Brenda Novak - Cold Feet

“I appreciate that.” He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans, wishing she’d invite him in for a cup of coffee. Other than moving onto the property, he hadn’t considered how he was going to get close to Madison. Especially when she seemed so remote.

“Is Brianna asleep?” he asked.

“She’s in bed. I don’t know that she’s asleep.”

“I realize she feels I’m encroaching on her space, but with any luck she’ll get used to having me around, don’t you think?”

“I hope so,” Madison said. “I know space shouldn’t be an issue. She’s got plenty of space. Especially at her father’s. He lives in an eight-thousand-square-foot house, complete with a giant water fountain worthy of a casino.”

“Sounds…ostentatious.”

“It is.” She finally gave him a genuine smile. “I hated living there. It felt like a mausoleum.” She folded her arms, unwittingly revealing a fair amount of cleavage.

Caleb wished again that she was older, or significantly younger, or considerably overweight…

“Brianna’s had a rough year,” she was saying. “I’m guessing this is some sort of delayed reaction.”

He pulled his attention away from the smooth skin of her breasts. “How long have you been divorced?”

“A little less than a year.”

“It’ll get easier.”

“You sound as though you speak from experience.”

“I went through a divorce two years ago.” He didn’t mention the first divorce. There’d been no one in between so it didn’t count.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Things are better now.”

“They are for me, too,” she said, but he didn’t get the impression she really believed it.

Caleb considered being direct and simply asking if he could join her for a cup of coffee. With Susan missing, he felt the clock ticking. But he didn’t dare come on too strong. If he frightened Madison or made her leery of him in any way, he’d only defeat his purpose.

“Well, thanks for checking on me,” she said, and started backing up to close the door.

Caleb had no choice but to step off the porch. “Have a good night.”

“You, too.”

Reluctantly, he walked down the stone path that led to his new home, frustrated that he hadn’t managed to wrangle any type of invitation out of her. Then he caught sight of her car. A nice car was important in the real estate business. He had no doubt that if she could afford it, she’d be driving a Mercedes instead of a Camry. “By the way,” he said before she could close the door.

“Yes?”

“I’d like to hire someone to do my laundry and make me a few meals. I was wondering if you’d be interested.”

“You’re going to hire someone to cook and clean for you?”

He was if he could get her to take the job. “I’ll be coming and going a lot.”

“How much are you willing to pay?”

Caleb had always taken care of himself. He had no idea what such services should rightfully cost. But he wasn’t afraid of being generous. He thought that helping her out financially might ease his conscience about having ulterior motives in befriending her. “Six hundred dollars a month sound fair?”

She coughed. “That’s almost as much as you’re paying in rent.”

Evidently he’d been a little too generous. “That would include the price of groceries, of course.”

Her teeth sank into the soft flesh of her bottom lip, distracting him again. “What constitutes ‘a few meals’?”

“Dinner every night, unless you have other plans, and breakfast on the weekends.” For a moment, he thought she’d refuse, and wished he’d asked her for less of a time commitment. She was trying to run a business and already seemed harried. But he needed to gain her confidence quickly. “I’m flexible, though. So if you think that’s too much…”

“What kind of menu?” she asked.

“You can choose.”

“Do you want me to bring it over to you?”

“If you’d prefer. But if you’re open to company, I’d rather not eat alone.”

She hesitated for another moment. “All right,” she said at last. “I’m already cooking for Brianna and me. It won’t take long to add an extra plate for dinner and do a few more loads of laundry each week. I think it might help Brianna adjust to having you here if she gets to know you a little.”

“My laundry isn’t difficult,” he told her. “Mostly jeans and T-shirts.”

“Sounds as though you live a pretty easy life, Mr. Trovato,” she said.

“Call me Caleb.”

“When would you like me to start, Caleb?”

He smiled as he moved away, feeling a sense of victory. It was only a matter of time before he knew everything Madison did. “How about tomorrow?”

“C ALEB, WHERE have you been? I’ve been calling your cell for the past hour.”

Holly. Again. Between Caleb’s run to his folks’ house for his things that morning, and his trip to the grocery store in the afternoon, he’d met her at the university and helped pass out flyers with Susan’s picture and description. Every time his ex-wife had called since then, he’d jumped for the phone, thinking she’d heard from someone who’d seen Susan. Shortly before Johnny had pulled up outside, Caleb had finally realized she was just stressed and worried and wanted to go over the same things she’d been saying all day. Only he’d already done everything he could until morning and didn’t want to hold her hand anymore. He was comfortable in bed, once again flipping through satellite channels on television and enjoying the solitude.

“It’s after midnight, Holly,” he said. “Can’t this wait until we get together in the morning?”

“No, it can’t,” she replied. “Someone called me about the flyer a little while ago.”

At last! Caleb hit the off button and sat up, giving Holly his full attention. “Who was it?”

“I’ll tell you all about it when I get there. I have something to show you.”

“ Show me?”

“I’m on my way.”

“Wait, I’m not staying at my folks’ place,” he said before she could hang up.

“You’re not?”

“No, I rented a small house.”

Silence. Eventually she asked, “Why would you rent a place? You could’ve stayed here for free.”

“Holly, we’re divorced.”

“I know that, Caleb. It isn’t as though I’m asking you to sleep with me. I only offered to put you up for a few weeks. You’re helping me, after all. I feel it’s the least I can do.”

“There’s no need,” he said. “I’m fine where I am.”

“And where is that?”

“Whidbey Island.”

“Whidbey! What made you move there?”

“It’s closer to the mainland.”

“If you wanted to be close to the mainland, why didn’t you rent an apartment on the mainland?”

Caleb considered telling Holly that he was renting from Ellis Purcell’s daughter, but decided not to. He didn’t want her badgering him for information until he was ready to share it. Just because he might come across answers no one else had been able to glean didn’t necessarily mean he would. It was possible that Madison was too secretive to let anything slip. It was also possible that she didn’t know anything. But he was willing to bet against both of those possibilities. She’d been living with Ellis during his killing spree. At a minimum, she should be able to tell Caleb bits and pieces of conversation she’d overheard between her parents, whether her father was really at home when he’d claimed to be, whether she sometimes heard things go bump in the night, whether she ever saw him move something heavy that just might have resembled a dead body….

“This place is nice,” he said instead.