“Sorry, I forgot.”
Glancing at her watch, and then at Megan, she asked, “Have you had breakfast?”
“No, I was too nervous to eat this morning, so I haven’t had anything.”
“Okay, I’m going to call Colin and see if he can meet us.” She grabbed the phone and tapped the screen. Megan didn’t want to see Colin, or anyone else for that matter. She just wanted to go home, climb into bed and forget the awful day ever happened. She wouldn’t tell Lana that though. “He’s going to meet us at Betty’s for pancakes. Come on, Megan.”
She reluctantly headed back outside with Lana where the limo was waiting. “Thanks, Seth,” Lana said as she climbed inside with Megan following behind her.
A short time later, they arrived at a quaint little restaurant. Colin was standing outside when the limo pulled up. Before the driver had a chance, Colin opened the door for them. She and Lana slid out and Colin pulled Lana into his arms for a passionate embrace. When he released her, he still kept ahold of Lana’s hand.
She felt disgusted with herself for once again feeling jealous. She briefly wondered what was wrong with her and why she kept feeling this way. Why couldn’t someone love her that much? Dammit, she wasn’t a bad person! She tried to be a good friend and she attended Church most of the time; she went to work, paid her bills, helped people when they needed it. What else could she do? Why didn’t she deserve to be happy, dammit! She wanted to be. Watching them together just made her want to go home even more.
“Megan, it’s nice to see you again,” Colin said, as he led them inside.
“Thanks, Colin. It’s nice to see you, too.”
They took a seat in one of the booths as a nice older woman with gray hair came over to greet them. Colin apparently knew her very well, as they were friendly with each other and on a first name basis. After giving her their order, she walked away and Colin gave her his full attention, which made her feel very uncomfortable.
“Megan, Carlana said that you have a stalker. What’s been going on?” He stared at her with piercing eyes and cold determination that made her feel like he could see straight to her very soul. When he looked at Lana, they held love and warmth.
She squirmed a little in her seat not wanting to talk about this with him, or anyone else. After sitting in awkward silence, she finally relented. “Someone’s just been sending flowers for a while. At first it was more like a secret admirer, and then it became more somehow. The flowers would be black or half dead, just creepy.”
He just kept staring as if he was gauging the truth of her words and it was making her even more uncomfortable. Finally, he asked, “Have you had anything go missing?” Megan’s eyes shot straight to his and that one look told him everything he needed to know. “What kinds of things?” he asked.
“Not much really, it’s more like I’ve misplaced items and it’s mostly things at school. A pair of earrings I removed because they hurt my ears, my coffee cup. Nothing of any real importance.” There were a lot more items, but she didn’t see the point of mentioning them all.
“You definitely have a stalker. He’s taking your things because he feels closer to you. Call the police when you get home and tell them what’s been happening. If you receive anything else, call the police and don’t touch it. They might be able to pull evidence form it. Make sure you don’t go out at night alone as that’s when most crimes happen. And make sure you change your routine. Don’t go to the grocery store on the same day or time every week. Just change things up. That way, if things escalate, it will be more difficult for him if he doesn’t already know where you are and what you’ll be doing.”
Megan didn’t know what to say to that, even though it scared her a little…okay…it scared her a lot! It wasn’t just her anymore, she had a baby to think of now. She swallowed hard before saying, “Okay, I’ll call them as soon as I get home.”
“Why don’t I call Matt? He has security training. He even has he’s own company.”
“No!” Carlana and Megan yelled at the same time, which earned them a suspicious look from Colin. He smashed his lips together, knowing that they were keeping something important from him.
“Carlana?” His voice hardened as he slowly turned his head to look at his wife.
Carlana squirmed in her chair as she shot glances toward Megan silently asking for help. She knew Carlana would never betray her, but this was her husband and it didn’t feel right making her keep secrets from him.
“I asked her not to say anything.” Megan reluctantly chimed in. “I went to see Matt this morning but never got the chance to talk to him. Some woman answered the door so I left.”
