Alone and Afraid (Rocky Mountain Home Series Book 1) (3 page)

Brooke busied herself with laundry and cleaning
, but stopped when she heard pounding out back.  When she investigated, she found Chase in front of her shed with a cordless screw-driver in his hand.  She opened her back door and yelled, “Exactly what do you think you’re doing?”

“Since Digger and I were responsible for screwing up your morning, I thought I’d make it up to you by installing a new lock on your shed.  Just being neighborly,” Chase said with a smile.

“That wasn’t necessary, but thanks.  Did you think I couldn’t accomplish that on my own?  I’ll have you know, I am not a helpless female who needs a man around to fix everything,” she said, very irritated.

“And here I thought we agreed to play nice,” Chase said with a laugh.

Brooke’s face turned a bright shade of red.  She didn’t want his help.  She wanted to be left alone.  He was just like any man, pig headed and stubborn.  She decided to try another tactic. “I do appreciate your kindness. I’m just confused on what part of “being left alone” you don’t understand.”

Chase turned
, walked towards Brooke, and said, “I understand, and I thought I could install the lock without interrupting you.  I had no intentions of encroaching on your desire to be a hermit.”  He then handed her keys to her new lock and walked off.

Brooke slammed the back door and locked it.  Why didn’t he just leave her alone?  She didn’t want friends.  She didn’t want to
be bothered by anyone.  She just wanted to be left alone.  If she was honest with herself, she would admit that Chase, with his chiseled features and those beautiful blue eyes and slightly curly auburn hair, was quite the distraction, she didn’t want or need.

She didn’t have long to dwell on the matter due to the knock on her front door.  She forgot about the satellite people showing up today.  They had arrived to install equipment for her television and internet service.  With her books, computer, television
, and garden, she would be kept busy.  She didn’t need anyone or anything else in her life.

She was surprised how little time it took the men to install the satellite and lines to everything.  She had already set up h
er computer, so it would be ready when she had service.  It looked like she’d be connected to the rest of the world, today.  She had cell phone service, but except for emergencies, she had no one to call.  Or she should say, no one she wanted to call.

As soon as the men left, Brooke checked her internet for world news, and then checked the local news of the town in Utah she ran from.  She was stunned to learn
that her ex-boyfriend, David, was out on bond until his trial date, which was set for five months from now.  Her head started to hurt.  She felt a migraine coming on.  Her thoughts went back to the past month. She was positive she covered her tracks well enough that he wouldn’t find her.  As far as she knew, he knew nothing of her aunt or this cottage.  She forwarded her mail to a P.O. Box, and then forwarded it from there to here.  She took out enough cash from the bank before the move, so as not to use her credit cards or debit card.  She tried to think of anything and everything she could do to make a clean break, so she wouldn’t be followed.  Now she wondered if she had done all she should have.

Geez, another knock at the door, did people think she was holding an open house?

Upon answering the door, she saw it was the local sheriff.  “Sheriff, how can I help you?”  Brooke asked.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but since I forgot to get a contact phone number from you, I had to make another trip out here.  I wanted to tell you that the lab did find blood on the plastic taken from your back
-yard, and it was human blood.  The plastic had a stamp in one corner that said “Lonely Motel.” Does that ring any bells for you?” the sheriff asked.

Shocked, Brooke waited a moment before she answered
, “I spent the night there just before arriving here.  How would something from the motel get in my back-yard?  I assure you I didn’t take anything from the Lonely Motel,” Brooke said.

“We ascertained it to be a shower curtain. I checked with the motel and there was nothing missing from the room you stayed in.  I also understand you had a complaint that night about hearing screams,”
the sheriff said as he looked at her expectantly.

“Yes, I reported it to the front desk and they called it in.  An officer came
, did some checking, and found nothing. The woman in the room next to me said she had the television on too loud. So the conclusion was that I heard the television next door,” Brooke said.

