Officer Next Door (2 page)

“I’ve gotta go, or I’ll be late for my shift,” he said. “Let me know if your landlord gives you any trouble about that window. Air leaks caused by cracks like that’ll run up your energy bills like you would’ve believe, but they’re not hard to fix. If you want, I could come over with a tube of caulking and fill it in for you.”

She swallowed a knot that’d formed in her throat and was threatening to cut off her breathing. “Thanks a lot. I’ve got to go too – I’m supposed to show Wisteria to a bride-to-be in forty-five minutes.”

She leapt into her car, careless of her broken heel, and sped away before Liam could say anything else about windows or caulking or filling things in. Between his words and the heat that was rising along with the sun, she was in serious danger of spontaneously combusting.

There was something magical about Wisteria. The pathway that wound through the looming house’s grounds was lined with trees steeped in the stuff that had given the place its name, and Alicia took any excuse to walk down it. Sheltered from the May sun by the trees’ foliage and the vines blossoming with purple flowers, she made her way away from the main plantation house and toward the restaurant that’d been built in a converted carriage house.

Inside, she found Sasha in the kitchen, busy with prep work. The restaurant wouldn’t open for another two hours, at noon.

“Hey,” Sasha said, her blonde ponytail bobbing as she looked up from the cutting board where she’d been busy slicing cucumbers.

“Morning,” Alicia said. “That bride getting married here next month e-mailed me her menu selections last night – thought you’d want a heads-up as soon as possible.” She held up a couple printed pages detailing what would be served at the reception.

“Thanks,” the curvy blonde said without so much as glancing at the type. “Now more importantly, how did it go this morning?”

“How’d what go?” Alicia asked, doing her best to sound nonchalant as a creeping sense of certainty made her wish she’d held onto the papers so she could’ve used them as a fan. She’d only known Sasha for a couple weeks, but even before the other woman replied, she knew
exactly
what she was talking about.

“Your daily adventures in voyeurism, of course.” Sasha’s light brown eyes sparkled as she raised her eyebrows. “I want to hear every little – or not so little – detail.”

Alicia barely suppressed a groan. The week before, the fact that she’d seen her neighbor naked had just sort of slipped out during a conversation with Sasha. Since then, she’d grown to regret ever having mentioned it. “I’ve already told you he’s gorgeous – I don’t know what else there is to say.”

“Oh, I bet there’s plenty.” Sasha grinned and seized a fresh cucumber, waving it to punctuate her claim. “Come on… If you can’t bring yourself to say it, at least point.”

She set the cucumber down on the cutting board, then placed a sweet pepper about the size of her thumb beside it. “Which one does he most resemble?”

Alicia laughed. “Please. You’re embarrassing me, and there’s not even anyone else here to overhear.”

Sasha waggled her eyebrows. “The answer is ‘cucumber’ then.”

The answer was definitely ‘cucumber’, though Alicia still couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud. Not at work, anyway.

“And her silence confirms it,” Sasha said, apparently to herself. “So… You ready for tonight?” She flashed Alicia a big grin.

“You mean this evening?”

“Evening. Night. Whatever. You know, if you wanted you could always invite me to stay overnight. Then I could see the show your neighbor puts on for myself.”

“I bet you’d love that,” Alicia said, “which is exactly why I’d rather spend the night alone with my ghost.”

“Still receiving visitors from the Great Beyond, huh?” Sasha brought her knife down on the cucumber she’d compared to Liam just moments ago.

“Just one visitor, I think. And frankly, I’m probably imagining that.” Alicia laughed, mostly so Sasha wouldn’t think she was crazy.

“I don’t see why you think that, unless you have a history of serious delusions you didn’t tell me about.” She tapped the side of her head. “I have a v
ery
vivid imagination, and the only time I’ve ever imagined someone standing over my bed was the time I woke up from a dream about Johnny Depp. Sadly, I knew it was too good to be true, even at the time.”

A little shiver raced down Alicia’s spine as she recalled the night – early morning, really – she’d woken up to the sensation of being watched.

When she’d first opened her eyes, she’d glimpsed the glowing outline of a person standing at the foot of her bed, a pale silhouette against the pre-dawn light, the shape of a person that almost appeared to be made out of cold, white light itself. It had only lasted for a split second though, and by the time she’d finished blinking sleep from her eyes, there’d been no sign of anyone.

“Well, I’d like to
think
I imagined it.”

Sasha nodded and donned a sly grin. “Not so fun being watched when you think you’re alone, huh?”

“Very funny. For your information, that incident would’ve been a lot less scary if the person – or whatever it was – had been on the other side of a window instead of in my bedroom.”

“Maybe you should get a dog,” Sasha suggested. “Adopt one from the county shelter or something.”

“You know, I might just do that. It’d be nice to have a companion … someone to alert me if anyone ever actually
does
sneak into my house. And don’t they say that animals can sense spirits?”

“Hell if I know.” Sasha shrugged. “I was thinking that if you had a dog, you could ‘accidentally’ let him loose in your neighbor’s yard. Then you’d have an excuse to go over there, and next thing you know you’d be talking and …
bam
!” She snapped her fingers, sending a fleck of chopped pepper flying. “You’re in cucumber country before you know it.”

Alicia sighed. “You’re always scheming, aren’t you?”

“I know the menu here like the back of my own hand – I could make it all in my sleep. I have to occupy my mind somehow while I’m cooking.”

“Okay, just promise me that if you come up with anything too crazy, you won’t try it tonight when you come over. I’ve got to get back to the main house – I’m supposed to be meeting a bride-to-be any minute now.”