Colin scrunched his nose. “Who was she?”
“How am I supposed to know?” Megan grouched back, not wanting to talk about Matt and his female friend.
Colin narrowed his eyes while he scrutinized Megan, and then pierced Carlana with a hard glare. “Would you please explain to me what’s going on?” He may have asked, but they both heard the demand.
Carlana looked over at her with anguished eyes, and she finally nodded her approval. She wouldn’t be able to keep it a secret for very long anyway. She felt sure that Christy had already spread her version of the truth.
“Promise me you will keep this a secret?” At his stare Carlana said, “I’m not kidding, promise me, Colin.” Her voice turned just as hard in a no-nonsense kind of way. Megan’s lips tipped up slightly as she realized they fit together perfectly.
He reluctantly agreed saying, “Okay, now tell me what’s going on.”
“Matt and Megan had sex the night of our wedding and now she’s pregnant.” Carlana supplied as Megan gave her a what the hell look. She could have used a little more tact instead of making her sound like a slut.
“I see. And you went to tell Matt?” Megan nodded. “And you found another woman there?” Again, she barely nodded her head. “So he doesn’t know?”
“No,” Megan whispered.
“When are you going to tell him?” His voice still sounded hard and Megan glared at him.
“Colin that’s enough! This is none of our business and she has enough to deal with right now. And for you information, Matt’s been calling her every day, but he never said anything about dating or sleeping with someone else!” They both could hear the anger in Carlana’s voice. “You remember those days don’t you?” She almost spit at him. Megan suspected that his endless string of women still bothered Carlana, and the fact he was sort of engaged at the time, even though he wasn’t.
His eyes softened a little as he pulled Carlana to him offering her comfort. He then looked back to Megan and said, “Tell him soon or I will.” She made sure he could see the anger in her own eyes reflecting back at him.
“That’s for the advice Colin, but with all due respect, my pregnancy is none of your fucking business!” She let the vehemence ring clear in her voice. She planned on telling Matt the truth, hell she was in New York for that very reason. It wasn’t her fault she found a half-dressed floozy in his apartment with just fucked hair.
Betty chose that time to deliver their pancakes, breaking the tension between them. As they ate in silence, Megan wanted nothing more than to go home. It seemed as though every trip she made to New York…all two of them…ended up disastrous. Maybe God was trying to tell her something.
With empty plates now sitting in front of them, Carlana tried to start the conversation back, “Colin, Megan wants to go home instead of staying here all weekend. Can you arrange it, please?” Megan wanted to laugh at Lana’s soft tone.
Colin looked at Megan clearly still pissed, but said, “Yes, I’ll have my pilot ready the jet. How about waiting until this afternoon to leave, Carlana’s missed you and I’m sure she’d like to visit with you a while.” His voice was stern, almost daring Megan to disagree with him.
“Thanks, I’ve missed Lana too and would love to visit for a few hours.” She sweetly smiled at her friend, ignoring Colin. She would not let him intimidate her.
Colin paid the bill, and after giving Carlana a quick gentle kiss, he opened the door to the limo, allowing them to climb inside.
Once they were back at the penthouse, they both sat on the white leather sofa as Carlana sipped her coffee. “You really liked Matt didn’t you?” Carlana asked.
“Yeah, I do, well did.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
She peered up a Lana. Maybe it would make her feel better. “I thought he was different from the others. I don’t know why, but I did. Nobody has ever made me feel the way he did, even when we were just talking on the phone.” Tears sprang to her eyes as she continued, “This hurts more than finding James with that whore.” Carlana pulled her into her arms as she cried.
“What will you do now?”
Megan pulled back, half-crying and half-laughing, “I don’t know.” She grabbed a Kleenex and blew her nose before smiling, “Eric and I ran into Christy and Kim at the store. I had five pregnancy tests in my arms.” She chuckled just thinking about it. “Christy eyed Eric, but I alluded to the fact that it was James’ baby just to piss Kim off. So now, when I get home, Eric or James will be the father of my baby, depending on who you talk with.” They both threw their heads back and cackled.