“Ms. Laine
, we’re a little confused about how the shower curtain ended up in your yard, with enough blood on it to tell us that someone was seriously hurt or dead, but we will keep looking into it.  I need to warn you, though, not to leave town, and also keep a close watch around here.  There’s a reason someone placed the plastic shower curtain in your yard, and we’ll find that reason,” he said before he walked back to his car. Suddenly, he turned around and said, “I almost forgot, again, to get your phone number.” He paused, and then added; “Now we can end this right here if you’d like to confess.”

She rattled off her number for him and watched as he wrote it in his little note
-book. Then she said, “I have nothing to confess.  I haven’t done anything wrong, so maybe you need to start looking elsewhere.”

She closed the door slowly, almost as if in a trance.  She tried to make some sense of what the sheriff said
, but couldn’t.  How did the curtain end up in her yard, who put it there, and why did they pick her yard to try to hide evidence?  What was wrong with the world?  Why wasn’t she allowed some peace and solitude?  Then she thought of the poor person who bled on the plastic and wondered if they were still alive.

Brooke had a night of tossing and turning.  She wasn’t able to get much sleep, so she finally gave up and made some coffee
.  While she sipped on the strong brew, she planned her day.  She refused to let the sheriff’s words ruin this new day.  She wanted to do more work in her garden, which required another trip into town.  She thought about driving over to Vail, since it was only twelve miles away.  Now that this area was her home, she wanted to explore it little by little.  She’d make a day of it and then on the way back she’d stop in town and get some tomato plants for the garden.

Once
her plans were made, she finished her coffee and started her day with a long shower.  After she dressed in a pair of jeans and a light sweater, she got into her car for the short drive to Vail, Colorado.

As she drove further up the mountain
-side, she smiled.  This was exactly what she needed today.  The mountains were so beautiful and there was still snow on the ground.  She regretted not bringing her camera, but promised herself she would remember to bring it next time.

She wasn’t the only person who decided to visit Vail today.  There were cars in front of her and behind her going up the mountain.

Brooke got lucky when she drove down Main Street and found a parking spot in front of one of the shops.  She locked her car and strolled through the town. This was a very carefree day for her.  She even stopped and had lunch at one of the quaint chalets, which served delicious Rueben sandwiches.

She walked down one side of the street visiting shops
, and then ventured down the other side of the street.  It was while she walked down the other side that she felt someone watching her.  She looked around, and except for a man across the street smoking a cigarette, she noticed nothing unusual.  There were people everywhere.  So she dismissed her fears and finished exploring the remainder of shops.  She made a couple of purchases, then knew it was time to head back to Red Cliff.

As she walked across the street to her car, she saw the same man who was smoking before
, now stood in front of her vehicle, but he moved away as she got closer.  Thinking nothing of it, she continued across the wide street, unlocked her car, and after she got in, quickly re-locked it.

The man was walking in the opposite direction, so she thought nothing of his being near her car. She was in such a rush to lock herself inside the
car; she almost didn’t notice the piece of paper under her windshield wipers.  She got out quickly, grabbed the paper, got back inside, and dropped the paper on the passenger seat.  It was obviously some advertisement for one of the shops, she thought as she backed out of her parking spot.  That must have been what the man was doing when she saw him.  She didn’t think to look at the other vehicles parked on Main Street, or she would’ve noticed none of them had paper on their windshields.

Just like the road
to Vail was lined with cars, the road back was the same.  But it took only twenty-five minutes to get to her town.

She knew there was a plant nursery in Red Cliff and found it right away.  As she picked the tomato plants she wanted, she also found some green pepper plants and some cucumber plants.  She knew these would complete her garden.  She had already planted squash, green beans, green onions, cabbage, carrots, and lettuce.

Excited about getting home and getting the plants situated in the garden, she again ignored the piece of paper on the passenger seat.

As she unloaded her purchase
s, she carried the plants directly around to the garden.  Then she grabbed her purchases from the shops in Vail, locked up the car, unlocked her front door and dropped her bags on the kitchen table.  She was in a rush to change clothes and work in the garden.

She threw on another pai
r of old jeans and a shirt, and took the shed key off the hanger by the back door, while smiling to herself.  This turned out to be a very pleasant day.  The paper in her car was forgotten.

