Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

Tex convinced Chelsea that she needed to call the police. He might be able to overlook the brick thrown into Gilbert’s house. But he couldn’t overlook this.

This break-in made someone look unhinged. And Tex didn’t like it.

At the police’s request, Tex and Chelsea waited outside while the cops checked out Chelsea’s place and looked for fingerprints or other evidence.

As Chelsea and Tex lingered on the driveway, Gilbert appeared through the hedges. A petite woman walked beside him. She was probably in her sixties with light blonde—maybe white?—hair styled in a pixie cut.

“Are you okay?” Gilbert rushed, his brow wrinkled with concern. “We saw the police lights. What happened?”

“Someone broke into Chelsea’s place,” Tex explained.

The woman gasped, and her hand flew over her mouth. “That’s terrible. Is everyone okay?”

“Thankfully, yes,” Chelsea said. “And nothing appears to be stolen . . .”

“How strange,” the woman murmured, her eyes wrinkling with confusion.

Gilbert must have seen Tex studying the woman and realized they hadn’t been introduced yet. He snapped into a more upright position.

“Excuse my manners,” Gilbert started. “Tex, this is Anna. Anna, Tex.”

“Nice to meet you.” Tex offered a friendly nod. “So you’re the one who captured this guy’s heart? Good for you.”

Anna squeezed Gilbert’s arm. “After my husband passed, I never thought I’d fall in love again. But what can I say? Gilbert was irresistible.”

That just went to prove there was someone out there for everyone.

After a moment passed, Tex shifted the conversation back to the break in.

Tex looked at Gilbert then nodded toward Chelsea’s house. “You didn’t see anything, did you?”

“Honestly?” Gilbert shook his head. “Anna and I were listening to Duran Duran when we saw the police lights flashing outside.”

If the situation had been different, Tex might smile. Gilbert, for all his flaws, had always loved Duran Duran. “Hungry like a Wolf” had been his favorite.

Gilbert looked at Chelsea. “I can’t help but think what happened at my place and yours could be connected. Things like this don’t usually happen around here. Maybe when someone threw that brick through my window, they really intended on throwing it through yours.” He paused. “Is there any reason you can think of that someone might do that?”

Chelsea swallowed hard as she rubbed her throat. She’d been shaking ever since she’d confirmed that someone had broken into her house. Tex wished he could comfort her, that they had that kind of relationship. But they didn’t.

“No, I have no known enemies.” Her voice sounded strained as she said the words.

“Not even maybe a student that you’ve made mad?” Tex suggested.

Something swept through her gaze, but she tried to shrug it off. “Not really.”

“Chelsea . . . you don’t need to protect anybody.”

She let out a breath. “I don’t know . . .”

“You can trust me.”

Her gaze darted toward him, underlying emotion lingering there. Then it disappeared as she closed her eyes and pressed her fist over her mouth.

The decision was clearly agonizing for her.

“There is this one student . . .” she finally started. “His name is DJ. He’s really a good kid deep down inside, but he has a lot of issues going on at home. Sometimes he acts out because of those.”

Tex gave her a knowing look. “Go on.”

“Anyway, he’s failing my class, and he came to me a couple of days ago, begging me to bring up his grade. Said he couldn’t fail because then he’d be kicked off the football team and he might not even graduate. Said if that happened, his parents might kick him out too.”

“Was he ever a good student?”

“That’s the thing. He was at the beginning of the semester. He claimed he was having headaches. I told him to get it checked out if it was interfering with schoolwork.”

“Did he?” Tex asked.

“I have no idea. But I felt for him. I really did. But I couldn’t change his grade just because he asked me to. He cussed at me and slammed the door when he left my room.”

Tex’s jaw tightened. “We should definitely let the police know just so they can talk to the guy.”

She shook her head. “If the police go to question him, then his parents will be really mad. They might even kick him out—and he might not be guilty. In fact, he probably isn’t guilty. I don’t want to put him in that position.”

Chelsea had always been empathetic. Probably the same rationale she was using with this DJ guy was the rationale she’d used with Tex back when they’d been friends.

She was always trying to see the good in people.

Tex was afraid that one day that very attribute he admired might be her downfall. He didn’t want to see her get hurt.

“Do you guys need anything?” Gilbert pointed at his house. “You can come to my place and wait while the police check this out if you want. It’s a lot warmer, and I could even heat some apple cider.”

“I’d rather stay close,” Chelsea said. “I want to hear what the police have to say. But thank you. I really appreciate the offer.”

“Of course. Do what you need to do.” Gilbert took a step back and placed a hand on his heart. “And if you need me, you know where to find me.”

He and Anna headed back through the yard to his house.

As he did, a police officer emerged from Chelsea’s front door. “We took some prints. We’ll need to compare them with yours. And you should let us know anyone else who’s been to visit over the past couple of days. We’d need to rule them out also.”

Tex listened closely, strangely curious to know if anyone else had been over. He could tell Patrick was interested in Chelsea, and that she wasn’t interested. But that didn’t mean Chelsea wasn’t seeing someone else.

“Honestly, it’s just been me this week,” Chelsea said. “School’s been out, and I’ve been trying to catch up on some things around the house, so I’ve mostly been staying home. Alone.”

“Very well. So, you said you didn’t notice anything was stolen?”

