Page 27 of At Last

What I get instead is a smiling Duke—which a smiling Duke is almost as dazzling as watching a solar eclipse—move in my space, deep in my space. Fingers of one hand splayed over my face from jaw to chin, the other pressing against my back to press us together. And his chin drops, his head descends, and then his perfect lips cover mine. One of his all-consuming kisses, his tongue dances around the inside of my mouth, his teeth nip my lip. His hand at my back, drops to my backside. Because of this, I melt.

“Fuck…shoulda’ gone for it.”

Both Duke and I pull apart to see Sly watching us. Until he sees us pull apart, then shaking his head, he walks away.

“Is he going to be a problem? Should I go talk to him?”

“Nah. He’ll be fine. Won’t make a move on you. Plenty ’a brothers drool over Trish, even more over Liv, and even more than that, over Elise. Not uncommon for a brother who ain’t got a good woman to lament not going after that good woman first. But that’s all it is. Wound licking.”

“Duke,” I whisper, because I don’t know what else to say, and grip his cut, pressing my face against his chest.

“Right.” He clears his throat. “You head on home. I got Peaches, get her in the truck. Few things I gotta get done here, then I’ll join you.”

“Sure thing, Chief,” I respond. One more quick kiss, and he swats my bottom to get me moving. Which I do, moving to the driver’s side of the new silver pickup to wait as Duke jogs inside the office to presumably grab the keys and then he bleeps the lock so I can climb in.

Once Jade has been buckled securely in the backseat, he kisses me one last time when he drops the key in my hand and shuts my door. I roll down the window and wave. “Later guys.”

To which shouts of, “Later Caity,” sound behind us.

The mountains are beautiful all the time, but especially this time of year with all the greenery covering the limestone, lush and thick. And Thornbriar, tucked in the middle of it, sitting cute and quaint. I knew when we rolled into town it would be the perfect place to raise my daughter. Even though they don’t recognize the truck, the waves I get from residents—only some of them patients—because they see me sitting behind the wheel, makes me feel like after years of wandering, that I’m finally home.

With a town the size of Thornbriar, it only takes us five minutes from Duke’s shop to turn down our street, and only a minute longer before we’re parked in my driveway.

A wide-awake and full of energy Jade unbuckles her seatbelt then she leaps into my arms when I open her door. It might be just a rental, but we live in a nice rental. Two story, stonework on the bottom, tan siding along the top. Brick and stone paved driveway, and the same for the walk leading up to the stoop. Maybe after I pick up a few more patients, we’ll look into buying a house. One with a big porch where I can sit and sip iced tea while Jade plays outside. I have a patio out back where I placed a nice umbrella table and chairs, but no porch at either the front or back.

After I unlock the front door, Jade pushes in from under my arm to open it. She rushes inside, and for some reason I reach out to grab her. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. She alludes my hand and I drop it, realizing how stupid I’m being. Then I shake my head to clear it and follow more slowly behind her, shutting and locking the door the way I always do.

My purse dropped to the coffee table, keys tossed in the decorative sweetgrass basket I bought during our trip to Charleston before we settled in Thornbriar sitting in the center of the coffee table, I flick on lights and adjust the temperature.

It’s been a good day. A relaxing day. One that I plan to continue at least until Duke shows. Then who knows? I walk into the kitchen to pour myself a glass of ice water. After pulling a glass down from the cupboard, I stand at the refrigerator water dispenser filling the glass when a giant black bug on the patio door catches my eye.

I walk over and bend down to get a better look. I have no idea what kind of bug it is, either. It hasn’t moved, but who can look away from a giant black bug? I bring the glass up to my lips to sip my water while willing the bug to move and notice the latch on the sliding patio door flippeddown. Unlocked. Here I thought Jade was upstairs playing.

The bug certainly moves when I throw open the patio door. “Jade?” I call out to her.

“Yes, Mama?” She calls back…from inside the house.

Um, no. If she’s inside, how is my door unlocked? I did not,would not, leave the backdoorunlocked.

Checking doors is one of my rituals before I leave the house. We’re two girls living on our own. Nothing is more important than my girl’s safety.

“Nothing sweetie, never mind.” I call back up to her.

For safety, I do a onceover of the entire house, checking every room upstairs and down. Not one thing of value seems to be missing. Not our televisions. Not my laptop. Not my copper pots from the kitchen. Not even the prescription meds they sent home for Jade after her discharge.

With that said, I don’t know if I should call the police. They’d probably think I’m just some silly woman whothinksshe locked the door. What if this one time I really hadn’t?

I bring my hands to rest against my hips and bite my bottom lip while standing in the threshold between the living room and kitchen, unsure if I should feel scared or stupid. The time for water has passed. I need a beer and move back to the refrigerator to grab one.

The home phone rings as I pull a cold brew from the bottom shelf. So I close the door to answer. That’s when I see it. The missing thing.

How had I missed it before? Jade’s preschool picture, the one I keep in a magnetic photo frame on the upper freezer door so I can look at it whenever I walk to the fridge. It’s not in the magnetic frame.

The phone quits ringing by the time Jade runs it over to me, her face clearly says she’s confused as to why I didn’t answer.

Someone broke into my house. Someone. Broke into my house. My house. Where I sleep. Where my daughter sleeps. And theytook her picture. Literally took her picture from my house.

“Oh god.” My hand shoots to my mouth. I stumble back a few steps. My whole body begins to tremble as what Duke said to me yesterday comes back in a rush. Being with him might make Jade and I persons of interest. And Houdini escaped capture. The same Houdini who targeted women attached to the club. I mean, it couldn’t be him, could it? Duke has hardly spent any time with us. Unless he’s watching Duke. This is crazy, absolutely bonkers. Why would Houdini want a picture of my daughter?

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