest to her.
She eyed her tea, wondering if she could fit it in her stomach after three cups having already landed there. Not to mention two slices of pie. She should’ve escaped while she had a chance. Usually, she was much better at escaping.
Okay, so Sebastian wanted her to tell him about herself.
She hesitated. Besides Ryan and her friends January and Maya, nobody knew much about Rachel Evans. Ryan, January, and Maya had accepted Rachel the way she was, but not all people were that forgiving.
Hmmm.
The thought of Ryan didn’t bring as much pain as usual.
Sebastian put a slice of pie on a saucer and pushed it in her direction. “You don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to.”
He must be concerned who his grandmother’s neighbor was. Frankly, he had reason to be.
Maybe she should skip town to avoid putting them in peril. But a desire to finally stay in one place entered her heart again. She started to like the small town with the squirrels running up the trees, birds singing in the mornings, people waving at her in stores, and the neighbor bringing her delicious chocolate chip cookies and soft pink slippers. The town smelled of freshly cut grass, barbecue, and sometimes of freshly baked pies and cookies.
She wanted to stick around, if she was given that chance.
Despite her attraction to Sebastian Mora or because of it, she wasn’t sure.
Rachel took a sip of her tea, welcoming its lemony taste, and gathered her thoughts.
“I was born in Austin, but we moved around a lot.” She swallowed a hard lump in her throat. “I had some… difficulties while growing up. And when I was a teenager, I…” She drew a deep breath. No, she couldn’t talk about it yet.
Sebastian didn’t utter a word. The gaze of his blue eyes unnerved her and drew her in at the same time.
