Best-Kept Secrets

“I wouldn’t think that.” But she was puzzled and very concerned. Her mother hadn’t looked well since the incident outside the restaurant. If Amy hadn’t been so caught up in her own dilemma she’d have realized that much sooner. The walk in that heat and then being thrown to the ground like that…

Cornelius Thomas laid a wrinkled hand on his wife’s arm. “That sounds like an excellent idea,” he agreed tenderly. “I just bought that new science fiction book R.J. and some of the others were talking about down at the general store. I’ll come up with you and read, too. You don’t mind, do you, Amy?”

“No. Of course not. You two go ahead. If you need anything, just call out.”

For the first time Amy accepted that her parents had aged a great deal in the years she’d been gone. They’d always been older than most of her friends’ parents. Amy had been a surprise baby coming to them late in life. That fact had never bothered her until now.

“Good night, dear. Don’t forget to check the locks before you come up, will you?”

“I won’t forget.”

She kissed them good-night, then wandered aimlessly around the house she had always called home. Despite the newly installed satellite dish and its variety of stations, there was nothing on television to hold her interest. She flipped through the channels, trying not to wonder what Jake had been doing with himself all these years. Had he stayed in the military or had he gone on to do something else? It was hard to imagine him running a restaurant. She couldn’t remember him cooking anything more than steaks on the grill when they’d been together.

Jake had changed in others ways, as well. He seemed stern now—more aloof and forbidding. No wonder the town thought he was a gangster. His facade placed a wall between him and the world at large. His eyes were watchful, but in their depths a person glimpsed a soul that had seen too much of the hard side of life.

Amy tried to shake off thoughts of Jake. But the feel of his body over hers this afternoon had brought about a resurgence of so many emotions.

Amy finally turned off the television and settled back on the couch with a book. Unfortunately, the novel couldn’t hold her attention, either. Jake’s face kept intruding.

He’d always been a private man until one really got to know him. And he’d always carried an air of arrogant competence. But where was the man she’d laughed with? Made love with?

It was hard not to remember his hands engulfing her small breasts, stroking and readying them for the pleasure his mouth could bring.

Amy closed the book with a snap. She was not going to think about that.

“Idiot!” She set the book on the coffee table. A romance novel couldn’t compete with the reality of their past. It had been nine years since they’d parted, but his every touch lined her memory.

Amy stood and walked to the living-room window, gazing out over the porch without really seeing. She had to purge her recollections somehow. She had to—

A flicker of motion caught her attention. Had she just seen someone move from behind the maple tree on the curb to the cluster of pines in the front yard?

She strained to see, watching the dark yard intently. Should she turn on the porch light for a better view? Maybe she’d just imagined…No. Definitely not her imagination. Something or someone had just slipped from behind the tree to blend into the overgrown bushes that surrounded the porch.

Her pulse quickened. Eleven o’clock was definitely too late for neighborhood children to be playing hide-and-seek in her parents’ front yard. Besides, the figure had been too tall for a young child.

Someone was up to no good. She curbed the instinct to step onto the porch and call out. Ten years ago she wouldn’t have hesitated, but Fools Point was no longer the safe, quiet town she’d grown up in. Heck, the downtown area practically looked like a war zone. They were still repairing the damage to the buildings that psycho had blown up last month. And the renovations were barely under way from the fire that had destroyed most of the motel. No wonder she’d heard one of the locals refer to Fools Point as Mystery Junction in the restaurant today.

She’d better call the police. Chief Hepplewhite only lived a few doors down. That fact alone would practically guarantee her an instant response.

She headed for the kitchen.

Her mother kept a small night-light plugged into the wall near the stove. The light offered enough illumination to show a shadow at the back door.

Her breath caught in her chest. Someone was on the back porch.

But they hadn’t knocked.

Fear gripped her as she realized the person was using a knife to cut open the screen door. Someone was trying to break in.

Fear and anger swept her in equal measure. Her family didn’t need this! She hit the switch, flooding the kitchen with light. The shadow fled, footsteps racing across the old wooden porch. As the person disappeared from view, Amy reached for the telephone hanging on the wall.

Before her shaking hand could punch in the first number, she heard heavy footsteps on the porch. He’d returned!

She choked off her scream as a fist pounded loudly on the back door.

“Amy! Let me in.”

She nearly dropped the telephone. “Jake?”

Her knees were weak with reaction and her hand shook so bad she could barely unbolt the door. “What do you mean by scaring me half to death that way? Who do—”

Without warning, he enfolded her in his arms. Strong arms that had always offered safety and comfort—and unbelievable pleasure.

“Shh. It’s okay. He took off. You’re all right now. We need to call the police.”

Amy pulled back. She’d allowed herself to snuggle into the familiar scent and feel that only Jake had ever evoked for her.

“What are you talking about?”

“Didn’t you realize? Someone just tried to break into the house.”

“That wasn’t you out there?”

In the blink of an eye she glimpsed his hurt before his rigid mask returned.

“I was coming to talk to you when I saw someone sneak around the corner of your house. I wasn’t sure what was going on so I followed. The person saw me when you turned on the light and took off. I was going to give chase until I saw you standing in the kitchen.”

He hesitated. Once more she glimpsed pain behind his expression.

“I decided to make sure you were okay,” he said.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize there were two people out there. I only saw one.”

“So did I.” Jake regarded her without expression. “Do you want to call the police or shall I?”

“Is there any point? Whoever it was is long gone by now.”

“You should still report the incident.” His mask was back in place, his manner coolly aloof once more. “He might try breaking into someone else’s house next.”

“Yes. You’re right. Okay. I just don’t want my mother disturbed. She and Dad are pretty heavy sleepers but she isn’t feeling well.”

“She wasn’t hurt this afternoon, was she?”

“No. Nothing like that. She’s just tired.”

Her gaze riveted on Jake’s once dear face. This close, she saw that the years hadn’t been kind. Deep lines bracketed his eyes and mouth. The sadness behind his dark, watchful eyes called to something in her soul.

“What are you doing here, Jake?”