Page 12 of Bailey

Reeves nodded. “I’ve got a bank of them in the garage,” he said, turning away from her now and returning to the couch. “I can turn on the parts of the house we want. And while there’s no thermostat up here, we can easily plug in a space heater in your bedroom, and I’ll run my fireplace.”

Sufficiently comforted, Bailey started toward her spot on the couch. Reeves handed her a blanket as she passed him, and she’d just reached the sofa when the power went out. A cry flew from her mouth of its own volition and Bailey couldn’t have stopped it even if she’d wanted to.

Reeves sighed, but in the resulting darkness and the rising panic in the back of her throat, she couldn’t tell if the noise was meant for her reaction or simply the fact that he now had to get up again and go back downstairs.

He stood with a groan. “Can I leave the dogs with you?”

“Of course,” Bailey said, blinking rapidly to try to get her eyes to adjust to the lack of light.

“I’ll go look at all the generator connections and get power back on up here.” A moment later, the blue-white glow of the flashlight on his phone filled the loft, and though it was only mid-afternoon, hardly any light came in from the windows behind the couch where he’d been sitting.

Bailey watched him leave, not exactly enthused to be left upstairs alone in the dark, even with his two dogs with her. She wasn’t sure what she expected to happen without him—a burglar to jump out of the closet? Reeves had one of those in the hall, and Bailey had opened it to see what was inside: the usual towels, and linens, neatly folded and organized, and extra body wash.

He seemed to have everything in straight lines, and be rational and hardworking, but as Bailey had stood at the window in the bedroom he’d given her and looked out over the back of his farm, she’d acknowledged silently to herself that she didn’t know him very well. He could be the burglar hiding in someone’s closet, and now she was stuck here with him.

She sat on the edge of the couch and picked up her phone to text her administrative assistant and her mother once again to make sure they knew where she was. Satisfied that if no one ever saw her again, they’d be able to tell the authorities that Reeves Durham was the last person she’d been with, Bailey turned her phone over and set it on the armrest of the chair.

Several long minutes passed before the welcome hum of electricity filled the air, and the lights sprang back to life. Bailey breathed out, not realizing how tight her chest had become until that moment.

Pansy lay at her feet, but Sir stood in the doorway, his head almost around the corner, looking downstairs for his master.

“Sir,” Bailey said, and the dog turned toward her. “Come on over here.” She smiled and waved the dog forward, and he trotted over to her, his whole body wagging. She grinned at him and took his face in both hands as she leaned down and smiled.

“He’s coming right back, I promise.” But her eyes darted to the doorway too, especially now that the lights had come back on but Reeves hadn’t returned. He did a couple of minutes later, and now he carried a space heater with him.

“I’m going to put this in your room,” he said. “And get my fireplace going.”

“It’s only three-thirty,” Bailey said.

He’d already started down the hall. “I know,” he called back, and Bailey certainly couldn’t keep him out of a room in his own house. He walked past the loft again and down the hall toward the opposite side of the house, where he stayed for a few minutes before returning to her. He looked at her, a smile coming to his face when he saw her with both of the dogs crowded at her feet.

“Are you guys being greedy?” he asked.

Pansy immediately abandoned Bailey in favor of Reeves. She stayed on the floor as he sat down, only jumping on the couch when he invited her. He looked at Sir and raised his eyebrows. “Oh, are you going to stay over there?”

“He can.” Bailey scooted back on the couch and settled into place, lifting the footrest and then patting the couch for Sir to come up and join her. The boxer did, and he circled and leaned his whole weight into her left side. She lifted her arm and put it around him, grinning at the dog.

“Why do big dogs always think they’re lap dogs?” She turned her smile on Reeves, glad to find him wearing one too.

“I don’t know, but you’ve opened the door for him now,” he said. “I should’ve warned you how far he’ll go if you let him.”

“I don’t mind,” Bailey said. “He’s just a big teddy bear.”

The lights flickered for a moment, and Bailey thought they’d go out again, but they roared back a little bit brighter before settling into a normal wattage. Reeves lifted his footrest too, and he ran one hand through his hair and then down his beard as he leaned back into the reclining chair and closed his eyes.

Bailey’s doctor heart wanted to diagnose him, and a couple of questions filled her mouth before she swallowed them back. She’d already asked too many of him, but he hadn’t turned the TV back on or even picked up the remote. Bailey had been in therapy for years and had learned that silence didn’t have to be hostile. It still made her a touch nervous, and she swallowed and watched Reeves openly.

“If you have something to say, you can just say it,” he said, his mouth barely moving.

“I was just wondering if you’re going to fall asleep,” Bailey said.

His eyes opened, and he turned his head slightly toward her. “I don’t think so. It’s just nice to rest my eyes.”

She nodded. “Do you sleep well at night?”

“Sometimes,” Reeves said. “What about you?”

Bailey shook her head. “If I want a good night’s sleep, I have to take pills or those THC tea drinks. Do you know about those?”