Jonah grunted with obvious skepticism. “Anyone else have a key to your condo?”
“Besides me, just my parents.” Yeah, and the spray-painted message on her wall, although done with red and green, didn’t exactly look like the type of holiday greeting her parents would send her.
Badger seemed to shake his daze enough to realize there was another human in his midst because he did a gymnastic move that allowed him to brace his paws on Tessa’s shoulder and stare at Jonah. He gave one bark as if to say, “Stay back until I decide if I approve of you.”
“Who would’ve done something like this?” she asked. “I haven’t been back in Asheville long enough to upset anyone. Maybe it was kids.”
“Maybe.” But Jonah’s tone was doubtful as he stroked Badger from head to hindquarters. That was all it took for her dog to decide he wasn’t the enemy. He scrabbled in her hold trying to fling himself toward Jonah.
Thinking about anyone, especially a pack of teenage boys, invading her space sent a chill through her and she hugged Badger to her chest. Okay. She would be okay. She’d faced much worse in the past. Yes, someone had come into her home, had defiled it. But it was just paint. It could be fixed easily.
Still, physical damage could have lasting emotional effects even when all the signs of it were gone. She might be able to paint over that wall, but she’d still be able to imagine the words under the new coat for a long time to come.
Jonah must’ve seen how torn she was, because he wrapped his arms around her and Badger. How could one man exude so much fierceness and gentleness at the same time? It didn’t escape her that he was blocking her from seeing the message again through the open doorway. Standing between her and ugly words.
“You’re not staying here tonight,” he said evenly. “Close your eyes.”
“What?”
“Close your eyes so you don’t have to see that shit anymore.”
“I’m not a child.”
“Then do it for me.”
“Fine.” She closed her eyes and he took her hand, sending warmth winding its way up her arm.
He urged her forward and a few steps later, a door closed behind her and he said, “You can open them now.”
Sure enough, he’d led her to the correct bedroom. She placed Badger on her bed and he ran around it as if he’d won the lottery.
“You have a purse dog?” Jonah stared doubtfully at her dog, who was now burrowing under a ruffled pillow sham. He was trying to distract her from what they’d found in her living room, and she wished it were that easy.
“No, he’s a hunter.”
“He can’t weigh more than ten pounds. What’s he gonna hunt?”
By this time, Badger had dug his way through all her throw pillows and they were flying left and right. This day had been the complete opposite of enjoyable, but Badger made Tessa smile. “He’s tenacious.”
“And he’s coming to my house with you.”
Tessa grabbed Jonah’s shirt and pulled him down to her for a kiss. Just lips against lips, but it helped ground her.
“What was that for?”
He wouldn’t want to hear how sweet he could be sometimes, so she just said, “My dog.”
“You gave me a kiss from your dog?”
“He’s demonstrative that way,” she said, her voice shaky from the feel of Jonah’s lips on hers. “I’ll need Badger’s kennel. His food is in the pantry and he has a bag in the entry closet.”
“Why don’t we get you packed up first and then…” Jonah turned away to yank at one of her dresser drawers and stopped with his left hand hovering over her lingerie collection. She liked nice underwear, so it was quite a stash.
Get more than you bargained for, buddy?
“I’ll pack my own underwear,” she told him. “You’re in charge of Badger’s bag.”
“Huh?”
For goodness’ sake, Badger could pack for himself faster than this. But it was nice to know Jonah wasn’t unaffected. While he stood there entranced by her undies, she went to the closet.
It didn’t take long to get what she needed. Although she planned to return in the morning, she never traveled without at least two sets of clothes, so she selected a few items and zipped them into her tweed hanging bag.
She poked her head out the closet door. Jonah hadn’t moved positions, but now he held at least half a dozen bra and panty sets. His fingers flexed and released around the bundles of silk, satin, and lace.
Seeing him standing there looking down at her underwear made something hot spark low in Tessa’s belly.
Uh-uh, sister. This isn’t the time or place for sparks. You’re mad at him, remember?
But he was being so sweet to Badger. To her.
“I need to grab a few items from the bathroom. Think you could get Badger’s things now?”
“Kennel, food, and bag.”
When she went to her en suite bathroom, she braced her hands on the countertop and breathed. Her nerves felt as if someone had tightened them with tuning knobs and was plucking at them. Twang, twang, twang.
Her body was simply processing the adrenaline from finding someone had broken in to her home. This wasn’t about Jonah and how he affected her.
Right. Her insides were one big tangle of competing emotions—shock at what they’d found, gratitude she hadn’t been alone.
Make room for the feelings. Observe, but don’t let them overwhelm.
Unfortunately, she was finding it hard to follow her own advice.
No time for a mini-breakdown, so get moving.
She scooped up a handful of personal items and dropped them into a small train case she stored in her linen closet. When she returned to her bedroom, Badger’s overnight supplies were sitting on the bed and Jonah was working his phone with his thumbs, so fast they blurred in front of her.
The man seriously had bionic thumbs
“What are you doing?” she asked him.
“Texting with my cousin the sheriff. Maggie’s going to give the Asheville police a call to have them come out to take a look at this and talk with the building manager.”
