Page 27 of This Time I'm Keeping You
Sam made several loud juvenile kissing noises that had Nick stepping closer to the ladder, intending to shake it hard so his brother fell.His phone rang, stopping him.
“You’re lucky,” he said, jabbing a finger Sam’s way.Pulling out his phone, he looked at the caller ID but didn’t recognize the number.
“Nick Atherton,” he answered.
“Nick.”
“Poppy?”
“Yes.I, ah?—”
“Are you okay?What’s going on?”
“I don’t know why I called you, but I panicked, and then I saw your card.”
“It’s okay.You can call me anytime.Tell me what’s wrong.”She sounded off.
“Someone broke into my house, Nick.It’s a mess,” she said, and he could hear her panic.“Could you call your cousin?”
“Are you inside now?Are they still there, Poppy?”
“No, they were gone when I got back.I’m at my neighbor’s.”
“Stay there.I’ll be with you in twenty minutes.”Jamming the phone back into his pocket, Nick watched his brother jump to the ground, face serious.
“Gotta go.Someone robbed Poppy’s house.”
“What!Shit, that woman has bad luck.What’s her address?I’ll send Billy over, then come and see if you need any help.”
Nick told him and then sprinted for his pickup.Throwing his tool belt in the back, he then jumped into the driver’s seat.In seconds, he was pulling away from the curb.
The traffic wasn’t bad, but it still took him twenty minutes to get there.He ran up her path and was pushing open the front door seconds after he’d parked.
“Jesus.”The house was wrecked.Furniture overturned; stuff dumped out of drawers.
Someone had come through here in a rage.
He shouted Poppy’s name but got no response, which told him she’d stayed with her neighbor like he’d asked.
Once he’d checked the lower floor, Nick ran up the stairs.
He found Poppy standing by her bed.
“I told you to stay with your neighbor.”
She spun to face him, clutching a huge tabby cat under her arm, the other one still in a sling.She was wide-eyed and vulnerable.The look punched him hard in the gut.
“Are you all right?”His voice came out raspy.
It surprised him to see anger, not fear, in her eyes.
“I went to the store and came home to this,” she said, her voice shaking.“Why would anyone want to do this to me?”
“I don’t think the type of people who did this needed a reason, Tinker Bell,” he said, moving to her side, where he lifted a hand and ran it slowly down her spine.
“They were probably looking for money or something to sell.”He pulled her into his chest for his own sake as much as hers, wrapping his arms around her.
“You want to drop the furball?”Nick said as he felt a claw dig into his stomach.
