Valley of Shadows and Stranger in the Shadows: Valley of ShadowsStranger in the Shadows

by Shirlee McCoy

  “That’s too bad. I haven’t been able to find anyone as good as you.”

  “Or as reasonably priced?”

  “That, too.” There was a smile in his voice and Chloe felt some of the tension of the day easing.

  “Keep looking. Eventually you will.”

  “If you’d agree to do a few simple jobs for me, I wouldn’t have to go to all that effort.”

  “Few and simple? I doubt it.”

  James chuckled. “True. So, if you didn’t call to tell me you were going back to work, what did you call about?”

  “I have a favor to ask.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “Do you still have Adam’s work laptop?”

  “In my office. It hasn’t been used since…he passed away.”

  “Do you mind if I take a look at it?”

  “Take a look at it as in dig inside and see what you find?”

  “Yes.”

  “Should I ask why?”

  “It’s complicated.”

  “I don’t like the sound of that. Is everything okay?”

  “It’ll be better after I get the laptop.” She hoped.

  “I’ll have Jordyn send it to you first thing tomorrow morning. Do we have your new address on file?”

  “I gave it to Jordyn before I left.”

  “Then you can expect to get the laptop by the end of the week. And I’ll be expecting to hear just exactly what you were searching for once you find it.”

  “It’s a deal, James. Thanks a lot.” She hesitated, not wanting to ask the next question no matter how much she knew it needed asking. “Listen, there’s one more thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I’ve been wondering about the months before the accident. Adam didn’t seem like himself in the weeks before it happened.”

  “You two had broken up. It was a pretty rough time for him.”

  “You know why we broke up, right?” She hadn’t told him, but she was sure Adam had.

  He was silent for a moment, then spoke quietly, his voice more subdued. “Yes. I was surprised and disappointed when Adam told me he was the cause. You two were the perfect match. I told him I couldn’t understand why he’d mess that up.”

  Chloe ignored the last comment, not wanting to discuss her own disappointments, her own sense of failure. “You said you were surprised. You didn’t know he was seeing someone?”

  “Not until after the breakup. Even then he probably wouldn’t have told me. If…”

  “What?”

  “I was being a little hard on you. I thought you’d just decided to call things off. He didn’t want you taking the rap, so he told me what’d happened.”

  “Did he tell you who the other woman was?”

  “No.”

  “Would you tell me if he had?”

  “Chloe, Adam is gone. I don’t have to keep his secrets anymore.” The sadness in his voice was unmistakable and Chloe could feel her own grief welling up.

  “Do you think there’s anyone who does know?”

  “You know how he was. A different lunch da—companion every day. Too many friends to count. He had more on his social calendar for a week than I usually have all month, but I doubt there was anyone who knew him better than we did. If neither us knew who she was. No one did.” He sighed.

  “You’re right, but if you think of anything—or anyone—”

  “I’ll let you know.” He sighed. “I’ve got to get going. My wife is waiting for me to take her to dinner. Jordyn will send you the laptop. Let me know if you need anything else. And if you decide to go back to freelancing, I want to be the first client on your list.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “He really did love you, Chloe. You know that don’t you?”

  “No.” She swallowed back sadness and regret. “I don’t, but thanks for saying it. I’ll be in touch.”

  She hung up the phone before he could say more, unwilling to discuss what she mostly refused to even think about. Maybe he was right, maybe Adam had loved her in his own way. But in the end that hadn’t been enough for either of them.

  Chloe forced her sadness away, forced herself to brew a pot of coffee, to feed the puppies, to get her mind off the past and into the present. Ben would be back soon. They’d put new locks and bolts on the doors, but Chloe wasn’t foolish enough to think that would keep her safe. Only one thing could do that—finding the person stalking her. In a couple days, she’d have both of Adam’s computers. If there was information on them, some hint about what had been going on in the months before his death, she’d find it.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Monday morning came too early, the alarm sounding an insistent beep that pulled Chloe from restless sleep and into the new day. She groaned and yanked the covers over her head, wishing she could ignore the sound and go back to sleep.

  Unfortunately, even if she’d been willing to face Opal’s wrath—which she wasn’t—she couldn’t ignore Abel’s muffled cries. Obviously he was as ready to be out of his bed as Chloe was to stay in hers.

  “I’m coming.”

  She felt sluggish and off balance as she stumbled to the shower wishing she’d gotten into bed at a much earlier hour. Especially since she’d done absolutely nothing constructive during the hours she’d been awake. After she and Ben put bolts on the front and balcony doors, he’d left for home, rushing to get ready for the evening service. A service Chloe might have attended if she hadn’t been worried about what might happen in her apartment during her absence.

  And if she hadn’t wanted to put some distance between herself and Ben.

  Working together in the apartment had felt comfortable, their movements in sync, their conversations easy; Chloe had found herself thinking about spending time with him next week, next month, next year. That worried her almost as much as the kiss.

  So, instead of enjoying fellowship and fun, she’d locked herself in the apartment and spent most of the night pacing the floor, checking the locks, listening for footfalls on the stairs, imagining the doorknob slowly turning.