She shook her head. “I don’t really have anything of value that anyone would want to steal. But no, I didn’t see anything missing.”

“I didn’t see any security cameras out here. Is that correct?”

She nodded. “I keep thinking about getting them, but I haven’t done it yet. I usually feel so safe.”

“Anybody you can think of who might have done this?”

Tex waited, curious as to what she might say. This was her call, not his. Would she mention DJ?

After a moment of thought, she shook her head. “No, I don’t know of anyone.”

The officer put the notepad back into his pocket and took a step back. “We’ll see what we can do. But in cases like these, it’s often hard to track down the perpetrators. Make sure you check all your doors and windows tonight. Maybe even think about getting a dog.” He glanced at Tex. “Or a boyfriend.”

Tex slid his gaze toward Chelsea in time to see her cheeks redden. Even if she did have a boyfriend, she wasn’t the type to let him stay overnight. Unless something had changed with her in the years since she and Tex had been close.

He didn’t think that was the case.

“If you think of anything else, let me know.” The officer nodded at them. “In the meantime, I’ll be in touch.”

As he left, Tex turned toward Chelsea on the porch. The light from the small bulb beside the door illuminated her gorgeous face.

The sight of it made his throat go dry.

He cleared his throat as he tried to shift his thoughts. “You doing okay? If you don’t want to go back inside tonight and want to find somewhere else to stay, no one would blame you.”

“No.” She shook her head, her adorable chin jutting out. “I want to stay here.”

“Do you mind if I go inside with you and help you clean up some?”

She hesitated again. For a moment, Tex was certain she’d say no.

Then she nodded. “Yes, I’d love some help if you don’t mind.”

Chelsea should have told Tex to go home. Why hadn’t she?

But she knew the truth. Though he was dangerous for her heart, she didn’t want to go back inside her house alone. She welcomed the company, especially when that company was a big, strapping man who would scare away any intruders that might decide to come back.

Plus, she was still curious about him. She was kicking herself, however, for feeling the emotion. She didn’t want to be curious. But she was. She wanted to know more about the past twelve years of Tex’s life.

She hesitated before opening her front door and pushing herself inside. The sight of her destroyed living room made her stomach clench.

“How could someone do this?” She had meant it when she said she didn’t know who would want to cause her harm.

She really didn’t think DJ was responsible. She couldn’t throw him under the bus for no reason.

“Good question.” Then Tex quietly added, “I plan on finding out.”

Had she heard him correctly? Or had she just imagined those words?

She frowned as she said, “I don’t even know where to start.”

Tex glanced around. “It looks like the bookcase made the biggest mess. Why don’t we start there?”

“Good idea.”

On the way over, he reached down and carefully put the Christmas tree back on its stand. Numerous ornaments lay scattered on the floor. He picked several up and put them back on the evergreen branches.

Chelsea met him at the bookshelf, and they pushed the furniture upright. Then they began to put the books and trinkets—the ones that weren’t broken—back in place.

“Any particular order you want to keep these in?” Tex asked.

She shook her head. “I can worry about that later. For now, I just want to get everything put away.”

“Very well then.”

They worked in silence for several moments.

Then Tex paused and held something up.

It was a dogwood flower that had been pressed between the pages of her favorite book.

Her cheeks heated.

“Is this . . . ?” he started.

She licked her lips, not liking the uncomfortable feeling in her chest. “If you’re asking if it’s the flower you gave me when we took that hike to the lake, it is.”

It had been a wonderful day. A perfect day, for that matter.

It had been the first time Tex had kissed her.

“You kept it.” He stared at her another moment.

She laughed it off, took it from his hands, and put it on the shelf.

Quickly, she said, “I forgot it was even there.”

He stared at her another moment before finally placing more books on the shelf.

Once they had everything back, Tex looked at her, and Chelsea knew there was something else on his mind. Hopefully not the flower.

She didn’t want to tell him it had been one of the best days of her life.

She totally knew the flower was there. She just couldn’t admit it.

“Do you want to tell me what’s going on?” Tex asked. “I’ve been sitting here playing dumb, acting like I believe every word you’re saying. But I know the story you’re telling me isn’t true. Whatever’s happening, I can’t help but think that you’re in over your head.”

Chelsea raked a hand through her hair as she considered her response. At this point, she was beyond the point of wondering if she could trust Tex or not. He was already deep in this with her. And she didn’t think he had anything to do with what had happened, although it had all started after he arrived in town.

Was that a coincidence?

She licked her lips before asking, “Can I trust you?”

“Of course, you can trust me.” Tex’s words came out fast, like the answer was a no-brainer.

She sighed. Raked her hand through her hair again. Then she leaned back on her legs and turned to him.

“I think Gilbert has been up to something,” she admitted. “I didn’t mean to spy on him. But he does live next door. I’ve seen some things that have made me uncomfortable. But just like with DJ, I don’t want to accuse anyone of something illegal before I have some proof that they’re actually doing something wrong.”

“That’s why you were in Gilbert’s office today?”

She nodded, a wave of guilt hitting her. She’d never broken into someone’s home before. But it was the only way she could think of to find answers.

Tex’s jaw tightened as he nodded. “Why don’t you tell me what you think is going on? Or what you’ve seen. Maybe I can help you sort through it.”