Sasha flashed a suspiciously quiet smile, and as Alicia left the restaurant, she thought she heard her mutter something that sounded a lot like ‘I make no promises’.

Much like the incident when she’d woken to see a figure at the end of her bed, Alicia hoped she’d only imagined it.

Back outside, she strolled down the pathway, walking at a leisurely pace despite her appointment. The canopy of wisteria-swathed branches was so beautiful it demanded that she slow down a little, imagining that she existed in a different time. That was the real Southern charm she’d quickly become addicted to: natural beauty, and taking the time to savor it.

She rounded the front of the plantation house – a stately structure if there ever was one, complete with crisp white siding and tall columns that supported two porches, one on the first and second story each. She was about to climb the set of stairs that led up to the first-story porch when something caught her eye.

To the right, around the corner of the house, stood a woman. Alicia’s attention was snared by the sight of her ivory-colored skirt – one of the long, maxi-styled ones she’d always loved for their comfort-factor – flapping in the breeze.

She veered to the right, heading for the stretch of perfectly-manicured lawn beside the house. Tours didn’t start for another half hour, so chances were the woman was the bride Alicia was supposed to be meeting with.

The light breeze rolled over the plantation yard, carrying the earthy, slightly damp scent of Spanish moss. She closed her eyes and inhaled, sighing a moment later. There was no question about it: she loved her new job. It beat working in the city as a hotel event coordinator hands down. The atmosphere was simply without comparison.

Sure, she missed the convenience of the city – there, anything and everything had been available 24/7, while in Riley, most things were closed by 9 or 10 – but the peace and beauty of small town life made up for it.

“Isn’t the wisteria beautiful?” she called as she navigated a little bend in the pathway, reaching the yard around the side of the house.

There was no saying whether the bride-to-be was equally charmed by the grounds, because she was no longer there.

Blinking, Alicia looked from side to side, searching for any sign of the woman in the ivory skirt. “Hello?”

Only silence met her greeting, and she began to feel foolish. The woman had been there just moments ago, she was sure of it. Where the hell had she gone?

Scanning the yard again, she saw no sign of a human presence, only a big, dark lump a dozen yards away, on the bank of the creek that ran behind the house.

Despite the heat, she shivered. There was still one thing she hadn’t gotten used to: seeing alligators in the wild. Before she’d moved to Riley County, she’d only ever seen them in zoos and aquariums. Here, they were native and roamed wherever they liked. Even from a distance, she was able to identify the reptile lounging in mottled sunlight that filtered through the branches of a cypress tree.

His name was Brutus. Or at least, that was what everyone at Wisteria called him. Covered in tough blackish hide that inspired thoughts of dinosaurs, he was a good nine feet long, maybe ten. According to Sasha, he’d probably grow even bigger. And for some reason, he loved the creek behind Wisteria.

Making a mental note to avoid the area whenever she gave the bride-to-be a tour of the grounds, Alicia turned around and headed for the house. The sight of Brutus bothered her almost as much as the fact that a woman had all but disappeared before her eyes. When she stepped into the foyer, she looked around for the bride, intent on asking her how she’d done it.

But she wasn’t there, either. Alicia had her cell phone number on file, and briefly considered calling to ask where on the grounds the woman was. Before she could do so, someone walked through the door.

“Hi,” a tall woman in cropped jeans and a red shell top said, shifting her purse strap on her shoulder. “I’m here for a tour of the wedding facilities?”

“You must be Sheila,” Alicia said, pasting on her brightest smile even though something wasn’t adding up. If this woman was the one she was scheduled to meet with, who was the shorter woman she’d seen outside?

A guest, possibly. Or maybe she really was going crazy.

“That’s right.” Sheila held out a hand.

Alicia shook it. “I’m Alicia Dalton, special events coordinator. If you’re considering Wisteria for your wedding, the first thing you should see is…”

She spent a good forty-five minutes showing Sheila around, carefully avoiding Brutus as she showed off the grounds and buildings, explaining Wisteria’s history and the options available for a marriage ceremony. By the time she finished, the bride was talking positively about the possibilities, even mentioning how her chosen wedding colors would complement the blooming wisteria.

Alicia took that as a sign of a job well done, and returned to the main house after seeing Sheila off.

“I’d say that went well, if the look on your face is any indication.” A petite woman with silver pixie-cut hair stood in the foyer, dressed, as usual, in a bold printed top and dangling silver jewelry.

“Hi Faye,” Alicia said to Wisteria’s general manager, the woman who’d hired her. “She said she’d call soon to let me know for sure, but I think she’ll be getting married here.”

“Knew there was a reason I hired you,” Faye said, striding toward the staircase with its gorgeous hand-carved wooden bannister. “Have you seen Kerry?”

“Not yet today.” Kerry was the head of Wisteria’s small housekeeping team, and could usually be found somewhere upstairs. “When you find her, would you mind delivering a message for me? Tell her I’ll be counting on her to reign in Sasha this evening.”

“Good luck.” Faye was already halfway up the staircase. “I don’t have to know what you three have planned to tell you that you’re going to need it.”

Alicia felt herself turning a little red as Sasha’s ‘cucumber country’ comment popped into her head. Truth was, she wasn’t sure she wanted to share her gorgeous neighbor with Sasha, or anyone else – not even the sight of him. Watching him get in and out of the shower felt devilish enough; blabbing about his amazing body felt downright wrong.

Or was that just a hint of jealousy rearing its head?