Page 15 of Reckless Flames

“Sophie, I think I saw someone on the same side of the house as your bedroom. Can I get to your backyard through the property directly behind you?”

“Yes, we had some friends in that house when we were little, and all of our parents agreed to put a gate in the fence so that we could go from one house to the other without going into a street. Do you want to go that way to get into my backyard?”

“Yes, will you wait in the truck?”

“No, but I’ll come with you as far as the fence and show you where the gate is.”

I agreed, because if I went in that way, any intruder around Sophie’s house would naturally run in the opposite direction when they saw me coming. That should guarantee Sophie’s safety back at the rear fence line.

We snuck through the neighbor’s yard since all their lights were out, through the old gate, and into Sophie’s backyard. I grabbed her arm and hissed, “Stay put,” and continued alone to the side of the house.

There was someone there. They’d apparently just given up—probably because there was no light in Sophie’s room, and they were walking away from me toward the street in front of the house.

I began running after them, but they heard me immediately and took off running. They had just enough of a lead, and I was out of shape just enough that they were able to jump into a car down the street and speed off.

Sophie had apparently figured out what was happening since she was right behind me when I gave up and stopped running.

“What’s going on out here? Sophie? Who is that with you? Ben, is that you?”

Chapter nine

Sophie

Ilooked at Ben and saw agreement in his eyes. It was just not possible to keep anything from my parents now.

“Yes, Mr. and Mrs. Wright, it’s me,” he said. “Can we sit down somewhere and talk? I’m afraid we’ve got something to tell you.”

My parents looked at me immediately, and I wondered for one horrible moment if they thought the topic of conversation was going to be a relationship between me and Ben. Maybe they even thought, from our serious faces, that we were going to tell them I was pregnant, so I hurried to tell them about the stalker. A mentally deranged stalker had to be better news than a pregnant daughter, I figured.

We were sitting around their kitchen table, and when we had told them everything—Ben’s stalker sightings and my experience in the woods and the threatening email, Ben said that he had an idea—if it met with their approval.

“I think Sophie might be safer somewhere else for a while, and if her bedroom light stays off long enough and the police drive by often enough, the stalker will hopefully stop lurking around your house. I’ve told her that she’s welcome to one of my guest bedrooms for as long as she wants to stay.”

Dad looked at me and said, “That’s a decision for you to make, Sophie, but I will find a way to protect you if you want to stay with us. You could move to Jake’s old room, and as long as you keep the curtains closed, no one would ever know it’s you in there.”

“Thanks, Dad, but I’m afraid I would feel like a prisoner in the house—as if I couldn’t leave in case he was watching, as if the curtains had to be closed on every window in the house, so I couldn't be seen going from the living room to the kitchen. I think I’m going to have to take Ben up on his offer. The advantage of Ben’s house is that it’s a distance out of town—unlike the houses of family here. Remember, this guy saw me at Grumpy’s, so he seems to have the town covered.”

Dad sighed, and mom reached across the table to hold my hand.

“My darling daughter, you do whatever you think best. We’ve known Ben for years, and there’s no doubt in my mind that he will do everything possible to keep you safe.”

I went upstairs to throw some things in a suitcase, and Ben stayed in the kitchen, talking to my parents. The fact that he has been Jake’s best friend since high school and was in and out of our house for years has made Ben’s plan so acceptable.

Madi had been out with Theo and returned to the house while I was still packing. She came running upstairs in shock, having found Ben with mom and dad and been told all about the stalker.

“Oh my God, Soph! You’re actually moving in with Ben! I mean, it sounds like a good idea, given the stalker and all, but…you’re moving in with Ben!”

“Madi, I’m so sorry to rain all this shit down on the family when all the attention should be on you. I hope Ben told you to come over anytime at all for any reason. We can work on wedding stuff there or anything else you want to do. I just don’t think I’m going to be going into town much for a while.”

“Yeah, Ben gave me the run of his house. Hey, Soph, is there any chance the two of you might hook up? He’s a really good-looking guy, and—”

“No!” I interrupted her, not wanting to hear the end of that sentence.

Ben had shown me into one of his guest rooms, and now we were downstairs in the family room, trying to relax. It was really late by now, but we’d been through so much in the last few hours that neither of us was ready to sleep apparently.

“Sophie,” he said, “I know we’ve still got some things to talk about, but would you consider going out to dinner with me tomorrow night?”

“Are you asking me out on a date?”

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