A heavy feeling invaded her chest. That meant they would have to stay here for hours. And for some reason, that bubble bath in her own tub didn’t feel so appealing right now. “You said you thought kids were just—”
“I said maybe. But it doesn’t feel right.” He looked up from his speed texting, and his eyes were bright and sharp. Pissed off. “We’re not going to downplay this. Not after the hacking deal.”
“You think the two incidents are related?” Her client files and the message on her wall didn’t seem to have anything in common.
“I’m not much of a believer in coincidences.” He glanced back down at his phone and gave a grunt of satisfaction. “Grab your dog and his stuff. I’ll get your bag. We’re outta here.”
“What about the police?”
“They can get access from the building manager after they question him up and down about who else he might’ve given a key. If the police need to talk with us, they can wait until tomorrow.”
“Before you called earlier, I’d planned to contact the Asheville police about my files being hacked. I need to talk with them.”
“I’ll find this hacker my own damn self. I can do it faster than they can. Once we have something to go on, we can fill them in.” He took the train case from her, then draped the garment bag over the same arm so he could take her hand.
“What about all the things you said earlier today? You had every right to be angry with me. What I did was unprofessional at best and unforgivable at worst. Jonah, I’m sorry.”
“That doesn’t matter now,” he said gruffly.
“How can you say that?”
He swiped a hand over his face, emphasizing just how tired he looked. “Look, it’s not like you printed massive copies of your assessment of my mental state and handed them out like pizza coupons. It’s done. Neither of us can do anything about the fact that someone dug around in your f
iles. But I can help you find the person who did it.”
“So now, after someone defaced my wall, you’re willing to help me?”
“Look, I was an asshole this morning. But if you want to ream me for it, can it wait until we get out of here?”
“I don’t want to ream you. I want to say thank you.”
“Don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like I’m some kind of hero.”
Outside, Jonah stowed her bags in the backseat and took Badger’s kennel and bag from her. He placed them in the floorboard behind the driver’s seat. “So you can see him.”
That one detail. One thoughtful act almost broke her cool. “Thanks.” She opened her own door and slid inside before he could see she was struggling to contain her emotions.
Once he had the car in drive and had pulled out, Jonah reached for her hand. “You okay?”
Tessa swallowed, trying to clear the choked-up feeling. “Thanks for doing all this. I’m sure you didn’t count on houseguests, especially a dog.”
“Hell, Badger’s smaller than some of my remote controls. Not like he’ll take up much space.” Jonah’s grin was strained around the edges, but it was genuine. “Besides, Tessa, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to keep you safe.”
Jonah rubbed his eyes. After hours of staring at his bank of computer screens, he’d hit one dead end after another, trying to trace the scum-wad who’d gone digging around in Tessa’s files. Maybe a cup of coffee would kick-start him again.
He’d make a cup and then spend an hour on the app development project. Maybe changing gears would spark an idea about this damn hacker.
He hauled his ass out of the chair his siblings liked to call his throne.
In the hallway connecting his tech cave and garage to the rest of the house, he caught sight of movement outside the windows. Someone was on his property.
He quickly backtracked and retrieved the handgun he kept stashed in a drawer. He clicked the magazine into place and shoved his feet into a pair of boots.
Using the external door off the hallway, he slipped outside into the darkness. His sense of hearing seemed heightened in the early-morning mountain chill. An owl hooted and from around the side of the garage, he heard what sounded like wood scraping against wood. Was someone trying to jimmy one of the windows into his house?
Aw, fuck no. Not gonna happen.
Jonah crept around the side of the house. Sure enough, a bulky figure was hunched down near the door that opened from the great room onto his back deck.
So help him, if this was the same guy who’d painted all over Tessa’s living room wall, he’d put a bullet in each of his kneecaps. Then they’d sit down and have a friendly little chat while the shithead bled.
Jonah dashed up the stairs, grabbed the intruder around the neck, and jammed the gun against his cheek. “What the fuck are you doing?”
The intruder’s empty hands rose above his head. “Jonah,” he rasped, “It’s me, your dad.”
Sounded a lot like him and the height was right, but the guy was bulked up in a coat and had a hood pulled over his head. “Who was the 1989 NASCAR Rookie of the Year?” Jonah asked him.
He and his dad were far from best buds, but everyone knew Eddy Steele loved him some car racing.
“Dick Trickle. He was forty-eight at the time.”
Jonah withdrew the gun and dropped his arm from around his dad’s throat.
His dad turned, hands still in the surrender position, but he was clearly wearing a grin. “You been taking lessons from Reid?”
“I know exactly how to defend what’s mine,” Jonah said. “And I can shoot a real gun just as well as an imaginary one. You might want to remember that the next time you’re skulking around my house in the middle of the night.”
His dad had never much understood him, the son more interested in the make-believe worlds of video games than tracking, killing, and skinning a deer. Sometimes he’d caught his dad looking at him, studying him as if trying to figure out where Jonah had come from. If he’d ever be a real man like his older brothers.
“Why are you here, anyway?”
“Just dropping off some stuff I had laying around.” His dad jerked his chin to indicate something behind him.