When she unlocked her shed, she took note that everything was exactly where she had put
it after the sheriff found the broken lock.  She grabbed a hoe and shovel, and went to work.  She found that working in the garden was very therapeutic. Now she knew why her aunt loved it so much.

When
she finished in the garden, she stood back and thought to herself, again, how much she already loved it here.

After she placed everything back in the shed and locked it, she was ready for a shower
, an early dinner, and relaxing in front of the television.  And in that order, that was exactly what she did. 

She rarely drank alcohol
, but while in one of the shops she bought a bottle of wine at the merchant’s recommendation, and decided she’d have a glass while sitting in her pajamas on the sofa, and watching a classic movie.  It wasn’t long before she felt her eyelids closing.  Knowing it was time for bed, since she got little sleep the night before, she walked to her room and crawled in her bed, leaving her wine glass on the coffee table to be picked up in the morning.

Sounds of breaking glass woke Brooke up from a light sleep.  She reached out to turn on her lamp
, but it didn’t work.  She then grabbed her key chain from the night table and hit the panic button, something she learned from watching television.  The loud piercing alarm went off in her car.  She knew bears came around in this area hunting for food and occasionally would break into homes.  She hoped that what she just heard breaking the glass, was running now. 

She got up and as she walked towards the kitchen she turned light switches on, but nothing
happened.

“Ouch!” She realized too late that she was barefoot and she had put her foot down on something very sharp.  She stepped back and walked around the kitchen island to the sink, her arms stretched out the whole way as it was pitch black inside
the cottage.  She found the sink and opened the bottom cabinet to get her flashlight.  By now, she heard Digger barking as he got closer to her cottage.  She also heard Chase’s voice as he knocked on the back door.

Brooke aimed the flashlight towards the door
, then turned it on, shining it directly into Chase’s eyes.

“Sorry,”
she said as she lowered the light a little, and walked back around the counter.  When she did, she saw glass covered the inside floor near the back door.  Apparently, something or someone broke the upper window of the back door, as it now hung open.

“Brooke, are you alright?” Chase asked at the same time that he noticed the blood trail she left on the kitchen floor.  Digger barked from outside
, and both Brooke and Chase heard a car engine start and gravel fly as the vehicle took off down the road.

“I’ll call the sheriff while you sit down.  You are tracking blood everywhere you walk,” Chase told her before he took his phone out of his back pocket and dialed.

Brooke looked down at the floor, pointing the light towards her feet, and knew Chase was right.  Her foot was really bleeding. She got up to get the first aid kit, but was stopped by Chase’s hand on her shoulder.  He hung up the phone and asked, “Where do you keep the first aid kit, or do you have one?”

“That’s what I was getting up
for, before you stopped me. It’s under the kitchen sink,” she told him.

Chase retrieved the kit from under the sink and knelt in front of Brooke.  He raised her foot and knew at once he’d need more than just a Band-Aid.

He grabbed the dishtowel from the counter and wrapped
Brooke’s foot temporarily. “This needs to be cleaned thoroughly and disinfected before it can get bandaged.”  He then told her to shine the flashlight down the hall so he could find the bathroom.  He put one arm under her knees and the other under her arms, and lifted her up and carried her to the bathroom, where he sat her on the edge of the tub, and turned the faucet on.

“Hold your foot under the running water
, until I come back.  I think the sheriff is here and I’ll let him in,” he told Brooke.

Brooke sat there with her foot under the flow of water like Chase told her to
.  As she sat there, her thoughts went to Case.  He picked her up like she weighed hardly anything.  She also felt that strange urge inside as he carried her to the hall bathroom.   The urge she hadn’t felt in such a long time. Feelings she was not allowed to feel.  Feelings she refused to feel.

She heard Chase talking to the
sheriff as their voices got closer to the bathroom door.

“Seems you’re not going to let our quiet little town stay quiet,” he said as he too held a flashlight.

“Like this is my fault.  Don’t try to tell me it was a bear or other animal.  Animals don’t turn doorknobs and open doors,” she said as her foot really began to throb.

“No, I won’t tell you that, but can I please shut off that infuriating alarm?”  The sheriff asked.

