“No, but my imagination has been connecting all these little things that have nothing to do with one another and could really have happened to anyone—”
“But they happened to you.” His voice was low and distinctly grim. “When did this all start?”
“I don’t know … maybe a week and a half ago. It’s like every few days something happens. I never thought I was accident-prone, but I’m beginning to wonder. Beth thought it was a ghost—”
“A ghost? Come on!”
“I know, I know, but if someone’s trying to scare me out of this farmhouse, he’s doing one hell of a job.”
Matt was silent for several long seconds. “Listen, I’m still in Leominster, but I’ll be driving back later this afternoon. Why don’t I meet you at home? If I get there before you do, I can take a look around.”
Lauren was without pride at that moment, and self-sufficiency was a luxury she couldn’t afford. “Would you? I’d be so grateful, Matt! I’ve never been one to be spooked, but I’m as spooked as they come right about now. I don’t think I slept more than two or three hours last night, and that was with a chair propped against the bedroom door and a camera nearby.”
“You were going to take pictures?” he asked in meek disbelief.
“I was going to hit whoever it was over the head! My camera was the closest thing to a weapon I had. And then this morning I crept around the house looking for signs of an intruder. Crept around my own house in broad daylight—I must be getting paranoid!”
“Shh. Don’t say things like that, Lauren. I’m sure there are perfectly logical explanations for everything that’s happened.”
“That’s what I’ve been telling myself, but it’s getting harder to believe. I mean, I can’t deny that a car nearly ran me down, or that a dog attacked me, or that the garage door fell … but someone going through my lingerie?”
Matt cleared his throat. “Someone going through your lingerie?”
“See? You think I’m crazy, too!”
“I do not think you’re crazy. Never that. You strike me as one of the most together women I’ve ever known.”
“But you don’t know me. Not really.”
“Well, we’ll have to do something about that, then. Tonight?”
“Promise you’ll come?”
“I promise.”
Lauren gave him directions; then, for the first time that morning, she smiled. “Thanks, Matt. I feel better already.”
“So do I, sweetheart. See ya later.”
Lauren arrived home from work that night to find a car in the drive. It was a brown Topaz and had local license plates. She assumed it was Matt’s rental, but, seeing no sign of him, she felt a momentary tension. The car that had tailed her the Thursday before had been of a similar size, and though she’d had only glimpses of it when it passed beneath lights, she’d guessed it was either maroon or brown.
Staying where she was, safely locked inside her car with the motor running just in case, she leaned heavily on the horn. Then she waited. She seemed to be doing a lot of that lately.
This time she didn’t have long to wait. Within a minute, Matt opened the front door of the house and loped out to greet her. The relief and sheer pleasure she felt upon seeing him eclipsed the fact that he’d somehow entered her house without a key.
Killing the motor, she scrambled from the car and threw herself into his arms. It seemed the most natural thing to do and, given the way Matt’s arms wound tightly around her, he appeared to have no objections.
When at last he set her down, they exchanged silly grins.
“You look wonderful,” he said. “A little tired, maybe, but a sight for sore eyes.”
“I could say the same.” Her hands were looped around his neck, her lower body flush with his. He looked positively gorgeous, sun-baked skin, slightly crooked nose, too-square chin and all. “Thanks for coming, Matt. I really needed you here. Did you have any trouble finding the place?”
“Nope. Your directions were perfect. I got here a couple of hours ago. It’s a nice place, Lauren. I can see why you bought it. It does have charm.”
“But does it have ghosts? That’s what Ireallyneed to know.”
Taking her hand, he started with her toward the house. “No ghosts. Just lots of things that need repairing.” He cleared his throat. “For starters, the lock on one of the back windows is broken. I had no trouble climbing inside.”