  “Good choice, Chloe.” She scowled at her reflection in the mirror as she scraped still-wet hair into a ponytail. Her skin was pallid, the freckles on her nose and cheeks standing out in stark relief, the hollows under her cheeks shadowed. The day had barely begun and she was already tired and out of sorts. The worst part was, she’d left the container of brownies at Ben’s house the previous day and couldn’t find a drop of chocolate in the house.

  “Opal better have some at the shop, Abel, or I’m going to leave you with her and go hunt some down.” She lifted the puppy, attached his leash and started toward the front door.

  As tired as she felt, she was glad to be going to work. At least when she was at Blooming Baskets she wouldn’t be alone. Opal would be there, customers would drop by, Jenna would probably stop in for a few hours with the baby. There’d be plenty to keep Chloe’s mind off her nightmares.

  And off Ben.

  And the kiss.

  And the way her heart melted when she looked into his eyes.

  “Stop it! He’s a man. Just like any other man you know.”

  Liar.

  Maybe. But she wasn’t going to admit it. Nor would she spend any more time thinking about a man who seemed too good to be true and probably was.

  “Too good to be true is always bad news, right, pup?”

  Abel barked his agreement and Chloe stepped out of the apartment and started down the stairs. The house was quiet. The retired couple across the hall were probably still asleep, but downstairs soft music drifted from beneath the door that led to Connor’s apartment. For a split second, Chloe considered knocking on his door and asking for an
escort to her car, but she had mace in her pocket, a panic button on her key chain. An escort seemed like overkill, though it definitely would have gone a long way in making her want to walk out the door.

  Outside, clouds boiled up from the horizon, the steel gray of the sky doing nothing to lift Chloe’s mood. The silvery sheen of the lake, the gray-brown bark of the trees, the fall-brown grass, sapped the world of color and life, creating a place of silence. Of death.

  “Forget going to Blooming Baskets and hoping for chocolate. I’m going to make sure I get some.” She muttered the words as she put Abel in the back seat of the car and slammed the door shut.

  Twenty minutes later, she strode into Blooming Baskets, a paper bag in one hand, Abel’s leash and a drink carrier in the other. Coffee for Opal. Hot chocolate for herself.

  Opal stepped out of the back room, a small white basket in her hands and a scowl on her face. “It’s about time you got here. I was worried sick wondering what had happened to you.”

  “I’m not due in for five minutes.”

  “Chloe Davidson, every day for the past two weeks, you’ve been here at 7:45. It is now 7:55. You’ve aged me ten years for every minute. Do you realize how many years that makes me?”

  “A hundred and sixty-four?” Chloe tried not to laugh as she set the bag on the front counter.

  “Exactly.”

  “Sorry. I didn’t realize you’d be worried.”

  “Didn’t you? Just wait. One day you’ll have kids. Then you’ll know what it is to wait for someone to call and let you know they’re okay.”

  “I don’t think kids are in my future, Opal.”

  “You’d make a great mother.”

  “That won’t be an issue since I’m not planning on getting married.” She passed Opal the cup of coffee, telling herself that what she was saying was absolutely the truth. She was not interested in men. And she was not interested in Ben.

  “You brought me coffee?”

  “Consider it a peace offering. I really am sorry I worried you, but every once in a while a girl’s just got to have chocolate.”

  “Is that what you’ve got in the bag?”

  “Yep. Two chocolate cake doughnuts. Each.”

  “Are they glazed?”

  “Are there any other kind?”

  “Not in my mind.” Opal smiled, pulled a doughnut out of the bag and handed it to Chloe.

  “Eat. You’re looking pale again.”

  “I didn’t sleep well last night.”

  “Probably the puppy keeping you awake.”

  “Probably. What’s on the schedule for today?”

  “Plenty. Four baskets for the missionary luncheon at Grace Christian. Prep for the Costello wedding shower this Saturday. Two arrangements for the hospital. One that needs to be delivered to a retirement village outside of town. Two to private residents.”

  “Are you delivering or am I?”

  “I am. It’ll take me less time.”

  “Because you’re a lead foot.”

  “Because I know where I’m going. Besides, you do look exhausted. It’s probably for the best that you not spend the day driving around. And I think we’ll skip tonight, too. I can’t drag you out shopping when you’re so exhausted.”

  “You weren’t going to be dragging me, Opal. I was happy to go with you.”

  “Be that as it may, you’re not going to go. Betsy Reynolds has decided to go to Richmond, too. She called me last night and was begging me to go shopping with her. I’ll just call and tell her I can do it after all.”

  “So I’m being replaced,” Chloe teased, biting into the rich chocolate doughnut, happy to be out of the apartment and away from her worries for a while. She had made plenty of mistakes in her life, but coming to Lakeview wasn’t one of them. Maybe she hadn’t quite gotten the hang of floral design, but at least she had some measure of stability in her life again. She also had Opal and that was worth its weight in gold.

