Three-Year Rule Page 4

  Joshua glanced over at Elizabeth and the smile vanished from his face. He asked quietly, “What’s wrong?”

  Elizabeth snapped out of her stupor and forced a smile on her face. “I’m sorry I was just lost in thought. It looks like Amy and Randy are hitting it off.”

  Joshua frowned at her, puzzled then smiled at her and said, “They sure do.” He turned back to them and announced, “The next round is on me.”

  It was past 1am by the time they left the bar. Joshua and Randy walked the girls to their car. Elizabeth draped her arms around Joshua’s neck as their lips met. His crushed hers with an abandon the misty night air could not cool. Elizabeth leaned against him as his hand ran down the length of her back then wrapped around her. When they finally parted a quick glance toward Amy found the new couple in a shy embrace. Joshua winked at Elizabeth and opened the car door for her.

  He whispered, “Looks like we can plan on more couples nights like this in the future. If that’s not too bold of a plan for the future.” Elizabeth missed his quip and got in the car.

  Randy reluctantly released Amy from their timid goodbye kiss. Randy wanted more but the vision of his late wife flashed before his eyes slowing his pace. Amy was also very young. He leaned in the window after shutting the door behind her.

  Resisting the urge to kiss her again, he said, “You want me to follow you girls home? It’s pretty late.”

  Elizabeth smiled and said, “Thanks for the offer but we don’t have far to go. We’ll be fine.”

  The night had grown cloudy, a storm was approaching. Elizabeth opened the moon roof and allowed the cool night air to flow through the car. Amy sank back into the seat and gazed out her window with a dreamy expression.

  “So,” Elizabeth began, “It appears the night went well.”

  Amy glanced over at Elizabeth and flashed a huge smile. She said, “He’s dreamy. I can’t believe a man in law enforcement can be so kind and sweet.”

  “And sexy,” Elizabeth added with a grin.

  Amy laughed, “Oh yeah, that Sheriff uniform combined with his big brown eyes created quite a reaction when he kissed me. I wanted to jump him right there in the parking lot.”

  Elizabeth turned off the main road onto a narrow winding road that began the climb up the mountain to their cabin. She asked, “What is it about the mountains that breed charming men with such huge muscles?”

  “And tiny butts!” Amy said bursting into giggles.

  Elizabeth spied the turn off onto their long driveway to the cabin. Suddenly Elizabeth caught a blur of movement out of the corner of her eye. She slammed on the breaks as the movement flashed in front of the car.

  Amy screamed as the car slid on the damp road heading directly toward the blur, “No! It’s Charlie!”

  Elizabeth’s heart jumped into her throat. Charlie froze in the middle of the road as the car slid toward him. She spun the steering wheel to the right sending them onto the shoulder of the road just barely missing Charlie and a large tree. The girls jumped out of the car and rushed to Charlie who stood shivering in the middle of the road.

  “Charlie!” Elizabeth gasped as she knelt to embrace her. Amy was instantly next to her hugging both of them. They huddled on the road oblivious to the large raindrops that began to fall.

  Elizabeth caught her breath and began to check Charlie squeezing each leg and running her hands over her head and back. She was uninjured but covered in mud. Elizabeth smiled at her shaken dog and said, “Charlie, what are you doing out here?” She glanced at Amy and asked, “How did she get out?”

  Amy shook her head and pulled Elizabeth to her feet. “I locked the front door, I know I did. We better get up there and see what’s going on.” She walked back to the car and opened the door for Charlie. When Charlie was inside, she turned back to Elizabeth adding with a smile, “Should we call the Sheriff?”

  Elizabeth laughed and climbed in the car as Amy dashed around to the other side. “Let’s wait and see.”

  When they reached the house, they could see the front door standing wide open. Elizabeth pulled the car up so the lights were shining at the cabin. They sat in the car staring at the house. Amy glanced around the yard and toward the barn.

  She said, “I don’t see any sign that someone else is here. I’m positive I shut and locked that door. Could the land lord have dropped by to check on you and left the door open?”

  Elizabeth pulled her cell phone out of her purse and said grimly, “No, Joshua changed the locks.”

