Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (154 page)

“
Taylor, I’d like you to
work with Jesse today to move the ducklings to a larger enclosure,”
Ms. Aikers instructed.

I nodded. “Sure. I’ll get right on
it.”

She wrote something on her clipboard,
then handed Jesse a summary of what we had to do.

At first, we worked together on the
items on the list, but then we decided we could get things faster
if we did our own thing for a while.

“
Where should I set this?”
I asked when I dragged the kiddie pool inside.

“
In the corner,” Jesse
said, “but let me help you.”

“
I can handle it. I’m not
some dainty daffodil. Besides, it doesn’t weigh much.”

“
Wow. I’m impressed. I love
a girl who can handle her own.”

I smiled. “You have no idea what I can
handle,” I teased.

Jesse picked up the water hose and
adjusted it to fill the pool. “These little guys and gals are gonna
love their new swimming hole.”

“
It’s so much bigger,” I
said. “They’ll all have plenty of room now.”

“
I know. I love watching
the babies grow up, getting bigger and stronger every
day.”

“
There’s no better feeling
than helping them out.”

“
Let’s go get ‘em,” Jesse
said.

We quickly scurried to the other room
and each grabbed a fuzzy duckling. Jesse’s went right into the
water, but mine squeezed out of my hands. Jesse and I laughed as we
chased the squawking bird. Just as Jesse picked the stubborn little
one up, I reached for his hands and suddenly lost my balance when I
slipped in a puddle of water on the ground. In reaction, trying to
catch me while still holding on to the duckling, his body twisted,
and he tumbled backward. We burst out laughing when the duckling
looked at us like we were silly and just waddled away.

Heat rushed to my face as I looked
over at him. “Sorry,” I said.

“
Don’t be,” he answered,
pushing a long, curly piece of hair out of my eyes. “You can knock
me off my feet anytime.”

When our eyes locked, my smile was
automatic.

“
You have the most
beautiful smile,” he said.

“
Thank you.”

He locked his fingers in mine and
brushed his thumb over my skin, sending shivers down my
spine.

Suddenly, I felt tiny webbed feet
walking over my shoe. I gently picked the naughty duckling up and
set her in the water. She happily glided through the water, loving
her new pool, and the others looked just as happy when Jesse placed
them in with her.

“
Are you ready to feed
them?”

“
Minnows?” I
guessed.

“
Try crickets,” he said as
he picked up a Styrofoam cup with hundreds of chirping insects
inside. “We need to make sure the ducklings can eat when they’re
released. Let’s throw a few in and see if they’ll catch them like
they’ll have to in training.”

I picked up a wiggly cricket and
smiled. “Here it goes!” I said as I tossed the bug into the
water.

Jesse tossed a few in as well, and
within minutes, the babies started diving and swallowing them up.
It was a good sign that they were learning how to feed themselves,
even without their mother around to teach them. It was refreshing
to know that in some small way, we were preparing them to survive
and live a happy life outside on the lake, where they really
belonged.

* * *

When I got home from work, I found a
note letting me know that my parents had gone out to dinner and a
movie and would be home late. My mom had left me some chicken and
mashed potatoes in the microwave, so all I had to do was heat my
dinner up. I still had those pesky butterflies dancing around,
though, having spent the whole day with Jesse, and that totally
killed my appetite.

I watched television until about eight
p.m. After flipping through the unopened mail, I jumped into the
shower. As the soothing, hot water danced across my skin, many
thoughts ran through my head, most of which were about
Jesse.

About twenty minutes later, I dried
off and slipped into a fluffy pink robe and slippers. When my
stomach began to growl, I decided to heat up my dinner while I got
dressed for bed. I walked downstairs to the kitchen and threw my
food in the microwave.

I jumped when Max started barking.
“Max! Be quiet. You scared me to death, boy!”

As I walked over to sit at the kitchen
table, I saw why Max was barking: Through the sliding glass doors,
I could see a figure moving My heart lurched. It was only for a
split second, but I could have sworn it was someone dressed in
black from head to toe, including a black ski mask.

Max ran to the window and started
growling and barking.

I frantically reached for the landline
phone, only to discover that it was dead as a doornail, just as I
feared I was about to be. My gaze shot to my purse. “My cell!” I
exclaimed. I reached my purse in two strides, but chills flooded
through me when I realized my cell phone wasn’t in it. It suddenly
dawned on me that someone else had been messing with the phones. I
swallowed hard as I spun in a slow circle, my nerves on complete
edge. My stomach dropped when I came to the realization that
someone was outside, so I couldn’t even run. My biggest worry was
that someone was inside as well, because I knew for a fact that I’d
left my cell in my purse.

My fingers hurriedly rummaged through
the kitchen drawer for a knife. When I found one that I thought
sure would do the trick, I clutched it tightly, then glanced out
the window. The moon sliced through the darkness, and shadows
shifted in the blackness beyond.

I didn’t see anyone, but when the
television shut off and complete silence filled the air, I had
never felt so utterly alone. “Max!” I said. “Come here.” As the dog
sat by my feet, I sucked in a trembling breath.

Next, the power went out, and
everything went black. I forced myself to walk to the drawer where
I knew I could find a flashlight. My trembling fingers wrapped
around the cold metal, and I switched it on. The beam wavered in my
shaking hands.

A growl
echoed from the living room, one I knew didn’t belong to
Max.
What the heck was that?
The knife in my hands shook. I’d never been so
frozen with fear before, not even during the mountain lion attack
or when we’d been surrounded by wolves. I was scared to go outside,
but I was more terrified of whatever was in the living room. I
tried to reason what could be growling.
Maybe a stray dog got inside somehow. Maybe my parents
adopted another dog and didn’t tell me.

