Page 26 of Echoes at Driftwood Cottage

“Hmm? Oh, yeah. Sorry, just thinking.”

“About what?” she asked, her voice soft and dreamy.

“The beach—you know—what happened.” He turned to her, his eyes clouded with worry. He took in her face, her hair. Her eyes seemed sleepy in the low light, but he noticed they had flickered with irritation. “What?”

“Let’s not talk about that,” she suggested, yawning again.

He toyed with a loose strand of her hair. “There’s a therapist in town who—”

She jerked away, fire in those green eyes of hers. “I’m not pouring my problems out to a therapist. I did that enough as a kid with social workers. I won’t go down that road again. If you’re unable to drop what happened, then I’m going home and going to bed.” She stood up. “I have to finish going through Gran’s things anyway. I left a mess spread out on the floor to come over here this afternoon.”

Daniel sighed. He should’ve known he couldn’t force her to talk about it. He took her hand and tugged her back on the sofa. “You do look tired, but you don’t have to go home yet. It’s not even nine o’clock yet.”

“But I do have to head to the bank tomorrow first thing.”

“The lobby doesn’t open until ten.”

“Good to know,” Rowan said with a nod. With an awkward silence hanging between them, she stared at the TV screen, the menu looping on repeat. “I’m not ready to go home to that empty house. Want to watch a comedy on Netflix?”

“Sure.”

She sat back down, angling toward him before picking up the remote. “Look, I appreciate you worrying about me, but I shouldn’t have pushed it so close to the boat. I knew better. The thing is, I was trying to impress you.”

This time, Daniel recognized the minefield and kept his mouth shut. He took the remote out of her hand and hit play. “Just know that I’m here if you need to talk about it.”

Satisfied, the debate was over, she settled back on the sofa into the comfort of his arms and slumped against him. But the comedy series turned out to be a dud and put Rowan to sleep before the first episode ended.

He turned the volume down on the TV and waited until her breathing evened out, indicating to him that she’d gone into a deep sleep, before extricating himself from her embrace. Getting to his feet, he bent down, scooped her up, and carried her into the bedroom. She woke up briefly when he slipped off her shoes.

In a husky, drowsy voice, she asked, “What are you doing?”

“Just getting you ready for bed,” he replied softly.

“Oh,” she muttered, a half-smile forming on her lips.

Daniel tossed the comforter on top of her and tucked her in.

She curled into a fetal position and reached for his hand. “Stay with me.”

He hesitated for a moment before crawling into bed beside her. They lay there in silence for a while until Rowan shifted, turning to face him. “I’m sorry about earlier.”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” He reached out, running his thumb over her cheekbone. “I’m here for you, Rowan. Whatever you need.”

She smiled dreamily, leaning into his touch, but her eyes fluttered closed as she drifted off to sleep again.

Daniel lay there for a while, watching her sleep, a pang of tenderness tugging at his heartstrings. He had never felt this way about anyone before. Why now? Why her?

Instead of dwelling on it for long, he got up and tiptoed into the living room. He cut off the TV, grabbed his phone off the charger, flipped off the lights, and walked down the hallway to lock the front door. But as he reached the entryway, he heard a faint noise coming from outside. It sounded like someone trying to jiggle the lock on the window. Then, as if the neighbors had spotted a prowler, Daniel heard someone walking fast, hurrying over the rocks in his front yard.

Peering through the peephole, he couldn't see a thing, so he turned the knob and walked out onto the covered veranda, letting his eyes scan the street. That’s when he caught the faint sound of footsteps receding on concrete like they were running along the sidewalk.

He caught a shadowy figure disappearing around the corner of the house, running toward the alley, then darting through his neighbor’s back hedges. Somewhere in the distance, he heard a car start up, heard the engine rev, and take off in a hurry. The noise of the motor echoed out into the night until it dissipated. But it was too dark to tell where the sound originated from.

He walked over to check the front window and realized someone had worked hard to jimmy the lock without success. During all the time he’d lived here, he’d never once given a thought to security—until now. Standing in the darkness, goose bumps formed along his arms. For several long seconds, he stared at his phone, wondering if he should call 911. What would he tell them, though? That someone had walked across his lawn in the dark? Not exactly a reason to alert the cops.

Instead of calling the police, maybe it was time to install cameras around his property. Had he interrupted a bold burglar who attempted a break-in with the lights still on?

Daniel wasn’t sure what to think as he went back inside. But he made sure all the outside lights were on, hoping that might deter anyone considering giving it another try. Before heading to bed, he checked the rest of the doors and windows throughout the house.

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