  Joshua had just climbed into bed when the phone rang. He saw Elizabeth’s number on the display and quickly answered it. “Beth? Is everything okay?”

  Elizabeth answered him calmly, “Josh, I’m really sorry to call you but when we got home Charlie was out and the front door is standing open. I’m just a bit concerned about going inside.”

  “Don’t go in the house.” Joshua answered quickly climbing out of bed as he spoke. “Stay in the car, lock the doors and if anyone comes out of the house I want you to hightail it back to the bar. I’m on my way. I’m going to call Randy, he lives closer. He can get there before I do.”

  “We are fine, Josh.” Elizabeth answered.

  “I’ll call you back in a few minutes.” Josh replied and hung up.

  Elizabeth turned to Amy and said, “Josh is calling Randy, he’s closer but they are both on their way.”

  Amy had her back turned to Elizabeth; she was staring out the window toward the stables. She said, “Can you turn the headlights on the stables, something is moving over there.”

  Elizabeth backed up the car and turned it toward the stables. They sat in silence watching for movement. Amy shook her head after a few minutes and said, “I swear I thought I saw a person walking into the stables but in this darkness I suppose it could have been a deer or just a shadow.”

  They both jumped as Elizabeth’s phone rang. Amy laughed as Charlie stuck her head between seats to check on them. Elizabeth answered the phone, it was Randy.

  His deep voice resonated from the earpiece. “Elizabeth, this is Randy. I’ll be there in about 5 minutes.” Elizabeth put him on speaker as he continued, “I just want to make sure you are both staying in the car.”

  Amy answered, “Randy, its Amy. We are in the Mini but I thought I saw someone go into the stables.”

  Randy’s voice deepened, “Just stay in the car. Is Charlie with you?” As he finished his questions, Charlie began to bark at the back seat window on Amy’s side. “I’m almost there. It might be a good idea for you to head toward the road.”

  Elizabeth answered as she reached back to pet Charlie. “I moved the car so the headlights are on the stable but we haven’t seen anyone and there aren’t any vehicles here. I think Amy and Charlie are just spooked. We’ll stay put unless we see someone.”

  Randy’s voice softened, he said, “I’m almost there. Don’t move the car again unless you need to leave. If someone was there, I want to look for tire marks. Josh said you have weapons on site?”

  Elizabeth glanced at Amy and said, “Josh gave me a shotgun. It’s on top of the kitchen cabinets. I don’t think anyone would see it if they didn’t know it was there.”

  “Good to know.” Randy answered, “Okay ladies I’m turning on the side road that leads to your driveway. See you in about 2 minutes. Call me if anything changes.”

  Elizabeth disconnected the call and they sat in the darkness listening to the windshield wipers move back and forth. The rain began to fall in sheets as the wind grew stronger whipping the treetops into frenzy. It was a very long two minutes before Randy’s flashing red lights lit up the darkness around them. He drove past them and shone his search light into the small stables before returning to the cabin. He shone the search light on the front door and climbed out of his truck carrying a large flashlight.

  He walked to their car as Elizabeth rolled down the window. He flashed a smile at them as he leaned against the car. Elizabeth smiled back, Amy was right. He had a sexy smile. He said, “I’
m going to check the house. I need you lovely ladies to stay right here until I back.”

  “Anything you say, Sheriff.” Amy answered with a smile.

  Randy nodded and disappeared into the house. They sat in nervous silence as the lights in the house slowly came on one by one. Joshua’s truck roared up the drive as the upstairs lights came on. Joshua was out of his truck in an instant and at Elizabeth’s window.

  The look of concern on his face sent Elizabeth’s heart racing. He asked, “You two okay?”

  Elizabeth nodded, at the sight of him a large knot developed in her throat and she couldn’t answer. He smiled reached out to touch her arm adding, “Okay, I’m going to check with Randy. I’ll be right back.” Elizabeth smiled back. She saw the handgun stuck in his belt.

  They watched Joshua disappear into the house. Amy sighed and said, “I’m beginning to feel like a foolish female. We should have manned up and checked the house ourselves. It’s probably nothing. We lived in the theater district of Manhattan for two years and never had a problem. Why are we being such wimps now?"

