Page 152 of Will Bark for Pizza
“I’m supposedto be at the bookstore,” Kira said, her head on my shoulder as she lazily traced fingertips over my chest. Her clothes were currently in my dryer, and I hoped it took all damn day for them to dry.
“The only place you need to be is right here, naked in my bed.”
I kissed her forehead, mostly because I could.
She draped a leg over mine and nestled closer. She was so fucking wet, and I loved how it felt against my thigh.
“Did you know my keys don’t work?”
“What?”
“My keys. For the bookstore. The ones I’ve had since Mom died. They just stopped working.”
“I don’t think that’s how it works.”
“I’ve been using them since I came back,” she said, tracing her finger over the outline of a panther tattoo on my chest. “My keys worked yesterday.”
“Maybe you have both sets?” I guessed.
Kira hesitated, and I glanced down to see her biting her bottom lip.
“What is it?”
“If I tell you something, will you promise not to think I’m crazy?”
“You’re a redhead. Crazy kind of comes with the territory.”
Except, her blonde roots were growing out enough to bolster her claim about not being a natural redhead. But it didn’t matter if she allowed her natural color to grow out fully. She’d always be Red to me.
“Beck, I mean it.”
“Tell me,” I said, caressing her arm.
“I think my mom let me in.”
“Your mom?”
“I know it sounds crazy.”
“No, not really.” I wasn’t superstitious, and I didn’t have a strong belief in ghosts. If I did, I wouldn’t have bought a cabin I planned to gut which could summon the wrath of a ghost. From the stories I’d been told, Grandma Pebble didn’t sound like the kind of spirit I wanted to tangle with. “How else can you explain it?”
“The first night I was in town, I unlocked the back door and the apartment door. With my key. It was just after midnight. Luke showed up just before five that morning, claiming the silent alarm was recently tripped. Do you know of any alarms that trip five hours later?”
“No.”
“I tried to goupstairs.”
“When?”
“Today.”
I tensed, relieved that she hadn’t been able to get inside. Otherwise, she’d see the boxes and stacks of materials I acquired over the past few days. I wanted the final reveal to be a surprise. Something she couldn’t try to talk me out of doing. But if she got a sneak peek, my plans might be thwarted. I’d have to find a reason to keep her out of the apartment.
“That’s why I left. I was just so . . . overwhelmed. I mean, how could Mom . . .”
“You could have drowned, Kira. If I hadn’t seen you fall in?—”
“I know,” she said, sounding regretful. “Sometimes I don’t think. I just—I just wanted to talk to my mom and she wasn’t at the bookstore. Not today.”
