up.”
He was. His heart was beating hard against his chest and his palms sweat at the thought of someone wanting to hurt her in any way.
“Gabby, you’re coming home with me.” Where he could keep an eye on her. “I won’t take no for an answer.”
“As much as I appreciate your concern, you need to think this through.” She propped her hands on her hips, obviously ready to chastise him. “Someone is obviously after me. I don’t want to bring trouble to your doorstep.”
“I can handle it,” he said.
“You can, but do you really want to put your daughter at risk?”
That took the wind out of his argument. He ran a hand through his hair and groaned. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of Holly first.”
Her gaze softened. “You’re worried about me and I appreciate your concern. I do. But it’s better for everyone if I go back to Boston.”
He took her words like a punch in the stomach. Having just found her again, he wasn’t ready to let her go. “How do you know you’ll be any safer at home?”
“Because leaving is exactly what my tormenter wants me to do.” She bit down on her lower lip. “I can’t say it’s what I want to do, but I don’t see that I have any choice.”
He racked his brain for an alternative, but he couldn’t come up with one, either. “Maybe you’re right.”
She stepped closer, tipping her head back and meeting his gaze. “Will you miss me?”
He pulled her close and planted a long, sizzling kiss on her lips. One that made her light-headed and dizzy.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” she said, when she’d finally come up for air. “It’s a good thing I’m only an hour away. I might sleep at home, but I’ll be in town during the day. I still have research to do.”
He frowned. “I’m guessing that’s going to make someone even more unhappy.”
She nodded, a pleased smile on her face. “Exactly what I’m hoping for. I want to push them into showing their hand. How else can I find out who’s behind this unless I keep doing what I’m doing?”
“Unless you bait them, you mean?” Derek was beginning to like this scenario less and less.
“You might call it that.” She clasped her hand behind her back and swung from side to side, apparently pleased with her idea.
“I don’t like it. You’re deliberately trying to provoke this person?”
“I’m going to do my job. In the meantime, if you’re nice and supportive, you can visit with me while I’m in town.”
And keep an eye on her while he was at it.
He waited with Gabrielle until the police let her back into her room. In the meantime, Mrs. Rhodes had returned from her grocery shopping. The older woman was overcome by the news, so the police took her inside and they called her sister to come help her.
Now Derek sat on the bed while Gabrielle began packing up her things.
It shouldn’t feel final, but it did.
He shouldn’t be upset. But he was.
Neither one of them mentioned the words on the bathroom mirror or the mess she had to clean as she sorted through the clothes and papers that had been tossed around the room.
“I don’t have all that much to pack. I’ve been living out of a suitcase since I got here.”
He’d already taken all of her toiletries out of the bathroom and placed them on the edge of the bed so she wouldn’t have to go in there and see the bold words again.
She paused at the foot of the mattress and sealed each bottle in its own bag before placing everything in the female version of a dop kit and laying it on top of all her clothes.
She zipped the suitcase closed. “That’s it.” She turned back toward him.
“Let me help you to your car.”
To his surprise, she let him lift the suitcase off the chair and haul it out to the street. He wedged it into the back of the trunk and slammed the door closed.
“Thank you.” She treated him to one of her sweet smiles.
“I didn’t think you’d let me help.” She’d always prided herself on her ability to do things on her own.
“Do you want the truth?”
“Of course.”
“After last night, I’m a little sore in body parts I didn’t know I had.” She curled her hands around his shirt and pulled him closer. “Since you caused it, I figured it’s only fair that I let you do the heavy lifting for me today,” she said playfully.
Leaning forward, she planted a kiss on his lips.
He cupped his hands around her face and reciprocated, his tongue slipping easily inside her willing mouth. His heart kicked hard inside his chest and he tilted her head to the side, delving deeper into her sweetness.
She broke the kiss first. “I think you’re going to miss me,” she said, sounding extremely pleased.
She should be, Derek thought. Because he wasn’t just going to miss her, he was going to worry every second she wasn’t in sight. Which meant he’d be thinking about her.
Day.
And night.
DEREK ARRIVED BACK HOME in no mood for an inquisition, but resigned to answer Holly’s questions, anyway.
Sure enough, she greeted him as soon as he stepped in the front door. “How is Gabrielle?” his daughter asked. “What happened at her place? Did someone really break in? Did they take anything? Is she hurt?”
He slung an arm over his daughter’s shoulders and steered her toward the kitchen. “Gabrielle is fine. Someone ransacked her room, but the police don’t think they took anything of value. Does that cover all of your questions?” he asked, unable to contain a grin.
“Just the first few. Where is she? Is she scared to stay alone? I can’t imagine being by myself after something like that happened to me.”
He lowered himself into one of the kitchen chairs. “Gabrielle went back to Boston,” he told her.
“What? Why?”
“Because it’s safer there for her. Besides, that’s where her home is.” He glanced at Holly. “Would you mind getting me a Diet Coke?”
She shook her head and headed to the fridge, pulled out a plastic bottle and handed it to him.
“Thanks.” He twisted off the top and took a long, cold drink.
“Dad, why didn’t Gabrielle just come back here with you?” Holly looked up at him with her big, inquisitive eyes and asked the question he’d hoped she wouldn’t think about asking.
“I offered, but it seemed smarter for her to go home.”
Holly narrowed her gaze. “Smarter how?”
Sometimes he really wished she wasn’t so darned bright. “She didn’t want to bring trouble to our doorstep,” he said carefully, trying to find a way to phrase things without making her feel guilty.
“You mean, whoever broke into her place could break in here if she was staying with us?” Holly asked.
“That’s right.” He lifted the bottle for another drink.
“But you could handle anyone who broke in! So could Grandpa Hank,” she said, pride and certainty in her expression. Just as quickly, the light in her eyes dimmed. “She was worried about me, right? I’m the reason she didn’t come back to stay here?”
Derek ran a hand through his hair. “Baby, she lives in Boston. She belongs at her place. She was never going to stay here permanently, anyway.”
“But she never took me to Target like she promised.” Disappointment tugged at Holly’s lips. He hoped she wasn’t about to cry.
“Hey! Boston isn’t the other end of the world. Gabrielle has every intention of coming back here often. She’s working on a book and she has people to interview here. And I know she’ll take you shopping. She wouldn’t miss that.” He rose and ruffled Holly’s hair, hoping he was cheering her up.
It was difficult to force a smile when he was worried about Gabrielle going home alone. Still, whoever had a
