Free The Rescuer by Dee Henderson Page B

wind it wasn't a little tap by a twig. Stepping on glass or cutting her hand was a bad idea. She gave up dealing with it herself and closed the bathroom door.
    She thought there was plywood in the garage that could be
    72 tw<
    &.
    Jonathan found the china dol s wrapped in tissue paper in a box
    $'in the living room. He had unwrapped six before finding the one
    V*with painted black eyelashes, rosy cheeks, and a smal red dimple

    ,/<,on the right cheek. He opened up the base of the dol stand and
    I;'1'the rubies tumbled out. The piece was gorgeous.
    He didn't
    ,,remember who he had stolen it from. Had it real y been that many
    i,years and that many pieces? He slipped the bracelet into his
    Vpocket. His percentage of the sale price would pay bil s for a
    ^couple months. |,Hearing a car slow, Jonathan clicked off his flashlight.
    £'Headlights crossed the windows. He walked over to the win-
    '¥
    jvdows, staying back far enough from the curtains that his presence

    Ifwould remain unnoticed. The car pul ed into Meghan's dnveway.
    yl,A man he didn't recognize with a basebal cap on his head dashed
    |tyjthrough the rain toward the house.
    ^if1
    if vJonathan wanted to check the other dol s and find out if Neil
    ij ihad tucked another piece in one of them and forgotten, but a
    'ijguest noticing lights over here wasn't worth the risk.
    Tomorrow
    J\or the next day, he'd be back if necessary. ;iHe walked through the room removing any signs of his pres-i{;ence. He slipped from the house. The entire subject of Neil and

    fyir
    he rescuer 73
    I>used to patch the window for the night. Stephen was a good cart    ;#tonight. She heard the potted fern in the bathroom shatter on the
    ^,tiles. This was going to be a huge mess to clean up.
    *%'
    I'l
    $
    to ».
    &
    J!Craig needed to be thought through in detail.

    Stephen wiped water off his face. He had gotten drenched from his run to the house. Meghan had left the door open as promised. He slipped off his wet 73
    jacket to hang on the coatrack,
    74
    going off memory, for the kitchen was dark, the only il umination coming from lightning. "Meghan, where are you?"
    "Up here. I left a flashlight on the stairs for you."
    He hoped the power came on soon. He wasn't nearly as good at walking around in the dark as Meghan was.
    He found the flashlight and headed upstairs.
    The first sight of her was one he would reme^nber for quite a while. She was dragging a rol of heavy plastic from the spare bedroom. Her jeans were new and her sweatshirt was faded red. Her feet were bare, and her hair was blond. She'd been a brunette yesterday at Jennifer's visitation. She looked cute as a blonde.
    "Watch the toolbox."

    He spotted it in the hal way beside a piece of plywood and stopped on the top step to stay out of the way.
    "You're a trusting soul to leave the door unlocked."
    "Who else is going to be out in this downpour? Your shoes are squishing."
    "And my socks. It's a minor flood out there. Can I help?
    "
    She settled the plastic against the wal . "The bathroom window got taken out by a tree limb. I'm going to let you do the hammenng if you don't mind getting a little wetter."
    "I doubt I'l notice more water. When did this happen?"
    "Shortly after the power went out the second time." She took a step toward him and her hand found his chest.
    "I'm sorry about Jennifer."
    He found it hard to look at eyes staring at his left shoulder. She couldn't see. It npped his guts. He wanted-needed-to avoid the subject of Jennifer tonight.
    "Let's talk about it another day."

    Her hand smoothed out the fabnc of his shirt. "I'm real y going to miss her too." She nodded down the hal . "The bathroom is the second door on your right."
    He heard it now, the close sound of wind and ram. He cov-75
    j.,ered her hand with his, squeezed it, and then stepped away. He
    |walked down the hal and opened the door, using the flashlight
    !fto inspect the damage. "The branch took out the top