“Huh,” she huffed. “I know I saw someone in the backyard last week. I let Molly out,” she said, referring to her dog that was as old as her, “and she started barking like crazy.” She shook her head, trying to remember. “I wish I could remember what day it was. It was probably your pool guys. Yes, I bet that’s what it was.”
I suddenly felt very uneasy. “Could it have been Max? Or maybe my sister’s husband? You’ve met Cane before, right?”
Gladys was watching my face closely and touched my shoulder. “Honey, I’m sorry to frighten you. I’ve been a little nervous lately. I watched one of those shows the other night about these home invasions the young hoodlums are doing now. I hate to say that it really scared me; my mind’s been running around like crazy.”
“I have the security system set, so if anyone had gotten in, it would’ve gone off.”
“That’s good. It was probably just my imagination, come to think of it. Hey, I have a kettle of soup on. You have time to come and grab a bite to eat?” she asked hopefully.
“I wish I did, but I need to grab a load of my things and get them home before it gets too late. And I need to go check on my sister if I can find time today.”
She patted my shoulder again and turned towards her house. “You take care, Kari. And good luck with your boyfriend.”
I smiled as I thought of Max. “I will, Gladys. You have my number if you need anything.”
I headed to my front door with a heavy sense of unease. Although she said not to worry about it, I did.
What if someone was lurking around outside? Who could it be? Why would they bother?
With a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, I hesitantly unlocked the front door. The system beeped, letting me know it was still armed. I typed in the code and turned around.
The house was exactly as I left it. Nothing had been touched or moved. I walked cautiously into the kitchen and it appeared fine as well. The back door was shut tight. It hadn’t blown open since Max fixed the loose lock that had plagued me off and on for a few months. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that Gladys had thought someone was milling around.
I grabbed my phone and dialed Max’s number.
Max
“Just a second, Sam.”I held up a finger. “Hey, sweetheart,” I said into my cell phone.
“Hey.” Her voice made me smile. “I’m at my house and was just talking to my neighbor. You remember Gladys, right? Anyway, she said something that got me on edge a little, so I’m changing the security system code.”
“What did she say?”
“Just that she thought she saw someone in the backyard the other day. But the system is still armed and nothing has been messed with, so I’m sure she just imagined it. But I’m changing the code anyway.”
“Good thinkin’. Just write down what you change the new code to or text it to yourself so you don’t forget,” I laughed.
She snorted. “I’ll send you a text with it, too. Are you busy?”
I leaned back in my chair and looked up at Sam. She was standing in the doorway, her arms wrapped around a couple of spec books. She smiled as our eyes met and I looked by her, out thewindow. “Yeah. There are a couple of items on this job I’m working on that I can save a lot of money on if I can outsource them right. So I’m looking up suppliers.”
“I won’t keep you. I just wanted to hear your voice more than anything, I think. You calm my nerves.”
I smiled. “I’m glad. I’ll be home as early as I can. Be careful and don’t wear yourself out too much today. You’re gonna need some energy later.”
She giggled, the sound music to my ears.
“Love ya, sweetheart.”
“Love you, Max,” she whispered. Those words out of her mouth could turn any day right around. She didn’t say it a lot, but when she did, it made my day. It meant more to me to hear it from her lips than anyone I’d ever heard it from before.
Maybe because she’s the only one that I’ve ever really loved.
I shut the phone off and turned back to Samantha. She had just gotten back from her lunch break and stopped by my office on her way to the front. I had asked her to look up a few suppliers for me if she had time.
“So just those three,” I said, getting back to our earlier conversation. “If you can email me the contact name and phone numbers, that’d be great.”
“No problem, Max.” She didn’t seem to be in a hurry to move. “Thank you again for giving me this job. I appreciate it.”
