Afraid that he was going to speak to her sisters, she called each of them to let them know what had happened the night before. She tried to downplay it, but both of her sisters were appalled by the attack and each of them offered to put her up until Daniel and his officers figured out who was responsible.
However, she was adamant that she was staying put. She was certain nobody could get in her back door, and as long as the board remained in place over the front window, she didn’t believe anyone could get into her front door again.
She felt safe once again in the shanty, and besides, she was still hunting for her mother’s book, hoping it would turn up someplace inside her home.
She did find the knife that her mother carried for self-defense in the third bedroom on the shelf. It had a handle with a purple unicorn on it and a blade that was about five inches long. The knife hadn’t helped her mother on the night of her murder, but maybe it would help Angelique protect herself in the case of another attack.
She spent the afternoon working and knocked off at five o’clock. At least when she worked, she could only focus on the tasks at hand, which required her complete attention.
Then she took some time and thoroughly searched the little room where her mother would meet her clients. She looked behind everything on the bookcase and around on the floor, but there was no book there to be found.
For dinner, she breaded some shrimp and then fried it up. She also added some broccoli and carrots and made a creamy garlic sauce. It had just finished cooking when a knock sounded on her door.
“Who is it?” she called through the door.
“It’s me, Angelique,” the familiar deep voice called back.
She opened the door, surprised that Daniel had come so early in the evening. “Come in,” she said, noting the very pleasant scent of him as he swept past her. “You’re here early this evening.”
Tonight, he was out of uniform and looked extremely hot in a pair of jeans and a light blue T-shirt that displayed bulging biceps and his broad shoulders. As usual, he filled the entire space with his energy and complete masculinity.
“I knocked off a little early today,” he replied.
“Last night was a late one for you,” she said.
“For both of us,” he agreed.
“I was just about to eat. Would you like to join me?” she asked. “I have enough to share.”
“No thanks, I just had a burger a little while ago. But you go ahead and eat. If you don’t mind, I’ll sit at the table with you.”
They sat at the small table in the kitchen area and faced each other. He gestured toward her plate. “That definitely looks good. Do you like to cook?”
“Sometimes I enjoy it,” she replied. “Lately not as much. It’s no fun to cook just for yourself. But I cooked for Mama and me on most nights.”
“Do you have any kind of a specialty dish?”
“I’ve never thought about it before, but I think I make a really good fried fish. I use my own breading and spice concoction and I’ve been told it’s really scrumptious.”
“Sounds good. I’d like to try it some time,” he replied.
“How about tomorrow night?” she asked impulsively. “If you can get off and be here around six or so, then I’ll make you my fish for dinner.”
He smiled at her, the gesture crinkling the outer corners of his eyes and causing a pleasant warmth to rush through her. “I will definitely try to be here for that.”
“What about you? Do you cook?” she asked. This was the first time they weren’t talking about murder and mayhem, and she was enjoying the strictly social conversation. There would be time enough later to talk about what he’d done today in his professional capacity.
He laughed. “I guess you could call it that. If it comes in a box and is microwavable, it’s my friend. I eat a lot of burgers and I have a lot of my dinners in the café.”
“Then I’ll definitely fix you a nice, home-cooked meal tomorrow night,” she replied. It didn’t mean anything, she told herself. She was just doing a favor for the man who was working hard for her and her sisters.
“That sounds great,” he replied. “Now, you eat. You’re letting your dinner get cold.”
“I’ll just warm it up later. Why don’t we go on into the living room.”
“Are you sure? I didn’t mean to interrupt your meal,” he replied with a frown.
“It’s okay,” she said and assured him with a smile. “To be honest, I’m not really that hungry right now anyway.”
