Key Lime Pie (4 page)

Besides, if these cookies stayed in the house much longer she’d eat the rest.

On the drive to Eric’s house, she attempted to calm her rising anxiety using every approach she could think of. She tried to talk herself out of it, blaming her discomfort on having eaten too many cookies. And then she berated herself for being such a silly woman about it in the first place. In the end, when she pulled up in front of his house, she was assaulted by memories of the last time she had been there, two months earlier. It had been such a strange night, and yet Eric had helped her in every way he could—ending up with community service for his efforts. Didn’t she owe him something now that he was the one facing a difficult situation?

After taking a deep breath, she stepped out of the car, locked it, and headed up his front steps. She glanced only briefly at the tangled bushes she was all too familiar with and then knocked on the door.

She heard the locks click. She straightened, and, when Eric opened the door, held up the plate of cookies. He looked at her first, then the cookies, and then back at her. But Sadie’s attention was drawn to a suitcase a few feet behind him. She stared at it for a moment before meeting Eric’s eyes.

“You’re leaving?”

Eric looked over his shoulder at the suitcase and then back at Sadie before inviting her in. As she stepped inside she realized the house was cleaner than she remembered it, but that wasn’t saying much. There was still a general cluttered look about the house. Piles of newspapers, jackets thrown over chairs, and a hundred and one things that didn’t belong in the living room. Like the teapot sitting on the ottoman. How did he stand it? Could people with such different expectations of home and cleanliness make a relationship work?

“They won’t have an answer for me until Friday,” Eric said, interrupting her thoughts and pulling her attention away from the messy house. “There’s a red-eye out of Denver tonight.”

“What if it’s not her?” Sadie asked.

“What if it is?”

“What about your work?”

“I’m not the only locksmith in town,” Eric said with a one-shoulder shrug. “I already talked to The Lock Shop. They can do the rekey I have scheduled for tomorrow; we cover for each other.”

Sadie was out of arguments, but didn’t want him to go. Why not? It made sense that he should. If Sadie were in his place, she’d go.

“Maybe you can take these with you, then,” she said. “Do they confiscate cookies at security now?”

Eric smiled. “I’ll put them in my suitcase so they get checked.” He looked from the plate to Sadie’s face. “Thank you.”

“I only wish I could do more.”

Eric cocked his head to the side. “Do you really?”

“Of course,” Sadie said, but even as she said it, she wondered what she could possibly do.

“Then come with me.”

Sadie felt her mouth drop open. “Wh—what?”

Eric took a step closer. “I don’t have anyone else to ask.”

Sadie stared at him, at those deep blue eyes that wouldn’t let her go. Hadn’t she wondered what it was like to be Eric, facing such a difficult situation alone? And now he was reaching out, asking her to help him through it. And yet there were so many warning bells going off in her mind she couldn’t hear anything else. She had broken up with Pete less than an hour ago.

Eric reached up and ran his thumb along her jaw. She held her breath and then got control of herself and took a step backward. “I can’t, Eric,” she said. “I’ve got a meeting about the spring fund-raiser for the high school tomorrow, and I volunteer with Meals on Wheels on Friday, and the Renaissance dinner with Gayle is on Saturday—”

“It’s okay,” Eric cut in, but the disappointment was obvious. He turned back to his suitcase and fiddled with something on the zipper. “I knew it was a long shot.”

Sadie’s own words rang back to her:
“I only wish I could do more.”
And yet she’d said no when he asked her for help. But how could she say yes?

“I’m sorry,” she said, feeling exceptionally lame.

“It’s okay,” Eric said, offering her a forgiving smile. He straightened and looked at his watch. “I’d better get going. Thanks for the cookies.”

Oh yeah, cookies. That was all she could do to help? Really? “Do you have a Zip-loc or Tupperware or something? It will make them easier to pack.”

“Sure,” Eric said. “I can take care of it.” He took the plate, brushing her fingers in the process.

“I’m sorry I can’t go,” she said again, aware of how pathetic she sounded even as she searched for absolution.

“I said it’s okay,” Eric said. Then he smiled. She smiled back. They stood for a few more seconds.

“Well, I, uh, better go,” Sadie said. Eric just nodded. Should she ask him to call her and tell her what he found out? Was that rude in light of the fact that she was refusing to help him in the one way he’d asked her to?

“Drive safe,” he said, showing her to the door.

“
You
drive safe,” Sadie said. He was the one catching a flight at Denver International. She was going home. Where she’d worry about him all night long. “Are you leaving your car at the airport?” she asked. Should she offer him a ride? But it was almost three hours to Denver—six hours round-trip. That seemed . . . inappropriate somehow.

“I’ve got a buddy in Denver,” he said, pulling the door open. “I’m going to his place first and he’ll take me to the airport so I don’t have to worry about my car.”

Sadie turned. “That’s good. Um, if you need . . . anything else . . . let me know.”

Lame! Could she be any lamer?

“I will,” he said.

Sadie nodded, not wanting to delay him any longer as she headed for the porch steps. She heard the door shut softly behind her and the locks fit back into place as she headed for her car.

Even though she felt sure that refusing the invitation was the right thing to do, she felt horrible about it. She knew she had a very long night ahead of her. Not as long as Eric’s, though. Once again she pondered on what it would be like to be him right now.

