Free The Nosy Neighbor by Fern Michaels Page B

being disturbed. When she opened her eyes wider, she saw her neighbor sitting across from her. He looked like he belonged in the chocolate-colored chair. He even looked like he belonged to the room. She wondered how that could be. “It’s eight o’clock,” she mumbled, looking down at the watch on her wrist.
    “Yep, it’s eight o’clock,” Wylie said cheerfully. “Are you hungry? I was starved, so I ate when I fed the dogs. I kept yours warm. How do you feel?”
    Lucy massaged her temples. “Don’t ask. Did anyone call?”
    “Your phone rang four times, but I didn’t answer it. I assumed you had voice mail, and it would pick up your messages. So”—he clapped his hands—“do you want dinner or not?”
    “I’m not really hungry, Wylie. Maybe later. Thanks for taking over. I feel so…so awful. I feel like there’s a Chinese fire drill going on inside my head. It’s like a hundred voices all talking at once, and yet nothing is clear. It’s starting to scare me.” Tears of frustration puddled in Lucy’s eyes.
    Wylie was off the chair and on his knees by the couch in a heartbeat. Papers crunched beneath his knees—the brokerage statements.
    “Hey, it’s all right. I’ll take you to the doctor in the morning unless you want me to phone now for a house call. If it’s really bad, I can scoot you over to Emergency at Kennedy. Do you still have the headache?”
    “Actually, no. But my head is…busy. I’m hearing stuff. My God, maybe I’m having a nervous breakdown.” She shook her head, hoping to clear it of the noise. “I can wait till morning.”
    Wylie inched upward so that he was sitting on the coffee table. “You are not having a nervous breakdown. However, you might have a concussion. You were fine before the fall, weren’t you?”
    Lucy nodded, her gaze going to the dining room, where she’d destroyed her wedding invitations. Maybe she’s one of those people who have telekinetic powers. A moment later, she said, “I am not one of those people with telekinetic powers, Wylie, so get that idea out of your head. I can’t even predict rain when there are storm clouds overhead.”
    Wylie’s jaw dropped. “What are you talking about?”
    “You just said I must be one of those people who have telekinetic powers.”
    “No, I didn’t. I didn’t say a word.”
    “I heard you, Wylie.” I should scoop her up right now and take her to the hospital. “I’m not going to the hospital, either, so get that out of your head, too. Oh, my God, your lips aren’t moving!” Lucy burrowed deeper into the corner of the sofa. Her voice was full of panic when she said, “I just read your mind, didn’t I?” A scream built in her throat. “I did, didn’t I?”
    Wylie stood up and moved back to the chair he’d been sitting on earlier. He had to say something. “Yes,” he croaked.
    … statements…too many zeros…married. “I’m not getting married. You saw the brokerage statements. Were you snooping? You were thinking other things, but they aren’t coming across clearly. You moved away. Oh, God, oh God, oh God! There’s something wrong with my brain. Maybe it was that electric wire. I don’t want to read your mind. Don’t think. Please, don’t think. Make your mind blank. I didn’t hit my head that hard. That wire touched my shoe, but I wiggled away. I did feel a shock run up the side of my body, but then Coop boosted me up, and I got out of there. That live wire was dancing all over the road.” She was babbling, and she knew it. “You aren’t thinking, are you?”
    Don’t think, Wylie. How was that possible? A person had to think. He lied, and said, “No, I’m not thinking.” Wylie struggled for a diversion because this was beyond bizarre. “Listen, Coop got into your invitations and chewed them up. I’ll pay for them. I’m sorry about the bank statements. I was trying to tidy up, but I thought you might think I was snooping. I wasn’t. I left everything the way it was. I did