Angela Campbell - Spirited Away

For one, his house gave him the creeps, and he wasn’t sure whether the sounds he’d been hearing, the objects he’d seen moving, meant he was roommates with Casper the not-so-friendly ghost. There was always a logical explanation for that stuff, but until he figured out what it was he preferred to avoid the place. For another, he needed to be working right now, not playing hero to a young damsel-in-distress.

He cleared his throat and approached cautiously. She’d probably locked herself out, but you never knew.

“Name’s Noah. I live across the street.”

Her body was shaking unnaturally, as if she were having spasms or doing something really, really naughty with that windowsill. He was afraid to ask.

“Spider.”

He jerked back. “Where? What kind?”

“No, my name is Spider. I’m a friend of Zach and Hannah’s. I’m house-sitting, and I got locked out.”

He hurried over and shoved the window further up, giving her some extra space to move. Through the opening, he spotted a furry blond mutt humping her other leg.

A startled bark of laughter escaped his control. The girl – Spider – narrowed her eyes at him before manoeuvring the rest of her body through the widened opening. She tumbled onto the floor with a thump and a squeal.

“You okay?”

She lifted a hand and waved back at him dismissively as she found her feet and scurried out of the room. A few seconds later, the ringing telephone stopped. He could hear her talking, but he couldn’t make out what she said.

The blond mutt’s head popped up in front of him before he could lower the window again. Weird-looking dog, but she sure was cute. He reached a hand up to pet her, but the creature growled and showed a long snout full of some serious-looking teeth.

Whoa. The window slid down with a hiss as Noah jerked his hand back and let it fall. The dog’s barking grew muffled as the animal disappeared into the house.

The back door swung open, and the ginger-haired girl poked her head out. “I’m fine. Everything’s fine. Thanks for your, um, help.”

He nodded and tried not to stare at her shapely legs when she stepped onto the back deck. She was only wearing skimpy shorts and a tank top that left little to the imagination. Full, perky breasts pressed against the light green shirt that read “Gamers do it all night.” He focused on her feet. Blue toenails. That was kinda hot.

“Excuse me, sir,” a gruff voice called out. “Do you live here?”

Noah turned and saw a uniformed officer pushing his way through the fence. He reached and constrained the other dog before it had a chance to get out again.

The gray-haired cop’s face was set in grim, stern lines as he approached, one hand hovering over the gun holster at his hip.

“Eeek!”

Both men turned toward the woman who’d made the sound.

“Emma?” the officer asked.

She was doing her best to cover her front with one arm while her other hand tugged the hem of her shorts down. “Hi Jack. How’s it going?” She fidgeted from one foot to the other.

Emma? He thought she’d said her name was Spider.

The officer returned his confused look to Noah. He unsnapped his holster. “This guy bothering you?”

Noah released the dog and stepped back. Last thing he wanted was to give the officer more cause for concern.

“No!” The girl risked a step forward. “He’s a neighbour. He came over to help.” She heaved a sigh. “I got myself locked out and the alarm went off when I was crawling through the window and—”

The officer hiked a thumb in Noah’s direction. “This his house? Does your daddy know you’re here?”

“What?” She shifted a look between the two men. “No. I’m house-sitting for my boss. He just got married and is on his honeymoon.” She gestured toward Noah and spoke her words slowly. “This man is their neighbour. He came over to help. I already told you that.”

Officer Jack settled both hands on his hips, his lips twitching as his gaze looked her up and down. “Got yourself locked out, huh?”

“ Please don’t tell my dad.”

“I gotta call this in, kiddo. You know that.”

“Yeah, but do you have to mention my name?”

Noah hooked his thumbs on his belt loops and hung back. If he hadn’t thought the situation interesting before, he was fascinated now.

The officer shook his head, but smiled. “Alright, verify the homeowner’s information for me, and I’ll try to keep your name out of it.”

She rattled off a few details about Hannah Dawson – now Hannah Collins – while the officer scribbled them down. It wasn’t anything Noah didn’t already know. Hannah was a pretty nurse who’d lived here for about a year. Her then boyfriend – husband now – had moved in a couple of months ago.

The cop glanced up and returned his attention to Noah. “I’m gonna need to see your identification, son.”

Clenching his jaw muscles, Noah pulled out his wallet and handed over his driver’s license. He’d had the ID updated a few weeks ago. He matched the dark-haired picture of himself perfectly, which was a good thing since he’d had blond highlights and glasses in the last one. While the officer jotted down his information, Noah glanced toward the girl. He tried to guess her age. Late teens, he thought. Cute. Had great legs. Probably jailbait, knowing his luck, because he didn’t mess with teenagers.

He realized in a fleeting moment of self-consciousness that he was acting like a true male member of the West family, trying to judge how easy it would be to take a woman who’d caught his eye to bed. Well, so what? Something about her eyes had him rethinking she was at least early twenties. Not jailbait at all. This was a woman who stirred his blood, and there was no fighting heredity. Noah intended to find out more about her.

The officer grunted and handed the ID back. “Thanks for coming to help, Mr. West. Why don’t I walk you back to your house now?”

Not that he needed the escort. Didn’t take a genius to read this situation.

Noah tipped his head toward the young woman anyway. “I live in the two-storey stone house if you need anything while you’re here. See you around, Spider.”

She flashed him an awkward wave. “Seriously, thanks for your help!”

Officer Jack followed him to the edge of the yard before saying, “You lived around here long, Mr. West?”

Noah sighed and turned to face the man. Last thing he needed was to capture the attention of a snooping cop. “No. I’m renting the house across the street. Moved in a couple of months ago.”

The officer squinted against the early afternoon sun. “Tell you what. That young woman in there is special. Make sure you don’t get any ideas while she’s here. Got that?”

“Sure.” He held back the smile that would have betrayed the fact that it was too late.

“Good.”

The officer started to move away, but Noah couldn’t resist asking: “Her dad is a cop, right?” It was the only thing that made sense. It would be a helluva reason to keep his distance, but, then again, he loved a good challenge.

Jack nodded, but a smile played at his mouth as he opened his car door and looked back at Noah. “Not just any cop. Chief of police. You have a good day now, you hear?”

“Let’s see how long it takes to crack their system with this baby.” Smiling, Spider tapped ENTER on the script she’d spent the afternoon writing.

Leaning back on the sofa, she watched the computer code whiz past on the screen. A glance at her watch sent the thrill of victory racing through her veins. Thirty minutes earlier than she’d expected – new record. “Who’s awesome?” she asked the cat stretched out on the floor watching her. “I am. Uh huh. That’s right.”