“You are terrible!” Carlana continued laughing until tears came to her eyes. “I never liked either one of them. I bet James and Kim had a huge fight.”
“I really hope so.” She chuckled while wiping her nose.
“How’s Eric handling it?” Carlana asked as their laughter died down.
“You know Eric; he doesn’t pay any attention to that kind of stuff.” She shrugged.
“Have you ever thought of dating Eric? He’s sexy as hell and treats you like gold.”
She smiled as Carlana asked the question so many people had wondered about. She never told Lana that Eric was gay; it wasn’t her news to tell. She refused to reveal secrets about one best friend to another. So she just smiled as she said, “No, I haven’t. He is sexy, but we’re just friends.”
They sat in silence until she thought of something she needed to do, “Speaking of Eric, I need to see if he can pick me up at the airport. What time do you think I’ll be home?”
“I think by 3:30, it usually only takes about an hour and a half to fly to Highlands.”
Megan pulled out her cell and tapped Eric’s picture. Two rings later, he answered. She asked him to pick her up at the airport and when he questioned why she was coming home today, she simply told him she would talk to him about it later.
An hour later, Carlana was giving her a tear-filled hug as they stood outside the limo at the airport. This had been physically and emotionally exhausting and she couldn’t wait to get home, climb into her bed and hide from the world.
“I’m going to miss you, Megan. You call me anytime and if you need anything…and I mean anything, just let me know.”
“I will Lana, I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Megan walked to Colin’s jet as Carlana watched her leave.
Chapter 8
****
As the plane landed at Highlands Airport, Megan slowly walked down the steps and into Eric’s waiting arms. He knew it had to be bad or she wouldn’t be back so soon, but instead of asking, he just held her tight. With one arm around her shoulder, he took her travel bag and slung it over his back as he escorted her to the truck. Megan climbed in the passenger’s seat while Eric went around to the driver’s side and headed to her house. Neither of them said a word, but he did reach over and take her hand in his letting her know that she wasn’t alone.
As they pulled into her driveway, Megan knew something wasn’t right. After getting out of the truck, she slowly walked toward the front porch. Eric grabbed her arm to keep her from getting any closer while he pulled out his cell and called the police.
“Who would do this, Eric?” Megan whispered in a broken voice. She couldn’t take much more. She’d had a terrible day, the worst one she could remember, and now to find her home like this. Tears flowed freely down her face and she never once tried to stop them. As she noticed the wood busted around the locked deadbolt, she knew someone had tried to break in. Dead flowers with worms littered the porch and the words “YOU’RE MINE!” was spray painted across the house and door in huge letters.
“I don’t know sweetheart but you’re not staying here anymore until they catch whoever is doing this.”
Ten minutes later, a police car pulled up, and an older officer got out and headed their way. With his gray hair and slightly wrinkled skin, he appeared to be in his fifties.
“Good evening I’m Officer Brown. Dispatch informed me someone reported their home vandalized. What’s going on?” He looked from Megan to Eric and then back to Megan, waiting for someone to speak.
“I left early this morning and just arrived home now. Someone tried to break into my house. There are dead flowers on the porch and someone has spray painted the door.”
Officer Brown walked over to the house and took in the crime scene. With pursed lips, he took out a pen and notepad, scribbling something down. He called dispatch on his hand-held radio, but she couldn’t hear what he was saying. Then, he walked back over to them.
“Is this your house, ma’am?” She nodded. “Is this the first time something like this has happened?” She shook her head no and he said, “I need you to tell me everything that has happened and when it started.”
Megan told Officer Brown everything, not leaving out any details. She felt like such a fool for not calling the police before now. She knew better! Everyone had tried to tell her, even Matt and he only stayed here for one night. She never really felt like she was in any danger, this was a small town for goodness sake! Nothing bad ever happened here. Of course, if it did, it would happen to her.