  “Not yet, but if you keep talking instead of working, I just might have to.” Opal’s amused words were enough to get Chloe moving, and she lifted Abel and brought him to the back room.

  It didn’t take long to ease into the flow of the day. By noon, Opal was out in the van making her deliveries and Chloe was cleaning up petals and stems from the work area in the back of the shop. She tried to work quickly, but the sluggish feeling she’d woken with hadn’t left despite hot chocolate, two cups of coffee and a sugar-laden doughnut.

  Doughnuts. She’d managed to eat both of hers.

  The bell over the front door rang and she stepped out into the front of the shop, pasting a smile on her face and hoping she looked more lively than she felt.

  “Hi, can I help…?” The question died on her lips as she caught sight of Ben, his jaw shadowed by a beard, his eyes blazing brilliant blue, a smile curving his lips. Dark jeans. A soft flannel shirt layered over a black T-shirt that hugged well-defined muscles. He looked good, really good.

  Chloe resisted the urge to smooth the strands of hair that had fallen from her ponytail and were straggling around her face. “Ben, what are you doing here?”

  “I was driving by and thought I’d stop in to see how you were doing.”

  “Driving by?”

  “Driving by on my way here to see how you’re doing.”

  Laughter bubbled up and spilled out, filling the room and chasing away the anxiety that had plagued Chloe all morning. “Thanks.”

  “For what?” He stepped closer, reaching for her hand and tugging her out from behind the display case, his gaze taking in her black pants and pink shirt, her scraggly hair and makeup-free face.

  “For stopping in to see how I was doing. And for making me laugh.”

  “You’re welcome.” He did what she hadn’t, reaching out and smoothing strands of hair from her cheeks, his fingers blazing trails of warmth that made her heart race.

  She stepped back, her face heating, her mind shouting that if she didn’t watch it she’d be in big trouble. That she was already in big trouble.

  “So how are you doing?”

  “I’m doing great.”

  “Liar.”

  “I’m doing okay.”

  “Try again.”

  “I feel lousy. Happy now?”

  “Not even close.” He ran a hand over his jaw. “I won’t be happy until we find the person who’s after you.”

  “If we find the person.” Before he finishes what he started.

  She didn’t say the rest, but it was what she’d been thinking during the darkest hours of the night and what she was still thinking in the cold gray light of the November day.

  “We’ll find him. Jake’s heading in the right direction with the investigation. I feel strongly about that. So does he.”

  “You spoke to him today?”

  “I stopped by his office before I came here.”

  “I wish you hadn’t.”

  “Because you think I’m getting too involved?” He crossed his arms over his chest, his stance relaxed, but alert, his gaze just a little hard.

  “Because I don’t want you involved at all.” At least her head didn’t. Her heart was another matter entirely.

  “Funny, I don’t think that’s the truth, either.”

  “The truth is simple. Getting involved with me is dangerous. Anyone in his right mind would see that and go running in the other direction.” Chloe shoved her bangs out of her eyes, grabbed a small white basket from behind the counter, then stalked across the room to pull white and pink roses from the cooler.

  “I’m not just anyone. And I’m not running.” The hint of steel in his voice surprised Chloe and she met his eyes, saw the hard determination there.

  �
�Ben—”

  “Maybe you’re used to people abandoning you when things get tough, but that’s not my style. Whatever happens in the next days, weeks or months, I plan to be part of it.”

  “Why? We’ve known each other a week—”

  “Ten days.” He grinned, but the steel was still there.

  “My point is, you don’t have a commitment to me. There’s no reason for you to get more involved in my problems than you already are.”

  “Whether or not I have a commitment to you has nothing to do with it.”

  “It has everything to do with it.” She placed a square of floral foam in the bottom of the basket and jabbed a rose into it. “We barely know each other and you’re letting yourself get caught up in my mess. You could be off doing a hundred other things that would be a lot less dangerous to your health.”

  “And yet here I am.” He grabbed her hand before she could mash another rose into the arrangement. “Don’t you think there’s a reason for that, Chloe? A reason God brought us into each other’s lives at exactly this time?”

  “I stopped thinking I understood God’s ways months ago.” She slid her hand away from his, using less force to place the next flower.

  “You don’t have to understand, you just have to trust.”

  She looked up and into the vibrant blue depths of his eyes, felt herself drawn into them and into his certainty. “Trust isn’t easy for me.”

  “It’s not easy for anyone when things get tough. We doubt. We question. In the end, we either choose to believe God is still working His will through our lives or we end up turning away from our faith. I don’t think you’re the kind to turn away.”

  “You’re right. I’m not.” But there had been times before she’d come to Lakeview that she’d wondered if she might, if maybe everything she’d believed, everything she’d trusted in was a lie.

  She pulled baby’s breath from the cooler, shoving a few stems in between the roses.

  “Then have faith that God put me into your life for a reason and stop worrying so much about what that might mean.” Ben pulled baby’s breath from the pile she’d set on the counter and pressed the stem into the foam, his knuckles brushing against hers, the simple act of working together sealing the connection that shouldn’t be between them, but was.