Page 57 of The Gift
She jumped, her hand smacking the wall. “Mercy,” she breathed then lunged for the phone on the side table, volume up way too high. With a little nervous fumbling, she silenced it before Annie Lennox could get philosophical.
Of all the ringtones in all the world—thatone.
She had an appreciation for irony. Except when her heart was trying to escape her rib cage.
Peeking around the curtain, she looked outside. Mr. Brinkley, the Wilsons’ side neighbor, headed up his driveway and disappeared inside.
She pressed a hand to her chest. Good grief! Seeing shadows everywhere, she had to get a handle on this.
The call was silenced, but the screen still glowed.
Coop. Of course. Though she had him saved in her contacts now asVince.
He’d already called once today, midafternoon, while she was at the gallery.
As she arranged a display of regional photographs, her phone buzzed on the counter.
“Where’s your spare key?” he asked, no greeting.
She blinked. “How do you know I have a spare key?”
“Fake rock or flowerpot?”
She pursed her lips. Either she was too obvious, or he was excellent at his job. Probably both.
“It’s under the geraniums,” she admitted.
Dead silence.
“Orange pot. Left corner.”
“Got it.”
She gripped the phone tighter. “What’s this about?”
“I’m upgrading your security system. Yours is crap.”
Tell me how you really feel, she thought. She said, “I don’t think I can afford—”
“You don’t have to. The owner is a friend and owes me a favor. The tech will meet you after work to go over everything.”
She didn’t ask if it was necessary. “Okay.”
“And your block’s on special attention for the next few days. If anything feels off, you hit the alarm first.”
“Okay,” she repeated, softer this time.
“I’ll call you at home tonight.”
She almost said okay again but stopped herself.
He noticed the silence. “Erica? You good?”
“I’m trying to be. Not doing such a good job of it.”
His voice dropped, becoming less business-focused and more reassuring. “Stay alert but live your life, darlin’. I got this.”
Now, in the dim quiet of her living room, she answered his second call of the day.
