I'm not scared. He was lying. She was sure of it.
The way he'd kissed her...
The passion that had sparked between them scared her a little, too.
He'd been so insistent about not rushing things. What had happened just now that had pushed him to kiss her?
He shifted to one side, and she caught sight of the wrapping paper strewn across the sofa cushions. Oh. The photos.
Somehow, he'd figured it out.
She let a soft smile play across her lips as she went back to the bread dough. The dough—
She looked back to him and couldn't help a smirk at the flour handprints staining the front of his T-shirt.
He surprised her by not running away, not fading off into the living room. He moved up beside her.
"I've never watched anyone do this before."
He'd drawn his walls back up, but maybe not all the way.
"Wanna try? Here." She dipped her fingers into the small mound of flour she'd made on the clean countertop and grabbed his closer hand. She rubbed flour over his fingers, focusing on each knuckle, getting distracted by the strength in his wrist.
When he stilled, she looked up at him, saw the hesitation in his gaze.
She let her thumb rub across one knuckle. Saw the flare of heat in his eyes before he dampened it.
She didn't know where this thing between them would go, just that it felt right.
"It's called kneading," she said, moving aside so he could have at the lump of dough. "You're trying to release all the air bubbles in the dough so that the yeast can do its job.”
He pressed the dough gently as if he were petting one of the kittens.
“Harder than that.”
He smashed his fist into the dough.
“Not that hard!" She giggled at his mock-glare.
Out the window, a plume of gravel dust let them know someone was coming up the road.
"That's probably Rick," she said, nodding to the window.
Cord looked from the window down to his flour-dusted hands.
She stuffed the nerves rising in her stomach. She had to get over her fears. "Keep working. By the time I answer the door, you'll be finished."
She gave her fingers a quick rinse and was still drying them on a dish towel as she crossed through the living room.
Cord wanted to leave Sutter's Hollow behind. She'd started to feel safe again here, but the land was his.
He wanted her to go with him to Houston, but could she go back to living in the big city? In Sutter's Hollow, there was enough room for her to see to the horizon.
But after that kiss...
She opened the door and stood on the threshold, still distracted by thoughts of Cord's mouth on hers.
Weird. The plume of gravel dust had dissipated, but no car was parked near the house or even coming up the drive.
She squinted. Someone had stopped right at the turn in beneath the rusted-out sign. It didn't make sense. Rick would come up to the house, wouldn't he?
As the dirt settled, she got a glimpse of the car. Red. Her heart banged against her ribcage.
It was hard to see past the tangle of wild plum bushes that had overtaken the space behind the fence that spanned the property. What was clear was that the car was low to the ground.
Like a sports car.
"Cord." Her voice emerged a whisper as strength drained from her legs, leaching out of her body with every heartbeat.
Cord was still pounding the bread dough in the kitchen. She heard him say something to the dog.
Someone got out of the car.
She couldn't breathe.
That shock of dark hair. The skinny form, the slight hunch of his shoulders.
Toby.
Toby was here.
15
Molly reach for the door to shut him out, but her muscles wouldn't obey. She was frozen in fear.
It was like a bad dream, one where she couldn't move.
Except she was awake. Terrifyingly so.
Blood pumped through her sluggish body. Each beat of her heart was like an earthquake in her head.
Toby stared at her. Even from so far away, his stare pierced.
He'd found her.
"Is he coming in?"
From close behind her, Cord's voice startled her out of the debilitating state.
She shrieked.
And started to crumple, all the adrenaline pulsing through her body doing her no good.
He caught her, his arms coming around her back as he stepped into her.
Which put him right in the doorway, right in Toby's view.
Heart beating in her throat, she couldn't push the words out to warn him.
She was shaking so badly she couldn't stand upright.
She felt Cord's body go from at ease to tense and ready to strike.
"Who is that?" Cord asked.
He didn't wait for her to answer. He kept a strong hold on her as he whirled out of the doorway and shoved the door closed.
He locked it for good measure.
But a deadbolt wasn't going to keep Toby out.
"Was that him?" Cord demanded.
She managed a shaky nod, tears burning hot behind her eyes.
What was she going to do? Run, her brain cried.
Cord kept one arm around her, leaning his shoulder into the wall. She felt him reach into his hip pocket, and then he raised his cell phone to his ear.
"This is Coulter, out at Mackie's place. Molly's stalker just showed up."
Oh, the sheriff's office. Help! Send help!
Cord shifted them nearer the big front window. "His car's sitting out on the road, just past the cattle guard. He was standing there a minute ago. I think he got back inside the car."
There was noise through the cell phone.
Cord's chin pressed against her cheek. "Did you see a weapon? Was he holding anything?"
She squeezed her eyes closed, the image of Toby standing there, staring at her, burning behind her eyes. "I-I don't know." Her whisper burned her throat, and two hot tears slipped down her cheeks. "I don't think so."
"She didn't see a weapon," Cord said into the phone.
More noise came through the phone.
"Yeah, I understand."
Cord ended the call, shoved the cell back in his pocket.
"Honey, can you walk?" When she didn't respond, he shook her. “Molly.”
Her