It took hours for Sadie to fall asleep. To distract herself after returning home, she cleaned, then did some laundry, and then reorganized her spice cupboard. She’d managed to collect three containers of basil since the last time she cleaned it out.

At midnight she imagined that Eric’s plane was just leaving, or had just left, or was just about to leave, and the guilt hit her hard. But imagining what it would have been like if she’d accepted Eric’s offer made her shake her head. What would people say if she’d left town with him? What would Pete think? Her reputation had been damaged after the library shooting; she couldn’t afford to chip away at it any more than she already had.

Around two o’clock she fell asleep, certain she would have dreams about Eric since he was all she’d thought about in the hours before she went to bed. Instead she dreamed she was doing a Lysol commercial and couldn’t say the word
contamination.
Go figure.

The ringing of the phone next to the bed woke her up, but she was surprised to find her bedroom filled with daylight when she opened her eyes. She reached for the handset while looking at the digital clock. The numbers read 9:09! Sadie couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept past eight and therefore never bothered to set an alarm. She was supposed to be at the high school by ten.

“Hello?” she said into the phone as she swung her legs over the side of the bed, making herself a little dizzy in the process.

“Sadie?”

It only took a moment to recognize the voice. “Eric!” she said, gripping the phone tighter as a warm shiver ran down her spine. “Where are you? Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” Eric said quickly. “I’m in Florida. I need a favor.”

Sadie’s stomach sank. Was he going to ask her to go to Florida again? Would he understand if she tried to explain the whole reputation thing?

“Actually, two favors,” he added.

“O–kay,” Sadie said, hesitation in her voice.

“Remember how back in February you said you’d clean my house after you brought those stinky files into it?”

“Ye–es,” Sadie said, carefully. She’d reminded him of it a few times, but he always winked and said he’d let her know when he was ready. He was going to collect on that
now
?

“Well, I’m wondering if I can trade you for something else.”

Trade? What did he need more than some housekeeping?

“Clean my trailer instead,” Eric said. “I just listed it in the paper, which means people will start calling on it tomorrow morning. My neighbor agreed to show it, but he doesn’t know glass cleaner from furniture polish. I know you’re busy, but—”

“Sure, it’s not a problem,” Sadie said, relieved. This was something she could do, and it would help ease her guilty conscience. “I can work on it this afternoon. Is the trailer unlocked?”

“No,” Eric said. “But the key to the trailer is in the house, hanging by the back door. The house key is inside the second cabinet on your left inside the garage, and the key to the garage is around the back of the shed, underneath the third stepping-stone.”

Sadie scrambled for paper and a pen in the drawer of her nightstand. “You’ll need to repeat that,” she said, holding the phone against her ear with her shoulder. She had to test three pens before finding one that worked. It was time to clean out her bedside table drawers.

Eric repeated the instructions, and Sadie kept her questions about the over-complication of his key hiding to herself. “Okay,” she said after repeating the instructions back to him, finally finding a pause in her thoughts long enough to let a question take root. “Why are you listing the trailer now?”

Eric paused. “I need a little cash.”

“Why?”

“Um, the second favor is a little easier,” he said, ignoring her question. “There’s a box in the corner of my bedroom closet; I need it shipped to me overnight. I can pay you back when I get home.”

“What’s in the box?” Sadie asked. She looked at the clock again. He’d only been in Florida a few hours. “What’s going on, Eric?”

He ignored her questions. “Could you send me that box as soon as possible? I think it needs to be to FedEx by two in order to make it overnight.”

Sadie tapped the pen on the notepad. “Eric,” she said, slow and calculated. “What’s going on?”

He was quiet. “I really need your help with this, Sadie,” he said.

Sadie waited for him to continue, but he didn’t. He needed money and the contents of a box and he wasn’t going to tell her why. But he
had
called her for help. “What does the box look like?”

Eric let out an audible sigh of relief. “It’s an old Sunkist Orange box,” he said. “FedEx said they’d either rebox it or reinforce the existing one if necessary so you don’t need to do anything special. I’ll text you the address where I’m staying, okay? I really appreciate this, Sadie.”

“I’m glad to help,” Sadie said. In fact, she was fairly itching to help. How long would it take to open that box and have a look at whatever was inside?

Unfortunately Sadie didn’t have time to get to Eric’s before her meeting at the high school. She took copious notes on the information discussed, but her head was across town, trying to imagine what was in that box. The meeting ended at 11:30; she made an excuse for why she couldn’t grab lunch with a couple of the other committee members and made a beeline for Eric’s house.

Sadie found the rock that hid the garage key and then the key to the house which let her inside. The hinge creaked when she opened the door, but she didn’t even pause as she went inside, worried that if she acted hesitant a neighbor might call the police on her. She peeked around doorways until she found what had to be Eric’s bedroom. She paused at the threshold, vastly uncomfortable with the idea of entering. She looked to her left and her right, as though someone might be watching, then lifted her chin, smoothed her shirt and walked into the room, feigning confidence she didn’t feel. His bed was unmade—big surprise—and she tried to ignore it while reminding herself that she was a grown woman. What was there to be uncomfortable with?

There were piles of laundry on the floor and a stack of books on the bedside table. She gave them both a mere glance—intent on her destination.