Brooke felt the keys still clutched in her hand and handed them over to the sheriff.  He pushed the button and all three were relieved when they heard the silence.

“Good, now I’m going to see if I can shed some light on this,” the sheriff said as he took his flashlight and left the small doorway of the bathroom  Chase reached over and shut the tub’s water off.  He took one of the towels hanging beside the tub and wrapped Brooke’s foot in it.

Brooke hadn’t noticed that Chase already brought the kit into the bathroom.  He opened the kit, took out a small brown bottle of disinfectant, and gently poured it over the deep gash on the bottom of her foot.  Brooke tried to pull her foot back because the medicine burned like crazy, but Chase held tight.  He then opened a tube of cream and lavishly applied it to the gash before he wrapped her whole foot in bandages.

“I suggest you stay off that foot as much as possible so it can heal.  The more you walk on it, the more y
ou’ll break open that gash.  It really does need stitches, which you might think about getting done at the clinic in town in a few hours when they open,” Chase said, as he tried cleaning up the mess in the tub.

“Thank you, Chase, and you’re right.  I should stay off
it for a few days.  I remember seeing a pair of crutches in the spare bedroom.  Would you mind bringing me one so I can get around
on my own?  Or are you planning to carry me all day?” she said with a gleam in her eyes.

One look in her eyes and Chase knew she teased him, but he left to get the crutches.  He
, too, felt urges every time he got close to Brooke.  Having his hands on her leg, and the way she felt in his arms as he carried her, left him wanting a cold shower.  He’d have to stay clear of this one.  She wasn’t the only one who wanted to be left alone.

Before Chase returned to the bathroom, the lights flickered back on and temporarily blinded Brooke.  Her eyes adjusted to the dark and now it seemed too bright.

Awkwardly, Brooke attempted to use the crutches and was glad when she reached the sofa.  The crutches were going to take some getting used to.

“You’re right
, Ms. Laine, that wasn’t an animal out back.  Someone flipped the breakers off outside your door.  I suggest you get a lock for that, too.  I see you have a new one on your shed,” the sheriff said as he walked back inside.

“Did you see anything else out there?” Chase asked.

“No, it’s still too dark, but I’m sure whoever was here is long gone now.  I’ll send a couple officers out when it gets light to see if they can find anything.  I guess you also need to replace that window.  I could send someone out to do that when it gets light out.  In the mean-time, Ms. Laine, you need to think of whom you pissed off lately, and give me a call when you figure it out,” he said as he gave Brooke a look that told her he knew more than he was willing to say at that moment.

“I’ll take care of the door, sheriff, if you’ll just find the person responsible for all this, please,” Brooke pleaded.

“I’ll clean up the glass on the floor if you’ll tell me where you keep your broom.  No argument, please.  You had a hard enough time walking on those crutches without trying to wield a broom,” he told her as he grinned.

“The broom and dustpan are in the pantry, next to the back door,” Brooke said, and added, “thank you for the help and for the medical services.  I’m sure
Digger is impatiently waiting for you to take him back home.”

“He’s probably not the only one impatient for me to leave, if I read that look on your face correctly.  I’m almost done here and then it’s all yours.  I will warn you, I will be back
to make sure you have a lock on your breaker box and a new window on your back door.  Don’t read anything into it, I’m just being a good neighbor,” he said as he returned the broom and dustpan back to the pantry.  What he hadn’t told Brooke was that he put all the glass into a clean trash bag.  Later he would send it to his friend who still worked in forensics, so his friend could check for prints or anything else that might tell them who was behind this.

When Chase left, Brooke leaned back on the sofa and propped her foot on the coffee table.  It throbbed so much
, that she stood up, and with crutches, walked to the medicine cabinet in the hall bathroom to get a bottle of aspirin and then to the kitchen for a glass of water.  She hoped the aspirin would help a little at least, before the officers arrived and tramped through her life.  She knew by now the sheriff must have done a background check on her, but if he hadn’t already, he would soon.  She wondered where David was right now.  Was he behind the problems she had the last couple of days?