Kimmie stared alternatively at her brother and the phone in her hand. What should she do? She tried calling her sister’s cell, but it went straight to voicemail. In a way, she was glad. She didn’t want Meg to see her freaking out like this.
Every house made noise. She glanced out the window. The trees at the back of Meg’s property swayed their branches grandly. It was probably just the wind.
Kimmie glanced around, wondering where she could take Pip if they needed to lock themselves in somewhere. The thought was silly. She was free now. Chuck had no idea where she was. Besides, there were troopers looking for him all around Glennallen. He couldn’t have made it all the way to Anchorage, could he? She doubted his truck would even run that far.
No, it wasn’t Chuck, and she didn’t need to rush into a closet with Pip and hide. She was an adult who was acting like a child staying home alone for the first time. She marched back to the kitchen, listening at the same spot where she’d heard the door slam earlier. Nothing. The wind or her imagination. That was all. She glanced down the hallway and up the carpeted stairs leading to the second story. What could stop her from checking things out, just to be safe? She was tired of running, tired of hiding, and tired of being scared. Clutching her sister’s phone with one hand, she rummaged through Meg’s drawers with the other until she found a large cutting knife.
Nobody would catch her unprepared. Because nobody was upstairs. Still, having a weapon gave her a sense of power.
Not that she’d need it.
“I’ll be back in a sec,” she told her brother as she passed by the living room. He didn’t glance up from the TV.
Tiptoeing up the stairs, Kimmie steadied her breath. She was going to confront her fears head-on this time and prove to herself that nobody else could be in this house.
She’d only been upstairs once, and half the doors had remained shut when Meg gave her the grand tour. Should she open each door one at a time to prove to herself that she was alone?
A thumping noise from down the hallway. This time Kimmie was certain of it. She stared at the knife in her hand. What good would it do against armed robbers? What good would it do against Chuck and his rifle?
A whispered voice. More than one person?
She still held the phone, but if she turned it on the beeping noise might alert the intruders. She had to get back down to Pip. Had to get him to safety.
Kimmie strained her ears, expecting almost anything — gunfire, Chuck’s angry curses. What she didn’t expect was a loud, shrill giggle.
She froze in the hallway, unable to move her legs as the far door opened and her brother-in-law poked his head out. “Kimmie?”
She tried to hide the phone and the knife behind her back but was certain he saw them both. Heat rushed so fast up to her face she felt dizzy. “I didn’t know you were home,” was all she managed to stammer.
“Just for a minute. I had to grab something I forgot.” He cocked his head to the side. “Are you okay?”
Kimmie’s hands were sweating so much she was afraid she might drop the knife. “I’m fine. I just heard a noise and got a little startled. That’s all.”
He smiled at her, but his expression did nothing to dull her sense of fear mingled with mortification.
Kimmie thought she heard another noise coming from the back room, but she wasn’t about to step forward and investigate. She turned to head back downstairs when Dwayne called after her. “Hey, Kimmie?”
He’d plastered on that same fake smile he’d worn when they first met. She didn’t know why the look should disgust her so much, but it did.
“Yeah?” Why couldn’t he leave her to die of humiliation in peace?
“Meg’s always getting on me for leaving things at home, so I’d love it if you didn’t mention I was here.” He winked. “Sorry for scaring you.”
She turned away as his door clicked back in place to the sound of a stifled giggle.