“Late sleeper?”
“Late worker,” he said. “I have about three hours of paperwork to do tonight.”
“Really?”
“Yes,” he said.
“Could I help?”
For a moment he looked puzzled, as though he were trying to figure out if she was again joking. “Thanks, but no. We’re handling a big divorce case and I’m trying to find some missing money. How could a man afford to pay cash for a three-million-dollar house if he only makes sixty grand a year? At least that’s the question his wife wants to know.”
“I’m not good on money,” she said, “but I could…I’ve done a lot of research, so if you ever need help on that, let me know.”
“And cupcakes,” he said, smiling. “We can’t forget the cupcakes.”
“I never forget the cupcakes,” she said, but her smile was forced. When he reached for a plate, she said, “Just leave everything and I’ll clean up tomorrow. You need to go to work and get as much done as possible so you can go to church in the morning.”
“Thanks,” he said, then seemed not to know what else to say. “So I’ll see you in church then?”
“If you can pull yourself out of bed,” she said.
He started toward the front door, and she followed him. He opened it, then paused, and for a moment she thought he was going to kiss her, but then he stepped onto the little porch.
“Thank you for everything,” she said. “I really enjoyed it.”
“Yeah,” he said as he went down the steps. “Me too.”
Jocelyn closed the door and leaned against it. What in the world was wrong with her? She’d had a very romantic date with the man, the one Miss Edi said was to be the love of her life. But somehow, she’d ruined it. She didn’t know how, but she had. Of course her lame jokes about marriage didn’t help. It’s a wonder he didn’t run out the door. What was it he’d said on the phone? That the last time a woman talked to him about marriage they’d had to call an ambulance.
She looked at her watch. It was only nine-thirty. So much for her “date.” In spite of the early hour, she yawned. Maybe the problem was that she was exhausted. Meeting new people, seeing the house, having a date all in one day was too much for anyone.
She left the dirty dishes on the table, flipped the switch to turn out the awful kitchen lights, then started toward the stairs to go to bed. It was when she passed the back door and heard it click that her heart leaped into her throat. Someone was at the door! And he was trying to break in!
Jocelyn’s mind raced as she tried to remember where her cell phone was. Upstairs. Or was it downstairs? She couldn’t remember. Had a landline been hooked up? In the busyness of the day, she’d never even looked for a telephone.
Someone pulled on the door, and she plastered herself against the wall, her heart beating hard. Bending, she moved under the window by the door so the intruder couldn’t see her as she crawled past. If she could get to the front door before he did, she could get out.
As she got past the door, she saw a shadow, then the moonlight showed her a figure. He was big. He had dark hair. He…
She stood up straight. It was Ramsey. He must have forgotten something. She grabbed the doorknob and pulled it inward—and came face-to-face with Luke.
“What are you doing?”
He looked more surprised to see her than she did him. “Checking the doors,” he said. “I thought you might forget to lock them, so I—”
“Sara leaves her door unlocked. I thought this was one of those towns where no one locks their doors.”
“Don’t kid yourself,” he said, then took a step back. “Look, I’m sorry. There weren’t any lights on, so I thought you’d gone to bed.”
“Were you watching the house?”
“That’s what I do,” he said. “That’s my job, remember? Weren’t you told about me? Or are you still mad about the mustard?”
She dropped her hostility. “No, I know that was an accident. Would you like to come in and have some tea?”
“With you and Ramsey?”
“Like you don’t know that he left ten minutes ago,” she said.