Max kept growling and barking, then
shot off into the living room.

“
Max!” I cried, but the
only answer was silence.

Chapter 11

My loyal and faithful companion had
taken off into the dark living room.

With my heart pounding nearly out of
my chest, I took a few daring steps forward. “Max?” I whispered.
“Max, come back.”

Heavy breathing echoed in the air, and
my heart thumped wildly. A few long growls made the hair on my neck
stand on end. I gripped the knife tightly. Feeling like I was
cornering a wild animal, I took slow, measured steps. A howl
pierced my ears, a sound that only a wolf could make. Nearly
paralyzed by fear, I somehow managed to carefully back up,
abandoning my plan to take a good look.

“
No! I have to help Max,” I
said to myself, shining my flashlight around the
darkness.

At the sound of another howl, I jumped
back. My heart had never beaten so fast before, and the floor
creaked with every step I took. My flashlight beam swung around,
but I didn’t see anything in the dim light. Sweat coated the palms
of my hands as I stood there holding my breath, listening for any
sounds, trying to hang on to what was left of my sanity.

Then, a ravenous moan echoed from
across the room, and a sudden panic flooded through me. I paused,
drew a deep breath, and pressed myself against the wall. I could
hear something shuffling in the living room. I took a deep,
trembling breath, my beam wavering as I whipped my flashlight all
around.

A scratching noise made me jump,
especially since it was coming from directly behind me. Gasping for
breath, I turned around. There was Max, outside and scratching at
the glass. I had no clue how he got out, but as I was trying to
figure that out, my poor dog let out a long yelp and then started
barking.

I bolted into the kitchen and grabbed
my purse. Regardless of what was outside, I had to get out of that
house, and since Max was already out, I didn’t have to worry about
deserting him. I opened the sliding glass door, my heart
threatening to explode. I turned on the back porch light. Holding
the knife tightly, jutting it out in front of me like some kind of
horror movie menace, I glanced around. My legs took off, carrying
me like a bat out of hell to the driveway in front of the house. My
senses were on high alert, and I glanced over my shoulder to make
sure my trusty canine companion was keeping up with me.

Just as I opened my purse and grabbed
my keys, a howl came from inside the house. When I glanced up, I
saw that the front door was wide open, and I realized that had to
be how Max had gotten out and whatever it was had gotten
in.

Move
! I thought, but I almost
couldn’t breathe.
Find the right
key.
I couldn’t hold on to the flashlight,
the keys, and the knife, so I slipped the flashlight into my robe
pocket. My hands shook as I tried to open the car door. Max was
barking, and I knew something was coming. The door opened, Max
jumped in, and I started the ignition. Then a thought occurred to
me: I’d forgotten to check the back seat. My stomach clenched, and
I quickly looked back there. Relieved to see no one and nothing but
a few fast food wrappers, I let out a breath and put the car in
reverse.

Everything was a blur as I sped down
the road. I was still gasping for breath as I pulled into
McDonald’s, still dressed in my robe. I contemplated going inside
for help, but I knew I would have looked ridiculous in that getup,
and I was sure no one would take me seriously.

Max barked, as if asking me what was
going on.

I petted his head. “It’s okay, boy,” I
said.

As I looked at the passenger’s seat, I
noticed that the dog was actually sitting on my long-lost phone. I
had no idea how my phone got inside the car, because I was sure I’d
put it in my purse, but I picked it up and, without hesitation,
dialed Jesse.

“
Hello?” he
said.

“
Jesse! Oh my gosh! You
aren’t gonna believe this.”

“
What’s wrong?”

“
I…we…uh…there was this
noise, and then the lights went out and—”

“
Are you okay?” he asked,
clearly confused and concerned by my panic.

“
No, Jesse, I’m
not.”

“
Where are you?”

“
I’m sitting here at
McDonald’s in my bathrobe, if that’s any indication how not okay I
am! There was something in our house, so I got creeped out and
bolted. I’m not sure whether to call my parents or the
police.”

“
You were home
alone?”

“
Yeah. Mom and Dad are on a
date, at a late movie.”

“
Okay. Just sit tight. I’ll
be right there.”

“
Okay,” I said, then hung
up.

It seemed like it took forever, but he
finally showed up. When he pulled up next to me, I ran out of the
car and into his arms. “Oh, Jesse!”

“
Taylor, you’re
shaking.”

“
I was so scared,” I said,
sobbing.

“
What happened?” he
asked.

I explained the entire story, and he
listened intently, never doubting me once. “Do you think somebody
tried to rob the house?” I desperately asked. “Maybe the intruder
was shocked when he heard me taking a shower. Maybe he wasn’t
expecting anyone to be home, so he just ran out and left the door
open, and some wild animal came in.”

“
Did you notice that the
door was open after you took your shower?”

“
I came down the back
stairs, so I didn’t notice.”

“
Maybe you’re right, to
some degree. Maybe you did spook a robber, and he left in a hurry
without shutting the door behind him and something got in by
accident. But what I don’t understand is why he’d come back. If he
was scared off, he shoulda been long gone, so why would he come
back and look through the sliding glass doors? If he wanted back
in, why didn’t he just use the open door?”

I smoothed out my robe. “You must
think I’m crazy.”

“
No. We’ll figure this
thing out. I’m here for you, Taylor.” He gave me a long hug, and I
was sure he could feel my entire body trembling.

“
I know I look ridiculous,
but I was too petrified to put clothes on. I just wanted to get out
of there.”

“
I know. And you just
look…cuddly, if you ask me. Let’s go back and take a look,” he
said.