The next day he drove to Eureka and bought a laptop and printer. It was time to get online, use the Internet and his contacts for research.
When Brie arrived in Virgin River she had a couple of days with Jack, Mel and the baby before her brother and sister-in-law got off to an early start on the third day, headed for San Diego to the graduation. Then she changed the linens on the bigger bed in the room next to David’s and looked forward to a peaceful couple of days in the cabin. She bathed and fed her nephew, read while he had his morning nap, then took him into town at about lunchtime.
David was a baby used to being taken everywhere. While his mother and father worked he was either at Doc’s clinic or at the bar, being looked after by a variety of people. He was a flexible baby, but because of the hectic schedule his parents kept, easily bored. Sitting around at home wouldn’t do it for him. So Brie went visiting.
She spent some time with Paige, hearing about the new quest to make a baby. She had lunch at the bar and David had finger food from the tray in his stroller. She spent a little time at Doc’s, where they played gin while David had his afternoon nap. She visited with Connie at the corner store and watched the afternoon soap opera with Connie and Joy, finding the starring hussie was doing yet another guy on the air, much to the delight of the older women. It was nearly dinnertime by the time she got back to Jack’s and people started wandering in. Brie had herself a beer while Preacher warmed up some finger veggies for David and a little skim milk for his special cup with the spout. Everyone who came into the bar gave her a friendly hello but then went immediately to David to kiss him, snuggle him, nuzzle him, make faces at him and entertain him. This was one of the most loved residents of Virgin River, and if it was not because he was charming and handsome, then it was because he belonged to Mel and Jack.
By five, Mike came in, and of course he went immediately to Brie. He had a beer while she finished hers and then they had their dinner together. He talked a little about driving around to the surrounding towns, trying to get to know people, learning how they spent their time and whether they had any concerns with which he could assist. He was beginning to get a sense of what they needed in a community policeman and found it to be like having any neighborhood beat in a city. It was not long after dinner that David began to fuss, needing that bedtime change and bottle.
“I have to go,” she said, getting up and taking the baby’s stroller in hand.
He stood, as well. “Would you like some company tonight?” he asked.
“Thanks, but I think I’m going to concentrate on my job.” She smiled. “When Mom and Dad get back, maybe we could do something.”
“We’ll find something fun,” he said with a smile. “It might not be too early to see the whales—they should be migrating south pretty soon.”
“Maybe we should try that,” she said.
When Brie took David home, the first thing that struck her was that it was very dark. She hadn’t left any lights on at the cabin and although it was only about seven, the night was quickly descending. The towering trees that surrounded the clearing cast long shadows. This place had always given her such a sense of peace and safety, it surprised her to be set on edge like this. She tried to ignore the anxiety it created in her and talked to the baby, as if he were company enough. “Come on, buster. Let’s get you settled. You had a good day, didn’t you? Yes, you did.”
Then there was that matter of the door having been left unlocked; she felt her heart skip a few beats. But she went inside, flipped on lights and locked the front door. She went to the back door and locked it. Her first two nights there had been so restful and tranquil, it had never occurred to her she’d be nervous tonight. Then, despite the fact that David fussed unhappily, she put him in his bed and retrieved her 9 mm handgun from her purse. Gun in hand, she searched the cabin, anxious to put her mind at ease. Inside closets, under beds, up in the loft. It didn’t take long to find it empty of threats, thank goodness, because her nephew was getting loud and impatient in his crib. She put the gun on the nightstand beside her bed and tended to his needs. She changed him and warmed the breast milk that had been left for her by Mel.
It bothered her that there were no blinds or shutters to close over the windows. But why would Mel and Jack have bothered, out here in the forest? Who was to peek in the windows besides a bear? This hadn’t bothered her last night or the night before. Still, it caused Brie to fidget and continually glance around at the uncovered windows. Then she realized she had not spent a night alone since June.
“You have to do it sometime. You have to get beyond this,” she said aloud to herself.
Once David was changed, fed and put in his crib, she couldn’t imagine what she was going to do with herself, sitting in the little living room of that cabin, feeling as if anyone could look in, the TV fuzzy because Mel and Jack had never bothered to get a satellite dish. So she turned off the lights, and in the dark she undressed for bed. She put on a lightweight but concealing sweat suit, remembering with some longing the days when she’d slept in the buff, confident and unafraid. She hadn’t slept in the nude since that night. Even though it wasn’t yet eight o’clock, she got into bed. Her heart was beating too fast and she talked to herself—there’s no one out here who wants to hurt you. You’re isolated in the woods—no one even knows you’re here.
Brie lay on her back, her arms folded across her stomach, her gun on the bedside table. She forced her eyes closed for a minute, then two minutes, then longer if she could. It seemed forever before her pulse slowed and she relaxed a little; every sound the wind made caused her to tremble. If I can just make it through one night, I can make it through another, she told herself. She looked at the bedside clock at eight-fifteen, eight-thirty, eight forty-five.
