Free A Cavanaugh Christmas by Marie Ferrarella Page B

of months so there’s no reason for you to worry about how anyone might react to seeing your car in the driveway.”
    He didn’t bother mentioning that when last appraised, the house had been assessed at over a million dollars. He instinctively knew that would only send her packing to the closest hotel, and she appeared too wiped out to drive down the driveway again, much less out on the main thoroughfare.
    “C’mon inside and I’ll show you to your room,” he urged.
    She expected him to open the wide front door with a key and was surprised when the detective paused to punch in numbers on the keypad mounted next to the door frame. Something else they didn’t have in her neighborhood. “Your friend’s got a security system?”
    Tom nodded. “For when he can’t get anyone to house-sit,” he explained. “He’s got a few awards and trophies he’s rather partial to and would hate to see stolen.” With the alarm disengaged, Tom unlocked the door and held it open for her. “Coming?” he asked when she didn’t immediately walk inside.
    She offered a tight-lipped smile that had more than a trace of a grimace to it. “Yeah,” she responded, coming to life.
    She crossed the threshold almost gingerly: Cinderella, not yet in her ball gown, stepping into the palace.
    The ground floor was spacious, with high ceilings everywhere and a two-story-tall cathedral ceiling in the living room. The white brick fireplace on the right seemed to extend upward about eighteen feet or so, making her feel incredibly small.
    She felt out of place here—but she could definitely get used to it, at least for a few days. As long as she didn’t venture out into the postage-size backyard.
    “And you’re sure your friend won’t mind you bringing someone else into his house?” she asked again, still skeptical.
    Kait glanced around to see if a security camera was trained on her. She’d certainly have one if this was her house. She’d have several.
    Tom laughed softly to himself. He wouldn’t have taken her to be this cautious about crashing somewhere. “I’m sure. We grew up together. He knew exactly who he was giving his house keys and security code to,” he assured her.
    Kait nodded slowly as his words sank in. “Meaning he knew you weren’t going to be a monk.” It wasn’t a question so much as a realization.
    Tom grinned, and she caught herself thinking that it was a nice grin. Probably exactly what he’d intended, she judged.
    “Something like that,” he agreed delicately. There was no point in elaborating or in saying that he and Matt had more than their share of cruising and hookups when they had first gone to college. “Your room’s upstairs,” he told her as he headed toward the stairs himself. “C’mon, I’ll show you.”
    Taking the stairs up quickly, Tom paused to wait for her to catch up, then led the way to the second door on his left.
    “Mine’s right here.” He jerked his thumb at the first bedroom on the left. “In case you need anything,” he qualified.
    Kait took in a breath. God, but she hadn’t realized just how tired she was. “I won’t,” she quickly assured him.
    Tom merely nodded, but the grin didn’t fade. He gestured toward her room, as if to usher her into it. “All right, then I’ll say good-night and just let you get some sleep.”
    Stepping back from the doorway, he slipped into the bedroom that his friend used during those short durations when he was actually home. For the most part, he’d seen hotel rooms that had had more of a lived-in look to them than Matt’s bedroom did. But then, his friend had always been superneat. Even in college. Which made him the perfect roommate. Matt always kept the area clean.
    The house had been closed up all day, keeping in what heat there’d been. Despite the myths about California, Northern California could get really cold at night. There was only a thin comforter on the bed right now, which meant, Tom judged, that his houseguest was