  Elizabeth turned to Amy and said, “I know you. If you said you locked the door, then the door was locked. As you said, we lived in New York for two years; we aren’t a couple of careless females. Frankly, we’re out of our element here. We have no idea what to expect out here on our own. In New York, everyone in the building all watched out for each other. Here we don’t have any neighbors to hear our screams and come running. I’m beginning to realize why Joshua brought me that gun.”

  Randy and Joshua appeared in the doorway. Joshua was holding the shotgun he gave Elizabeth. They spoke for a moment then Randy headed for the Stables. Joshua went to his truck and opened the door. His German Shepard bounded out. Joshua motioned toward the stables and Kilo dash off after Randy. Joshua watched Kilo until he caught up with Randy then came to the girl’s car.

  He met Elizabeth’s questioning gaze a soft smile and said, “Its all clear but Randy thinks someone did break in. Let’s get you girls and Charlie inside and we’ll talk about it. Randy doesn’t believe they are still around but he’s going to check the stables just to make sure. Why don’t you leave the headlights on until he’s finished and I’ll come out and move the car later.” He opened Elizabeth’s door and offered his hand. Then opened the back door and whistled for Charlie who eagerly jumped out into the rain to greet him.

  Elizabeth and Amy followed Joshua inside. They stood frozen in the entryway as they glanced around the room. Joshua returned from the small bathroom off the kitchen with a towel for Charlie. He stopped when he saw them and stared for a moment. Realizing they were terrified, Joshua smiled and came back over to them. He put his arm around their shoulders and escorted them to the sofa.

  He took their jackets and urged them to sit down. He said, “Don’t worry. It’s safe. No one else is here and we are not going to leave you alone tonight.” Joshua sat down in the armchair across from them and called Charlie over. He threw a towel over her back and began to rub down. He chuckled and asked, “Did you have a bit of an adventure tonight Charlie?”

  “Adventure?” Elizabeth gasped, “I almost killed her! She was running wild in the darkness for who knows how long. By the time we got back, she’d made it out to the road. She ran right out in front of us. If I hadn’t been slowing to make the turn into the drive I would have . . .” Elizabeth’s voice broke and she began to sob.

  Joshua was at her side instantly. He pulled her into his arms and held her. Amy moved to Elizabeth’s side and embraced them both. Randy walked through the door and stopped to stare at them.

  He asked, “Do you three want to be alone or is there room for one more?”

  Amy jumped up and rushed across the room to embrace him as Kilo dashed through the door and bounded up to Charlie. Amy and Randy scrambled to catch the pair of wet dogs and herd them into the bathroom. Joshua and Elizabeth remained on the sofa.

  Joshua pulled back and cupped her chin saying, “Charlie’s lucky to have someone like you in her life. She’s a sweet dog. I’m sure that’s why whoever broke in just put her outside. Gulden’s are just about as far away from a guard dog as you can get. She probably wagged her tail and greeted them. There was no reason to hurt her.”

  Elizabeth wiped away her tears and met Joshua’s gaze. She said softly, “Someone violated my home. Your home is supposed to be a safe haven.”

  “I know,” Joshua brushed a stray hair from her cheek and said, “It’s scary, but you aren’t alone. Randy will figure out what happened and when he does I’ll personally kick their butt.”

  Elizabeth laughed at the completely serious expression on Joshua’s face. He raised one eye brown as if to question her belief of his sincerity. Finally, he smiled and chuckled, then said, “Why don’t I leave Kilo here for a few days. Charlie could use a playmate and it will help you relax.”

  Randy and Amy reappeared from the bathroom with the dogs. Elizabeth and Joshua rose to greet them. Amy came to Elizabeth’s side and gave her an encouraging smile. Amy said, “Randy needs us to take look around and see if we can tell what is missing.”

  Elizabeth glanced at Randy and he added, “It appears they concentrated on the bedrooms, but we should start here on the main floor and work our way upstairs.”

  Elizabeth and Amy’s eyes went directly to the kitchen table. Amy rushed over and immediately sighed with relief. She turned to Elizabeth and said, “The laptops are still here.”

