daughter of a buddy of Cy’s. At the time of her involvement, she was a standard-issue, overworked, overtired, over-everything med student. The apartment-sitting gig was perfect for the harried doctor-in-training.
Fast-forward to when Ari was born. By then, Joanne was hanging by a thread. Same for Cy. When Reed and Cy decided to let the lease end, Stacey’s move out of the apartment got lost in the shuffle. Long story short, it was necessary to fast-forward again—this time to the recent past. The Christmas break, to be exact.
During holiday downtime at home in her new condo, Stacey unpacked a few forgotten boxes and came across a piece of notepad paper, covered with coffee stains containing a name and a note.
The name? Arnie
The note? Please call me.
Stacey called Cy and apologized up and down for not following through to tell him about the contact. Her excuse was sleep deprivation and extreme stress. All she remembered was the scribbled note and a vague recollection of a guy with a huge attitude knocking on the door.
So Arnie had come back. The shitty luck and bad timing left a hole in Summer’s heart. She had a hard time wrapping her mind around how close they were to reconnecting only to have it come to nothing.
The question of what did he know and when did he know was answered—at least partially. His returning meant everything, but the story stalled there. He wasn’t the one who fell off the face of the earth. She was. Yes, he came back, but there was nobody to tell him about the baby or the threats.
And now here they were. At long last, he was putting things together on his end. There was still hope.
Because nothing about this wanted to be simple or easy, Reed had one last firecracker to loose. Armed with this new information, he took the extraordinary step of using his government access and contacts to rather boldly knock on NIGHTWIND’s cyber door. He didn’t make direct contact, but he found out enough to quietly back away. The name Kingsley Maddison and an eyebrow-raising top secret designation were enough to make Reed back the fuck off in a hurry. It also expanded his understanding of what NIGHTWIND was all about.
“They ride with the defenders of Gondor.” He sniggered.
Summer got the reference and wasn’t at all displeased with the imagery. Everyone needed a bit of Tolkien in his or her life. It made things more interesting.
“Daddy wears a white hat,” she whispered to her sleeping daughter. “Of course if there is an actual hat, he probably looks like an idiot wearing it. The man’s fashion sense leaves a lot of room for improvement.”
Her nose wrinkled with distaste when sounds cut through her musings. It was the neighbors in their yard. Ew.
She frowned at the wall separating Bud and Lynda’s property from the house next door. The house where the annoying Todd lived with his mother.
“That’s enough outdoor time for us,” she murmured, gathering Ari from her seat. Cradling the baby, she made for her door when a voice drifted into the yard. Her feet stopped moving. She barely breathed. Listening with all her might, Summer tried to place where she’d heard it before.
Even though none of the thoughts parading in her mind fit, she was sure the voice mattered.
In an uncharacteristically knee-jerk move, she double locked the door behind her. The beauty of guesthouse living was the protective factor of physically existing in privacy. A person had to enter a vestibule in the main house to gain access to the guest quarters. The apartment’s back door opened into a walled backyard. There was a locked gate for the pool guy and gardener. It really couldn’t be any more secluded.
But something was nibbling on her nerves. Just because she didn’t know what it meant didn’t stop her from paying attention anyway. Now wasn’t the time to ignore the calls coming from her intuition.
With the baby napping, she sent a text to Lynda asking if she could use the laundry room.
Go ahead, was the reply. I’m putting together a cookie plate for the new neighbors.
New neighbors? What new neighbors, Summer wondered.
She texted back, Thanks and I didn’t know. Which house?
Our driveway neighbors. A work truck appeared followed by all sorts of deliveries. Bud thinks it’s a flip situation.
Hmph. Flippers? She’d done her fair share of watching renovation shows at three in the morning. The house hunting and flipping ones were her favorite mindless activity. Perfect for nocturnal nursing.