At some point she dozed off, but later she was jolted awake by a fright. She gasped, sat straight up in the bed and realized she was sweating, panting, her heart hammering. She grabbed up the gun and held it out in front of her, pointing it toward the bedroom door. She listened intently. There was a whistling and soft moaning; the wind through the pines. There was a slight muffled sound coming from David’s bedroom and she got out of bed, gun in hand, muzzle pointed to the ceiling, and crept into his bedroom to be sure there was no one there. David squirmed around in his sleep, nestling into the bedding, dreaming.
Oh, God, she thought. I’m creeping around my baby nephew with a loaded gun! Tears stung her eyes. I’m a basket case, she thought.
She went into the dark kitchen, picked up the phone and called Mike. When he answered, she said in a breath, “I’m sorry. I’m scared.”
“What’s happening?” he asked, alert.
“Nothing. Nothing that I know of. The doors are locked, I’ve checked the house, but I’m prowling around here with a loaded gun in my hand. I’m completely nuts.”
“Can you put that gun down, please,” he said calmly. “I will be there in ten minutes.”
“Okay,” she answered tremulously, feeling that she had somehow failed. Failed her brother and Mel, failed herself.
“Please, put it aside, and I will come.”
“Okay,” she said again. But she didn’t put it aside. She slipped down onto the kitchen floor and sat there against the cabinets in the corner, from where she could see the rest of the kitchen. If anyone came at her, she could shoot him. And then she thought, my God, it’s a good thing David can’t walk! Right now she would shoot anything that moved; she was wired enough to shoot at nothing and a ricocheted bullet could hurt or even kill the baby! She tried to keep her finger relaxed along the barrel and away from the trigger, repeating in her mind, do not act unless you’re sure. Do not.
Ten minutes is an eternity when you’re afraid. And there is nothing worse than fear, whether or not there is an object. There was a metallic taste in her mouth from the adrenaline and her pulse beat dangerously fast. Finally, after what seemed like an hour, her knuckles white from holding the grip so fiercely, she heard the sound of an engine as a car came into the clearing, then a small toot as he honked the horn to let her know it was him.
She pulled herself to her feet, put the gun on the kitchen counter and unlocked the front door. When she opened it, she saw him standing there in a heavy suede jacket, wearing a sidearm. It somehow made her feel better, him having that gun. It was as though he had taken her seriously. As if her fear, though unfounded, could have had some basis.
“God,” she said, falling against him gratefully. “I’m afraid of nothing!”
“Take it easy,” he said, gently touching her back. He held her a bit, very careful not to hold her too tightly. “These things take time.”
“I feel stupid.”
“Well, don’t. It’s so understandable as to be almost predictable.” He pulled back from her, his hands on her upper arms. “Your first night alone?”
“Yes,” she said. “Honestly, I didn’t see this coming. I’ve felt so great since I got here. I’ve never slept better.”
“Would you like me to check the house for you?”
“Even though I’ve checked it,” she said, nodding. “And maybe outside.”
“I’d be happy to. Sit down. Take a few deep breaths and try to relax.”
He saw the gun on the counter and touched the grip. It was still warm. She’d been so afraid, she hadn’t been able to put it down.
He walked around the house and up into the loft, turning lights on and off as he went. He took a flashlight from his car to check the grounds outside, where he found everything to be undisturbed—no footprints or mashed grass or shrubs. When he went back into the house, he locked the door behind him, took off his sidearm and holster and put it on the counter next to her gun. He took off his jacket and draped it over a kitchen chair. Then he went to the tiny living room, where he crouched in front of the cold hearth. He stacked a few logs over some starter pine cones, lit them and watched the flames rise. He rubbed his hands together in front of the fire, then went to sit on the sofa beside her.
“Thank you,” she said meekly.
“It’s nothing, Brie. You should feel safe so you can take good care of David. That’s all that matters.”
“But I called you out in the middle of the night. You must be so annoyed.”
He grinned handsomely. “Brie. It isn’t even ten o’clock.”
“Oh, my God! I didn’t even sleep an hour!”
He chuckled and, leaning over to pull off his boots, said, “You’ll get a good night’s sleep now. I’m staying the night.”
“Oh,” she said nervously. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea….”
“Relax, mija. Don’t I know everything you’re going through trying to get your life back? You can’t honestly think I’d do one thing to make you feel threatened.”
“Well…”
“Don’t insult me,” he said. “I’ve done a lot of unforgivable things, it’s true, but I’ve never been unkind to a woman. I am a gentleman. And you need sleep.”
She thought about it for less than a second. “I know if you go, I’ll crack up. For God’s sake, when does it end?”
“I’m not sure, but I know it does. It turns out this is just a little too soon for you. There’s no need for you to feel self-conscious about this. We just won’t mention it. No one watches my comings and goings. No one watches this cabin to see whose car is parked outside.”
She gave a sigh and leaned back into the couch cushions. “I hate what this has done to me. I thought I was tougher.”
“Jesus, don’t do that to yourself,” he said. “It’s bad enough what’s been done to you without adding that. It’s not a small thing to get over, Brie.”