As Officer Brown made notes, two more police cars pulled up and went straight to the porch. She watched with interest as they taped off the area, preserving the crime scene. She’d only seen things like this on television and as she watched in fascination, she was able to forget that her house was the crime scene.
“Do you have somewhere else you can stay?” Officer Brown asked.
“She’s staying with me.” Eric chimed in with a voice that invited no argument.
She slowly turned to Eric and only saw fierce determination in his eyes. Looking back at Officer Brown she stated, “I need to get some things from my house.”
He shook his head, “Unless you have a key and can go through the back door, I’m afraid you can’t go in.”
“I do. My key fits both locks.”
“Be quick then.”
They walked around the house to the backdoor and after she unlocked it, Eric pushed the door open. That first step inside made her nervous. She felt like someone might be hiding inside, just waiting for her to come home. Eric took her hand and pulled her through the house toward the bedroom. She grabbed a suitcase and stuffed it full of everything she thought she’d need. Before they left, Megan made sure to lock the back door. She didn’t want some pervert going through her things.
After giving the police her contact information, Eric opened the passage door of his truck and she climbed in. Everything that happened today kept running through her mind and she just wanted to take a hot bath and lie down somewhere. After the morning she had, she never thought that things could go from bad to worse, but Karma laughed in her face and proved her wrong.
They drove in virtual silence even though there were so many questions that went unanswered. She wracked her brain trying to figure out who would do something like that to her house. As far as she knew, she hadn’t done anything to lead someone on or make them think she might be interested. The only bad thing she had done lately was to allude to the fact that James might be the “baby daddy.” Kim would never write, “You’re mine.” She might write “Die bitch,” maybe “James’s is mine!”, or some shit like that. She wanted to laugh at the thought of Kim ripping into him when sh
e got home that day. A girl could only hope.
“What are you grinning about?” Eric asked as he watched her from the corner of his eye.
“I just hope that Kim ripped James a new one after I hinted that James might be the father,” she laughed a little. When Karma kicks you when you’re down, sometimes you just have to find a bright spot and laugh. That’s exactly what she did as she imagined the argument between the two.
Arriving at Eric’s small one bedroom apartment, Megan climbed out of the truck and headed to the door. She knew he would retrieve her suitcase. He let them in and she went straight for the bathtub. All she wanted to do was to relax and let the day fade away. A good stiff drink would help her to do that, and if she weren’t pregnant, she would have grabbed a bottle of anything before heading to the bathroom. A few minutes later, she immersed her body in a full tub of hot water letting the suds caress her body as her head rested on the back of the tub with her eyes closed.
She must have nodded off as pounding on the bathroom door roused her from a dream. A dream where Matt held her tight as he kissed his way down her neck, making her feel loved, making her feel safe. “Megan, are you alright in there?” Eric yelled from the hallway.
“Yeah, sorry, I’ll be out in a minute!” she called back to him. After climbing out of the tub, she dressed, opened the bathroom door, and found Eric standing there waiting for her.
“Come on, Megs. I’ve made you a sandwich.” He led her to the kitchen, pulled her chair out and she plopped down in it. He had a grilled turkey and cheese, along with a glass of milk sitting on the table. Just realizing how hungry she was, she dug into it with gusto.
She felt much better after a hot bath and a full belly. She was licking her fingers when she noticed how quiet Eric had been. Looking up, she saw him staring back at her, almost like he was waiting. “What?”
“Are you going to tell me what happened today?” Concern and curiosity rang clear in his voice.
She leaned back in her chair, smiled, and started, “You were right; I should have told Matt I was coming. I showed up at his apartment and some…some half-dressed woman answered the door. She told me Matt was in the shower and after seeing her in a T-shirt, panties and messed up hair…I left. End of story.”
Finding Megan (The Kiser Series Book 2) Page 7