At least a cord of firewood, perfectly stacked. “You brought me wood?”
Stupid question seeing as the evidence was right in front of him.
His dad’s shoulders moved under his coat, and he glanced toward Jonah’s outdoor fireplace. “You know I ain’t much for Christmas gifts and the like, but I figured all you kids could use some with the weather turning colder.”
Mixed feelings clashed inside Jonah. Part of him wanted to give his dad a big hug, but another part of him wanted to reject the gift. Eddy Steele showed up when and where he wanted. He hadn’t been there for his family day in and day out.
Not like Jonah’s mom had. She’d worked her ass off to afford birthday and Christmas presents for her kids. She’d always been the stable one, the one who made sure they were fed and educated. This man just popped in like an uninvited guest.
Dropping off wood in the middle of the night was the perfect example of his MO.
“So you decided to drop it off before sane people are awake?”
“You ain’t exactly in your pajamas,” his dad shot back. “Besides, didn’t see a reason to make a big hullabaloo about it.”
More like he didn’t want to have to talk to his own kids. But maybe bringing wood was his own hermit way of showing he cared.
“This your first stop?”
“Yeah, figured I’d do a couple loads a night. Tonight, it’s you and Britt. Tomorrow, I’ll catch Evie and Micki.”
“You might want to give the others a heads-up. Otherwise someone will put a bullet in you.”
“I see your point.” He squeezed Jonah’s shoulder and gave a rusty chuckle, both of which brought a warmth to Jonah’s chest he didn’t really want to feel. “Happy holidays, son.”
And with that, he strode off the deck and into the woods.
“Happy friggin’ holidays, Dad.”
10
The motorized whirring sound of the window shades rising woke Tessa as sunlight angled across the bed. The mattress in Jonah’s guest room must’ve been made of stardust and gold. She would’ve sworn she wouldn’t get a minute of sleep last night, but she’d dropped off almost immediately.
Surprisingly, Badger was still snoozing in his kennel this morning, so Tessa slid out of bed. She stretched, working out some of the leftover tension from last night. A few knee kicks and elbow strikes warmed her muscles and encouraged the blood to flow throughout her body. She had a feeling she would need all her strength today.
The view from outside called to her, and she wandered to one of the windows. The sun was just peeking over the ridge, sending its warming rays through the bare branches of the maples and oaks that covered Jonah’s mountain. She’d grown up in Carolina, so seeing the sun and the mountains shouldn’t take her breath away, but it did. Even in the heart of winter when everything was brittle and brown and dying.
But life was still out there, some of it dormant until the right amount of sunshine and warmth came along.
People were much the same. When life became too harsh, they protected themselves. But the strong ones, the hardiest ones—like Doris and her children—would bloom again.
Sometimes the flowers would return a little more ragged than before. But they came back, year after year.
Blossoming again was so much easier with the right soil and sunlight and care.
What would it feel like to be the sunlight for those tender and broken buds? If yesterday was any indication, it would be exhausting.
But for the first time she considered that it might also be exhilarating.
Something to think about later, after she dealt with the immediate problems in her own life.
A high-pitched doggie yawn came from Badger’s direction, and Tessa
crouched down to open his kennel. He went through his hilarious yoga stretches—a true downward dog and some kind of back foot dragging cobra pose.
She shrugged into a short robe, grabbed her laptop, then clipped on Badger’s leash. His toenails made a pleasant tip-tapping as they headed downstairs. On the first floor, the sun had found its way over the ridge and was splashing its golden aura over the wooden floors. But otherwise, the large open-concept living-dining-kitchen area was empty.
The security system was off so after taking Badger outside for a quick pit stop, Tessa went to the kitchen and fixed his food bowl. Remembering where Jonah stored the tea, she slid open the drawer. Inside she found not only Pu-erh cacao citrus, but also another half dozen of her favorite blends.
What reason would he have had to stock her favorite teas? The man was maddening.
And apparently she was fascinated by his madness.
Once she had a cup of tea, she sat at the kitchen island to take care of some business. This week, she was supposed to present consulting proposals to three companies—two in Asheville and one in Charlotte. And even though her mind was still ticking over how she felt after helping at the shelter yesterday, she had to protect her professional reputation.
Thankfully, her contacts in the companies’ HR departments were understanding that she’d run into some moving snags and were willing to reschedule her meetings until next week. The weight that took off her shoulders was immense. But it meant she had only a few days to get control of the e-mail blackmail situation.
Maybe Lauren had calmed down enough to talk with her. She dialed and the call connected. But it disconnected immediately, as if Lauren had screened an unwanted solicitation call.
Okay, she’d head in a different direction, then. Next up, she logged into her banking app to check her accounts. Still no unusual deposits, which might’ve been a good way to track the hacker. Surely if money was deposited, he would want to take it out. Or maybe he’d set up another account altogether. And she had no way to trace that, not unless they figured out who the hacker was.
Last night, Jonah had promised to help her hunt down the person. “So let’s go find him somewhere in this huge house, King B.”
Stripping Bare (Steele Ridge Book 7) Page 9