  Elizabeth relaxed bit with that news and glanced around the room. She said, “The flat screen TV and DVD player are here as well. Everything seems fine on this floor. What did they do upstairs?”

  Randy and Joshua exchanged glances then Randy answered, “They went through the drawers and closets. Do you own any expensive jewelry?”

  “Jewelry?” Amy gasped and ran up the stairs, the others followed. Amy ran into her roam and moaned, “Oh no! My grandma’s jewelry box!”

  Randy followed at her heels. When Elizabeth and Joshua reached the room, Amy was sobbing in Randy’s arms. Elizabeth was shocked at the disarray before her. Amy’s drawers had been pulled out of the dresser and clothes strewn across the floor. Her mattress was nearly pushed completely off the bed. The pillows were ripped open and the stuffing tossed onto the floor. The contents of Amy’s closet had been pulled out and trampled in the search.

  Elizabeth turned and ran to her room. She found the same chaos. Clothes and drawers scattered, pillows slashed and her dresser turned on its side. Joshua came up behind her and touched her shoulder. She pushed him away as anger filled her.

  “Beth, I know it looks bad.” He began, “But they are only material things you need to concentrate on what’s important.”

  Elizabeth spun to glare at him and growled, “Important?” When her eyes met, his Elizabeth found there shook her to her core. The eyes that gazed back at her were full of compassion and concern. She didn’t know how to react. The men in her past had always been so judgmental and self-concerning. Just as her father had been. One look at this room and her father would have lectured her for hours on her carelessness and reckless attitude toward her own safety. Not Joshua, he only wanted to comfort her, protect her.

  Elizabeth had no idea how long she stood there staring at Joshua. Finally, she glanced down at the floor and said, “I’m sorry, this isn’t your fault.”

  Joshua reached out and took her by the shoulders. He whispered, “It’s going to be alright.” He pulled her against him and they held each other in silence.

  The next morning Elizabeth woke up on the sofa in Joshua’s arms. She glanced over to the recliner and smiled when she saw Amy cradled in Randy’s arms sound asleep. Joshua opened his eyes and pulled Elizabeth back down as she attempted to sit up.

  He rolled her over on her back and climbed on top of her saying, “Where do you think you’re going?”

  Elizabeth stared up into his deep blue eyes and smiled. Before she could speak, Charlie jumped on the sofa on top of Joshua followed by Kil
o. Elizabeth let out a squeak as Joshua dove protectively on top of her laughing. Randy bolted upright in the recliner jolting Amy awake as the dogs bounded off the sofa and went to dance at the front door waiting to be let outside.

  Randy scooped Amy up in his arms as he rose from the recliner and said, “Amy I certainly hope you don’t expect me to find a way to make our second date more eventful than our first.”

  Amy laughed and responded with, “Would it help if I promise the next time we spend the night together it won’t be in a recliner?”

  Her comment seemed to shake Randy up a bit. He flashed a nervous smile and set her down gently on her feet. He glanced at Joshua for assistance. Joshua flashed Randy a huge smile, climbed off of Elizabeth and headed for the front door.

  He called over his shoulder as he went, “I’m going to take the dogs and check out the stables, Sheriff. Want to join me?”

  Randy stumbled across the room in his rush to reach the door. Joshua smiled and winked at Amy as the dogs dashed outside. He followed Randy out the door into the bright morning light. Amy turned a questioning glance at Elizabeth.

  Elizabeth rose from the sofa and reached out to touch her shoulder saying, “He’s a widower.”

  Amy frowned at her and asked, “So what does that mean? He’s scarred for life. He will never have sex again? He’s turned gay? What?”

  Elizabeth gave Amy a hug and answered, “It means you may have to take this slowly. He’s a sweet man but he’s got some baggage. You’re going to have to allow him some time to adjust. It’s possible he’s feeling guilty for being attracted to you.”

  Amy sighed and headed for the kitchen. She said, “I don’t want to marry him. I just want to date him. Let’s make something for the guys. I bet they would like a hardy bacon and egg breakfast.”